The Massive Newbie Merchant FAQ (by Dryad)

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How does one become a merchant?

Merchant is a guild like any other, in that you choose a background (civilized)
and a race (often dwarf or human for young merchants) then join the merchant guild.
The guild joining room is located 1 east of the general store in Bat City.  There
are two paths to becoming a merchant:

1) You can start as a merchant and stay one, working your way up the levels and 
   making money.  This is not recommended, since merchanting isn't considered a 
   newbie guild -- it is very difficult to make money or experience with low levels 
   in the merchant guild. 

2) You can reincarnate into a civilized merchant from some other background.
   The main reason to do this is because merchants don't start out powerful. 
   They don't get many skills (other then what comes with the civilized background), 
   and they can't kill well in the guild.  Newbies often ask what level they should
   be or how much experience they should have before going merchant.  There's no simple 
   answer, but I'd would say only consider merchant after you're easily into your
   40's (level-wise).  For the bare minimal functional skills as a miner-slave 
   merchant, you'd probably need 8-10m exp.  


Where do I join and train?

After you have maxed your racial guild, join the merchant's guild in the bazaar. 
The bazaar is 1 east of the general shop in the northwest quadrant of Bat City. 

You can train merchant skills and spells in these locations: 

Directly above the bazaar in BC (go up from the joining room).  
  Basic skills and spells. 
Candle Makers (1 north of the general store) 
  Make torchs, light related skills and spells.
Prospector's Shack (along the road between BC and OBC)
  Mine, double mine, lumberjack, plantlore, etc.  
Butcher Shop (northwest BC)
  Attack skill, axes.  Tinning and other skills.
Smithy (1n from the weapons shop in BC)
  Fighting skills, prots, blacksmithing, leather craft, skin corpse, etc. 
Hardware Store (northwest BC)
Bakery
Hospital
Law Office
Shipyard
Tailor Shop


What is plastic surgery?

Surgery is a very simple and risk-free way for a newbie merchant to earn some cash.
All it takes is the plastic surgery skill (help skill plastic surgery) to raise a
player's charisma to 80.  Raising charisma from 80 to 100 requires that you have some
silicon in your inventory.  

The surgery victim needs to be free of scars before you can perform plastic surgery.  
(Yes, I agree.. that makes no sense).  So check your victim first and remove any scars
with the remove scar spell (help spell remove scar).  

You can do surgery with a fairly low skill percentage.  Of course, you'll fail more often
than you'd like, and you may try your victim's patience.  But at least this is one 
merchant skill that it is possible for an exp-limited newbie merchant to succeed at.


Should I use divine silicon for surgery?

When you do surgery with silicon, use raw silicon.  There's no difference between 
refined and raw when it comes to surgery.  Each time you use the skill when the victim's
charisma is over 80, the skill burns 2kg of silicon.  


How do I do prots and fws?

First locate a customer.  Usually you do this by advertising on sales that you provide
merch services.  Also, you may see people asking on wanted for services.  You have 3 unique
prot spells:  protect armour, protect weapon, and protect item.  You have one fw (feather weight) 
spell that acts on all classes of artifacts (eq, weapons, and items). 

For prots and fws, your customer will hand you the items and give you directions.  For example, 
"prot all armours and also fw that breastplate".   You cast the spells while holding the items 
in your inventory. The syntaxes are:

     cast protect armour at _________
     cast protect weapon at _________
     cast protect item at   _________
     cast feather weight at _________

Since these are spells you will cast often, you may want to set up commands.  
Here are examples of how this can be done:

     'prota' is a command-alias to 'cast protect armour at $*'.
     'protw' is a command-alias to 'cast protect weapon at $*'.
     'proti' is a command-alias to 'cast protect item at $*'.
     'fw' is a command-alias to 'cast feather weight at $*'


What skills/spells do I train for prots?

You need to have your spells as high as possible before you start providing prots to players.
Low-quality prots drop quickly and do a poor job of protecting equipment.  

To cast prots, you'll need these skills and spells:  cast generic, cast transformation, KoM 
(knowledge of metamorphosis), and KoI (knowledge of identification).  The prot spells are 
wis-dependent, so it helps to boost your wis with equipment.  As a rule of thumb, don't claim 
"quality prots" unless you have all the skills at 95-100%.  


Can I damage a customer's eq by handling it?

Absolutely, yes.  When your holding someone's valuable eq, it can take random rot damage.  This 
damage can be permanent.  Often a highbie will have a fully named set (as in each item has that 
player's name on it), meaning that the eq will not take permanent damage while in that player's 
possession. However, as soon as that player passes eq to you, it is possible for it to incur 
permanent damage.  For this reason, you'll often have your customers pass you one item at a time.  
If they hand you the whole set at once, each item is vulnerable to damage.

To minimize risk of damage to the items, I always prot items first before going on to do fws and 
repairs. This may seem trivial (and perhaps paranoid), but I assure you it is not.


