Some questions about the game's player-driven economy.

Zombocalypse

I played Final Fantasy XIV for five years and basically did everything that game had to offer. How that game works is that the "Disciples of the Land" characters are ultimately the very foundations of the entire economy, with exceptions to those players who do end game treasure maps who are basically playing RNG lottery with incredibly valuable loot.

I guess... For ESO, I'm just figuring out how it all works. Which type of players obtain the items a lot of players really seek out? What are these items? Is any player who wants to be an integral part of the economy in need of becoming a crafter? Because you never had to in FFXIV as long as you are able to reach end game content and do those treasure maps.

I heard some people here talk about how public dungeons often drop good stuff. What about those?

Thanks.

Toanis

First, ESO has no global auction house, aside from finding a buyer in chat and meeting in person, you need to join a guild to have access to a guild store. In the store you can just buy items from that one guild. For players outside the guild to have access to the store, your guild needs to hire a NPC vendor.

These vendors are hired via a weekly auction, meaning the more prominent the location the higher the costs for the vendor, and since your guild gets a part of the sales tax to fund the next vendor auction, they care a lot about how much you sell. Don't expect much camaraderie from a big trading guild.

As in most MMOs, the big things to sell are for endgame, be it min maxing your raid performance, dressing up or decorationg your house, everyone needs buff potions, furniture, crafting plans or raw materials. There are also tradable skins, pets toys etc. that drop randomly in some content, but farming those to sell them seems a waste of precious gaming time.

spartaxoxo

I have had plenty of camaraderie in most of my trade guilds personally, but there's also some that are more quiet. I can't speak to if that's common on PC. I know on PC they can track sales but not on console. You don't need a large trading guild to make coin either. Just keep in mind that people go to the smaller locations for better deals and that smaller guilds may not be as reliable at securing a trader. Big traders often have fees, you can join small ones for free. Talk at your own discretion.

As for making money, crafting is the easiest way to make it. The crafting dailies provide coin each day all by itself, and it gives you surveys for materials you can sell. There's no getting around that.

But, if you really don't want to do crafting, you could also sell motifs from dungeons and trials. You can sell also achievement drops from public dungeons. You can steal and sell off stuff you get from that. The bound treasures you vendor to npcs, sell to players the nicer items. And you can also sell furnishing plans from a variety of sources. Those aren't as quick as crafting at making money in my personal experience, but they are way more fun.

Ph1p

Zombocalypse wrote: »

Which type of players obtain the items a lot of players really seek out? What are these items? Is any player who wants to be an integral part of the economy in need of becoming a crafter?

The most commonly traded items are crafting materials, such as alchemy ingredients (e.g., Columbine), raw and refined materials from harvesting nodes (e.g., Platinum Dust and Platinum Ounce), or improvement items (e.g., Dreugh Wax or Chromium Plating).

The crafting route means that you sell craftable sets or specific furniture. That requires more long-term research of all the item traits, investment into skill points, and learning the right crafting recipes. It can be profitable, but you need to have a good view on what items are in high demand and how high your material costs are, so definitely not something I'd recommend to new players.

As a starting player, your easiest way is probably to farm and sell crafting materials. Alchemy in particular is easy and doesn't require many skill points, except maybe for the passive that highlights harvesting nodes so they're easier to find. The other crafting lines (blacksmithing, clothing, woodworking, jewelry, and enchanting) all require additional skill points so you can reliably farm the highest level materials (Rubedite Ore, Rubedo Hide Scraps, Raw Ancestor Silk, Platinum Dust, Rough Ruby Ash).

Some people farm public dungeons for tradable drops, such as collectible fragments or drops from treasure chests, which are very abundant in some of them. The latter include rare paintings, certain treasure maps, and others. I'd say it can be an alternative, just be aware that it is more dependent on RNG.

Zombocalypse

spartaxoxo wrote: »

I have had plenty of camaraderie in most of my trade guilds personally, but there's also some that are more quiet. I can't speak to if that's common on PC. I know on PC they can track sales but not on console. You don't need a large trading guild to make coin either. Just keep in mind that people go to the smaller locations for better deals and that smaller guilds may not be as reliable at securing a trader. Big traders often have fees, you can join small ones for free. Talk at your own discretion.

As for making money, crafting is the easiest way to make it. The crafting dailies provide coin each day all by itself, and it gives you surveys for materials you can sell. There's no getting around that.

But, if you really don't want to do crafting, you could also sell motifs from dungeons and trials. You can sell also achievement drops from public dungeons. You can steal and sell off stuff you get from that. The bound treasures you vendor to npcs, sell to players the nicer items. And you can also sell furnishing plans from a variety of sources. Those aren't as quick as crafting at making money in my personal experience, but they are way more fun.

I already came to terms with things and recently decided I’ll be crafting and doing writs.

I guess what I am mainly worried about is doing daily writs in a span of months, accumulating tons of money and then realizing there’s nothing to really buy from other players and that gold in this game is essentially meaningless other than hoarding them.

