Over time you do make a profit. I ran nothing but lock box missions a week ago and kept tally of my money over time and after 7 hours and 50 boxes i made a whopping 17,248k which comes out to 39.29 credits per min or 2357 credits per hour..

 

This is, i believe, what biowares matrix is showing them. What they perhaps are not taking into account is that 17,248 k over 7 hours of game play is a silly amount of money. Im lv 36 with one of my characters and after killing a few guys i can easy rack in a few hundred credits a min.

 

The only real benefit one gets from slicing now days (besides the on planet boxes) is the drops...but as MnMrMustard and many before him have pointed out the GTN economy is a bit cr*p at the moment. Your lucky to get more than 8k for any 340 drops at the moment and i dont really see it changing much in the future. Ive actually contemplated buying up all the low priced stuff and putting it back on for a more realistic price but i fear this would only encourage people to keep posting low.

I think you are tracking the wrong information. Don't track your overall money, track the cost of the missions, the reward and the difference. This is what I have been doing for the last week and I have consistently lost money on the lockbox missions. Every day is a loss overall, at the end of the week it was an overall loss. I am lvl 400 in slicing. I alternate how many companions I sent. I did send the one companion that has a +slicking crit always. I also tried slicing on an alt, I leveled slicing to 101 on that character, I only profited once, yes ONCE on the lockbox mission. Once in the leveling from 1 to 101.

The information I gathered completely disagrees with your post. the difference is maybe the volume? I only play a few hours a night and more on the weekend. But as of right now slicing is not profitable in any way. It is a constant loss. Slicing lockboxes out in the world has been drastically nerfed but at least there are some credits there. That is also the only place I now receive crafting missions. I have not received any crafting missions via lockbox missions only lockbox slicing? secret nerf?

The point is that yes slicing was a super fun, happy time magic money machine. Now it has become utterly useless and operates at a loss if you only run lockbox missions. The slicing nerf was an overkill. Slicing produces only augments, which depending on the market can or can not be profitable. Slicing is ridiculously underpowered compared to other professions. For example underworld trading brings in metals, fabrics, and companion gifts. Any of these is profitable. Its easy to switch between the products due to market demand. Slicing only brings a credit loss from the missions and the occasional profitable augment. Anoterh example; missions from treasure hunting brings in gemstones, lockboxs and companion gifts. Again slicing pales in comparison.

Make slicing actually have a profit, give us more mission choices than augments. Other professions have the ability to actually bring in useful sell-able profitable product. Slicing has gone from being a profession you are a moron not to take to the player being a moron to take.

I'm curious as to why slicing should be the only skill that makes money from doing it? All other crafting skills lose money, slice up some augments and try to make money like all the other crafting skills have to.

All the other crafting and gathering professions produce products that can be sold for a profit. Slicing missions reward you with augments that may or may not be profitable. UT and TH both have the multiple products that can be obtained from missions. Metals, fabrics, companion gifts are all profitable. So to fix your statement why is Slicing the only profession that has to loose money?

I've noticed that Slicing seems to have again been nerfed (I only started slicing after the first nerf.) The profits seem to have been dramatically cut, and losses more common.

However, I've noticed that I do actually profit (barely) on my character with higher affection, then on the character with barely any. I think affection with the companion is a key component in making Slicing profitable.

I keep seeing people say "you only get credits from slicing missions", but that's not exactly true. You also get skill ups.

 

No other gathering skill allows you to skill up from 1-400 without spending any credits or setting foot outside your home planet. Skilling up slicing takes FAR less time/money than any other profession.

 

**Wrong. Completely and utterly wrong. Most gathering skill has nodes, scavenging, bioan, and like those slicing will hit the max level on the first planet. Yes you can level on nodes but to really level you need to run missions.**

 

 

Stop thinking of "Credit Box" missions as the goal. To make them the goal would severely break the economy, as Bioware has already attested to with an official post in this very thread.

 

Slicing nodes and Augments are the goal.

And to that end, Augment mission costs/yields DEFINITELY need to be adjusted.

But the nerf to credit box missions is entirely justified.

 

**Augments are very situational. Nodes are few and have been nerfed to provide very little income. The nerf was justified but it was over done. Slicing is the only profession that produces a loss if you run the missions. It produces one situational profitable product. UT and TH both produce three different products that are very profitable. Slicing only produces augments.**

 

 

 

As an aside:

I keep seeing ArmoredJuneBug compare making money from credit missions to making money with underworld metal missions and I can't help but point out that that comparison is apples to oranges.

