But I don't have much time.. (Part Two)

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But I don't have much time.. Part Two: Reliable Markets.

So your play time is limited and you want to make some money; an approach you may want to try is exploiting reliable markets. Finding stable markets that are always profit-worthy can be a little time consuming at first, but once you have you can continue making a reliable profit off of them.

My absolute favorite market for this is fine and masterwork dyes. This isn't because it's a high-profit market but because it's fairly dependable. I also have a soft spot as fine dyes are one of the first items I ever started flipping. I'd been buying dyes using buy orders for personal use when I spotted the profit-worthy gap and didn't look back.

Dyes are my fallback market for small but reliable profits, the only time I've not seen dyes be profitable in recent months is when things are very busy, usually at times of seasonal events etc. Not all dyes will be able to be flipped for a profit at all times so buy and sell sensibly.

Your first step in flipping dyes is to check prices. See what the majority of dyes are selling for. You'll find that the majority of dyes of the same rarity often cluster in price (excluding the odd one that has much higher demand)

At the time of writing this article the majority of fine dyes are selling for between 77c and 99c. If I were planning to flip dyes today I'd make note that my lowest selling price for these dyes should be 76c. To work out what to buy the dyes for I'd multiply my amount by 0.85 to account for the 15% that would be lost in trading post fees:

76 x 0.85 = 64.6

So to break even I'd need to buy at 64c. To ensure profit I'd go through and place buy orders at or below 60c. This ensures a profit of at least 4c per dye but often you'll see profits of 30+ copper per dye on fine dyes (with larger profits on masterwork dyes) Of course a few copper may not seem like much but buying stacks of dyes in as many colours as you can get hold of really adds up. 

Placing the orders and listing your sales shouldn't put too much of a dent into your time and the sales can just be left for a steady trickling income. This won't get you rich quick but a profit is a profit. 

Of course dyes aren't the only steady market to be exploited but I'll leave finding a favored steady market that you're comfortable with down to you. There may be a little trial and error involved to begin with but once you've found your niche it won't take much time investment to keep money rolling in.

To Dye For: Pretty in Pinks & Reds

Words & screenshot by me, formatting and other artwork by the talented Fornax. More Krytan Herald articles can be read here.

 

Francis' Journal: Good Intentions, Bad Weather

Today I ventured back into the Reach. I knew my old 'friends' wouldn't want to see me but I craved the safety of the high, protective walls again. Besides, I finally have enough money saved up to stay in an inn where I won't wake up with my throat slit and my meager possessions gone.  As I walked through the gates however I was greeted by the sound of a Queen's herald. I didn't take in the details, I really should have, but she was spreading news of some disaster or another in the Shiverpeak Mountains. She asked for help on behalf of the refugees dislodged from their homes and my heart went out to those poor Norn. I know all too well what it's like to be dislodged from your home by a force of nature (those who would disagree that my father is a force of nature have clearly never met the man). Of course I also saw it as a way to get back into my family's good graces, they would often talk about 'playing nice' with the other races and this sort of thing would surely look good; a noble reaching out to the unfortunate of another species. So off I went. I'd never used the Asuran portals before so that was a new experience but it beat wandering for days, potentially getting lost and mugged by bandits for my efforts.  Hoelbrak is cold, really, really cold. I know they're called the Shiverpeaks but I'd not expected how utterly freezing it was, especially considering how little I've seen several Norn wear! My coat is comfortable but far too thin for such cold weather. I almost turned around and went home there and then but I'd come this far so I soldiered onwards hopeful that my body would adjust with time and exposure. I helped all i could in the city but I was soon coaxed out into the wilds of the foothills. One Norn asked me to walked back along the refugees path, fixing signs so they'd know the route back to the city. It seemed simple enough so I agreed and set to work. It was simple enough to begin with, but it soon seemed that heading towards the mountains made my time in Queensdale look like a walk in the palace gardens! At one point a huge Norn dressed in blues dropped from a tree and tried to assault me. I have never run so fast in my entire life! I didn't stop until I reached a small refugee camp. Thankfully one especially broad axe-wielding mountain of a male Norn was in good shape and protecting the camp and didn't seem to mind terribly that I hid behind him. I stopped at the camp to catch my breath and planned my trip back to the safer part of the foothills, helping the refugees was a task for those far more adventuresome than me it seemed. Something odd did happen while I was there however. I was helping start a fire which was being really very uncooperative and getting increasingly irate. I glared angrily at the kindling we had, demanding it spark to life, and it did. I'm sure it was just eerie coincidental timing but it did make me jump nonetheless. Tonight I am back in Hoelbrak, I'm staying in one of the animal lodge affairs and one of the workers here, a shaman I think she said she was, suggested that tomorrow I stay in the safe parts of the foothills and visit the shrines. I'm not sure what she thinks I'll gain from Norn shrines but I am willing to visit, afterall she mentioned a key word 'safe'. It will be more than welcome after today.

OOC: Long overdue mention of the Flame & Frost prelude. Francis didn't get all the way along the refugees route but he made a good stab at it!

Are the nobility truly noble?

Words & screenshot by me, formatting and other artwork by the talented Fornax. More Krytan Herald articles can be read here.

Travels in Tyria: The Queen's Forest

Words & screenshot by me, formatting and other artwork by the talented Fornax. More Krytan Herald articles can be read here.

Dailies make me a manipulative cow

What dailies do to me.

