Merchant Rework Proposal

[Aster 0]

Hello everyone! I have been taking a close look at Merchant and I believe it's in need of some (more) adjustments. I tried my hand at modifying the things I thought needed to be changed the most. Please let me know what you think. I have included a spoiler at the bottom of the post with my reasoning for certain points.

 

Current General Store:

 

Spoiler

NPC Stock (available at rank 1) Basic healing potion, field rations, basic teleportation crystal, etc. These items give +1 EXP to the merchant who's store it comes from, along with the merchant's desired Col.

Fishing Rods (available at rank 2) Custom fishing rods. These items give +1 EXP to the merchant who's store it comes from, along with the merchant's desired Col.

Instruments (available at rank 3) Lute, guitar, flute, fiddle, recording crystals, etc. These items give +1 EXP to the merchant who's store it comes from, along with the merchant's desired Col.

Crafting Materials (available at rank 5) Strawberries, flour, steel, iron, fabric, fur, etc. These items give +1 EXP to the merchant who's store it comes from, along with the merchant's desired Col. While these items can be sold in the custom store, once the merchant reaches rank 5, they no longer have to search for the loot.

 

General Store Items

 

Rank 1
 

Antidote Potion - Cures the target of one Condition. Requires a post action.
Merchant Fee: 1000 col
Customer Cost: X

Healing Potion - Heals the user for 15 Hp. Requires a post action.
Merchant Fee: 800 col
Customer Cost: X

Field Rations - Grants +10 MAX HP for duration of a thread or one roleplay day. Requires a post action. Cannot be used in combat or if threatened. [TEMP BUFF Cook] +Max HP
Merchant Fee: 240 col
Customer Cost: X

Immolation Potion - Grants the user rank 2 thorns. (Opponent suffers 6 DMG on opponent BD: 6-8 if you were a target of their attack and are hit.) Duration: 5 Posts. Rquires a post action. [TEMP BUFF Alchemy] +Thorns
Merchant Fee: 400 col
Customer Cost: X

Basic Teleport Crystal - Returns the caster to the primary safe zone location of that floor. Requires two post actions to complete teleportation. Example: You use the crystal on your first post, but do not teleport away until your next post.
Merchant Fee: 2000 col
Customer Cost: X

Basic Armor - Generic good quality armor. Provides no enhancement bonuses but may be used to gain the benefit of armor skills. All types available.
Merchant Fee: 100 col
Customer Cost: X

Basic Weapons - Generic good quality weapons. Provides no enhancement bonuses. All weapon types available.
Merchant Fee: 100 col
Customer Cost: X

Dimensional Backpack - Adds +1 to player carry capacity. (This item does not take up an equipment slot) May only ever have one Dimensional Backpack at any given time.
Merchant Fee: 10000 col
Customer Cost: X

Rank 2

Custom Fishing Rod - Gives a +1 CD to the fisherman who uses it.
Merchant Fee: 2000 col
Customer Cost: X

 

Rank 3
 

Custom Instrument - Gives a +1 CD to the performer who uses it.
Merchant Fee: 2000 col
Customer Cost: X

 

Recording Crystal - Can be used by anyone to record sound, later voice or time activated.
Merchant Fee: 800 col
Customer Cost: X

 

Rank 5

 

Mats - Any basic material for any craft-based profession.
Merchant Fee: 400 col
Customer Cost: X

 

General Store Items

Sales made from the General Store section yield 1 EXP per item to the Merchant.

Merchants have access to a General supply of items that can be sold to players. The ‘Merchant Cost’ listed is how much col the Merchant must pay in order to obtain the item and pass it along to the player. For example, if a player wants to purchase a Minor HP Potion for the Merchant’s set price of 150 col and the ‘Merchant Cost’ is 100 col, the Merchant can use 100 of the col received to purchase the item and trade it to the player. In the case of trades, such as a player wishing to pay in items or materials, this is perfectly fine as long as the Merchant can pay the col cost for the item.

 

The following supply is available at Rank 1

-Basic Weapon

Merchant Cost: 80 Col

-Basic Armor

Merchant Cost: 80 Col

-Minor HP Potion (Heals 10 HP. Requires a post action.)

Merchant Cost: 100 Col

-Major HP Potion (Heals 20 HP. Requires a post action.)

Merchant Cost: 200 Col

 

The following supply is available at Rank 2

-Tools (+1 Ambition Only)

Merchant Cost: 1000 Col

-Apple (Adds 10 HP to your max HP for one thread/RP day. Requires a post action. You can eat and drink one item each in the same post.)

Merchant Cost: 200 Col

-Spring Water (Restore 1 energy at the beginning of your turn in combat. Effect lasts one thread/RP day. Requires a post action. You can eat and drink one item each in the same post.)

Merchant Cost: 150 Col

-Map (Gives +1 LD when using the Search and Detect skill. Lasts one thread/RP day. Uses a post action to grant effect.)

Merchant Cost: 250 Col

 

The following supply is available at Rank 3

-Crafting materials

Merchant Cost: 400 Col

-Col Pouch (+1 Prosperity. Uses 1 battle ready inventory slot.)

Merchant Cost: 600 Col

-Armor Polish (+1 Mitigation to an equipped piece of armor. Effect lasts one thread. Cannot be used in combat. Requires a post action. You can use armor and weapon polish in one post.)

Merchant Cost: 300 Col

-Weapon Polish (+1 Accuracy to an equipped weapon. Effect lasts one thread. Cannot be used in combat. Requires a post action. You can use armor and weapon polish in one post.)

