How to Make Money (EQ2)
See also: Buying and Selling on the Market
Starting a game with your pocketbook and bank account empty is never fun. Sometimes you struggle due to lackluster gear since you can't afford new shiny equipment and the enjoyment of the game begins to drain away. Other times maybe you want to save up for something special, such as a new guild hall, but just can't seem to get there.
That's what we're here to help with!
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Keep Questing!
Questing is the lifeblood of EQ2, and almost every quest rewards money. As you hit higher level quests, the monetary rewards will get larger, so always keep on with questing. Early on, a quick way to earn some coin is by heading out to the Isle of Mara to begin the Gathering Obsession series. Each quest (there are 9 in total that work through a wide range of levels) will award you at least 17g to 18g .
Antique treasure!
While out questing, you'll be running into plenty of monsters ripe for the picking. Sometimes they'll drop coins or trinkets that have no purpose other than to help you earn some money. Items which state that they are "looted X treasure" (ie: precious, antique, etc) will always sell for a reasonable amount to your local NPC vendors.
Be Self-Sufficient
Other professions can be equally beneficial to your character. Carpenters create house items, strong boxes and various types of merchant crates that can be used on the broker. Tailors create cloth and leather equipment, backpacks, cloaks and bags for ammunition. Armorers create shields as well as chain and plate armor. Weaponsmiths create... well, metal weapons! Provisioners create long lasting (and stat boosting!) food and drink. Woodworkers create wooden weapons, ammunition, bucklers and totems.
However, not everyone likes crafting, and that's where seeking out help from others comes into play. Not everyone can afford the prices charged on broker for their armor or other needs. If, for example, you want a full set of feysteel plate armor, do your research on which components you'll need, harvest them and purchase the fuel, and then bargain whatever you can afford for a tip (if you don't have much money, perhaps offer an extra rare you got while harvesting or a stack of extra raws). The Crafting chat channel is handy for finding the appropriate crafter!
Need a mount but don't have the money? All starting zones now have 25% movement speed mounts. Also, you can obtain up to three different 40% movement speed mounts (20 charges on each that last for 24 hours per charge) during the Moonlight Enchantments (two from the Greater Faydark grotto, one from Antonica) -- each Moonlight mount only costs one token which you can get from the grotto quests, which makes them free. In comparison, a 40% non-status mount from the city stablehands would cost you 9p .
One Man's Junk...
...is another man's treasure, of course!
While adventuring, you're going to acquire a lot of items. Some of these might end up being equipment or ability upgrades. Some might be tradeable, and some won't. Generally, whatever you don't plan on utilizing, whether on your own character, an alt or by giving to a guildie or friend, is probably considered junk to you.
Usually this "junk" can earn you some money--and we don't mean from an NPC vendor. Plenty of players are waiting to buy the junk in your trunk.. er, backpack!
- Transmuting: Everyone has the ability to Transmute in their knowledge book. Early on you'll find out you can only transmute up to level 5 equipment until you get more skill in it. As you work your way through newbie areas (or maybe revisit some at a higher level), transmute all that no-trade equipment you don't want to use. If you aren't interested in picking up Adorning as a secondary skill, sell the broken down components on the broker!
- Raw Harvests: Place on the broker any extra raw harvests you have, especially rares!
- Treasured Items: Every once in a while you'll get a nice treasure chest from a mob, only to find out that the item or ability inside of it is not useful to you. Throw those items up on the broker and someone who needs it will snag it! Transmuters especially love to snatch up Tier 1 (levels 1-10) items on broker.
- Extra Shinies: After you've used a collection shiny, you're bound to find it again.. probably far too many times. When you no longer have a use for it, don't destroy it--check its value on the broker first. Some of them likely won't have much value and should be vendored instead. There might be a pleasant surprise in store for you when a seemingly worthless shiny nets a small fortune.
