Helpful Training Guide

Guide to Using the Skill Training Queue

By Daxl
3/30/09

The new Eve expansion, Apochrypha, has introduced many new aspects to game play in the Eve Universe. Arguably (Eve players love to argue), the most useful upgrade is the introduction of the new Skill Training queue. This guide is to help the queue-less to understand and get behind this new approach to training skills.



This guide will assume that the reader has a basic knowledge of skills and skill training. For those who do not, please refer to the excellent guides available such as “The Complete Idiots Guide to Training Your Way to Less Idiocy” and “How Many Skill Points Does It Take to Screw In a Lightbulb?” Alas, “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” has no information on skill training for Eve, but is useful for those who wish to avoid freeway construction.



So, you know how to train. What does the Training queue do? It allows a player to set up more than one skill training at a time. When the first skill is finished, the next one automatically starts. You do not have to be logged on to Eve to switch skills. This is much like CCP’s other convenience where you don’t have to be logged in to Eve in order to keep paying them for game time. However, like other things in Eve, it’s not as simple as it appears. There are restrictions, such as the last skill in the queue must start within 24 hours of when the first skill started. There are also a number of forum threads debating whether using the queue should be referred to as being in queue or being on queue. The threads were terminated when some of the discussions got out of line.



The queue can be configured in four different ways according to race. The Gellente prefer the FIFO (First In First Out) configuration. The first skill placed in the queue will be the first completed. Caldari prefer to use the LIFO (Last in First Out) method. The last skill placed in the queue is the first one out. This may have evolved from their primitive evolution where tradition describes how when running from predators, the last one in the cave was the first one likely to be eaten. Amarr will tend to use the RIRO (Random In Random Out) set up, which is chance based. You place the skills in the queue, but you don’t know which will be finished first. There is a small chance none of them will be completed and a small chance that all of them will complete at once. The chance of success can be increased by the “Fat Chance” implant. Finally, the Minmitar tend toward the last available method, which probably best describes the skill planning of most pilots in Eve. That method is called the GIGO (Garbage In Garbage Out) method.



To use the Skill Training queue, you first must have the Skill Training queue skill trained to at least level one. Purchase the Skill Training queue skill book and you are almost on your way. First, the skill “Spelling queue the Hard Way” needs to be at level V before the Skill Training queue skill training can start. The primary attribute associated with the Skill Training queue skill is “Patience” and the secondary attribute is “Compulsiveness.” Each level trained allows you to add one skill to the skill training queue (Bonus to skill level +1 to number of skills in queue and 5% bonus to CCP profit for more subscription/training time). Level I of the Skill Training queue skill lets you create a skill queue for a total of two skills, which makes sense because it takes two to queue. Level II lets you add another skill to the queue for a total of three skills in the queue and so forth (after so third). Ironically, until level I of the Skill Training queue skill is trained, you can not put the Skill Training queue skill in the skill training queue. Once level I is trained, however, you can put levels II and III in the first and second slot of the queue. You could also train to level II and then put levels III, IV, and V in the queue in spots one, two, and three.



There are reports of an exploit that allows you to put levels II, III, IV, and V in the queue at one time so that when level II is trained, the slot for level IV automatically becomes available, followed by the creation of another slot to begin level V. However, this may cause a tear in the time-space continuum that will make life in Jita seem normal by comparison. You would probably be safer sticking you head out of a wormhole with the early bird hanging around. There are also reports of some skills that tend to “cut” their way to the beginning of the queue. Certain skills seem more skilled at this than others. There may even be queue bots who do nothing all day but “spam” queues to keep the front of the queue to themselves or holding a slot for their friends. Ironically, weak skills, who need the training the most may end up stuck at the end of the queue and not get the training they need. The devs have stated that they will address these issues, but can’t say when or where they are on their queue of priorities.



Hopefully this guide has clarified the new Training Skill queue feature at least as much as anything in Eve is clearly explained. Remember fly safe, have fun, and go out and have a queue ball using this skill!