Merchant Cost: 300 Col

 

The following supply is available at Rank 5

-Large Col Pouch (+2 Prosperity. Uses 1 battle ready inventory slot.)

Merchant Cost: 1200 Col

-Dimensional Backpack <<Unique Equipped>> (Adds 1 slot to battle ready inventory. Does not use a slot itself.)

Merchant Cost: 8000 Col

 

Current Junk Sale:

 

Spoiler

Gain +1 Profession XP per successful transaction.

This section is similar to the NPC Shop but in reverse. Here players can automatically sell uncommon+ items to gain col. Any time a customer does this through a player shop, the owner of the shop receives the 'Merchaint Gains' amount in col. Of that col, the merchant must decide how much will be passed along to the player who sold the item. Just like above, that number cannot be higher than the 'Merchant Gains' amount.

Note: The item sold at the Merchant's store DOES NOT go to the owner of the shop. The item is effectively destroyed. The merchant gains col (from Merchant Gains value) as compensation for the service. In RP terms, the merchant resells the items on the trade network and receives col for it.

Quote

Uncommon Items 
Merchant Gains: 100 col
Customer Gains: X

Quote

Rare Items
Merchant Gains: 200 col
Customer Gains: X

Quote

Perfect Items
Merchant Gains: 400 col
Customer Gains: X

 

Junk Sale

Items sold through Junk Sale give the Merchant +1 EXP per item.

Merchants can buy nearly anything from a player and instantly receive Col for it. The item sold to the Merchant is considered destroyed and yields an amount of Col based on the rarity of the item. The merchant will normally keep a percentage of the Col as their earnings and pass the rest on to the player as compensation for their item sold.

 

-Good/Bad items (0 enhancement slot)

Merchant Gains: 50 Col

-Uncommon items (1 enhancement slot)

Merchant Gains: 200 Col

-Rare items (2 enhancement slots)

Merchant Gains: 600 Col

-Perfect items (3 enhancement slots)

Merchant Gains: 1200 Col

-Unique items (Possesses at least 1 unique enhancement)

Merchant Gains: 3000 Col

-Demonic items (Possesses at least 1 demonic enhancement)

Merchant Gains: 5000 Col

 

Current Custom Shop:

 

Spoiler

Merchants my sell anything they like here. Likewise they may place offers for items they desire. They do not receive XP for transactions in this section.
Examples:

Buying: Perfect Accessory with [+2 ACC] [+1 EVA]
Offering 1000 col!

Selling:

Quote

Item: Wolpertinger Hat
Type: Accessory
Quality: Uncommon
Shop: Link to the Shop post where the Item was Created
Enhancements: [+1 ACC]
Description:Flops a lot.

Customer Price: 300 co

 

Custom Shop

Transactions through a Custom Shop section do not yield experience to the Merchant.

Along with their supply of General Shop items, Merchants can sell their own wares or consider re-selling items rather than sending them to the Junk Shop. If a player wants to sell a Merchant an item for Col, and the Merchant would rather re-sell it, they would pay the player Col out of pocket in hopes of making a profit selling the item back to another player. You can also post offers for items you are looking for, and how much you are willing to pay if a player has something you want.

 

Current Appraisal System:

 

Spoiler

What does Appraisal Do?



Merchants will essentially be that of an inspection in similar fashion to the image above of when Lisbeth was looking over Elucidator's stats and when Dark Repulsor's stats were being looked up. What this inspection does is grant the possibility of discovering and applying a hidden aspect (enhancement) of the item. This would be the general idea of what Appraisal would do in simple terms, though is explained in more detial below.

What Appraisal in SAO RPG does is it takes an item with less than 3 slots (up to none) and discover hidden possible slots within equipment. So if you have a good item, you can make it an uncommon by discovering a slot on it. This can be done multiple times, but if it ends up Locked then it cannot be be appraised anymore and has “<Locked>” next to its equipment tier (such as “Rare <Locked>”). This cannot be done on Perfect or Unique items and each appraisal must be evaluated by a staff member in evaluations like any other craft.

How Does Appraisal Work?

The following is a simple breakdown of how appraisal functions:

1. Inspect the Item: This is the first and basic step when it comes to appraising. The Merchant rolls their Crafting Die to see if they find anything.  The Battle Dice is rolled to check if it is unique and the Loot Dice for what enhancement it is. This is all within the same roll. Doing this roll costs a material.

 

2. Success, Retry, or Locked: Once an item is examined one if three things can occur, the examination is successful which means the Merchant may continue to the step, the examination brings up no results which allows a Merchant to try again, or the item is Locked making stay in its current state permanently.

These numbers are affected by Ambition for Crafting Dice bonus, but not by loot dice bonuses or battle dice bonuses

Following are the different dice numbers for each one:

 

• CD Roll of 1-4: Locked

• CD Roll of 5-9: Retry

• CD Roll of 10-12: Success
   

If you roll a CD of 12 and a BD of 10, the next roll will be for a unique enhancement instead of a normal one.

 

3. Reap The Rewards: Once the Merchant rolls to see what type of enhancement the item will be gaining, they will check the Loot Dice from the roll done in Part 1 and see what number was rolled.

Depending on this roll the enhancement will be assigned, following are the possible enhancements for items and what rolls are required for each one:

Weapons

Name: Damage (LD of 20-17)
Cost: 1 Slot
Cap: 3
Effect: Adds +(1 * Tier Level) base damage for every slot used.
Applicable to: Weapons

Note: Swap this with Unarmed damage if apprasing a gauntlet/hand wrap, which are accounted in all regards as a weapon for unarmed use.

