The Magic 14

This page lists the 14 fundamental skills which benefit every single ship that a player can pilot in EVE, from a shuttle to a titan. Each of these skills is worthwhile for a new character to train.

Important: This page is NOT intended to be a skill plan. This is a list of "support" skills which impact all the ships you will fly. Training them is important because it will give you an edge, but there is no point training support skills without first training the skills you need to actually USE the ships and modules. We would suggest you get these skills trained up after training the minimal skills required to actually use the ships you want to fly.

EVE University members should consider training the Short Skill Plan and then using the Pyramid Skill Plan.

This page lists only those skills which provide bonuses to all ships regardless of modules, implants or rigs. The starting skill levels listed apply to characters created after the Vanguard patch (September 2015).

The UniWiki has other useful pages for pilots planning their training:

• For a full list of the current skill levels with which new characters begin the game, see Starting skills.
• For in-depth descriptions of skill training mechanics, and discussion of training strategies, consult Skills and learning.
• For a more in-depth look at other fundamental skills you would want to learn as a beginner, consult Basic skills.
• For a list of more advanced skills which benefit many ships see Support skills.
• For skills that make fitting ships easier, see Fitting skills.

Engineering

 CPU Management (1x, 30k ISK)

5% bonus to ship CPU output per skill level. Starting Skill Level: IV - Alpha Clone Limit: V

Basic understanding of spaceship sensory and computer systems.

This skill improves the ability to fit modules which utilize ship CPU enabling more sophisticated modules to be fitted.

 Power Grid Management (1x, 30k ISK)

5% bonus to ship power grid output per skill level. Starting Skill Level: IV - Alpha Clone Limit: V

Basic understanding of spaceship energy grid systems.

This skill improves the ability to fit modules which utilize power grid so modules which consume power can be fitted more easily.

 Capacitor Management (3x, 200k ISK)

5% bonus to capacitor capacity per skill level. Starting Skill Level: III - Alpha Clone Limit: IV

Skill at regulating your ship's overall energy capacity.

This skill improves the maximum capacity of your ship's capacitor which allows active modules to remain active for longer periods of time before the capacitor is fully drained.

 Capacitor Systems Operation (1x, 60k ISK)

5% reduction in capacitor recharge time per skill level. Starting Skill Level: III - Alpha Clone Limit: III

Skill at operating your ship's capacitor, including the use of capacitor boosters and other basic energy modules.

This skill decreases the capacitor recharge time which enables more active modules to remain online for a longer period of time. Sufficient levels of training in this skill will make it easier to fit a ship which is capacitor stable. This means all fitted active modules can remain on indefinitely.

Armor

 Mechanics (1x, 30k ISK)

5% bonus to structure hit points per skill level. Starting Skill Level: II or III, depending on race - Alpha Clone Limit: V

Skill at maintaining the mechanical components and structural integrity of a spaceship.

This skill increases the hit points of your ship's structure, thereby increasing its effective hit points.

 Hull Upgrades (2x, 85k ISK)

5% bonus to armor hit points per skill level. Starting Skill Level: II or III, depending on race - Alpha Clone Limit: V

Skill at maintaining your ship's armor and installing hull upgrades like expanded cargoholds and inertial stabilizers.

This skill increases the hit points of your ship's armor, thereby increasing its total effective hit points. Training this further to V will allow you to fit modules like Multispectrum Energized Membrane II, Explosive Armor Hardener II and the larger T2 plates, which comprise a T2 armor tank.

Shields

 Shield Management (3x, 170k ISK)

5% bonus to shield capacity per skill level. Starting Skill Level: I or II, depending on race - Alpha Clone Limit: IV

Skill at regulating a spaceship's shield systems.

This skill increases the hit points of your ship's shields, thereby increasing its total effective hit points.

 Shield Operation (1x, 55k ISK)

5% reduction in shield recharge time per skill level. Starting Skill Level: I or II, depending on race - Alpha Clone Limit: IV

Skill at operating a spaceship's shield systems, including the use of shield boosters and other basic shield modules.

This skill decreases the time required for your ship's shields to regenerate which helps to mitigate damage during combat as well as enabling faster recovery when the battle is over.

Targeting

 Long Range Targeting (2x, 100k ISK)

5% bonus to targeting range per skill level. Starting Skill Level: I - Alpha Clone Limit: III

Skill at long range targeting.

This skill enables your ship to lock targets at greater distances which can be helpful for kite tanking and sniping.

 Signature Analysis (1x, 100k ISK)

5% improved targeting speed per skill level. Starting Skill Level: I - Alpha Clone Limit: III

Skill at operating targeting systems.

This skill enables your ship to lock targets faster which enables you to quickly apply offensive modules and weapons to a hostile ship. It can mean the difference between whether or not you are successful at tackling a ship before it warps away and escapes.

Navigation

 Navigation (1x, 30k ISK)

5% bonus to sub-warp ship velocity per skill level. Starting Skill Level: III - Alpha Clone Limit: IV

Skill at regulating the power output of ship thrusters.

This skill enables your ship to travel faster at sub-warp speeds which enables you to more effectively chase down fast moving ships, escape more powerful opponents or mitigate damage by speed tanking.

 Evasive Maneuvering (2x, 35k ISK)

5% improved ship agility for all ships per skill level. Starting Skill Level: I - Alpha Clone Limit: III

Skill at regulating the power output of ship thrusters.

This skill improves your ship's agility which enables it to turn, accelerate and enter warp more quickly. It can mean the difference between escaping in a pod or losing expensive [implant]]s.

 Warp Drive Operation (1x, 45k ISK)

Each skill level reduces the capacitor need of initiating warp by 10%. Starting Skill Level: I - Alpha Clone Limit: III

Skill at managing warp drive efficiency.

This skill reduces the capacitor usage when entering warp which can be helpful when traveling across larger systems, especially when warping large ships into a combat scenario. When arriving at a battle it is best to have as much remaining capacitor as possible. Exceptionally large systems, such as some wormhole systems, can cause ships to cap out, forcing your ship to drop out of warp before it arrives at your chosen destination.

Spaceship Command

 Spaceship Command (1x, 30k ISK)

2% improved ship agility for all ships per skill level. Starting Skill Level: III - Alpha Clone Limit: IV

The basic operation of spaceships.

This skill improves your ship's agility which enables it to turn, accelerate and enter warp more quickly. It can mean the difference between escaping in a pod or losing expensive implants.

Notes

Conceptual credit goes to Apollyons One.

For the original post and additional discussion see EVE University Forum: The Magic 14.