- Live Event Items: If you're not much of a house decorator, plenty of other people will be and this can be your edge. Monthly events like City Festivals and Moonlight Enchantments reward mainly house items in exchange for token currency earned for participating in their event quests. In particular, items such as floor tiles are in higher demand on many servers. There are also shinies that only appear during these events, and it is usually profitable to sell extras of these.
- Quested House Items: Some adventuring quests reward tradeable house items (good places early on for this is Darklight Wood and Frostfang Sea), and if you don't want 'em, sell 'em on broker!
- Status Loot: Sell your extra status loot items! This includes the Amulets, Relics, Scrying Stones and Sealed Documents that are body drops from mobs. If your guild has out-leveled them or you simply have no use for them, sell them to other players.
- Lore & Legend Body Parts: Some of these may not be worth much, but several that are harder to obtain (such as the siren song or nightblood darkened blood--varies by server of course!) can fetch anywhere from several gold to several plat on broker.
Be a Miser
Sometimes you just need to know when to play Scrooge and close up your coin pouch's strings for a while. Here's a few tips on ways to save yourself some extraneous costs.
- Ask yourself first - do you REALLY need this item? If you do feel you need it, can you earn it yourself in your current gear? If so, dedicate some time to obtaining it yourself.
- If it's a crafted item, see if you can arrange for a tradeskiller to make the item for you before resorting to the broker.
- If the item you want on broker is available at a player's home, save yourself the broker fee and go visit their house.
- If the item on broker is from your opposing alignment, use an alt (or ask a guildmate/friend) of that alignment to purchase the item. It'll save you either the double broker cost or several deaths by guards.
- Avoid buying items off of brokers that charge extra fees! Brokers in zones such as Butcherblock Mountains and The Village of Shin will double their broker costs (the "convenience" factor).
- Instead of buying Adepts and Masters off of the broker, check first to see if you can either buy or get someone to craft Journeymans or Experts of your abilities at a reasonably reduced cost instead. Afterwards, level 20s and higher can research to upgrade the crafted version to the next step up. This is more cost and time efficient then fully researching an ability from Apprentice to Master!
- If you pick up an especially valuable item, such as Master abilities or Fabled gear, see if another player is willing to trade with you. Every server has an Auction chat channel where you can chime in your terms and it may just work in your favor!
Play the Market
When listing an item, always make sure you check other people's pricing first before giving yours a price. The market will normally speak for itself and you should see several similar prices for most items on broker. The goal isn't to severely undercut your competition, just stay competitive without completely devaluing that item for your server. Make sure you check back on your broker pricing occasionally--if an item isn't selling, you may need to readjust the price as the markets do tend to fluctuate often.
On the flip side, if you place an item on broker that you feel is severely overpriced, then put it for what you think is a more reasonable price. While this is more of a uncommon occurrence, it's usually seen when only one or two other players are selling said item. As mentioned above, do keep your server's economy in mind and make sure that while you're pricing it, you're not cheating yourself as well.
Holiday Live Events (such as Nights of the Dead, Frostfell, etc) have unique crafting recipes and collections. During these events it's usually a good idea to pick up the recipe books, special harvests and shinies and put the finished products, extra harvests and extra collections on the broker when you feel the market is ripe for it!
A couple of notes about Holiday event crafted items: Frostfell crafts can ONLY be made DURING Frostfell. If you want to stock up on these items you MUST do it during the event! Also, some live event items sell much better than others, and this varies by server--for example, players may only want to pay 50s for a Frostfell card or 15g for a keg table, but also would pay 2p for a Snowdrift or 1p for a grassy knoll of butterflies.
That's It?
Yup, that's it! In general, the best way to earn money in EQ2 is by playing the market well and to not spend too much of what you earn. Utilizing the services of crafters or providing said service to yourself and others will benefit everyone involved, and trading items if the broker isn't working out for you may provide better results.
As you become more accustomed to what your server's economy is like and continue to work hard at your adventuring, questing and/or crafting, you'll find yourself with a thick, padded wallet before you know it.
Good luck!
| ZAM would like to thank Voldran for suggesting the creation of this guide. |
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