Hi, I just wanted to hear about other people's experiences of earning a living in-world. If you're not a land or spaceship owner it's difficult to get going. Though I've discovered my own ways of doing things (you can read about it on my squidoo lens), I'd be interested to hear what other things folks are up to. So many players gripe about the game, not realising that it's an economy, not just a game - i.e about buying and selling. M.
I find that a few of the things you listed on your blog might actually make things worse. The game is pretty much a casino. MindArk claims skills matter, but skills (in my experience) only matter to minimize your losses, and are only a part of the equation. Yes, you can trade, but trading takes time away from hunting. In the casino, I could also try and strike a deal with others, but it prevents me from playing blackjack at the same time. In BlackJack, you do play against the bank, more than anything. Your peers (other players) and being observant and knowing the odds about what to expect, and when and when NOT to gamble help you decrease the odds that are stacked in favour of the house, and you can force the dealer to go bust. If you do well at your BlackJack table, it does not mean other people are losing more. In PE, in order for you to win, you need to do better than others. MA doesn't have to do anything, as they automatically take their cut, but the precise rules and payout percentage is not public. You state that keeping an eye on globals is a pointer on what to do. If you only go on that information, you will soon think you see a different pattern, and therefore consider switching mobs or activities. The game indeed can pay off by hunting the right mob at the right time, but you'll have to try and figure out how to spot where and what to hunt. In general, your initial loot (say, the first 5-10 mobs) will give you a good idea whether you're in the right area or not. I've also found that certain skillgains might indicate you're about to hit something better than average, though there's theories aplenty about whether or not this is true. I still believe in it, mainly due to the high amount of times I was able to get a global after seeing this particular skillsgain. You also state to go and hunt bigger mobs. Yes, payout might be better on those, but the decay and money spent is also higher. If you can afford it, and have enough of a reserve than it can definately pay, but seeing you're trying to advise players who want to make a bit of cash without significant investment, this piece of advice might cause them to loose their deposit. You're spot on on the patience, though. Minimize losses by hunting efficiently, pick your mobs wisely (which probably decreases the funfactor), know when and especially when not to hunt, keep the next deposit away a bit by making optimal trades whereever possible, and most importantly, do not invest or deposit what you cannot afford to loose completely.
Yes it's only a rough guide which doesn't necessarily work. For example, I was playing at something like 11 am GMT, on a Tuesday, when everything was very quiet in-game, and someone got the biggest loot of all time. Theory: available loot divided between players logged in?
Nope, loot is pretty random and it just means the peds cycled for a while ended up in a jackpot. Some obvious examples was several months ago when me and some others had done CP hardcore pumping tons of peds into it in a few weeks and then when almost no one was online at the time at cp there was a 28k Aurli and 30k Kreltin same hour. Server simply decided "now is the time" and its not related to players online
Trading and sweating are THE ONLY ways to really earn income in EU... Even then, that only works some of the times since you may well pay markup on something and not be able to find a buyer for it at a markup level above what you paid (especially if you are a shop owner since you have to account for the tax man and repair bill on shopkeepers)... the the infamous "rent" or "maintanence fee" that you need to make in return on investment monthly just to break even.
With a bit of brain it is possible to play for free (w/o deposits), yes even make a pretty penny over time - however, it is not enough to quit your RL job (maybe unless you have some 10,000 US$ you can invest) Tell that to i.e. squall...