 

Name: Bleed (16-13)
Cost: 1 Slot
Cap: 2
Effect: Activated on a roll of 9-10 with one slot, or 8-10 with two slots. Deals (4 * Tier Level) of damage for 2 turns for the enemy/mob. This only applies to natural rolls (unmodified)
Applicable to: Weapons

 

Name: Paralyze (LD of 12-9)
Cost: 1 Slot
Cap: 2
Effect: Removed enemy action for 1 turn afterwards on a roll of 9-10 if one slot is used, and 8-10 if two slots are used. This only applies to natural rolls (unmodified). Removes evasion properties from opponent while paralysed.
Applicable to: Weapons

 

Name: Accuracy (LD of 8-5)
Cost: 1 Slot
Cap: 2
Effect: Adds +1 to the BD, but cannot cause a critical hit.
Applicable to: Weapons

Name: Keen (LD of 4-1)
Cost: 1 Slot
Cap: 3
Effect: On a successful attack, gain an additional +1 to your BD for each enchantment slot. This bonus does not stack with itself. This bonus goes away after landing a successful attack. Every second tier step (tier 3, 5, 7 etc.) this will add a further +1 per slot.
Applicable to: Weapons

Shields

Name: Damage Mitigation (LD of 17-20)
Cost: 1 Slot
Cap: 3
Effect: Removes (9 * Tier Level) points of damage from every hit to you for every slot used. No matter how much damage mitigation you have, however, you will always take at least 1 point of damage.
Applicable to: Shields

Name: Paralyze (LD of 13-16)
Cost: 1 Slot
Cap: 2
Effect: Removed enemy action for 1 turn afterwards when hit on a roll of 9-10 if one slot is used, and 8-10 if two slots are used. This only applies to natural rolls (unmodified). Removes evasion properties from opponent while paralysed.
Applicable to: Shields

Name: Thorns (LD of 9-12)
Cost: 1 Slot
Cap: 2
Effect: Deals  X* (7 * Tier Level) damage when Mob/Enemy hits a non-critical hit on you, where X is amount of slots used.
Applicable to: Shields

Name: Regen (LD of 5-8)
Cost: 1 Slot
Cap: 3
Effect: Heals you +(9 * Tier Level) per slot after every attack turn from your opponent on a CD roll of 6 or higher.
Applicable to: Shields

 

Name: Recovery (LD of 1-4)

Cost: 1 Slot

Cap: 2

Effect: In your own turn, if you roll a CD of 10 or higher you will recover 1 energy per slot used along with the 1 passive energy recovery every player has.

Applicable to: Shields

Heavy Armor

Name: Damage Mitigation (LD of 20-17)
Cost: 1 Slot
Cap: 3
Effect: Removes (9 * Tier Level) points of damage from every hit to you for every slot used. No matter how much damage mitigation you have, however, you will always take at least 1 point of damage.
Applicable to: Heavy Armor

Name: Thorns (LD of 16-13)
Cost: 1 Slot
Cap: 2
Effect: Deals  X* (7* Tier Level) damage when Mob/Enemy hits a non-critical hit on you, where X is amount of slots used.
Applicable to: Heavy Armor

Name: Heavy Momentum (LD of 12-9)
Cost: 1 Slot
Cap: 2
Effect: When you miss, gain a +(1 * Tier Level) base dmg. This can stack up to the amount of slots used. The +dmg goes away after a successful hit.
Applicable to: Heavy Armor

Name: Regen (LD of 8-5)
Cost: 1 Slot
Cap: 3
Effect: Heals you +(9 * Tier Level) per slot after every attack turn from your opponent on a CD roll of 6 or higher.
Applicable to: Heavy Armor

 

Name: Recovery (LD of 4-1)

Cost: 1 Slot

Cap: 2

Effect: In your own turn, if you roll a CD of 10 or higher you will recover 1 energy per slot used along with the 1 passive energy recovery every player has.

Applicable to: Heavy Armor

Light Armor

Name: Damage Mitigation (LD of 20-18)
Cost: 1 Slot
Cap: 2
Effect: Removes (9 * Tier Level) points of damage from every hit to you for every slot used. No matter how much damage mitigation you have, however, you will always take at least 1 point of damage.
Applicable to: Leather Armor/Light Armor

Name: Thorns (LD of 17-15)
Cost: 1 Slot
Cap: 2
Effect: Deals  X* (7 * Tier Level) damage when Mob/Enemy hits a non-critical hit on you, where X is amount of slots used.
Applicable to: Leather Armor/Light Armor
 

Name: Evasion (LD of 14-10)
Cost: 1 Slot
Cap: 3
Effect: Adds a -1 to the MobD or the enemy's die for every slot taken. This ignores the damage mitigation rule of taking at least 1 point of damage.
Applicable to: Leather Armor/Light Armor

Name: Savvy (LD of 9-7)

Cost: 1 Slot

Cap: 2
Effect: Adds +x BD when the enemy misses, where X is the number of slots used for this enchant. This bonus goes away after landing a successful attack and does not stack. Every second tier step (tier 3, 5, 7 etc.) this will add a further +1 per slot.

