Characters in ' include both the player characters that serve as the player's avatar and various non-player characters present in New Eden.
Character creation involves choosing a race, bloodline, portrait, and name.
Characters are more commonly called Pilots or Clones.
Players begin their journey in New Eden as an Alpha Clone. Alphas have limited ability to fly ships and train skills as well as limited access to many of the game's features including, but not limited to, Planetary Production and Contracts. Playing as an Alpha Clone serves as an introduction and demo of the game.
By default, Alpha Clones gain Skill Points, or SP, at a rate of 30 per minute. This can be increased to up to 45 points per minute if all three Cognitive Neuroscience skill chips are used; 5 points per chip. While no skills are training Free SP is earned, which can be placed in any skill at any time. Alpha Clones are limited to 100,000 free SP earned before it must be allocated to a skill. If this cap is reached, Free SP will no longer be gained, but SP gained by the player will still count toward increasing Tech Level.
Alpha Clones are limited to Tech Level 7 and cannot train skills beyond Basic 5.
For a full list of Alpha Clone restrictions, please see Alpha Clone Restrictions.
Players can upgrade their Alpha Clone to an Omega Clone either by directly purchasing a clone upgrade from the New Eden Store (for real world currency), or by purchasing PLEX off the market and redeeming it for an Omega Clone. Because PLEX can be purchased with ISK from other players, it is entirely possible to maintain at least a Basic Omega Clone just by playing the game and earning ISK.
There are two types of Omega Clone - Basic and Standard. While both allow full access to the game's ships, skills and features, there are minor differences in the two.
The Basic Omega Clone is the first tier of paid-for clone status. It costs either 170 PLEX or $4.99 (or your regional equivalent) per month. Basic Omega Clones gain an additional 5 SP per minute (for a total of 35 before COG chips). Basic Omega Clones have a Free SP cap of 600,000.
The Standard Omega Clone is the second tier of paid-for clone status. It costs either 430 PLEX or $12.99 (or your regional equivalent) per month. Standard Omega Clones gain an additional 25 SP per minute (for a total of 55 before COG chips). Standard Omega Clones have no Free SP cap.
The Omega Clone Duo Bundle is the third and top tier of paid-fore clone status. It costs either 500 PLEX or $14.99 (or your regional equivalent) per month. Omega Clones with the Duo Bundle gain SP at an additional 30 SP per minute (for a total of 60 before COG chips). Duo Bundle Clones have no Free SP cap.
A clone's tech level determines the type of skills it can train and what kind of ships it can fly. Tech levels increase after reaching the needed number of skill points listed below - for example, reaching Tech level 3 requires 51000 total earned SP. SP placed into skills do not deduct from your total amount of SP and reaching the next tech level does not reset your total SP back to zero; you retain all SP previously earned.
The table below lists the threshold for each tech level as well as how long it will take to train to that tech level. Extra SP earned, such as from daily log in rewards or weekly maintenance are not factored into this calculation - this is the maximum amount of time to train under the various clone scenarios (in Hours).
| Tech level | Skill points | Time to Level (Alpha) | Time to Level (Basic Omega) | Time to Level (Standard Omega) | Time to Level (Omega Duo) | Time to Level (Omega Duo + 3 COG Chips) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Start | Start | Start | Start | Start |
| 2 | 26000 | 14.4 | 12.4 | 7.9 | 7.2 | 5.8 |
| 3 | 51000 | 28.3 | 24.3 | 15.5 | 14.2 | 11.3 |
| 4 | 110000 | 61.1 | 52.4 | 33.3 | 30.6 | 24.4 |
| 5 | 700000 | 388.9 | 333.3 | 212.1 | 194.4 | 155.6 |
| 6 | 1650000 | 916.7 | 785.7 | 500.0 | 458.3 | 366.7 |
| 7 | 5620000 | 3122.2 | 2676.2 | 1703.0 | 1561.1 | 1248.9 |
| 8 | 12660000 | 7033.3 | 6028.6 | 3836.4 | 3516.7 | 2813.3 |
| 9 | 24950000 | 13861.1 | 11881.0 | 7560.6 | 6930.6 | 5544.4 |
| 10 | 43380000 | 24100.0 | 20657.1 | 13145.5 | 12050.0 | 9640.0 |
Skills are integral to a pilots success in New Eden and serve a number of functions, including a ships defensive capabilities, a weapon's damage and how many minerals you receive when reprocessing ore. Please click the Skills link for a comprehensive list of skills and their function.