MNAT Tutorial # 3 | Basic Economics

[DarkMoonEnigma]

MNAT Tutorial # 3 | Basic Economics​

The Rule -- (as presented by community member Hovno)

• Entropia is unique in the sense that every action taken, or in some cases not taken, has value
• it's part game and part economics simulation
• on the surface, it's easy to learn, but underneath, it's far more complicated
• PED in cost --> minus PED returned = skills gained
• Full Equation
• (mob level + ((PED in cost to kill + armor decay + amp decay + chance of tier breaking)
• -----> minus PED returned) minus mob grouping number (how strong the mob is and rarity)
• -----> = skill returned + (PED return --> minus PED loss based on grouping) + MU)) = Full Return
• Playing 'Eco' (Economical)
• this basically means that you are as close to being profitable in this game as possible
• the goal is, that for every PED spent, you want 90% back as loot, and 10% as skill
• at lower levels, you will be getting far more skills
• this happens as you learn about professions and become more efficient with your weapon
• Exceptions
• sweating is the exception to the rule -- it is one of the activities that is profitable
• -----> even if you don't sell the sweat and only get the skills from it
• -----> the other exception is walking planets or moons and collecting fruits and stones
• another exception would be getting a Global or HoF, or a nice item drop
• -----> it can make the hunt far more profitable than normal, but not something to count on
• another exception is farming high MU items, that once sold, can make a hunt profitable
• -----> Examples would be --> Jelly from Mokhat Juvenile Youngs on Toulan outside the East Gate of Guardian Village
• -----> Basic Targeting Chips on Cyrene, Vixen Android Gears on RT
• -----> this is regardless of any other loot that drops

Basic Markup (MU) - or - Market Value​

This is one of the most important drivers in the game. It's basically the core of the entire economy outside of just selling things to the Trade Terminal. If you right-click on an item and select Market Value, a screen will come up showing what that item has sold for on the Auction House by Day, Week, Month, Year, and Decade. This represents, if anything, what players game-wide are willing to pay over the item's base value (TT).

Information will be shown in one of two ways:

• stackable or (L) items will be shown as a % (for example: 105%), where anything over 100% is profit
• items that are (UL) will be shown as a + (for example: +10.51) -- as such,
• -----> this amount will be the direct PED amount over the TT value

Please be aware that this represents what folks have paid, and not what they will pay for an item. It also does NOT include direct trades between players, or buying from shops or shopkeepers.

This information should be used as a basic and general guideline only.

Trade Terminal vs. Auction House​

Deciding whether to use the Trade Terminal to TT something or use the Auction House has been an eternal debate without a definitive answer because everyone's ideas, play style, personal understanding and goals in the game differ. However, generally speaking, the Auction House is more geared towards less common items, or common items in large quantities. The fees involved with selling on the Auction House are such that in many cases, it simply isn't profitable to sell something this way.

Some will suggest to TT low markup items (usually below 103 and sometimes 105%) because of the hassle of storing it until a buyer can be found, while others will save everything. Your choices will depend on how much storage you have available, as well as how much PED you are willing to have tied up in items that may or may not sell for the profit you want. Acceptable time-frames vary from player to player.

The upside of selling on the Auction House is that you can reach a much broader market without having to be actively involved with in-game interaction personally trading with other players. There are more details with regard to using the Auction House, and may seem a bit confusing at present, but eventually everyone finds a balance that works for them. More Auction House details may be available in a future tutorial.

To Deposit or Not to Deposit​

This is another one of those looming questions that inspires diverse opinions, but the ultimate decision will be yours based on your long and short-term goals. Entropia Universe is very unforgiving, and takes a long time to learn and come to terms with but developing a balance that works for you is key.

The following is a general guideline that may help you decide whether to deposit or not:

Not Depositing
This means you are taking the gear that you receive in your initial training and are working up from there with basically nothing. However, as a Monrian Born, you have an advantage over other locations because the you are supported with the following programs in the progression of your learning experiences:

• Monrian Born Program -- includes a sweat buying program for Monrian Borns only
• Monria Space Travel Program - Monrian Born are eligible for free space travel
• Monria has a wonderful community that is always ready to help, especially in Monria chat channel
• --- sign up for your free travel benefit here -- follow the instructions in the first post

Without the above benefits, or a Mentor that is truly dedicated to the progression of your universe experiences, you will eventually find yourself low on PED, and here are ways to make PED.