 

Credit missions inject more money into the economy.

Selling Mandalorian Iron on the GN not only doesn't inject more money, it's entirely subject to server demand.

 

Slicing allows you to gather credit nodes WHILE your companions are out on other missions.

 

***There are not that many slicing nodes. Scavenging, and bioanalysis also allow you to grab nodes WHILE your companions are out on missions. Slicing is not a unique skill. Other skills provide the same benefits while providing profitable products. THis is something slicing lacks.**

 

Underworld Trading is entirely reliant on having empty crew skill time.

There is a HUGE difference between the two.

 

***You are right UT provides three different profitable mission options. Slicing produces one item that is sometimes profitable.***

**Response is above**

Wait, slicing only produces 1 item that's profitable? Augments? Guess I need to stop making bank on mission unlocks. (schematics too, though not nearly as profitable)

Just like every other tradeskill, real profit in slicing comes from selling stuff to other players. though unlike other skills, it's not total bankruptville working in a vacuum.

My experience with Slicing post-nerf is not as dire as others have stated. I have made a modest sum sending my Companions on missions. Occasionally, I will lose money on a mission. However, that is easily offset by the fact that the overall gain is decent. Nothing stellar. Not going to retire to a quiet planet and just send my Companions on slicing missions by no means. It is not a complete FAIL though. When you add in the credits from slicing I do in the field it is quite a good bit of income. Then you throw in the occasional schematic or mission that drops it is pretty nice income. After 109 missions with an average lockbox level of 5.1 I have made almost $40K profit. That is only the credits earned less the cost of doing the missions. This does not include slicing nodes in the field or schematics or mission drops from missions.

As a level 400 slicer, I find this hard to believe. Most of my missions come back as a failure. Before I would make a little profit, by little I mean 100 credits permission with 1k on a crit. It would profit 8 out of ten times, so 800 credits per ten missions. Lately I have losses 9 out of ten times. No exaggeration. I actually crated a spreadsheet and tracked my epic failures. All losses; anywhere from 50 credits to 100. Not huge losses by any means, but zero profit. I have not received a mission skill from missions in quite sometime.

You can also make 30+K from one level 5 slicing missions that crits. In fact I made over $90k on 10 slicing missions I ran yesterday on an alt.

Now I know that you are lying. ROFL. Wow you overplayed your hand. There is no way any real slicer will believe this. Next time this happens provide screen shots. A level 5 mission will never crit that high. Not even in the magic money machine days. ROFL.

The following is my take on the situation:

 

Slicing missions are not meant to make money. They are meant for the sole purpose of helping to level slicing.

 

At 400, you should not be doing any more slicing missions, with the exceptions of discoveries. Instead, you should be roaming the world making money off of the slicing nodes. Those nodes are where you make money. Not missions.

Do you actually think there are that many nodes out there? There are not that many nodes. The other night on balmorra I was able to see and loot about 5 to 6 slicing nodes. Average payout 644 credits. Biggest payout 900 credits. that was during about a two hour play session. Total profit about 4200. the night before only one lockbox was available, yielded 742 credits. Two hour play session. Slicing is less profitable than all the other gathering skills.

BTW most people are saying that other gathering missons can reward you with mats that sells less than misson cost. Here is the catch geniouses, you get mats from missons yes real crafting mats that can be used in crafting skills. In slicing we literally pay money to LOSE money. we can't use credits for anything else. I could start to give 500 - 600 credits every hour, it'll be the same thing.

 

So in my opinion, slicing should not make you hutt level rich in a day but it shouldn't suck your money neither. Each succesful misson at least reward you with same amount of credits you pay for the misson. Anything else is failure in my eyes.

 

About the profit, %15 - %30 profit is more than enough (only with missons) and a lil increased crit ratio (or useful augments) would make this skill worthwhile again.

Not really. There's an element of randomness to it. It's like gambling, but it favors the player instead of the house.

A single mission could be a huge loss (failure) a slight loss, a slight profit, a good profit, or an incredible profit (blue box). But over the course of many missions, the missions are profitable.

Does it suck when you lose money on a mission? Yep.

Is it great when you triple or quadruple your money on a mission? Yep.

Humans remember the losses more than the gains. But if you track it over hundreds of missions, you'll find that the missions overall are profitable.