Tandor

Zombocalypse wrote: »

spartaxoxo wrote: »

I have had plenty of camaraderie in most of my trade guilds personally, but there's also some that are more quiet. I can't speak to if that's common on PC. I know on PC they can track sales but not on console. You don't need a large trading guild to make coin either. Just keep in mind that people go to the smaller locations for better deals and that smaller guilds may not be as reliable at securing a trader. Big traders often have fees, you can join small ones for free. Talk at your own discretion.

As for making money, crafting is the easiest way to make it. The crafting dailies provide coin each day all by itself, and it gives you surveys for materials you can sell. There's no getting around that.

But, if you really don't want to do crafting, you could also sell motifs from dungeons and trials. You can sell also achievement drops from public dungeons. You can steal and sell off stuff you get from that. The bound treasures you vendor to npcs, sell to players the nicer items. And you can also sell furnishing plans from a variety of sources. Those aren't as quick as crafting at making money in my personal experience, but they are way more fun.

I already came to terms with things and recently decided I’ll be crafting and doing writs.

I guess what I am mainly worried about is doing daily writs in a span of months, accumulating tons of money and then realizing there’s nothing to really buy from other players and that gold in this game is essentially meaningless other than hoarding them.

That's why I've never got involved in trading, and only ever do writs if they're required for the Endeavours (writs qualify as "quests"). I craft fully on all my characters but purely for their self-sufficiency and because I've always enjoyed crafting.

Zombocalypse

Tandor wrote: »

Zombocalypse wrote: »

spartaxoxo wrote: »

I have had plenty of camaraderie in most of my trade guilds personally, but there's also some that are more quiet. I can't speak to if that's common on PC. I know on PC they can track sales but not on console. You don't need a large trading guild to make coin either. Just keep in mind that people go to the smaller locations for better deals and that smaller guilds may not be as reliable at securing a trader. Big traders often have fees, you can join small ones for free. Talk at your own discretion.

As for making money, crafting is the easiest way to make it. The crafting dailies provide coin each day all by itself, and it gives you surveys for materials you can sell. There's no getting around that.

But, if you really don't want to do crafting, you could also sell motifs from dungeons and trials. You can sell also achievement drops from public dungeons. You can steal and sell off stuff you get from that. The bound treasures you vendor to npcs, sell to players the nicer items. And you can also sell furnishing plans from a variety of sources. Those aren't as quick as crafting at making money in my personal experience, but they are way more fun.

I already came to terms with things and recently decided I’ll be crafting and doing writs.

I guess what I am mainly worried about is doing daily writs in a span of months, accumulating tons of money and then realizing there’s nothing to really buy from other players and that gold in this game is essentially meaningless other than hoarding them.

That's why I've never got involved in trading, and only ever do writs if they're required for the Endeavours (writs qualify as "quests"). I craft fully on all my characters but purely for their self-sufficiency and because I've always enjoyed crafting.

In my other MMO, having in-game currency actually has advantages. Some items that other players can procure are worth a lot. And houses are worth a ridiculous amount.

spartaxoxo

Zombocalypse wrote: »

spartaxoxo wrote: »

I have had plenty of camaraderie in most of my trade guilds personally, but there's also some that are more quiet. I can't speak to if that's common on PC. I know on PC they can track sales but not on console. You don't need a large trading guild to make coin either. Just keep in mind that people go to the smaller locations for better deals and that smaller guilds may not be as reliable at securing a trader. Big traders often have fees, you can join small ones for free. Talk at your own discretion.

As for making money, crafting is the easiest way to make it. The crafting dailies provide coin each day all by itself, and it gives you surveys for materials you can sell. There's no getting around that.

But, if you really don't want to do crafting, you could also sell motifs from dungeons and trials. You can sell also achievement drops from public dungeons. You can steal and sell off stuff you get from that. The bound treasures you vendor to npcs, sell to players the nicer items. And you can also sell furnishing plans from a variety of sources. Those aren't as quick as crafting at making money in my personal experience, but they are way more fun.

I already came to terms with things and recently decided I’ll be crafting and doing writs.

I guess what I am mainly worried about is doing daily writs in a span of months, accumulating tons of money and then realizing there’s nothing to really buy from other players and that gold in this game is essentially meaningless other than hoarding them.

Most of the things to spend it on are fashion and housing imo. I'd just do enough to afford any upgrade materials and potions you need if neither of those interest you.

Stuff like mounts and gear are earned through gameplay and bound to you.

Dreameira

In my other MMO, having in-game currency actually has advantages. Some items that other players can procure are worth a lot. And houses are worth a ridiculous amount.

It's not that different in ESO I'd say. All depends on what you're interested in. Housing gets very expensive. If you raid regularly, you'll be in want of lots of potions and gear so you may want to be buying materials for those. If you're into fashion, you'll want style motifs, etc.