Applicable to: Leather Armor/Light Armor

Name: Light Momentum (LD of 6-4)
Cost: 1 Slot
Cap: 2
Effect: When you miss, gain +X BD. Where +X is the amount of slots used for the enchant. This bonus goes away after landing a successful attack and does not stack. Every second tier step (tier 3, 5, 7 etc.) this will add a further +1 per slot.
Available to: Leather Armor/Light Armor

 

Name: Recovery (LD of 3-1)

Cost: 1 Slot

Cap: 2

Effect: If you are attacked; recovers 1 energy per slot on a CD roll of 6 or more.

Available to: Light Armor

 

------------------------------------------------------

 

Unique Enhancements

 

(All require a BD of 10)
 

Weapons:

Name: Burn (LD of 20-18)
Cost: 1 Slot
Cap: 2
Effect: Activated on a roll of 9-10 with one slot, or 8-10 with two slots. Deals(4 * Tier Level) burn damage for 2 turns to the enemy/mob. This only applies to natural rolls (unmodified)
Applicable to: Weapons

 

Name: Envenom (LD of 17-16)
Cost: 1 Slot
Cap: 2
Effect: Activated on a roll of 9-10 with one slot, or 8-10 with two slots. Deals (3 * Tier Level) poison damage for 4 turns to the enemy/mob. This only applies to natural rolls (unmodified)
Applicable to: Weapons

 

Name: Blight (LD of 15-13)
Cost: 1 Slot
Cap: 2
Effect: Activated on a roll of 9-10 with one slot and deals (4 * Tier Level) damage for 2 turns for the enemy/mob, if two slots are used it deals (6 * Tier Level) damage for 2 turns. This only applies to natural rolls (unmodified).
Applicable to: Weapons

 

Name: Holy Damage (LD 12-11)
Cost: 1 Slot
Cap: N/A
Effect: On a natural roll of 8-10, deal (2 * Tier Level) Holy damage per slot to the opponent. It adds to base damage thus can be increased with sword arts, but can be mitigated.
Applicable to: Weapons

 

Name: Fallen Damage (LD 10-9)
Cost: 1 Slot
Cap: N/A
Effect: On a non-critical attack (6-8 after modifiers) it deals (2 * Tier Level) Fallen damage to the opponent. It adds to base damage thus can be increased with sword arts, but can be mitigated.
Applicable to: Weapons

 

Name: Phase (LD of 8-7)

Cost: 1 Slot
Cap: 2
Effect: Bypasses half of an opponent's mitigation on a roll of 9-10 if one slot is used, and all of their mitigation if two slots are used. This only applies to natural rolls (unmodified). Block cannot be phased.
Applicable to: Weapons

 

Name: Freeze (LD of 6-4)
Cost: 1 Slot
Cap: 2
Effect: Removed enemy action for 1 turn afterwards on a roll of 9-10 if one slot is used, and 8-10 if two slots are used. This only applies to natural rolls (unmodified). Removes evasion properties from opponent while frozen.
Applicable to: Weapons

 

Name: Paralytic Venom (LD of 3-1)
Cost: 1 Slot
Cap: 2
Effect: Removed enemy action for 1 turn afterwards after a hit on a roll of 8-10 if one slot is used, and 7-10 if two slots are used. This only applies to natural rolls (unmodified). Removes evasion properties from opponent while paralysed.
Applicable to: Weapons

 

Shields:

Name: Flame Thorns (LD of 20-15)
Cost: 1 Slot
Cap: 2
Effect: Flame Thorns is similar to normal thorns but works slightly different. When a player rolls a 6-8, it will deal the normal (7 * Tier Level * no. of slots) damage for burn damage. However if an attacker hits with a 9 or 10 on the battle dice towards the player with this item, instead of normal thorns it will deal the initial (7 * Tier Level * no. of slots) damage, and then 3 turns of burn damage that deal (2 * Tier Level * no. of slots) damage each turn.
Applicable to: Shields

 

Name: Paralytic Venom (LD of 14-8)
Cost: 1 Slot
Cap: 2
Effect: Removed enemy action for 1 turn afterwards when hit on a roll of 8-10 if one slot is used, and 7-10 if two slots are used. This only applies to natural rolls (unmodified). Removes evasion properties from opponent while paralysed.
Applicable to: Shields

 

Name: Holy Blessing (LD of 7-1)
Cost: 1 Slot
Cap: N/A
Effect: When hit by an opponent, the user is healed (9 * Tier Level) HP in their own turn after for every slot used.
Applicable to: Shields

 

Armor:

Name: Holy Blessing (LD of 20-1)
Cost: 1 Slot
Cap: N/A
Effect: When hit by an opponent, the user is healed (9 * Tier Level) HP in their own turn after for every slot used.
Applicable to: Armor

 

 

Appraisal System

Merchants can appraise equipment items of Good, Uncommon, or Rare quality in an attempt to improve its stats. Appraisal uses the following steps:

 

1. Inspect the item. Similar to other professions, you must link a PermaRoll to the post you will be inspecting the item in. Use the Crafting Die result to determine if the appraisal was successful. The ability to successfully appraise depends on the Rank of the Merchant. Refer to the following chart:

 

Rank 1

[1-5] = Locked - The item is permanently <<Locked>> and may not be appraised again.

[6-11] = Fail - The appraisal was unsuccessful, but the item can be appraised again.

[12] = Success

 

Rank 2

[1-4] = Locked - The item is permanently <<Locked>> and may not be appraised again.

[5-10] = Fail - The appraisal was unsuccessful, but the item can be appraised again.

