To moderators, not sure where something like this would go - but i posted it here, feel free to place it where it would be most applicable.
Hello,
This is intended to help new people (or more experienced lol) more concretely grasp the fundamentals of making money in Ultima Online. By making money I mean making GOLD, not any other currency. This is also intended to share my research and get my own gears going as to what can be done about being poor in game! I have, in my usual fashion, specifically categorized the ways I can think of and would like to share my opinions and experiences with each. These are in no particular order! I also will refrain from quoting specific prices as prices and circumstances always change, so take this as it is for the time it was written. Also - these are ethical and legitimate ways of making gold, and at the end of the day you might very well be glad you did it this way.
BODs and Crafting Items for Profit
The thing about BODS and crafting items for profit is that the bigger you go, the bigger you get, and youll find that true in alot of these professions. Now dont let that discourage you, BODs and crafting for profit can be done on a very small scale, over time, but the larger you invest in the operation of it, the better you will recieve at the end of the day- and sooner. Make no mistake though, BODs are tedious work and are not for everyone. If you have problems sitting still you might want to skip this. Refer to uoguide to learn all about BODs. The other side of this spectrum is Crafting for Profit, and ill be very frank in telling you that you are not selling just a 100 poison bow or a slayer weapon or a woodland piece with 5hci and killer stats, you are selling the knowledge that the other person doesn't possess. Most crafting in UO is incredibly easy to manufacture, but requires the know-how as the system is quite complicated and frankly convoluted with no explanation. Research, trial and error, and experience will be your best friend.
Social
This one is quite simple. If you need help? Ask. There are MANY players in the game who will lend a hand, and sometime down the line once you are established it is only natural to be compelled to be on the giving end. There are a lot of creeps in the game. But for every single creep there are 4 people that will set you in a good direction and will lend items or gold, as long as it doesn't inconvenience them too much. From 0 items in the inventory to a starter set or some insurance money, simply asking chat in a humble way can get you started. And this doesn't only refer to items; if you are lost with how something works or if you need some advice on what skill to train, just ask. Nothing much more to say about this, but it is important to list.
Taming
Taming is a VERY fickle profession, and one that requires both skills and some gear. Add this to the ever diminishing demographic (as in the market for pets is quite small and specific) and you might think twice about doing this one. However, once you are proficient enough to tame things and not die when trying, it then becomes all about time and less about what you have. The end game of taming is of course greater dragons and such; long gone are the days of selling horses and ostards as much as I fondly remember. Pets with specific uses are the name of the game now. But once you have established a character that can tame and established some gear that will protect you, its simply a matter of spending the time to acquire better pets to sell. For greater dragons specifically, there is a percentile, or rating system - and this is built upon the fact that that dragons spawn randomly. If you spent all day long in destard taming Greater Dragons and you tamed exactly 100 of them, you would likely walk away at the end of the day with 3 or 4 in somewhere near the top percentile, and many more as the quality goes down. It is in my personal opinion that the amount you receive from the right buyer exceeds the time you invest, especially if you train the better ones yourself and up the price for the convenience. Other pets that are hot sellers (and require less skill) can be the variety of beetles (each with a specific use) and special rideables such as Cu's and lesser hiryus.
Resource Gathering
This is an old time bread and butter of UO and honestly any online game .. ever? But in UO as you can probably tell not all items are considered equal in regards to time to acquire and risk in acquiring them. There are some that are safe (such as wooden boards or ingots) and require next to no investment or setup, and there are some that require a whole suit of armor or a house to get (such as some imbuing reagents or things that can only be gotten via growing seeds). If you plan on doing resource gathering, it is essential that you consider your own needs, and then extending that thought into research on what sells better. Usually the more expensive things tend to be less abundant and harder to acquire. Naturally, right? So if this is the path you decide to take, i advise that you take a look at something specific, then looking at its average price, and then research into what goes into collecting the resource. This way you can determine what is better for your play style and time.
Specific Named Artifact/Item Farming through COMBAT
This one is pretty easy to explain. Some specific creatures have a variety of chances to drop specific items, and if one were to simply kill the creature over and over, there is a higher chance to get the item or multiples of the item to sell to players who either don't know how to acquire the item or don't want to spend the time to do it themselves. With the exception of "limited time" items, the old saying "its gotta come from somewhere" definitely applies. So if you notice an absence of a particular item - lets say for example you notice there is not a single Animated Leggings of the Insane Tinker on the vendor search and there hasn't been for a whole week, you can research where the item comes from (in this example it is a mini champ spawn in Stygian Abyss) and you can plant yourself down and kill it till you win one. This can be time consuming but can also be extremely profitable, and can require help from others or some investment with what you are wearing. Besides, knowing where things come from helps your own advancement as well. But this is a gold article, so.. sell it. Whether it be the new content such as Shadowguard or something older, there is a niche to be found on every shard for something.
