An EVE Online player suffered a major $5,000 loss after tempting fate

There are few games that are as “hardcore” as EVE Online. While the game is technically free, players spend years and quite a lot of money investing into their accounts. The game has an endless amount of content and systems to learn, and takes a lot of commitment to master. One player, going by the username “Lactose Intolerant,” suffered a loss that’s unimaginable to many EVE Online players, all because of a few careless decisions. At the end of the ordeal, 16 years and a haul valued at close to $5,000 was gone—forever.

Without diving into the intricate details of the games various systems and mechanics, Lactose Intolerant decided to transport a significant portion of his assets, mostly made up of blueprints, to a nearby trading market. Blueprints are what players can use to build ships, and some of them can be incredibly valuable. So valuable, in fact, that they’re not even priced in the game’s market, because they’re only ever obtained through special deals or contracts. Lactose Intolerant decided to transport their cargo in a ship ill-equipped for the journey, through one of the more notorious hotzones for bandits, and did it all on autopilot—sacrificing mobility in the process.

So where did Lactose Intolerant go wrong? They chose the Orca, which is a ship usually used for mining jobs, for transport, despite it being relatively weak and slow compared to specially equipped transport vessels. If it weren’t for that, they might’ve slipped through homefree. Unfortunately, Lactose Intolerant also shot straight through a path commonly assaulted by would-be bandits, which are often avoided by more experienced players for that exact reason. And to top it off, the veteran player let their ship drive itself, meaning it was far slower to react to the situation.

Once the battle was over, all 800+ blueprints were gone, as well as the entirety of Lactose Intolerant’s fortune. The attackers didn’t even get any of the loot, because high quality loot has a high chance of being destroyed in battle. There’s no recovering the lost goods, nor the lost time. Lactose Intolerant apparently vacated their position in their corporation, and may have quit the game entirely. To be honest, I’d likely do the same. Mistakes happen, but isn’t often that it results in the loss of 16 years worth of hard work.

If you want to read the full story, you can find it here on PCGamer which goes into more detail about how this happened, and what the aftermath was.

Could you handle such an intense defeat? Let us know in the comments below!