• Sweating
• sweating mobs and selling the sweat is time consuming, boring, and low pay
• the upside is, you get some decent skills along the way that will be beneficial later
• skills such as evade, anatomy, concentration, psyche, etc.
• sweating the Yog is most favorable because it yields high levels of sweat in a short period of time
• there used to be
• Selling Loot for Profit
• this is pretty much what drives most of the game
• selling things at auction or to other players for markup (MU) will extend your game-play
• if you get good at it, your game-play is more sustainable -- if not, it's back to sweating
• Pure Luck
• there are a multitude of theories on this one but not one that truly stands out above the rest
• however, if you should be at the right place at the right time, it could change your EU life for sure
• even a small Global or HoF can be a game changer, but a large All Time High can put you over the top
• keep in mind though, that the equation is input vs output which will determine true value
• Globals, HoFs and ATHs are not something you should count on to support your game play
• just enjoy them when they happen, and find a happy medium with your choices

Depositing
Simply put, depositing money into the game affords you an opportunity to buy gear, weapons, ammo, or whatever your needs are to advance the skilling and effectiveness of your avatar. It affords you the means to do more but The Rule as stated above still applies. Just because you've expanded the girth of your PED card, it doesn't mean that the equation changes with regard to successfully navigating this real cash economy. It's good practice to make wise choices no matter how deep your PED card goes.

However, if you are less concerned about PED loss and want to experience everything there is to experience and take risks with investments in hope that they pay off in the long-term, then enjoy the process because there's a huge learning curve, and hopefully along the way the knowledge you gain from your experiences will find you pleased with your decision making. Don't make it all about business though, have some fun.

Remember this too -- while the sky is the limit if you go this route, you are really only speeding up your material presence in the game because the skills and knowledge to be a good player only come by actually playing the game. You can buy millions of rounds of ammo quite easily if you have the PED, but you still have to use the weapons for it to mean anything.

Some things to think about:

• prior to making big deposits, give yourself an opportunity to experience the game for a bit
• engage in some due diligence and educate yourself about possibilities and what the risks are
• if this game is for you, determine a course of action and set incremental goals
• don't deposit and spend more than you can afford to lose
• even $10 USD can make a big difference in your game experience
• some will deposit between $10 - $20 USD like a subscription and play within those parameters
• choose your level of involvement and find a balance between depositing and playing that works

There's a wealth of information available from those who are considered veterans of the game, and many are willing to share their knowledge in order to help you make wise decisions. Connecting with a good community that is willing to support your efforts and desire to advance with your game play if worth the effort. Monria is very active with helping those who are not only new, but those who are still learning.

 

[DarkMoonEnigma]

Additional information will be added to this tutorial pertaining to:

• explaining terminals and how to use them
• defining the Auction House and how to use it
• Trade Terminal vs Auction House
• Item Info and how to analyze it
• understanding Market Value
• Shops, how they work and why you should use them
• how direct trading works and what to watch out for
• and more

The above information will be included in the tutorial as soon as possible. There may be more information as well because we want the tutorials to be as comprehensive as possible, even at the basic level.

We appreciate your patience while we assemble these tutorials. We will continue to add tutorials and information that we feel will be of benefit for our Monrian-born and community in general.

In the meantime, as we add the tutorials, if you have something that you feel would enhance any particular tutorial, please don't be shy about contributing your own post. We will eventually get to the point where we will be adding information pertaining to content that was found the the Wiki, which is no longer operational.

We decided to go a different route, so bear with us and in the end, we'll have a wealth of information and resources that will benefit our Monrian community.

Thank You

 

[DarkMoonEnigma]

The original post has been updated with more content.

More may be added, or we may split the information into two tutorials.

 

[DarkMoonEnigma]

We're keeping MNAT # 2 Tutorial about General Information, and created an MNAT # 3 Tutorial for the Basic Economics. More content will be added to both, and due to the length of the Basic Economics tutorial, we may split that into Part 1 and Part 2 to keep length reasonable.

As I mentioned elsewhere, if you have anything to add to the MNAT Tutorials that we are developing that you feel would benefit our Monrian-born, by all means, please share your thoughts and ideas.

Thank You

 

[DarkMoonEnigma]

The first post has been updated with the most current information available. More information may be added.

 

[DarkMoonEnigma]

The first post has been updated with the most current information.

 

[DarkMoonEnigma]

MNAT Tutorial #3 - Basic Economics has been updated.