Trading on the Silkroad

banzaimonkey · Post by **banzaimonkey** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 12:17 pm

Marcato wrote:My bad.

S'all good.

I think the basic conversion is a 33% increase in capacity from horse to camel due to the 25% decrease in speed. Going from camel to horse, the camel increases speed by 33% but loses 25% of capacity.

Horse: 4m - 12,000
Camel: 3m - 16,000

Toss that up on a cross-multiplication formula and it comes out equal, I think.

Geobot · Post by **Geobot** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 2:07 pm

Marcato wrote:It does increase. You can't have 18,500 of goods on a 1-star camel if you're level 1, it's more like 17,500 (about 16,000 on a horse). So the increase is not huge, but it is an extra 3,000 in profit.

no, what i mean is that my wife and i were able to trade the EXACT same amount, and no more, before going 2star. she is a level 2 trader, and it was my first time even putting on a trader flag. and we weren't just using the most expensive items, that's just a baseline reference of 53 horseshoes we used, since it puts you at 18,444 if i'm not mistaken. and purchasing even one of the cheapest item after that would put either of us over. and we both used camels. the highest possible we found was 18,450, just because we couldn't find a way to get any closer to 18,500, which is my suspect number, without going over.

so unless the difference is less than ONE of the cheapest item between first and second level, i don't get it. and if the difference IS less than one item(meaning less than about 100 gold), what's the effing point?

also, could it have something to do with your character's level instead? because we are both the same level. and maybe that's why different people say the limit is different. it may have nothing to do with trader exp at all.

banzaimonkey · Post by **banzaimonkey** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 4:34 pm

The only other thing I can think of is that it may take awhile (logout, perhaps?) after leveling up your trader level before you'll notice the increase in capacity. When I first equipped my trader flag from Hotan I was disappointed that I did not recieve any bonuses for wearing it, but when I logged in later I was able to add more goods without exceeding 1 star. If you try again later on, see if you can add a bit more goods. Perhpas this was instead because I leveled up and didn't notice the correlation.

The difference between a level 1 and level 2 trader is minimal at best, so you shouldn't expect a huge increase; maybe something between 200 and 1000. Most of my values will be appropriate for a level ~20 person; I don't know whether player level changes things or how much it does if it does.

Silkraod Botter · Post by **Silkraod Botter** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 11:34 pm

thanks for the guide

Geobot · Post by **Geobot** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 11:46 pm

oh, and after looking around on this and other forums, i'm pretty sure that trader level doesn't affect your carrying capacity. character level does though, so that's why people have wildly varying amounts that they claim a camel holds ^^

moley · Post by **moley** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 10:56 am

uhh no. Your trader level does affect how much you can carry. Think of it logically, there's the younger trader who packs as much as s/he thinks their transport can carry and then there's the older, more experienced trader who packs everything perfectly and knows exactly how much his transport can carry on the journey - making them a much more effective trader.

Geobot · Post by **Geobot** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 11:08 am

but really, i've tested it with two different characters... it doens't make a bit of difference,a t least not between level 1 and 2 anyways. haven't tested 3, but i don't see any reason for it to be different either.

the only time the limit raised was when i leveled up my character, not my trader level. i've also seen several other people say the same thing here and at other places, so it's not just me.

banzaimonkey · Post by **banzaimonkey** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 10:52 pm

I concur with Geo. I think the red trader flag and trader level have something to do with PvP attack power / defense vs. thieves (possibly vs. PvE thieves as well). Unfortunately, I have no way of testing this.

xneox · Post by **xneox** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 12:33 am

awesome guide, thanks a lot

suprnova · Post by **suprnova** » Sat Apr 01, 2006 9:23 pm

if i hire a hunter, can he be attacked by all player thieves of every level?

Geobot · Post by **Geobot** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 12:57 pm

yes. that's why if you're a low-level one star trader and want some protection from monsters, you should find someone to tag along, but not in hunter uniform. they can kill stuff for you to clear the way, but thieves can't touch them.

hellsharpt · Post by **hellsharpt** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 4:53 pm

Using a monkey with a camel/horse can trip you up the first time. If you run with your mount following you will notice that when you cross the ferry you will be riding once you get across.

