Merchant Archive

Why are you guys continually complaining about how hard it is to Master Merchant? The Merchant profession is the easiest profession in the game to master hands down, if you don't want to actually make money at it. Look kids, I'm gonna break this down for you and make it reeeeaalll simple.

Step 1: Put down a vendor.

Step 2: Pay it.

That's it. You get merchant xp EVERY HOUR regardless of whether or not you are online for every vendor. So all you gotta do is first master the Management line, which gives you extra vendors (up to six total), sit back and watch the xp roll in. With six vendors up you rake in 18k xp EVERY DAY. Each discipline only takes 100k. So all it takes is time and money. That's it. Pay your vendors and you get xp. You don't have to DO anything.

"But that's the problem, JTG! I wanna be able to continuously and repetitively click to get it FASTER."

Well ya can't. But what you CAN do is use your time wisely. Look, you're gonna have to master a random profession right? It could be ANY of them right? Concieveably you may have to go through all them right? So while you're raking in 18,000 merchant xp everyday, take some time to master the OTHER artisan professions. You know, the one's you've got all the macros too and, again, don't really have to do anything. That way, by the time you get through Master Merchant you've already got other Artisan professions out of the way (and maybe saving yourself another holocron) AND something to actually, -GASP!- SELL on your vendors. I know I know, that's just crazy talk.

Merchant doesn't suck. It's the easiest profession to master. And you might just make some money at it if you actually try to play the profession instead of just grinding through it.

Please pardon the sarcastic tone of this post. I'm just tired of people coming onto the Merchant forum and complaining about how much my profession sucks because you can't just repeatedly click your way through it in a day. Especially when if they actually THOUGHT about it, Merchant's probably the best profession to master for your FSCS because you don't have to actually DO anything, and while you're "mastering" it, you can be mastering other professions, possibly making some good money, and making the entire deal, all in all, in the end, pretty sweet.

PS: I also posted this on the Jedi Forums.

WHOOPS! Math Correction. Actually with six vendors up you make 21,600 merchant xp per day.

I would suggest that the gather some AXP as well. Moreover, use the brake in the grinding to stock up on resources you might need for the next holo, or master some of the basic profession so you have a better springboard for the next grind. (or during the holyday, why not go spend some time with you family)

That means leaving the house and hologrinders can't do that as they have spent so long holed up in front of their computers natural sunlight is painful to them. It hurts their eyes and burns their skin. Sad really. They're like Batboy.

wow awesome post =) Im currently on my silent profession and now started on the artisan elites. I started DE 2 days ago and already 0004 , I also got business I and set an acess fee to warm me up for merchant next. I will definitly try this method out thanks again!

Well I just posted a more comprehensive suggestion thread called "So You Don't Know What to Master Next..." or something like that on the Jedi forums. Knock yerself out.

Wow I was dreading getting this profession from a holo, now I hope I get it. You have shut me up before I even knew I was going to speak! Bravo!

Merchant Trees - Time to Completion
Business 4 (Artisan) to Novice (1 Vendor) - 1.4 days
Novice - Management 1 (2 Vendors) - 1.4 days
Management 1 - Management 2 (3 Vendors) - 1.9 days
Management 2 - Management 3 (4 Vendors) - 2.1 days
Management 3 - Management 4 (5 Vendors) - 2.2 days
Management 4 - Completion (6 Vendors) - 13.9 days

Total Time to Complete - 22.9 days

This does not include the 50 xp per person/per building with access feesevery 15 minutes, and another 50 per person every 10 minutes for looking at one of those vendors. That's a potential 500 xp per person for every hour you can recruit members of your PA to help you out.

Awesome post guys. I am also a holo merchant and this is very informing. Thanks.

Thanks JTG, good post!

The only thing I would suggest changing is telling people who become merchantsonly because the Holo told them to, isthat they must master a RANDOM profession. It's true they don't know what it will be, but I don't think it is random at all. I think it is done to balance the professions in the game. If you want tonarrow the options you MAY get from a Holo, try to get an idea of the professions that people are playing around you. In order to make the game work, there needs to bea representation of each profession in an area.

Example 1: I live in Riverlands on Tempest. before the "Gifts of the Magi" most my neighbors (that I had met) seemed to be pursuing the artisan trades and making things. I am more interested in the hunting aspect of the game, but I got Merchant. Not an artisan trade per se, because I'm not expected to generate income by selling the things that I make, but rather the things that others make.

Example 2: A friend is heavily into the GCW, and PVP. He belongs to a combat guild. His holo told him to Master Dancer. He refuses because he thinks it will somehow make him seem "gay". I'm getting him to see the need for dancers in HIS chosen profession, and the fact that there are none in his guild... this just means there is a need for them in his area.

Maybe it is just because of my background/interest in Economics, but that's my theory on Holocrons.

Well YOU don't know what it is, so it's certainly random to YOU.

"I will give 1 million dollars to anyone who meets my criteria. However, I'm not telling you what my criteria are."

-Bill Gates on what "random" means

Ahnuld, as I have understood it the professions are chosen at character creation... If the professions was first chosen when the holo was used, it would be impossible to master without using the holos.
Now there could be reasons why it could appear like that though.

1) People tend to group with people thair own play style. If a player who enjoy PvP the most got a BH holo then it would not be noticed as much, perhaps a change of combat profession but that would be it. But if he got an ID holo, he would be MUCH more noticed in his community. (people remember the bad cases better then the good cases, And people are quicker to talk about the bad things that hapend to then the good things)

2) The 5 random profession chosen at start-up might be influenced by the last months matrix of mastered and novice professions. If 33% pf the players are commandoes, BHs, or CHs then perhaps thoughts are chosen much less then ID or Chef.

I understand and accept both points.

My point on the randomness was that you can narrow the field of possible options by looking on at what's going on around you.

I think that the professions chosen to achieve Jedi are totally dymanic. Otherwise, you should be able to read all Holocrons at once since all professions have been chosen. I think all professions are chosen for you at the time of character creation, but they may be changed during play. I look at the poepple who have been master of 15 or 16 professions and not made Jedi. How can that happen. I think Q said in an interview that "...you don't NEED the holocrons they are just there to help..." Well how can you master 75% of the professions, and not get any indication that you are on the path to jedi? My thought is that the people who are mastering all those professions are the ones who think those are fun professions, and if they are "FUN" there are probably LOTS of other people playing the same profession.

Another thing is that if you have mastered 15 professions you have only need one holocron. You may master that first one, and the subsequent holocron could be silent. I'm not Jedi, so I don't know what happens when you master the fourth profession, but I think you probably know when you've done it.

Thanks for the posts, this is a great board! Much more interesting/intelligent than some of the others I've read.