I have to admit that in a lot of ways I am a very lazy player, the daily achievements are easy enough to do yet still I don't get them done every day I'm on, there's always items to flip or RP to be had and I'm easily swayed by these distractions.

When I do get around around to my daily achievements I've noticed that some of the new tasks they've added changes my behaviour while playing as I try to get my 100% as quickly as possible. The first big change is the days 'Daily Healer' crops up.

See those fine upstanding villagers getting savaged by a wolf? Ordinarily I'd be all over that, saving the day and whatnot like a good adventurer. But today is Daily Healer day, I need to revive some people so I stand twiddling my thumbs, orchestrating their downfall.

After they fall prone I sweep in, fight the bad guys (or if I'm especially lazy I let my hounds of Balthazar do it) and tend to the poor peoples wounds. They hop up, cheer and thank me, I'm a hero!

Stopping to help injured people as you pass them is a great idea for a daily task, unfortunately wanting to be quick makes me a bit of a manipulative cow. Okay a lot of a cow on the days I trail mobs into an NPC to get that final revive..

I'd like to say I'd change my ways, that I'll put in a few more minutes to find already downed NPCs or players and help them out, but I probably won't!

Francis' Journal: The 'Beauty' of Nature

Again I awoke feeling as though I was suffering a hangover, every inch of my being screamed out in agony. I had thought myself to be in good shape but this morning every single one of my muscles ached, how do the common folk endure these tortures to their bodies every day? At that point I would have murdered for a half-decent masseuse. Alas that lifestyle is still out of reach until I prove to father that I've 'learned my lesson'  After I dragged myself out into the world my day actually got off to a pretty good start. I heard a man yelling for help and once I was completely certain there were no muggers running past me or monsters on the loose I decided to cautiously investigate. Turned out that the man's rabbits had gotten loose and they were feasting on his crops. Spying a chance to be a good samaritan (something that's bound to earn favour with father) and to play with cute bunnies I was eager to help. Chasing the little creatures around was far harder than I'd expected, the staff were responsible for rounding up Lord Snuggles at the end of the day when I was a boy but I'd always assumed it was a simple enough job.  Difficulties aside we eventually managed to round them all up with minimal damage to his harvest, he even tried to sell me one of the rabbits. If I wasn't finding it so hard feeding myself I would have been tempted, I never did forgive Amber for what her mutt did to my poor Lord Snuggles, those squeaks haunt my dreams to this day. When I mentioned that I really couldn't afford it the kindhearted man gave me a small reward for helping him out. It seems the 'peasants' are far more pleasant than my old friends had led me to believe. Speaking of which I haven't heard a thing from any of them since my exile, it makes me question everything I knew. But perhaps that's the exhaustion and lack of rich filling foods talking. The day went downhill from there.. First I tried helping a local fisherman. He asked me to check the traps he'd set up, which sounded simple enough. I should have known better by that point, nothing is 'simple' with these people. I went to open one of the fishing cages when I was savaged by a drake! The fisherman laughed it off saying it was only a baby and drakes and skelks got into the cages all the time! I have no idea how long I ran for but it was certainly long enough to ensure none of those evil water-lizard was following me! Next the dam. I wasn't looking forward to more heavy lifting but at least this time it would be safe, hopefully. I was clearing rocks and plugging leaks and I got to chat to some of the other workers. After hearing about my predicament one of the older workers gave me his pickaxe and taught me how to spot ore deposits, he explained that if I ever intended to travel that gathering ore for craftsmen could earn a decent wage. I was a little skeptical but right now a gift is a gift and I wasn't going to turn it down. I was settling into my day at the damn, thinking that it was nice to have a quiet job for a change when the world had to go and prove me wrong yet again. It turns out the dam isn't safe. I was just minding my own business when a giant looming figure made out of stone stomped it's way towards me! Needless to say I found a safe place to hide and let the proper authorities deal with it. I tried to write off the elemental attack as a one off, to tell myself that perhaps it was poor luck that my peaceful job had been interrupted. Unfortunately the living nightmare that is Queensdale had other ideas. As I set back to work we were beset by flying creatures. 'Harpies' I believe one worker yelled though I wasn't paying too much attention as I was moving with haste and purpose to find a different job for the rest of the afternoon. Deciding that the incident with the rabbits was clearly a sign I should be working with cute animals today I headed for the Moa ranch. For a brief shining moment I felt that my hunch had been correct as I was hired on to find some missing Moa chicks that the workers assumed were just hiding in nearby bushes. So there I was, making cute sounds to coax out baby birds, with some degree of success I might add, when I came to some heavily rustling undergrowth. Hoping to bring another chick home I reached out to try to reassure the poor creature only to end up with the barrel of a pistol aimed squarely at my face! Apparently bushes are good hiding places for Moa chicks and bandits! If it hadn't been for the quick action of my hero, rancher Mepi, I doubt I'd be alive to write this. Perhaps I should try the city for opportunities tomorrow, clearly the 'peaceful farmland' of Queensdale isn't so peaceful.

OOC: I'm slowly getting back up to date on these entries, the next one should see Francis becoming more aware of the situation with the Flame & Frost storyline. This entry is just a summary of the rest of Queensdale and the dangers therein. Several of the renown hearts in the area are doable without fighting anything though the Moa Ranch is tricky as you need to keep coming back when those bushes are 'suspicious' again! I could have tried going into the Bandithaunt caverns to kick over some of the bandit's supplies but poor Francis didn't fancy trailing that many bandits around and I played it safe!