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EVE Newbies

Application, ESI Screening & Safe Exit

When applying to an established corporation in EVE Online, you will almost certainly be asked to log in through a third-party authentication portal (such as SeAT, Alliance Auth, or HR tools) using ESI.

For players coming from other MMOs, this requirement sounds terrifying—many rookies fear their account is being hacked or their credentials compromised.

Here is the truth about how ESI works, how to protect your privacy, and how to safely exit a corporation when you are ready to move on.

1. What Is ESI (EVE Swagger Interface)?

ESI is CCP Games’ official, secure application programming interface (API) built on standard OAuth 2.0 protocols. When you authenticate through an alliance website:

  • You log in directly on the official login.eveonline.com website.
  • The corporation or alliance never receives your username or password.
  • Instead, CCP generates a temporary cryptographic access token that grants the recruitment system read-only access to specific in-game data scopes.

What Recruiters CAN See:

  • In-Game Assets: Ships, modules, and items located across stations and citadels.
  • Wallet Journal & Transactions: Your in-game ISK transfers, market purchases, and sales history.
  • Public & Private Contracts: Courier packages, item exchanges, and auctions.
  • Skill Queue & Injected Skills: Your current training queue and trained skill levels.
  • Character Locations & Clones: Current system docking location and jump clone locations.

What Recruiters CANNOT See:

How to Revoke ESI Authorizations

You retain complete control over your authorized apps. Whenever you leave a corporation, you can instantly revoke all access permissions:

  1. Visit CCP’s official developer management portal at: https://developers.eveonline.com/authorized-apps
  2. Log in with your EVE Online account.
  3. Review the list of third-party websites and tools.
  4. Click Revoke next to any corporation or alliance portal you no longer fly with. Access is terminated instantly.

2. Avoiding Looking Like a Spy

EVE Online is legendary for corporate espionage and infiltration. Recruitment officers (known as HR directors) inspect every applicant’s ESI data to ensure they are not a hostile spy alt:

  • Empty Wallets & Fresh Characters: Ironically, having a completely empty wallet with 0 transactions and 0 assets looks more suspicious than having normal rookie clutter. Spies often create blank characters to hide their main account connections.
  • Be Honest in Your Discord Interview: If you played 3 years ago on another character or have an alt in another faction, disclose it during your Discord interview. Recruiters have sophisticated cross-referencing tools; catching an applicant in a lie guarantees an instant permanent blacklist.
  • Participate in Comms: Spies typically stay silent on voice comms. Being friendly, introducing yourself in rookie chat, and joining beginner fleets immediately dispels suspicion.

3. Safe Corporation Exit & Evacuation Protocol

Eventually, you may outgrow your starter corporation or decide to move to a different region of New Eden. Never drop roles or leave a corporation impulsively while your valuable assets are docked in player-owned Upwell Citadels.

Follow this Safe Exit Protocol:

[ Step 1: Repackage & Liquidate Bulky Items Locally ]
                         ↓
[ Step 2: Courier Valuable Small Loot to Jita 4-4 ]
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[ Step 3: Trigger Upwell Citadel Asset Safety if Deep in Nullsec ]
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[ Step 4: Fly Expensive Clone Implants to Empire in an Interceptor/Frigate ]
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[ Step 5: Reset Home Station to Starter School Station (Character Sheet) ]
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[ Step 6: Click "Drop Roles" & "Quit Corporation" ]
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[ Step 7: Revoke ESI Access at developers.eveonline.com/authorized-apps ]

Understanding Upwell Citadel Asset Safety

If your corporation stages out of player-owned structures (Astrahus, Fortizar, Keepstar):

  • If the structure is unanchored, destroyed, or your docking access is revoked after leaving, your assets are not lost forever.
  • You can right-click your items in the structure and select “Move to Asset Safety”.
  • After 21 days (or instantly for a small fee if transferred within the same system), CCP safely transports your containers to the nearest Lowsec or Highsec empire NPC station.
  • You then pay a standard 0.5% to 15% recovery fee to release the goods safely in empire space.

Resetting Your Home Medical Station

Before quitting your corporation, open your Character Sheet (Alt+A), click the Home Station tab, and click “Set to School Station”.

This guarantees that if your ship or pod is destroyed after leaving, your medical clone will awaken safely back in your empire starter academy system rather than in hostile deep space!