Exordium Constellation & Aura Tutorial

When your capsule awakens for the first time, you find yourself inside the Exordium starter constellation—a specialized nursery sector designed by CCP to teach core flight and combat mechanics without the immediate threat of player piracy.

---

The Exordium Safe Constellation Mechanics

The Exordium systems are unique among the 5,000+ star systems in New Eden. They feature specialized environmental rules:

1. Complete Aggression Immunity (1.0 Security): Player-versus-player combat is mechanically disabled in Exordium. Veteran players cannot target lock you, activate offensive modules, or suicide gank your vessel. It is a completely protected nursery.
2. Elevated Station Taxes: To discourage veteran traders from exploiting the safe zone for market trading, sales tax and broker fees on Exordium station market orders are intentionally higher than standard empire stations.
3. The Outbound Shipcaster Transit:
   • Upon finishing your initial training, Aura directs you toward an orbital Shipcaster structure.
   • The Shipcaster launches your ship across interstellar space in a spectacular one-way outbound transit to your faction’s secondary staging system.
   • Can you return? Yes! While the Shipcaster itself is a one-way launcher, you can freely travel back into Exordium manually at any time through the standard stargate network.

Take Your Time in Exordium

Do not rush to trigger the Shipcaster until you have completed Aura’s full instructional dialogue. Once you jump into general highsec space, CONCORD will still protect you from unprovoked assault, but you will no longer enjoy mechanical god-mode immunity.

---

Aura Tutorial Walkthrough (~45 Minutes)

Your AI companion, Aura, guides you through a cinematic storyline introducing the capsuleer interface. Expect this initial onboarding to take approximately 45 minutes:

Phase 1: Waking Up & Capsuleer Navigation

• Camera Controls: Hold Left-Click and drag to rotate your orbital camera. Hold Right-Click and drag to pan across your tactical surroundings. Scroll the mouse wheel to zoom in and out.
• Flight Commands: Double-click any empty point in space to direct your ship toward that heading.
• Target Approach & Align: Right-click celestial objects or wrecks on your Overview window and select Approach (Q + Left Click) or Align To.

Phase 2: Tactical Targeting & Weapon Engagement

• Target Locking: Hold Ctrl and Left-Click an enemy pirate drone on the Overview or directly in space. Your targeting sensors will spin up and lock onto the target.
• Module Activation: Press F1 through F8 to cycle your offensive guns, missile launchers, and defensive modules.
• Optimal Range: Your starter weapons operate best at close range (within 5,000 meters). Practice orbiting targets (W + Left Click) at your weapon’s optimal range to maximize damage while evading incoming fire.

Phase 3: Looting & Salvaging

• After destroying hostile rogue drones, approach the floating shipwreck container within 2,500 meters.
• Open the wreck container from the Selected Item window (Open Cargo) and click Loot All to retrieve valuable civilian components and ammunition.

Phase 4: Fitting Modules & Skill Training

• Dock up at the designated station by selecting it and pressing D.
• Open the Fitting Window (Alt+F). Drag captured or awarded modules from your Item Hangar into available High, Medium, or Low slots.
• Open the Skill Queue (Alt+X). Skills in EVE train in real-time whether you are online or offline. Queue up fundamental navigation, gunnery, and shield/armor defense skills.

Let Aura Finish Her Sentences

A common stumbling block for new players is clicking ahead before Aura has registered an action. Always allow Aura’s voice prompt to finish and wait for the golden objective marker on your screen to update before pressing buttons.

---

The Corvette Strip-and-Repackage Trick

When you dock at any station in New Eden while in your bare escape capsule (pod) and do not own a ship at that station, the station manager automatically grants you a free rookie frigate (an Amarr Impairor, Caldari Ibis, Gallente Velator, or Minmatar Reaper), collectively known as Corvettes.

You can exploit this mechanic to acquire infinite free civilian weapons, mining lasers, and afterburners:

[ Dock in Capsule ]
       ↓
(Free Corvette generated with civilian gun & civilian miner)
       ↓
[ Open Fitting Window (Alt+F) & Strip All Modules to Item Hangar ]
       ↓
[ Right-Click Ship in Ship Hangar → "Leave Ship" ]
       ↓
[ Right-Click Stripped Corvette → "Repackage" ]
       ↓
[ Click Station Button: "Board Corvette" ]
       ↓
(A fresh Corvette spawns with another set of civilian modules!)

Why This Is Useful for Newbies:

1. Free Mining Lasers: Strip 2 to 4 civilian mining lasers so you can fit them to your starter frigate before buying market modules.
2. Free Weapon Sets: Stockpile civilian hybrid blasters or autocannons for sacrificial rookie missions.
3. Reprocessing Minerals: Repackaging and reprocessing multiple corvettes provides a free source of Tritanium and Pyerite to kickstart your first industrial manufacturing runs.