How do I get started with mining?

The outerworld is peppered with deposits of various material types, including gems, metals, stone, 
and glasses.  It also has trees scattered throughout that can be chopped down with the lumberjacking 
skill to produce the wood-type materials.  You'll need a few skills in order to harvest the materials.

   * mining - help skill mining - allows you to mine materials from deposits.  This should be trained 
     as high as you can afford.  It fails a lot, even at 100% skill, so put a lot of exp towards it to 
     minimize failure.  The mining skill is what allows you to identify material types; at low skill %, 
     you will not be able to identify many of the deposits you come across.  Identification of a 
     diamond deposit, for example, requires a skill of 95%.
   
   * lumberjacking - help skill lumberjacking - allows you to chop down trees.  Increased skill means 
     increased yields from each tree you chop.  Trees hold between 1 and 9 logs of wood per tree, with 
     some types tending towards larger yields.  EP drain increases with the number of logs, so that 
     chopping a large tree takes more EP than a small one.

   * plant lore - help skill plant lore - allows you to identify tree types.  There are 9 different 
     types of wood found in trees: birch, mahogany, mallorn, maple, ebony, elm, oak, cedar, and 'wood'.  
     Several tree types can be chopped to yield 'wood':  apple, elder, holly, pear, pine, and plum. 
     Shinarae added some new trees and plants recently; there may be new types I haven't yet explored.
   
   * double mine - help skill double mine - 

   * support skills (koi etc)


How do I build a mine shaft?

Grab a log of wood, any flavor.  Then use the command

     use carpentry at build supports use ______ (ebony,wood,etc)

If you want to set a command, you can use the format

     command shaft use carpentry at build supports use $*


When and why should I use a mine shaft?

Use a shaft anytime that you're concerned about your safety.  Mining becomes
dangerous when you fall below 16 kg in a deposit.  If the material is
common or of low value, miners often quit the deposit at this point.  However,
if you're mining something valuable like diamond or dragonscale, it's probably 
worth the trouble to chop a tree and build a shaft in order to get the remaining
few kgs in the deposit.  Also, as you near 0 kgs, you have a chance of striking 
a new vein and getting more material from the deposit.

If you choose not to shaft and continue mining below the safety limit of around 
16 kgs, several nasty things can happen.  Mines flood, and the water hampers 
your continued mining and can carry away materials or items that are on the ground.
Mines collapse, injuring or killing you.  Sometimes, grues pop up.. these are small
but aggressive critters.  Pesky and annoying but not too dangerous, they do make it
tough to finish mining out a deposit.

Also, I haven't tested this, but it seems that the type of wood used in shafting
makes a difference in the strength of the shaft.  If this is true, a wood like ebony
would build a stronger, safer, and possibly longer-lasting shaft than one of the
weaker woods like "wood" or cedar.  I find that if I shaft too soon, say at 50+ kgs
left in the deposit, the shaft will take a lot of wear-and-tear before I get down
to the point at which I really need the shaft.  So I wait to shaft until I reach 
15-30 kgs left in the deposit.

 
What are the chest sizes/names?

      1 slot:  tiny box 
      2 slot:  small box 
      3 slot:  crate 
      4 slot:  large crate 
      5 slot:  classical chest 
      6 slot:  chest 
      7 slot:  small sailor chest
      8 slot:  big sailor chest 
      9 slot:  safe
     10 slot:  massive safe
     11 slot:  large vault 
     12 slot:  gargantuan vault 


What are the stages of chest creation?

The basic structure is forming up.
It slightly resembles a chest.
It is missing a lid.
It is still quite shaky.
It looks like a small chest but it could be so much more.
It does not look quite safe yet.
The base looks strong now but lid is still quite weak.
The chest is looking much larger.
The construction looks bigger and bigger. 
The structure is now stronger than ever before.
The chest looks big enough to hold out several equipments.
The extra material has made the chest almost impossible to breach.
The chest construction looks quite large and safe. 
The extra material in support-structure quarantees quality.
The chest looks just perfect and there is very little unfinished.
The construction looks very big and sturdy. 


What are the stages of chest reinforcement?

The reinforcement looks totally incomplete.
The reinforcement is still quite weak.
The structure looks much stronger because of the reinforcement.
The reinforcement still lacks quality.
The reinforcement looks fine but it could be improved.
The reinforced chest looks quite sturdy now.
It would be a pain to force through the reinforcements.
Just a final touch and the reinforcement is fully complete.


What are the stages of chest LOCK creation?

The lock looks totally incomplete.
It slightly resembles a chest lock but much needs to be done.
The basic structure is forming up quite nicely.
The inner structure looks almost completed.
The lock still lacks all the rolls.
The lock looks somewhat ready.
It looks like a primary lock but it could be so much more.
The extra material in mechanism should pay off.
The lock looks very complicated.
It looks very strong, almost impossible to break.
The mechanism is now stronger than before. 
The quality of lock is very high but dials could be more sturdy.
The lock looks extremely strong and supreme quality.
The lock looks incredible strong and divine quality.


