I am still grateful I lucked out finding TNFED and being let in as essentially a newbie 3 years ago. I still feel like a newbie a lot of the time, and I appreciate all the great teams and info from the corp and alliance.
TNF prefers returning and veteran players. Every so often, though, we take a chance on someone newer who is clearly in it for the long haul. Xander Ryn is the best argument we have for doing that. Here are his three years, as far as the record goes.
Year one: the newbie
2023. Xander arrives in TNF "as essentially a newbie," in his own words. There is not much in our archive from this stretch, which is how it should be: year one is for asking questions, undocking, and finding out which of your assumptions about EVE are wrong. (Most of them.)
The corp's philosophy for this year was put best by Odysemus, welcoming another newcomer: "train the things that make your game functional for YOU, not for us, nor the Alliance. Take it all in stages and ask questions." Xander did all of those things, and has not stopped asking. The mentorship Q&A shows what that looks like from the inside.
Year two: finding a role
June 2025. Xander settles into a job most pilots avoid: links pilot, the one who gives the whole fleet its boosts. It is not glamorous, the killmails rarely show it, and it takes good humour. He has plenty. His motto for the rougher days: "Life of a links pilot sometimes."
That same month, on a big alliance call to arms, he logs what he calls his "best kill day ever in Eve."
July 2025. He experiments with a new ratting setup, and describes it as feeling "like a new game." This is a recurring theme with Xander. Three years in, EVE keeps turning out to be several games, and he keeps trying the next one.
August 2025. He finally gets to try a new style of fleet. His report afterwards: "Did two drops and helped with two kills. Fun stuff!"
December 2025. Xander is in the PvP channel theory-crafting new ideas with Motty 007, Pict1on and Kloria. Not every idea makes it into space. TNF loves a pilot who tries anyway.
Year three: the big leagues
April 2026. The newbie of three years earlier undocks a force auxiliary1 for the largest PvP battle in gaming history. The server, as it turned out, had other plans:
I was at least hoping to rep some folks with my first FAX flight, but it did not happen.
A disappointing night. A real milestone. Xander had trained into one of the most demanding support roles in the game, and nobody in TNF counts the disconnect against him. Everyone else was disconnected too.
May 2026. He flies to Reykjavik for Fanfest, joins a glacier tour with EVE devs, posts the "Flags up!" bulletin from the keynote hall, and comes home with a raffle prize he promptly gives away to the Icelanders. His review of the trip: "I really loved Iceland! Stunning vistas, wonderful food, and friendly people. Great to meet folks in person."
June 2026. Three years in, he posts the note at the top of this page.
Later in 2026. When Ardagan Fatal joins TNF, the first person in line to greet him is Xander: "Welcome aboard!"
Year four
Not written yet. On current form, it will involve more boosts, more experiments, and at least one more trip to Iceland.
Somewhere in a welcome post this year, a newer pilot will be told to ask questions and take it in stages. With any luck, the person answering will be the one who, three years ago, was in exactly the same seat.
Notes
A force auxiliary, or FAX, is a capital-class logistics ship built to repair other ships. See Capital ships on the EVE University wiki. Flying one well is a long road, which is the point of this story.↩
