Personal contact in the first hour will sharply reduce the number of players who quit in the first two hours. That may not keep them in for good, but the positive impression made in that first hour is likely to keep them in
EU longer, hopefully long enough for them to want to log-in again tomorrow ... and the day after ...
Great move
Written guides, forums, references are useful, but most people don't read them initially. They only do spend some time reading after they have developed an interest in
EU.
When I chat with newcomers, I always give them links to the forum and such. And it never fails: The ones who do return the next day invariably ask me about the forum link I mentionned the day before