[11-12] = Success

 

Rank 3

[1-3] = Locked - The item is permanently <<Locked>> and may not be appraised again.

[4-10] = Fail - The appraisal was unsuccessful, but the item can be appraised again.

[11-12] = Success

 

Rank 4

[1-3] = Locked - The item is permanently <<Locked>> and may not be appraised again.

[4-9] = Fail - The appraisal was unsuccessful, but the item can be appraised again.

[10-12] = Success

 

Rank 5

[1-2] = Locked - The item is permanently <<Locked>> and may not be appraised again.

[3-9] = Fail - The appraisal was unsuccessful, but the item can be appraised again.
[10-12] = Success

 

 

On a successful appraisal with a Battle Die of 10, refer to the unique enhancements chart (excludes Trinkets/Lucky Charms)

 

2. Enhance the Item. Use the Loot Die result from your Appraisal roll to determine what type of enhancement is applied:

 

Weapons

 

[1-9] Keen

[8-15] Bleed or Paralyze

[16-20] Damage or Accuracy

 

Shields

 

[1-8] Recovery or Regen

[9-16] Thorns or Paralyze

[17-20] Damage Mitigation

 

Heavy Armor

[1-8] Recovery or Regen

[9-16] Thorns or Heavy Momentum

[17-20] Damage Mitigation

 

Light Armor

 

[1-6] Recovery or Light Momentum

[7-14] Savvy or Thorns

[15-20] Evasion or Damage Mitigation

 

Trinkets/Lucky Charms

 

[1-6] Keen or Recovery

[7-14] Prosperity or Loot Die

[15-20] Evasion or Accuracy

 

 

Unique Enhancements

When you successfully appraise an item and also roll a BD of 10 (with the same roll ID), you have added a unique enhancement! As normal, use the LD result of the roll to determine the enhancement given:

 

Weapons

 

[1-3] Paralytic Venom

[4-6] Freeze

[7-8] Phase

[9-10] Fallen Damage

[11-12] Holy Damage

[13-15] Blight

[16-17] Envenom

[18-20] Burn

Shields

 

[1-7] Holy Blessing

[8-14] Paralytic Venom

[15-20] Flame Thorns
 

Armor

 

[1-20] Holy Blessing

 

 

 

Experience Gain

 

Sold item [General Store, Junk Sale]: 1 EXP per item

Appraisal <<Locked>>: 1 EXP

Appraisal <<Fail>>: 4 EXP

Appraisal <<Success>>: 8 EXP

 

 

Experience Chart

 

 

Rank 1: 0 EXP (2 Appraisals per day)

Rank 2: 40 EXP (4 Appraisals per day)

Rank 3: 160 EXP (6 Appraisals per day)

Rank 4: 640 EXP (8 Appraisals per day)

Rank 5: 2560 EXP (10 Appraisals per day)

 

 

Merchant Ranking

 

Rank 1: Cart Merchant: Appraise Tier 1 equipment immediately. Appraise Tier 2 equipment once Floor 11 has been cleared.

Rank 2: Salesman: Appraise Tier 3 equipment once Floor 21 has been cleared. Appraise Tier 4 equipment once Floor 31 has been cleared.

Rank 3: Businessman: Appraise Tier 5 equipment once Floor 41 has been cleared. Appraise Tier 6 equipment once Floor 51 has been cleared.

Rank 4: Man of the Black Market: Appraise Tier 7 equipment once Floor 61 has been cleared. Appraise Tier 8 equipment once Floor 71 has been cleared.
Rank 5: Millionaire: Appraise Tier 9 equipment once Floor 81 has been cleared. Appraise Tier 8 equipment once Floor 91 has been cleared.

 

 

Reasoning and Additional Notes:

 

Spoiler

My main goals for this rework are:

• Balance the economy of SAO-RPG.
• Make Merchant a more desirable profession.
• Balance the Appraisal system

Currently, the only thing players tend to need Col for after level 10-15 is a money sink for Player Housing. Otherwise, the currency begins to feel rather useless. Crafters would rather take payment with materials because they have little need for Col. Merchants currently have a basic stock of items, almost every one of which can be obtained from a different crafted profession. We don't want to take customers away from blacksmiths and alchemists by selling only weapons and potions. I have thrown in a couple of my ideas for new items Merchants can sell, such as the <<Col Pouch>> and <<Armor Polish>>. The <<Dimensional Backpack>> is a great item, and I think having more of these higher-value items, permanent and/or consumable, will give players a reason to buy Merchant items. Below is my reasoning for a few major changes:

• Crafting Materials

When I think of general vendors in an MMO, one of the primary things they sell are ingredients. I liked that Merchants could previously sell materials as a limitless general store item for Col, however at 2560 EXP, I have never seen a Merchant on-site get to Rank 5 to have this option available. I think that by bumping it down to Rank 3 availability we can see how this performs for players to obtain materials. I would even be interested to increase the cost, as simply having them available doesn't mean they should be cheap.

• Rank Scaling for Appraisal

It only makes sense to me that a Rank 5 Merchant has a lower chance to fail and a slightly higher chance to succeed in appraising an item. With the table above, success is still capped at 16% for a Rank 4-5 Merchant, so this wasn't designed to make appraised enhancements commonplace. I looked at the other profession scales when they leveled up and noticed that if anything, it's the rate of failure that typically decreases rather than boosting the chance of success.

