Creating an avatar is free and takes a few minutes. Two of the choices you make are permanent, and the rest are cosmetic or reversible, so it is worth knowing which is which before you click through.
Registering
You register an account on the Entropia Universe website, download the client and install it. The client is a large download and patches frequently, so allow time for the first launch.
An account holds one avatar. Multiple avatars per person are not permitted, and because real money moves through the system, the account is tied to a verified identity rather than an email address alone. Take the verification seriously: an unverified account runs into limits later, particularly around withdrawing.
Your avatar name is permanent
Your name has three parts: a first name, a nickname shown in quotes, and a surname. Together they identify you to every other player, on every planet, forever.
Avatar names cannot be changed. The nickname is the part people will actually call you, so treat it as the real decision. Things worth thinking about:
- It is the name attached to every trade you ever make, and reputation in a real cash economy is worth having.
- It appears in global messages when you get a large loot, so it becomes public.
- Names that read as a joke at the start of a hobby tend not to age well over years.
Choosing a starting planet
You pick a planet to land on. This is not permanent: you can travel between planets later, and your avatar carries its skills, items and PED with it.
Most new players should start on Planet Calypso. It is the oldest planet, has the largest population, the deepest wiki coverage, the most active markets, and the most other people around to answer a question. Starting somewhere quieter is a reasonable choice once you know what you are doing, and a lonely one before that.
The planets describes what each one is like.
Appearance
Appearance is chosen at creation and can be changed later at a style shop for a fee, so nothing here is locked in. Spend as long as you like, but do not agonise: nobody else is looking closely, and every avatar spends most of its time inside armour anyway.
The first thing to do in game
New avatars start in a tutorial area with a set of introductory missions. Do them. They are short, they hand you the basic controls, and they give you a small amount of starting equipment and a first taste of the loot loop.
More importantly, they are the safest place to learn the interface. Once you leave, everything you do costs something.
Your first hours picks up from there.
Things to be careful about immediately
Because the currency is real, the game attracts the same people who target any real-money system. Two rules from the first minute:
- Nobody legitimate will ever ask for your password. Not support, not a society recruiter, not a helpful stranger. MindArk staff do not ask for it either.
- Enable two-factor authentication on your account as soon as you have one. An account with a balance and items in it is worth stealing.
Trading safely covers the rest of the common scams. Read it before your first real trade, not after.