The first time this happened I couldnt figure out how to dismount. The only options on the bottom right were for my monkey. This sucked as I started getting attacked immediately.

You can do 2 things. The easiest is to right click your mounts icon in the upper right corner. Then you get it's options and can dismount.

Otherwise you unsummon your monkey, then you will get the mount's options, then resummon the monkey.

Hope it helps.

suprnova · Post by **suprnova** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 5:58 pm

here i dont know if anyone mentioned it or not xD

i got killed 3 times by bugusers now O.o high lvl thiefs, their npc spawns

.... so i think to use a camel is wrong. if the thiefs use horse they always catch up with you O.o get infront or just near enough to drop somethin on you. cant the gamemaster set the thief spawns on locked target?!

Babyblue · Post by **Babyblue** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 4:31 pm

Hi, I'm new and not yet lv 20, so just reading up on things. Your guide is very nice, but I have few questions, maybe it will be obvious when I do it, but I can't yet.

Can you buy goods and trade if you do not buy or use the white flag? Or maybe only use it when you reach the destination?
Whats the difference between the cheap flag and the expensive flag?
What does a thief do with stolen goods?
Can you trade your good to another player? And have him turn them in?
Can another trader pick up your goods if you spill them?

Shimohime · Post by **Shimohime** » Sat Apr 08, 2006 2:26 am

Babyblue wrote:Hi, I'm new and not yet lv 20, so just reading up on things. Your guide is very nice, but I have few questions, maybe it will be obvious when I do it, but I can't yet.

Can you buy goods and trade if you do not buy or use the white flag? Or maybe only use it when you reach the destination?
Whats the difference between the cheap flag and the expensive flag?
What does a thief do with stolen goods?
Can you trade your good to another player? And have him turn them in?
Can another trader pick up your goods if you spill them?

To answer ur questions:
No, u can't not buy goods and trade as a trader if u do not equip the white flag. U can't even summon a transport with capacity without the flag.

The expensive flag basically shows ur lvl and popular belief (most likely true) is that the flag gives u more power in combat with thieves. It also looks different.

A thief summons a transport, pick up the stolen goods, activate a bandit den scroll, and then sell the stolen goods to make money. However, thieves only get the baseline price. Meaning, if the goods equal 16k, the thief will get 16k, while the amount of money the trader makes depends on profit % and distance traveled.

I'm pretty sure that u can't trade ur goods with another player.

.... Hmm, I've never tried to pick up another trader's stuff. Good question

Geobot · Post by **Geobot** » Sun Apr 09, 2006 2:15 am

no, only thieves can pick up other people's loot. if you try it as a trader, it'll give an error message.

Babyblue · Post by **Babyblue** » Mon Apr 10, 2006 7:45 pm

Thanks for your answer ^^, I got more questions lol

Can you tell other trader is 1 star or 2 star etc, by looking at them or clicking them?

Which is the best path for low lv [20-22] trader to Donwhang? I would think eastern ferry then up and thru/near hyungno [to avoid high lv mob], but I have read post that suggest western and thru lower land [to take the route less traveled]?

Geobot · Post by **Geobot** » Mon Apr 10, 2006 9:31 pm

well, i personally try to go through the south gate of DW, and avoid the hyungno's. i see WAY more thieves along that road, so i don't take it. typically i'll go(from the southwestern ferry) up the road a bit, then cut through one of two passes in the mountains that are FULL of devil bugs and chakjis. if you're really low level you may just want to run straight through the pass and just pot up your camel. then you can clear stuff off him when you get to the other side.

as far as stars..... no. there are some indicators though, but these can often mislead people. first, watch for NPC thieves. one stars spawn one thief, two stars spawn two, etc. this can be tricky though, because 1) they can doublespawn sometimes, and 2) they might just not have killed one yet. if you SEE them spawn, that should give ya a better idea. also, if there's a hunter(in uniform), there's a decent possibility it's highr than one star. but again, this can be misleading.

the only way i know to tell for SURE is to either see soemone spawn 3 or more thieves at once, or to pop on your thief suit and go nuts on em.

antix · Post by **antix** » Sun Apr 23, 2006 1:55 am

Thanks for the info, this will help me a lot.

aznshadow · Post by **aznshadow** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 12:01 am

Great Guide for those who don't know much of trading....