What are the stages of chest TRAP creation?

(this list is missing a few and may be out-of-order, I'll fix sometime)

The trap is forming up.
The outer structure looks strong enough.
The mechanish looks somewhat trimmed.
The structure is now sturdy but small in size.
The triggering device looks sophisticated.
It looks like a basic trap but it could be so much more.
It is a clever and nasty looking trap.
The trap is complex and more protected against disarming.
It looks very small yet lethal machine.
It is an awesome trap but it could be superb.
It is a superb trap by your standards.


How do I get a merchant tool belt?

Acquiring the merchant belt is the first step along the long path to becoming a 
master merchant.  Once you have the belt, you complete two tiers of quests in order 
to be called 'master'.  To get a belt, hit a newbie area where you can dispatch the
critters in a few rounds (diggas and newbie mountain are popular).  Kill and use 
fresh pants or leather crafting on the corpses.  After a while, usually between 1 and
100 corpses, you'll luck out and get a small leather belt.  Take this belt back to BC 
and present it to ____ in the ____ shop to begin your merchant belt questing.


How does a small crystalline mineral box and a small shiny box differ from each other?

The crystalline boxes preserve the fws on any materials stored inside them.  With regular
mineral boxes, the fws expire, potentially causing the box to be too heavy to lift.  If the
too-heavy box is in a chest, the trick to getting it out is to over-fill the chest with other
things then close the lid.  Do this until your mineral box pops out onto the ground.

Crystalline boxes (10 slot) sell for 120k new in the alch guild, wherease regular mineral boxes
cost only 24k for a 10 slot.


What is contract mining?

Contract mining is when one merchant mines for another merchant.  The hiring merchant will
specify what materials are needed, and both merchants will agree on a rate.  Typical rates are 
200-300 gold/raw kg, but rates vary widely.  

 

Other stuff to be addressed: 

delv:  you might want to add that you can damage an item/armour/weapon wiht the 
repair skill to on, can i damge customers equipment

aloysha: another suggestion on surgery, is that plastic surgery skill by itself 
will raise cha until it hits 76+, in order to operate on someone with cha of 76+ you'll need silicon

aloysha: also might want to suggest that it's really not worth studying 
protect item, since so few people will ask for it, you'd be better off 
investing in another skill or spell


[23:22]:Aloysha [merchant]: why does KoI matter for protection spells?
[23:23]:Dryad [merchant]: hmn it does?  :)
[23:23]:Dryad [merchant]: I just did a show spells information, and it doesn't show those as calling on it
[23:24]:Aloysha [merchant]: you just have KoI listed as an important skill for prots
[23:24]:Dryad [merchant]: hah wonder where i pulled that from :)
[23:24]:Aloysha [merchant]: was news to me :D


[23:24]:Delveling (merchant): could give them a guide maybe
[23:24]:Delveling (merchant): train a,b,c,d,e and your set for newbie start

(23:40) Aloysha tells you 'also I think your explanation of crystalline mineral boxes could use some clarification'
(23:41) Aloysha tells you 'putting a fw'd item in a crystallin box weighs the same as putting the non-fw'd item in a normal box'
(23:41) Aloysha tells you 'ie I fw a log, put it in crystalline box, weighs 6.3'
(23:41) Aloysha tells you 'take log out of crystalline, put it in normal box, normal weighs 6.6 (slight difference due to box weights)'
(23:42) Aloysha tells you 'the only thing the crystalline box does, is that when I take the material out of the box, it's still fw'd'
(23:42) Aloysha tells you 'whereas if I take it out of the normal box, it will have lost it's fw'

(23:44) Aloysha tells you 'also a suggested section:  Don't try to do everything at once, specialize in one-two things, do it very well, then start in another...'

Aloysha tells you 'probably wouldn't hurt to give a brief explanation of why dwarf and human are popular choices?'
  ... "What races are good for newbie merchant?" and why...

Aloysha tells you 'Oh, I know ... what bench do I put X in'
   (point to my page that lists most materials)


Aloysha tells you 'maybe suggest gemcutting and blacksmithing as other ways to make money for newbie merchants'



[18:10]:Stormax [merchant]: does the material have to be divine for aweomse repairs ?
[18:10]:Hannibal [merchant]: yes
[18:10]:Stormax [merchant]: ok cheers
[18:13]:Stormax [merchant]: can you do awwesome repairs with repair at 75 ?
[18:13]:Dryad [merchant]: not likely
[18:14]:Stormax [merchant]: what do you need ?
Hp:603/603 Sp:755/755 Ep:353/353 >
Malacoda [merchant]: you need 80 to get it to awe, and higher to get it to better awe. :D
Info: Azhuul left the game.

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