Specific Named Artifact/Item Farming through non-combat
This may seem like a dream come true! "You mean i dont have to fight to get things?" But you will quickly find that things acquired without investment or gear either don't go for much or require alot of time to produce. A great example of this would be the city trade runs for a Slim's Shadow Veil. On one hand there's nothing to it, you are simply getting on a boat and taking a box from one city to another (with maybe a small fight between), but there are tales of people doing these runs for months with no luck on getting this ultra rare and extremely valuable helmet. Stealables are also within this list, and knowing where they originate and how often they spawn is crucial to obtaining them. Planting sugarcane seeds in your house for elusive sugar or even just sitting down while another player's house is about to collapse from inactivity classifies. But every one of these things i mentioned require - what? Time, and quite a bit of it if you settle into something specific and stay there.
Player Event Involvement
Now this doesn't only apply to just "find the next event that an event moderator gives something worth gold and go there", although this is the first thing that comes to mind. You can find great profit as well as enjoyment out of interacting with players at many kinds of events run by all kinds of people. Auction houses can pretty much just be called "get things for a fraction of its price" houses, and casinos are a real thing people attend and can run, all of these have the potential to mean more stuff for you, so be active in your community, and seek out to be a part of something special. And more importantly, this can require (if you're an attendee and not the person running the darn thing) very little time and ca be very fun.
Merching
Buy low, sell high - there is no exception to the fact that in any economy will have people doing this. This can be items, houses, you name it. UO in particular has a very unique economy, and the profit margins can be extremely far apart depending on the situation. So yes, being a buy low sell high merchant is pretty much one of the least timely, most productive way to spend your UO day. However, there is a catch. Not only do you need to know the big three (buy value, actual value, and resell value) of each item you plan on buying, selling, and trading, but this requires some initial gold. Typically the margin of profit widens as the items value increases, and this is natural. So, this method of making money actually is not recommended unless you have a decent amount of money in the bank and have learned what at least some of the items do and go for.
In Closing...
My biggest piece of advice is to find a category or two categories that appeal to you, but absolutely no more than two for starters. UO simply has too much to do, and if you try to bite off more than you can chew with multiple tasks not only will things not get done but you will burn yourself out faster than you'd think. There is only 24 hours in a day and you can't be everywhere at once. I have also said several times to research, and learn things for yourself. This is so important in a game as complex as this. Mis information can be cause of you losing out on many things, and gold as well. Help yourself - knowledge is power - and dont be afraid to ask questions.
And lastly - The most precious thing we have is time. I mention time at least 10 times in this writing, and for a good reason. What appeals to you? What can you see spending your time doing within uo to make gold? Answer this and you'll not only be profiting, but will be profiting and having fun as well, and that is important as this is a game after all!
Thank you for reading, and may your pockets be laden with gold AS WELL as mind with fond memories.
Elite Empire
Hello,
This is intended to help new people (or more experienced lol) more concretely grasp the fundamentals of making money in Ultima Online. By making money I mean making GOLD, not any other currency. This is also intended to share my research and get my own gears going as to what can be done about being poor in game! I have, in my usual fashion, specifically categorized the ways I can think of and would like to share my opinions and experiences with each. These are in no particular order! I also will refrain from quoting specific prices as prices and circumstances always change, so take this as it is for the time it was written. Also - these are ethical and legitimate ways of making gold, and at the end of the day you might very well be glad you did it this way.
BODs and Crafting Items for Profit
The thing about BODS and crafting items for profit is that the bigger you go, the bigger you get, and youll find that true in alot of these professions. Now dont let that discourage you, BODs and crafting for profit can be done on a very small scale, over time, but the larger you invest in the operation of it, the better you will recieve at the end of the day- and sooner. Make no mistake though, BODs are tedious work and are not for everyone. If you have problems sitting still you might want to skip this. Refer to uoguide to learn all about BODs. The other side of this spectrum is Crafting for Profit, and ill be very frank in telling you that you are not selling just a 100 poison bow or a slayer weapon or a woodland piece with 5hci and killer stats, you are selling the knowledge that the other person doesn't possess. Most crafting in UO is incredibly easy to manufacture, but requires the know-how as the system is quite complicated and frankly convoluted with no explanation. Research, trial and error, and experience will be your best friend.
Social
This one is quite simple. If you need help? Ask. There are MANY players in the game who will lend a hand, and sometime down the line once you are established it is only natural to be compelled to be on the giving end. There are a lot of creeps in the game. But for every single creep there are 4 people that will set you in a good direction and will lend items or gold, as long as it doesn't inconvenience them too much. From 0 items in the inventory to a starter set or some insurance money, simply asking chat in a humble way can get you started. And this doesn't only refer to items; if you are lost with how something works or if you need some advice on what skill to train, just ask. Nothing much more to say about this, but it is important to list.
