Starter region guideExordium: the new starter region and which exit to take

A region built around Manifest

Exordium is a region of its own: 53 systems with a new 1.0 security level that only they have. Every 1.0 system elsewhere in highsec is 0.9 now. All 53 are within 4 jumps of Manifest, the hub. Manifest has the AIR Trade Center and the region's only stargate out, which leads to Yulai.

The four Accord District constellations around Manifest hold the 12 starter systems. A new character is placed wherever there is room, not by race. Each district has three dead-end systems with one station, 3 jumps from Manifest. Each embassy constellation leads to one empire and ends in that empire's rookie shipcaster, 4 jumps from Manifest and 5 from every dead end.

The rules are the same in all 53 systems. Your safety is locked to green, so you can't shoot another player and nobody can shoot you. There are no war declarations, no faction warfare, no duels and no kill rights. A character with a suspect, criminal or limited engagement timer can't enter or undock until it runs out. Nobody can anchor an Upwell structure, a deployable or a container. Veterans can come in through Yulai, and CCP invites them to meet and recruit new players.

Where the fighting is

NPCs are another matter. In the hour measured, 83 ships were lost in Exordium, all of them to NPCs, and 82 of those losses were in the four embassy constellations. Almost all the NPC kills were there too: 6,078 of 6,523. The Accord districts are where people start and pass through. Manifest had 642 jumps and not a single kill.

ESI only gives kills and jumps for the last hour. These are for the hour before 16:45 UTC on 4 October. One hour is a snapshot, so take the split, not the exact numbers.

Agents in Exordium give level 1 and 2 security and mining missions, plus Sisters of EVE and Paragon missions. CCP added eight new sets of career agents there in June. There are combat, hacking and mining sites and Homefront Operations too, all paying less than they do outside.

What staying costs

Exordium pays less for almost everything, and that is by design:

Mining loses the most. The Veldspar, Scordite and Pyroxeres in Exordium are 0-Grade ores, which give 50% less than the same ore elsewhere, and they also sell for less in Manifest.

Prices are 30-day averages of what traded, to 3 October. In Manifest: Veldspar 0-Grade 2.56 ISK a unit, Scordite 0-Grade 6.70, Pyroxeres 0-Grade 7.12. In Jita: Veldspar 11.29, Scordite 18.59, Pyroxeres 24.44. The same hold is worth a quarter to a third as much in Exordium.

The market works against you too. Some hulls sell for less in Manifest than in Jita, but the modules and probes you buy next cost 1.4 to 2 times as much.

Prices are 30-day averages of what traded in Exordium and in The Forge, to 3 October. For these items Manifest trades between a third and a thirtieth of Jita's daily volume. Minerals sell for more in Manifest because its ore gives half as much, but it trades less than a hundredth of Jita's volume.

Five ways out

There are two kinds of exit. The stargate in Manifest leads to Yulai, and it works both ways: it is also the only way back in. The four rookie shipcasters, one at the far end of each embassy constellation, send you one way into your empire's highsec. Each character can use one only once.

Jumps are ESI routes on 4 October: the shortest one, then the secure one, which stays in highsec. The shipcasters land you in highsec systems next to the faction warfare zones. From Intaki, Amo and Mehatoor the shortest route to Jita runs through lowsec at 0.2 to 0.3. On the EVE forums a player whose character was just over a month old couldn't use a shipcaster. CCP hasn't published an age limit, so check the shipcaster's info window before you count on one.

What matters is where you want to live. Counting from a starter system, the shipcaster saves 7 to 23 jumps to every trade hub except Dodixie, which is 3 jumps past Yulai.

Counted from a dead-end starter system: 3 jumps to Manifest and 1 more to Yulai, or 5 jumps to a shipcaster. Amarr is 37 secure jumps from Yulai because the highsec way around is long. Its shortest route is 15 jumps, but it leaves highsec.

When to leave

You can stay as long as you like. But every hour you spend making ISK in Exordium pays less than it would outside: a fifth less from missions and ratting, and a quarter to a third as much from mining.

Stay while you are learning. Run the career agents, lose a few ships to NPCs, and try mining, scanning and missions to find what you like. Nothing you do there gets you shot by another player.

Leave once you have picked a way to make ISK and can fly a Tech I ship for it. If you mine, the mining barge guide shows what comes after the Venture. If you scan, the exploration guide shows what sites pay outside.

Pick your exit by the trade hub you want to live near. If that is Jita, Amarr, Rens or Hek, use the shipcaster in your first month. For Dodixie, take the gate to Yulai. Either way, set your autopilot to prefer safer routes: three of the four shipcasters land where the shortest route to Jita runs through lowsec.

Can I go back to Exordium after I leave?

Yes, through the stargate in Yulai, which is the only way in. The shipcasters only go out, and each character can use one only once.

Can a veteran or an alt go to Exordium?

Yes. Any character can enter through Yulai, and CCP invites veterans to come and meet new players. Nobody can shoot anybody there, and a character with a suspect, criminal or limited engagement timer has to wait it out first.

Can I be ganked in Exordium?

No. Safety is locked to green, and there are no war declarations, duels or kill rights. NPCs can still destroy your ship, mostly in the four embassy constellations.

Do I have to leave?

No. CCP set no time limit on staying. Only the shipcaster seems to depend on how old your character is.

Is exploration in Exordium worth it?

As practice, yes. Its sites have their own loot tables with lower-value items, so the highsec figures in our exploration guide don't apply there.