• Appraisal Enhancement Choices

Lastly, I kept in mind the current chart for which enhancements apply on a successful appraisal, but grouped a couple of them together where appropriate. I actually felt it could be discouraging if, after a successful appraisal, the enhancement that is applied at random is: a) useless due to surpassing enhancement cap with other gear, or b) completely out-of-place with a build. I wanted to give a slight nudge in the direction of having more options in the event of a successful appraisal. This does not mean you get to pick and choose completely, but maybe you'll get the option of Recovery vs. Regen, which is just a little nicer. Keep in mind the Unique enhancement scale remained as-is.

 

Changelog:

 

Spoiler

4/25/16

• Added in sections of the current system before proposed section changes.
• Adjusted the appraisal success scaling.

 

Edited April 26, 2016 by Asteria

[Amira 0]

I think this makes Merchants overpowered. Plus, Alchemists sell potions like the ones you describe, but for more money. So you take away revenue from other types of professions by selling their items for cheaper. I think that the merchant profession is fine the way it is, as it already has the chance to get unique enhancements on items which is something no other profession can do. I do like the weapon and armor polish idea though. out of everything.

[Shirien 0]

Speaking from a strictly MMO standpoint, I feel like the selling gear prices are pretty dang high. Vendoring gear is always the inferior option in those types of games, you'd normally just disenchant them for supplies or sell them to other players. I feel like the appraisal system basically covers that since it's essentially enchanting to make a weapon more powerful than it was. At the very least I'd drop the prices considerably.

Then again I am extremely new here, just voicing my opinion. I would suggest one minor thing though, I feel like you should be a little more clear on what is in the old system, what isn't, and what is but has been modified. Just a little tedious for the reader to have to compare word for word if they aren't a merchant and memorized it. That's just me, feel free to ignore.

[Hirru 0]

I would like to agree with Manta.  Most of the things in here are already available with other professions.  As a merchant myself, I like that you're thinking about us, but the merchant profession is already hard enough to push through, especially with the appraisal system which looks incredibly harder for your version.  (Success at 12?  I can barely get Success at 10!  THANK YOU VERY MUCH!)

Yes, I also agree that the current economy is run by Materials and not Col, but that is where the Merchant class is overpowered already!  Currently, the merchant profession looks quite misunderstood and unneeded, but that's where you're wrong.  We provide for EVERY SINGLE PROFESSION already.  

How is that so?  (I put it in a spoiler, cause I started to rant...sorry)

Spoiler

 

Early on we provide small scale items, for those materials hunters that can't wait for someone to make their health potions, or need a boost to their max hp to tackle stronger mobs.  Then after a single rank, we start to sell tools for Fisherman.  Not something that needs to be said?  Wrong!  Fishing rods give the fisherman more success in the long run, which means more consumables for the people.

Another rank into Merchant gives the Recording Crystal and Performer's Instrument, two incredibly important tools for a Performer as they need the crystal to make their songs usable to people.  Also, the instrument is their tool, which will mean more songs for more people.

Though, that would seem like the last of it, as the final item that can be sold isn't until rank 5, but it is the most important one.

Materials.  Infinite Materials!  The life blood of the MAIN FIVE PROFESSIONS!  The first merchant that truly gains rank 5 will become God, as everyone will flock to them to get most of their materials, and guess what it costs.

Col.  The one thing that everyone will have a stockpile of, as it wasn't useful, until now.

As far as I know, the only active merchants that are close are Baldur, Hikoru, and myself with rank 3, but I have seen one merchant that is really close, at rank 4.  I haven't seen much activity from them, though.

 

For the most part, I do like the variety of items that have been shown, but I don't like the duration.  

Spoiler

Nearly all other professions will create items that can last for an entire thread, but I don't think that Merchants should have that kind of power.  Instead of buff items that stand through out the thread, maybe they should only stay usable through a certain amount of posts or a single battle.  These items can be bought instantly from a merchant's shop, but should only be used when needed the most.  

Let's say that Hirru is fighting a large group of monsters and easily kills all of them, but in the next post he finds a strong boss.  He used a lot of energy to AOE those mobs from before, and can't fight this thing, but it has already been aggroed.  The boss could probably hit him for a fair amount unless his mit was +9 better.  Should he waste a potion of mitigation +54 that would continue through thread, even though this will probably be the last enemy?  No!  He would rather use a MIT polish +9 (or +18 if tier scales) that goes away after a single fight.  Now that potion can be used for the floor boss that they would be fighting soon.

That's what I would like to see more of.

Now for the appraisal system that you've thought of....

Spoiler

No!  I'm sorry but appraisal is hard enough with it locking an item, or giving nothing in return.  Your method would only have it so that success comes at a 12 or 11, which is hard enough to get a 10!  Retry and Locking are pretty much failures in their own sense.  That's an entire material lost, for nothing, or a material AND an equipment item lost FOREVER!  No one wants an equipment item that will not get stronger as you go on.  Most of the time appraisal isn't really worth it except for the occasional Unique Enhancement that are not very good, unless they are on a demonic or doubled up on a rare / perfect equipment item.  The chances of that are very, VERY, slim... _{OPAL i SWEAR TO THE HOLY POWER THAT CREATED YOUR SWORD THAT I WILL BREAK THAT THING IF YOU SAY ANYTHING!!}

For the most part, I would rather see the usage of materials as the cost for appraisals be discontinued, and instead be a set amount of Col.  The reason for that is that Merchants should be a Col based profession ONLY, with Materials being sold off to the consumers for Col.

In the end, I think I have ranted enough.  I will say that I like the idea, and would say yes, but not for the exact listing given.