I have another tactic for dealing with 2star and player thieves as well... I found that usually, player thieves try to kill the trader before the camel/horse....

I used this twice and it worked to my survival... I just ran off the road if I saw nearby thieves and once I thought my camel was away from the road I terminated it and continued to run... This tactic is only worth using if your faster then the thief and hes higher lvl then u (I used Grass walk+Phantom walk to run)

As soon as I thought he was out of range I went back to where I thought my camel would be, summon a new one and just went a different path..

Boom Survival!

shrek · Post by **shrek** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 5:55 am

someone just did that nasty tricks on me.
her nick's Dracula - server oasis. she was just robbing some other guy
when i past by him. i ran as fast as i could but my horse were to slow.
a friend of her ( with no job ) attacked my horse . n then,
a thief that was following her (Dracula) horse, attck me. n so i died.
after my horse died, she pick all my items n run away.
someone manage to ress me back but it was too late by then.

y couldn't joymax just make npc thieves atk only whom they're following ..

aznshadow · Post by **aznshadow** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 10:19 pm

moley wrote:uhh no. Your trader level does affect how much you can carry. Think of it logically, there's the younger trader who packs as much as s/he thinks their transport can carry and then there's the older, more experienced trader who packs everything perfectly and knows exactly how much his transport can carry on the journey - making them a much more effective trader.

According to one of the silkroad FAQ at the official site... They clearly state that the levels in any job doesn't do ANYTHING"

"Q. What does job level do? Is there any difference between high and low level jobs?

A. At the moment, only difference between high and low level jobs is the reputation. However, there will be new features added to this system. We are trying to please our users' in every way, and we ask for our users' constant attention to Silkroad Online."

So according to this, there isn't a difference between Trader lvl 1 and 2 except reuputation....

The Good capacities improve as your character level increases... I found for me around ...30ish one level enabled like 2-3 more vases to carry..

toby7ten · Post by **toby7ten** » Sat Apr 29, 2006 10:53 am

Great guide... Props to you!

Lem · Post by **Lem** » Sun Apr 30, 2006 8:45 pm

me and my friend just tried our first one star, managed to do it but not without 3 thieves trying to pwn us with thier red thief spawns and training about 50 chaki on us, major pain in the butt.

antix · Post by **antix** » Tue May 02, 2006 8:13 pm

This guide was very well written and thought out very carefully. By far the best trading guide ever. Thanks for the info!

hAmOdY · Post by **hAmOdY** » Sat May 06, 2006 2:42 pm

thanx too much

MrFaunt · Post by **MrFaunt** » Sun Jun 25, 2006 5:58 pm

Thank you MUCHO for this guide man. Perfect. As for the camel vs. horse thing, I highly recommend using a horse for 1*'s. My first trade run at lvl 21 alone and I have 2 thieves try to drop NPCs on me. But they couldn't get in front of me.

As for your decision whether to keep the tips about the abusive play in here or not, I ask that you keep them. True, those 2 thieves may have learned how to drop from this, but I learned how to prevent it. So traders still win at that point.

Again, sweet guide man.

steve · Post by **steve** » Thu Jun 29, 2006 12:02 pm

yes indeed it's a good guide. But I've tried to run a trade run for 10 times for now, and I think I only succeeded 4 times...if I'm not mistaken.. lolz.. well it's the same situation, player thieves drop the NPC thieves on me and kill me even though I'm doing 1 star trading. All I can do is juz continue running while looking at 2 or 3 NPC thieves dealing 500-1000 damage to my camel.. sigh....bad luck huh :cry:

steve · Post by **steve** » Thu Jun 29, 2006 12:04 pm

can't blame anyone though...who ask me to be a nuub...sigh... perhaps when the new server is introduced then I might think to shift to there, at least there'll be less pros... really tired when thinkin bout this... sigh.... :cry:

MrFaunt · Post by **MrFaunt** » Thu Jun 29, 2006 8:00 pm

Use a horse. You can't hold as much, but you'll be able to stay in front of those drops.