And just to add to your statistics, I run 11 accounts, 7 of which pay for all of them plus a little extra for the work ;)

After growing weary of other MMOs and in part to the dedicated (and admittedly more mature) fanbase, I decided to give EVE another chance. While trying my hand at trading, I stumbled upon an advert for a well-known (and feared) pirate corporation. I decided to try for position.

The process of joining was very sophisticated. They were very wary of spies and saboteurs. Once I past several security checks and interviews, they let me join their newbie corporation. If I could earn my keep and prove my maturity, I would be allowed into the real corporation with access to their warehouses and knowledge of their 0.0 base of operations.

The vetting process was the most fun in EVE I had ever had. I love MMO PvP and yet I have never felt the thrill of combat like this until I ran ‘ops’ with these guys. All of the ops were tightly organized and highly professional. Voice communication, using teamspeak, was 100% required. The ops were fast-paced, precise, and brutally efficient. At times, my hands would shake, my heart would pound, and my brow would sweat at the anticipation of closing a trap, or breaking a 0.0 blockade. I thought, this must be the intensity and fun that everyone refers to regarding EVE.

I highly suggest that if you have not done so, do not ‘write-off’ EVE until you have joined an organized and professional corporation that shares your goals. It is impossible to realize the potential of EVE as a loner.

I don’t think I’ll end up going back. Vanguard has some problems that are probably unfixable. The combat system is deeply borked, the item system sucks and, most importantly, the game is and will always remain terribly unimmersive.