Droid Engineer Archive

What is the best setup I can go with for setting up as a MDE/Merchant with what I have left to work with?

Here are my stats to help you help me with my question. I am a MDE, Master Artisan, Rifleman 4, Novice Pistoleer, First Aid 2,Chem 2, and maybe some Scouting skills. I have 6 points left. Now I am willing to give up the Chem 2, go back a few notches to Pistol 3, and the Scouting. However, I can't see giving up much else. I have noticed a huge influx of 'red dots' around my harvesters and it's just to dangerous to go out there without some shooting skills (whenever we get battle droids, my whole setup will need rethinking). I may be influenced to give up both pistoleer and rifleman to go carbine, but not sure with that. Let's assume I don't go on raids and I don't group a whole lot.

As you can see I can get a few more skill points freed up. How do you have your points distributed? Tell me your opinion as to what you think is the best MDE/Merchant setup would be and the minimum.

Any help and advice will be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Goss

My sig says it all (almost).

For merchant, global listing is critical - I also have the skills to drop multiple vendors.

My setup doesn't get you the merchant skills, but its still good fun, I've got master DE, master medic, master Doc (I'm almost there, one skill left) and some random artisan skills with the rest of the points. While it may look like harvester checking would be a problem, between my probot and my republic blaster with 200 max damage I can take out anything thats hanging around (plus with the doc skills I can buff myself if its looking ugly). With those skills (plus some muon gold, fishnak surprise or some such drink, and buffs) I can stand against anything up to a destroyer droid (not one of the buff nym ones) without much of a problem (though it does take forever if I actually want to kill them). To get around the whole merchant thing I've just got a friend who puts up a vendor for me to stock, plus the vast majority of my business is done through word of mouth, referrals, and repeat customers (around 200k per day in sales from that). I've got enough artisan business skills to set up a cheap vendor, then just throw any custom orders onto that with the customers name on the deed.

Personally, I'm working on MD/MM/MA combo, already master Artisan, and my sig shows the rest. I've got Novice Marksman with a couple boxes of Ranged Support for now, Exploration IV because Mask Scent is very nice for those red dots by the harvies as long as theyare just critters, Novice Medic with Pharm. 1. As I go up in DE and Merchant and run out of points, I'm going to be dropping Marksman completely. As a wookiee I'm still cert'd with my bowcaster, which is much better than any CDEF Weapon a non-marksman can use, and I'm hoping that Mask Scent and my Probot will be enough to let me pull my harvestor runs.

Your mileage may vary, however, and this may not be the route for you. But you can goand see what I should look like once I'm 'complete' if you're curious.

http://swgcb.yogn.net/report.php?template=7924

Agreeing with what's been said here, the global ad campeign ability is the most critical of all the Merchant skills. It comes at Merchant 3/0/0/0. Even at that level, you're allowed 2 vendors and you can advertise them both.

Personally, I am Merchant 3/0/3/0. I have no need for Management as I can barely keep up with orders from my 1 vendor, and at Novice Merchant you get2 vendors anyway. I have Hiring 3 because Ilike the vendor choices (you can use the EG-6 power droid or Treadwell as vendors at that point for instance, as well as Terminal vendors that look like Travel Terminals and more choices in generating NPC vendors). And Efficiency just makes stuff cheaper - in line with most SWG skill tree designs, it's the one that's not generally useful but has to be done to reach Master.

My perspective/situation on this -

I'm a MArt/MDE/MM and I'm currently working on an accidental holocron combat profession. Since I really don't need all the MM skills, I'll be pulling these skills back as I level up my one holo profession. I think this will be a good exercise in determining which merchant skills are truely crucial. I'm learning towards the suggestions above, but I'm not sure yet exactly what I'll keep. And I have plenty of time to contemplate it.

As I was going up the DE tree I realized I would have to give up weapon skills. I was Rifle/Two-handed. I knew that the Rifle wouldn't help me once things got close so I dropped all Marksman and just went Two-handed. You can solo pretty much anything with 5k-6k HAM well below master, so almost anything on the starter planets that might be in your way won't be lethal.

I am Master Artisan, Merchant 4/4/4/4 (need some app points to master) and going to be Master Droid Engineer. Im planning to use the rest of my skillpoints in the Architect tree, in the furniture branch (Im already Novice Architect).
As you see... no combat skills at all I dont want them and now that I can run away from agros quick enough in my bike I dont need them

I'm Master Merchant, Master Artisan, and Master Droid Engineer, and I've got Pistols 4 and Ranged Support 4. With my trusty Probot at my side, I do pretty well when the killin' starts. I ain't gonna solo no Krayt Dragons, but I'll nevah be ganked by no durni or womp rat, no how.

Gack. I need more coffee.

Like Neroir and Alacrity, I focused on Master Artisan, Master DE, Master Merchant. My extra points are in Architect skills. I have NO scout, NO combat (other than Probot at my side sometimes), NO healing of any kind. I also have no troubles checking my harvesters.

I have held this skill profile fine for two months. Before vehicles, I had my Kaadu and Probot go on harvester runs. When the red dots approached, they could take care of most things, or buy me the time I needed to escape. Now with my swoop bike, it's almost trivial. I can check a harvester before the red dots even know I've arrived.

Now, a lack of combat skills certainly reduces your game-play options to crafting and money-making, but it by no means hinders your ability to collect resources.

(Oh, and getting your hands on a Republic Blaster helps a bit. Anyone can use this gun and its stats are qutie a bit better than the CDEF.)

Agreed on the Republic Blaster; don't leave home without it!

(I suspect the Certifications on that are bugged, though.)