Taming
Taming is a VERY fickle profession, and one that requires both skills and some gear. Add this to the ever diminishing demographic (as in the market for pets is quite small and specific) and you might think twice about doing this one. However, once you are proficient enough to tame things and not die when trying, it then becomes all about time and less about what you have. The end game of taming is of course greater dragons and such; long gone are the days of selling horses and ostards as much as I fondly remember. Pets with specific uses are the name of the game now. But once you have established a character that can tame and established some gear that will protect you, its simply a matter of spending the time to acquire better pets to sell. For greater dragons specifically, there is a percentile, or rating system - and this is built upon the fact that that dragons spawn randomly. If you spent all day long in destard taming Greater Dragons and you tamed exactly 100 of them, you would likely walk away at the end of the day with 3 or 4 in somewhere near the top percentile, and many more as the quality goes down. It is in my personal opinion that the amount you receive from the right buyer exceeds the time you invest, especially if you train the better ones yourself and up the price for the convenience. Other pets that are hot sellers (and require less skill) can be the variety of beetles (each with a specific use) and special rideables such as Cu's and lesser hiryus.
Resource Gathering
This is an old time bread and butter of UO and honestly any online game .. ever? But in UO as you can probably tell not all items are considered equal in regards to time to acquire and risk in acquiring them. There are some that are safe (such as wooden boards or ingots) and require next to no investment or setup, and there are some that require a whole suit of armor or a house to get (such as some imbuing reagents or things that can only be gotten via growing seeds). If you plan on doing resource gathering, it is essential that you consider your own needs, and then extending that thought into research on what sells better. Usually the more expensive things tend to be less abundant and harder to acquire. Naturally, right? So if this is the path you decide to take, i advise that you take a look at something specific, then looking at its average price, and then research into what goes into collecting the resource. This way you can determine what is better for your play style and time.
Specific Named Artifact/Item Farming through COMBAT
This one is pretty easy to explain. Some specific creatures have a variety of chances to drop specific items, and if one were to simply kill the creature over and over, there is a higher chance to get the item or multiples of the item to sell to players who either don't know how to acquire the item or don't want to spend the time to do it themselves. With the exception of "limited time" items, the old saying "its gotta come from somewhere" definitely applies. So if you notice an absence of a particular item - lets say for example you notice there is not a single Animated Leggings of the Insane Tinker on the vendor search and there hasn't been for a whole week, you can research where the item comes from (in this example it is a mini champ spawn in Stygian Abyss) and you can plant yourself down and kill it till you win one. This can be time consuming but can also be extremely profitable, and can require help from others or some investment with what you are wearing. Besides, knowing where things come from helps your own advancement as well. But this is a gold article, so.. sell it. Whether it be the new content such as Shadowguard or something older, there is a niche to be found on every shard for something.
Specific Named Artifact/Item Farming through non-combat
This may seem like a dream come true! "You mean i dont have to fight to get things?" But you will quickly find that things acquired without investment or gear either don't go for much or require alot of time to produce. A great example of this would be the city trade runs for a Slim's Shadow Veil. On one hand there's nothing to it, you are simply getting on a boat and taking a box from one city to another (with maybe a small fight between), but there are tales of people doing these runs for months with no luck on getting this ultra rare and extremely valuable helmet. Stealables are also within this list, and knowing where they originate and how often they spawn is crucial to obtaining them. Planting sugarcane seeds in your house for elusive sugar or even just sitting down while another player's house is about to collapse from inactivity classifies. But every one of these things i mentioned require - what? Time, and quite a bit of it if you settle into something specific and stay there.
Player Event Involvement
Now this doesn't only apply to just "find the next event that an event moderator gives something worth gold and go there", although this is the first thing that comes to mind. You can find great profit as well as enjoyment out of interacting with players at many kinds of events run by all kinds of people. Auction houses can pretty much just be called "get things for a fraction of its price" houses, and casinos are a real thing people attend and can run, all of these have the potential to mean more stuff for you, so be active in your community, and seek out to be a part of something special. And more importantly, this can require (if you're an attendee and not the person running the darn thing) very little time and ca be very fun.
Merching
Buy low, sell high - there is no exception to the fact that in any economy will have people doing this. This can be items, houses, you name it. UO in particular has a very unique economy, and the profit margins can be extremely far apart depending on the situation. So yes, being a buy low sell high merchant is pretty much one of the least timely, most productive way to spend your UO day. However, there is a catch. Not only do you need to know the big three (buy value, actual value, and resell value) of each item you plan on buying, selling, and trading, but this requires some initial gold. Typically the margin of profit widens as the items value increases, and this is natural. So, this method of making money actually is not recommended unless you have a decent amount of money in the bank and have learned what at least some of the items do and go for.
In Closing...
My biggest piece of advice is to find a category or two categories that appeal to you, but absolutely no more than two for starters. UO simply has too much to do, and if you try to bite off more than you can chew with multiple tasks not only will things not get done but you will burn yourself out faster than you'd think. There is only 24 hours in a day and you can't be everywhere at once. I have also said several times to research, and learn things for yourself. This is so important in a game as complex as this. Mis information can be cause of you losing out on many things, and gold as well. Help yourself - knowledge is power - and dont be afraid to ask questions.
And lastly - The most precious thing we have is time. I mention time at least 10 times in this writing, and for a good reason. What appeals to you? What can you see spending your time doing within uo to make gold? Answer this and you'll not only be profiting, but will be profiting and having fun as well, and that is important as this is a game after all!
Thank you for reading, and may your pockets be laden with gold AS WELL as mind with fond memories.
Elite Empire
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