Edited April 25, 2016 by Hirru

[Macradon 0]

Merchant? Selling tools?

Seems a bit strong ... even though it's only ambition, it's still er perfect quality item, which isn't really that common, even among high ranking blacksmiths points and self, rank 8 blacksmith

 

[Aster 0]

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Alchemists sell potions like the ones you describe, but for more money.

@Manta Gaul, Merchants have always had items in their General store that are similar, if not the same from the other professions. They currently sell Teleport Crystals, potions, basic weapons, etc. The specific Minor and Major HP Potions I had available at Rank 1 were half the potency of an Uncommon Tier 1 and 2 Alchemist potion, respectively. However, I wholeheartedly agree that Merchants need to move away from selling the same things other professions make. More on this in my response to Macradon.

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1. I feel like the selling gear prices are pretty dang high.
2. I feel like you should be a little more clear on what is in the old system, what isn't, and what is but has been modified.

@Shirien

1. I see your point; a lot of the prices were estimated, but I agree they should be low enough to be considered a last option when someone just wants to get rid of something.
2. Noted, I agree and actually realized a couple of things I wanted to change after looking back at the current system. I've added the sections as they are currently above my suggested changes. I've also added a changelog at the bottom of the post.

Quote

1. We start to sell tools for Fisherman. Recording Crystal and Performer's Instrument
2. The first merchant that truly gains rank 5 will become God, as everyone will flock to them to get most of their materials.
3. Nearly all other professions will create items that can last for an entire thread, but I don't think that Merchants should have that kind of power.  Instead of buff items that stand through out the thread, maybe they should only stay usable through a certain amount of posts or a single battle.
4. Your method would only have it so that success comes at a 12 or 11, which is hard enough to get a 10! That's an entire material lost, for nothing, or a material AND an equipment item lost FOREVER!
5. For the most part, I would rather see the usage of materials as the cost for appraisals be discontinued, and instead be a set amount of Col.

@Hirru  ((Sorry for lumping everything together, you made a lot of points and I wanted to address everything as well as I can!))

1. I would first point out that, unless my understanding is wrong, both Fishermen and Performers can use Tools crafted by other professions. I can understand that the flavor of a blacksmith forging a fishing rod doesn't make the most sense, but I have not seen a ruling against it. At Rank 5 Blacksmiths and Tailors can both make "Tools", which can have +1 Crafting Die or +1 Ambition. In that sense, this loops back to Merchants selling things that other professions can make, and unless a ruling was made that Fisherman and Performer tools can only be acquired from a Merchant, I would actually like to see them removed from a Merchant stock. As for the Recording Crystal, this is where things get confusing for me. I understand the tutorial currently says "In order to gain EXP, a recording crystal must be used for the song." in the Profession Guide. Now, I'm not sure how much this is followed or enforced. In fact, I think it's a very odd rule in general, considering no other profession needs an extra form of material to gain experience. If recording crystals are necessary, I would gladly add them back in (likely available at Rank 1 or 2).
2. The more I think about this, the less likely I think Merchants should sell materials from a general supply at all. My original idea was Merchants selling materials would help balance the economy and make col more useful, but I'm now torn on the whole thing. If they stay available, I would want the price to be raised considerably for materials.
3. This is actually something I don't particularly like about all consumable items. I also think it's confusing to have Merchant consumables on a different rule than everything else. I would prefer all consumable items go off of a post duration rather than thread or roleplay day.
4. I will admit I hadn't realized Merchants were currently working off of a 10 success rather than an 11-12 success. When I initially presented this proposal to a staff member, there was some criticism over enhancements being too easy to get, so I tweaked the numbers further. I've gone ahead and adjusted the numbers again. Please also note that the current system has a Unique Enhancement with only a BD 10 and a CD 12. I am proposing any success with a BD 10 result in a Unique Enhancement.
5. I actually really like the thought of this. This is certainly something I would be interested in implementing into the proposal, so I would love to discuss it more and come up with something that's nicely balanced.

Quote

Merchant? Selling tools?

@Macradon They already do! They currently sell +1 Crafting Die tools for Fisherman/Performer professions. Continuing from my response to Manta, I would love to see Merchant sell only items unique to their profession. I came up with a few things that I thought were balanced enough, but it was difficult without pulling enhancements from other professions. I would especially be interested in money-sink items--more things like the Dimensional Backpack. I don't think I'm particularly good at item creation, so if anyone has specifics they'd like to see, please let me know!

Edited April 26, 2016 by Asteria

[Hirru 0]

19 hours ago, Asteria said:

