(Hi! I've posted this in Reddit, and I'm trying to get this little intro out to as many new player areas as possible, if you need any help in game ADD ME! Zen Dewd Cazmath. I'm a new player too but I love helping others so don't over think it if you need some help! I can't tell you how to make money but I can help you with in game mechanics!) So, you've downloaded EU and you've likely done it for one of these reasons: You want to make money off of the game, you think this will be your new job! You saw the game and saw it was a real world economy, maybe you're interested in finance so this game seems like it might be fun. A friend of yours told you about this game, and you want to play it with them. Maybe you're just a hardcore spender and like playing games where you can see your IRL money be put to work and feel an accomplishment seeing your skills and items stacking up to an account you can tell your friends is worth more than 1-10k USD. Either way all of these reasons lead to one thing, you want to try the game! So lets go over realistically what you'll see and what you'll experience when playing. First lets address the most common reason people come to EU, they want to make MONEY! They saw a video about expensive virtual items or a video showing someone getting a 1k USD drop and they think that could be me! Let me tell you now, this is not how the game works. Yes, you can make money. But it's very unlikely with minimal effort that you're going to make anything at all. Also keep in mind, there is two types of players (In a general sense) there are players that want to deposit, spend their PED and enjoy the game. Then there are players who want to make money, like you probably. There are many more people looking to earn vs spend. This game takes time, you have to learn the system and some people just aren't sure what to look for (I'm not sure either yet and some people never figure it out). This leads to players depositing 100-500 USD in their first month spending it all thinking they're gonna get some good loot and skills then they end up quitting because they only bought ammo and a gun maybe some armor then when to shoot mobs and TT (Trade terminal) the loot. This is how to lose money, and I could make a list that never ends with ways to lose money in EU. The curve is recognizing where money is lost and negating it as much as you can to hold out for profit. Another thing to mention is this is a game with a company running it. This company has costs to keep the game going, so they have to make money. That is why there is so many ways to lose your cash. Someone has to lose, for you to win. The money comes from someone no matter what when you or MA (Mind Ark) earns. With that concept in mind, you turn to the players. Because MA isn't going to just consistently pay you out. They can't afford it, and rightfully so they're a business after all. Players are where you can make money. Make yourself useful, build communities and make the game fun. People will pay for the experience. If you don't like socializing that much maybe just keep it cut and dry while working the market. Mark ups are something MA doesn't have to pay out directly, a player does. This is where you can make your money as well. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you'll never make money from mob drops but it's very unlikely and just because you're up doesn't mean you can't go down. See Casinos for reference. If you're running mobs, you want to look not for just a "Good drop" big numbers. You want to look for drops that have mark up, because MA is keeping track of what you spent, and to make money they have to take some of what you spent. To make that back, you sell to players with mark up (Something MA doesn't have to pay out directly) and you can make money off of players for markups while hunting. The problem with this is that you're still gambling. Who's to say you are going to get those good markup drops? Okay, enough with money. I just want to play the game! What can I expect? Well, it's an economy based game so you're going to hear about money a lot, but anyways. This depends on your play style/mentality (Earner vs Spender). What does an earner do in this game? If you want to earn (build your character and make PED) you're going to have a difficult and frustrating job if you don't love what you're doing and being critical of how you play constantly. Your goal is to make PED from players using markup or other methods. It's trial and error, no one has the one answer and if they did the market wouldn't exist because as I said earlier someone has to lose for you to earn. You can do anything under the sun to try and make PED, but you have to be careful. You have to record data, you have to crunch market numbers, you have to plan your skills and items accordingly to spend less. It's a long term planning game at this point with data collection to refine your practices. You will lose a lot in the beginning if you don't do your research to start out and if you don't keep it up. To me this challenge is fun, but can be easily frustrating when you're using money you might need to play. Don't ever deposit money you can't afford to lose. Just like a casino you can lose it all instantly if you do the wrong thing. What does a spender do in this game? Well if you have IRL $$ you don't need, you'll be able to pretty much do anything in this game. You can explore, hunt, and mine without worry because you have cold hard IRL cash. You can spend, and maybe make it back but you don't have to worry too much because you're here to spend. You're one of the people that keep the economy going. Thank you in advance. ----------------------------------- I'd really like to keep writing more, but I'm afraid of repeating myself in different ways. Anyways, if you read all of this and you think the game sounds fun give it a try! A common recommendation some people make is to treat the game like a subscription based MMO, deposit 5 - $15 a month and enjoy your time or try to make more PED, it's up to you! Good luck fellow soon to be EU citizens. PM me if you want to add me in game! Research resources: Youtube: Check out Cereal Overdrive. His content won't give you the answer to making PEDs hand over fist, BUT his information is very valuable. He is a long time community member that knows a lot about EU, just throw some of his videos on while you hunt or sweat, whatever you're doing and collect that info! Forums: There's no specific forum I recommend because many are out of date or not managed anymore. It's kinda hard to sift through the inactive ones but do keep in mind, this game doesn't change drastically often. Since it's an economy based game, big changes can destabilize it. So this means older information may still hold true (And is likely why not many people update it). Twitch: Streamers on EU show you directly what they're doing unedited and they're also a source of current information since they're playing the moment you watch them. Watch and absorb their commentary some help more than others. Excel/google sheets: (This isn't a resource, but you'll need to collect your own data easily and organize it!)
You have missed a few sources of information. A couple of the planets Arkadia is one, have players that the planet partners appointed as advisers to the community and they will happily answer new and old players questions. There is a mentor scheme running. A mentor is someone who has passed their own mentoring, has played for at least 6 months and reached at least level 15 and should be able to pass on some of their knowledge. Graduating from this scheme will get you a full set of armor (http://www.entropiawiki.com/Info.aspx?chart=Armor&id=201) for Arkadia graduation. Most societies have mentors as well as players that advertise their services. Join a new player friendly society. Each planet has a chat channel type /j #arkadia for planet Arkadia chat, most experienced players do not mind pointing a new player to up to date information about various things or giving the answer. Planets dicord channel, (https://discord.gg/FGnPgYe) for Arkadia. #Rookie channel is not just for new players, it is a place where a rookie can ask a question and experienced players can answer. Forums each planet has an official one and often there will be a third party one as well. There are also forums for hunters, crafters, and miners.
