Dancer Archive
Thread: Making money as an entertainer
I dont think ANYONE that knows me on Scylla would ever imply that I dance like that
I refuse to wear the leotards, or flesh wraps.
I am generally in a skirt or gown and my top is either a shirt or a light bustier...
anyone that wants a lapdance or whathaveyou, gets told no, a second time, I /slap them
if they get offended by that, I'll even offer a duel. I have a lot of rude children who seriously
underestimate the power of a master dancer/MTK with a line of pikes thrown in, and after I
get rid of the mis conception that I am some pop tart... they generally treat me a lot better.
I am not saying that you have to dress like me, or talk as much as I do, or dance or whatever
like anyone else that gets a bit of profit in dancing. Maybe we were lucky with our patrons, I dont know.
All I do know is, whatever I do, works.. and it doesnt include cyber or anything, after all, I have
a reputation to uphold, and that reputation is respectable, and ATK...
just my thoughts on it.
Ka'th Sandrunner
Master Dancer
Scylla
ZinaTheMaker wrote:
NeillM wrote:
I did see a dancer, the other day,with a bio that stated something along the lines of:
Please send tell for a free private dance
do u remember her name?
No. But I was fairly ammused by it, as was my dancer friend who spotted it!
I did speculate as to what the player was like in RL though and lets just say that female wasn't something I was thinking!
These are the things I use to generate income as an entertainer when I play SWG;
Here is what I did as a male entertainer character: Pick a character. I like to play a gentlemanly pauper. Make sure that you have a set routine for how you greet people, how you interact with them and how you exit conversations with them. Treat every female character like a noble woman. Woo them with courtesy and charm. Compliment them when appropriate and never over step the line of low level flirting. Keep your eyes open for people saying things like they are giving away freebies or looking for a particular type of service provider. Having the right answer at the right time can usually get you a good tip or incredible freebie. Always avoid negative encounters in your work area. Treat even the most hated players on your server with respect even if it makes your stomache turn.
My average income as a male entertainer was 100k-300k per play session.
Here is what I did as a female entertainer character: Pick an attractive avatar. I like to play either human, zabrak or twi'lek. Talk to male and female characters and accept their flattery with genuine appreciation. Never cross the line of low level flirting (you will get more money from the same person as long as they feel like they are in the hunt for your affection and trust me a lot of people coming into the cantina assume that since you are an entertainer you are there looking to hook up with them. Instead of being offended by this, use it to your advantage.) Always avoid negative encounters in your work area. Treat even the most hated players on your server with respect even if it makes your stomache turn.
My average income as a female entertainer was 300k-1m per play session (there are more single men than women who play)
Here are some important side notes...
After a while players stop tipping as much or at all after they have given you x ammount of credits to you. The average player starts feeling like they have already given you enough tips that they no longer need to pay you. If you truly want to maximise your earning it is wise to change servers every once in a while or reroll a character on the same server. (Or play your alt account if you have one.)
Never tell the other entertainers in the room with you how much you are making or they will start copying what you are doing and ruin your ability to make money. Players start feeling overwhelmed when to many entertainers are spamming away the same kinds of greetings and flirts/compliments.
As a female character never show PDA (public displays of affection) to any boyfriend/ingame husband. A female showing PDA to a fellow female character DOES generates income from what I have been told though. A male character should stick with low level flirting to ALL female characters. Flattery WILL get you everywhere.
Avoid cliche and anything that resembles the text of an AFK macro (please tip your entertainer! We need tips! come to the cantina! etc etc). Avoid shouts, yells and anything that appears to be on macro. Try to never repeat yourself. Those who tip tend to addignore the bots and you'll get caught in the addignore web if you are acting too much like a macro.
Pick a cantina with good combat player traffic but that doesn't have many or any other ATK entertainers (unless they are ones that will interact with you in a band flourish show.) Other entertainers are your competition. There are only so many tips to be had and unless you want to run missions from the term you are after the same credits from the same people.
Stay away from group chat and private tells. A quiet entertainer is AFK in the minds of the tipping populace.
/denyservice and /covercharge are great tools.... BUT avoid them if you really want to make money.
Stay positive and nuetral. Picking a side in a fight means cutting your earning potentional in half.
Message Edited by Reachwind on 07-11-2005 08:11 AM
Message Edited by Reachwind on 07-11-2005 08:12 AM
Reachwind,
I'm a bit confused/confounded by your suggestion to not tell other entertainers in the cantina how much you are making. It's been my standard policy to split any tip I make (unless it was for a requested mind buff) with my group. But I'm getting the impression that very, very few entertainers do this since when I do it with entertainers who are new to Shadowfire but have entertainers else where they are quite shocked. If I take a mission from a terminal it's split with my group so why wouldn't I split a tip? Or do you mean don't brag about how much you are making? I'm just not clear on the intent.
If I may, I get the impression that Sienn's point is that she has found the cantinas devoid of action or mostly populated by people not interested in interaction so the ability to be a good entertainer was a moot point. She posted else where, if I'm not mistaken, stating that she had chosen a small server and played at less populated times. I think that's an important issue. We all heard countless times about the "poor combatant" who played at off peak hours but not too many people addressed the issue of entertainers who were stuck struggling to make healing xp or money at those same times. This is one of the reasons I've been hoping that the devs would move away from our dependence upon other players for economic viability. An entertainer who wants to make money without having to switch professions should be able to do so whether they choose to play on Bria or Wanderhome, whether they play during "prime time" or "off peak". From the description of what she does in the cantinas and what she's done to be able to provide answers and assistance (an impressive thing for someone who just started) I'd say she's on the right track to being what I would consider a good entertainer. Now she just needs some assistance from the devs to help her with the rest.
Message Edited by Ikewe on 07-11-2005 11:40 AM
Esharra wrote:
BTW folks..Merciful is Usually supportive of live entertainers on Bloodfin. Just a reminder to everyone..do not feed the trolls.
Haha, I'm just making a funny.
What's sad is how TRUE it is of so many bot-tainers.
That hairstyle you describe... I happen to think it fits my female human character, but it annoys me that EVERYONE seems to have it.
C
It's always been a pet peeve of mine when other entertainers imply that I'm not doing something right if I don't make much in tips, mostly during the bot era, so I know how the original poster feels.
I've also noticed Chii made the statement about questionable conversation. Yes, that certainly happens. I don't do it, but I know some do. And, I'm sure it gives you tips. And, then there are other people that say they never do that, which I believe. But, then others go on to say that one shouldn't get rated X, but at the same time advocate flirting.
I don't flirt.
Is it necessary to flirt to make the big bucks? If so, I wouldn't call this profession dancing, I'd call it...
well you know what I'd call it.
So, tell me. How do you make the big tips if it doesn't involve "flirting?"
Drygo wrote:
So, tell me. How do you make the big tips if it doesn't involve "flirting?"
Of course you don't have to be a wh0re to be social.
Schardour wrote:
Drygo wrote:
So, tell me. How do you make the big tips if it doesn't involve "flirting?"
I don't think they mean flirting, specifically, but making people feel good about themselves, their profession, their knowledge, etc.
Flirting is obviously a personal choice on how they might go about doing that, but there are other means as well.
It's the little things