1. I would first point out that, unless my understanding is wrong, both Fishermen and Performers can use Tools crafted by other professions. I can understand that the flavor of a blacksmith forging a fishing rod doesn't make the most sense, but I have not seen a ruling against it. At Rank 5 Blacksmiths and Tailors can both make "Tools", which can have +1 Crafting Die or +1 Ambition. In that sense, this loops back to Merchants selling things that other professions can make, and unless a ruling was made that Fisherman and Performer tools can only be acquired from a Merchant, I would actually like to see them removed from a Merchant stock. As for the Recording Crystal, this is where things get confusing for me. I understand the tutorial currently says "In order to gain EXP, a recording crystal must be used for the song." in the Profession Guide. Now, I'm not sure how much this is followed or enforced. In fact, I think it's a very odd rule in general, considering no other profession needs an extra form of material to gain experience. If recording crystals are necessary, I would gladly add them back in (likely available at Rank 1 or 2).
2. The more I think about this, the less likely I think Merchants should sell materials from a general supply at all. My original idea was Merchants selling materials would help balance the economy and make col more useful, but I'm now torn on the whole thing. If they stay available, I would want the price to be raised considerably for materials.
3. This is actually something I don't particularly like about all consumable items. I also think it's confusing to have Merchant consumables on a different rule than everything else. I would prefer all consumable items go off of a post duration rather than thread or roleplay day.
4. I will admit I hadn't realized Merchants were currently working off of a 10 success rather than an 11-12 success. When I initially presented this proposal to a staff member, there was some criticism over enhancements being too easy to get, so I tweaked the numbers further. I've gone ahead and adjusted the numbers again. Please also note that the current system has a Unique Enhancement with only a BD 10 and a CD 12. I am proposing any success with a BD 10 result in a Unique Enhancement.
5. I actually really like the thought of this. This is certainly something I would be interested in implementing into the proposal, so I would love to discuss it more and come up with something that's nicely balanced.

1. I think it's mostly unwritten that the tools of Fisherman and Performers are only sold by Merchants, but really you can just get any equipment based profession to create a tool too.  The only reason that I think that this was done that way was because Fisherman, Performer, and Merchant were created around the same time LONG after the main five professions.  Most of professions still have the old method that they were created with from that time.
   
   In all seriousness, though, tools are hard to make as Ambition (One of only two tool based enhancements) is a 3 slot enhancement.  That means a full perfect item needs to be made, which is usually a 12 CD.  Most of the time, perfects are the only types of items that people want for EVERYTHING, except Demonic.  Usually, that 12 or so is used for more practical equipment items, like weapons and armor.
   
   Now Recording Crystals.. I would not like to get into the changes that are needed for every single profession, as that would require an entire rework of the system that we have.  For now, no one really sells these crystals that Performers need, and Merchant has pretty much been a "catch all" for items to sell, but can't figure out where to put it.
    
2. For the selling of materials, that part is probably the main focus of becoming a merchant.  If there wasn't that option at rank 5, then I would have stayed as a normal Mat hunter and sell everything I gained to everyone.  That was my main business option, as every single profession already has too much competition, except Merchant.  Now, with the amount of Col that one has to pay for Materials, I also agree that it should be vamped up... however.. That is only the cost to the Merchant, and we can raise that price to however much we want.  Now, I'll tell you why we would not do that.  Supply and Demand.
   
   I said that people will come to us for MOST of their materials, and I am right to say that.  The main two ways to get materials right now are the Non-combat Mat Gathering and Material Hunting.  Gathering uses the Non-combat rule for looting to gather 1 material @ 15+LD.  This method don't require you to get into a fight so there is no danger of dying, however it takes some time to gather enough for a single crafting day.  The second option, Material Hunting, is much more dangerous as this require fighting monsters at a decent stat range, but they now get 1 material after killing a single monster AND get additional loot @ 11+ LD.  The second option is the preferred way, as they gain more materials at a greater risk.  Unfortunately, some people don't want to take that risk.  The Merchant option would let people get their materials at less risk.  Unfortunately, it still requires the farming of Col, and each page of a thread will gain 400 col, which would require two full pages (41 posts) to get enough for one, if left at the 500 Col price range.
    
3. The reason why I say that Merchants items should be limited duration while others have entire threads full of length is because of the work put into them.  All consumable items that have these buffs are CRAFTED.  Someone took time, material, and money to create this product so that it could help in some way or form.  Merchants don't have that.  Merchants sell things immediately from their store.  They didn't create these potions or weapons!  They were bought from the NPC market and resold to the consumer for a higher price.  With the sale being instant, the buff that is gained should also be instant or post regulated.  Unfortunately, we don't have the staff power to regulate such a thing.
   
   Also, if you're thinking that Merchants also craft... we don't.  We appraise, which is simply us looking at the blade and saying "Oh it has a Dickbutt!  Must be the Burn enhancement"
    
4. The reason that the CD for Appraisal is low is because it is only unlocking ONE (1) slot.  Everyone else has a 12 or so CD rate for success, for perfect level (3 slots) qualities.  Why should I roll for a 12 or 11 for one slot, and waste a material if I don't.  Everyone else gets to save their materials, if its a bad roll, but merchants don't get that!  No, we get a retry of that particular item, but lose the material.  Now, that may be the only part of it, but no.  Merchants are also one of two professions that have to deal with multiple dice ALL OF THE TIME, the second being Fisherman.  Not only do they worry about CD, but once a success does come up, they look into BD for uniques and LD for the type of enhancement.  All of which is RANDOM.  The argument can be made that this is because of the Unique enhancement, which can only be gained off of a CD 10~12 and BD 10, but that is VERY RARE.  _{Opal I still stand by what I said in the other post....}  These rolls can't be raised either!  Merchants can't use any + BD or + LD to change them.
   
   Now personally, I think that Merchants have it better than Fisherman, as their rod can break and cost them half health.  THAT'S RIGHT FISHERMAN CAN BE KILLED IF NOT CAREFUL!!
    
5. I don't have much for this, but thank you for agreeing on that.

I have so many other things to go over, but those kinds of changes require a VERY COMPLEX system.  One that I don't have the time to think about.  One of the reasons why I regret being an Admin for my own SAO site back when.  I have so many ideas, but they were mostly for a dead site several years ago.

Ask me questions whenever, I'm always on.

Edited April 26, 2016 by Hirru