Trade skill missions sell for 45k+ on GTW

 

So, with all due respect, stop whinning

On your server, maybe. On mine they sell average 4-6k. The mission skills drop rate has been drastically lowered.

I just want to add my opinion :

 

 

Slicing is O.K. ! WHY? Because you actually profit from it rather than losing credits. The Problem here is that Half of the people are trolling or they have such a high expectations like " Dude I got slicing instead of Crew skill X. I should be filthy rich because it is not connected to any other crafting crew skills => it should make me more credits then the others"

 

 

 

That's the problem. Its not profitable now. It has been over-nerfed. The missions come back at a loss, the lockboxes are few and the amount has been greatly reduced. The other missions only produce augments which are not that profitable. Slicing needs a big buff. Give us more product missions or make the mission payouts profitable again. Your opinion is based on the old slicing. Mine is based on actual experience.

I'm Slicing 400 and did 20 missions at each of the top 4 levels as a test this weekend. I used two companions that had no (C2) or very little affection. In those 80 missions, I got no failures. I have to assume that is an aberration and obviously it would have a tremendous effect on the return rates below.

At each level but the top, I got average return rates of 25-35% and I got mission rewards in 20-25% of the missions (4-5 out of 20). At the top, I only got 1 mission and ca. 17% return rate.

Note that this doesn't count all the money that I just find laying on the ground via Slicing. Given this and that there is absolutely no time or risk involved in sending my people on missions, this seems to be a highly profitable, very low risk enterprise that I'm more than happy to continue. It has already bought speeders for all three of my characters and funds the diplomacy and underworld trading of the other two with a lot left over.

Scorus

those other can absolutly can and do return a loss.

 

Sometimes they fail completly sometimes they come back with very little.

 

Slicing is no diff. Could it use a shot in the arm, sure but no more then the others. T.Hunting is WAY WAY WAY more random and loss possible than slicing.

 

ie) I can send out for 1.5-2k and come back with a green item that sells for half of that. GTH? lol like Ima bother puting a green quality item on there. However I do find blue items, and relics(they sell ok on GTH) and the very very rare purple usually way lower than my current level possibly useful on an alts companion for a couple/few low levels (big whoop).

 

PS if you wanna make money right now. pick up bioanalysis and hunt for nodes. its hard NOT to sell bio mats for top dollar right now.

The difference is with TH you have other options than just lockbox missions. You can do gemstone missions or companion gifts. Gemstones can sell for big $$. Slicing only has lockboxes that are more fail than anything else and augments. TH has choices.

Wait, slicing only produces 1 item that's profitable? Augments? Guess I need to stop making bank on mission unlocks. (schematics too, though not nearly as profitable)

 

Just like every other tradeskill, real profit in slicing comes from selling stuff to other players. though unlike other skills, it's not total bankruptville working in a vacuum.

That would be great if the drops were reliable. the only drop I have received last week was a diplomacy mission drop, and that sells for very little or has to be vendored.

I think you are tracking the wrong information. Don't track your overall money, track the cost of the missions, the reward and the difference. This is what I have been doing for the last week and I have consistently lost money on the lockbox missions.

This is either a blatant lie or you are the unluckiest person alive.

I tracked 20 missions (4 per companion, excluding Doc because I was using him) apiece for the past 3 nights and have averaged ~32k credit gain each night, and that's ignoring the sales of mission schematics which on my server added around another 20k per night.

Sure, it's nowhere near as lucrative as selling Mandalorian Iron right now on my server, but you can't harvest nodes with Underworld Trading.

If I were to add the credits that I gathered from nodes each night while questing while my companions were out on Credit Box missions, it would be a lot closer.

This is either a blatant lie or you are the unluckiest person alive.

 

I tracked 20 missions (4 per companion, excluding Doc because I was using him) apiece for the past 3 nights and have averaged ~32k credit gain each night, and that's ignoring the sales of mission schematics which on my server added around another 20k per night.

 

Sure, it's nowhere near as lucrative as selling Mandalorian Iron right now on my server, but you can't harvest nodes with Underworld Trading.

If I were to add the credits that I gathered from nodes each night while questing while my companions were out on Credit Box missions, it would be a lot closer.

I really really wish it was a lie. Truly I do. It's just not me, read through the thread many people are having similar results. Many people ingame of dropped slicing because if its ineffectiveness. My results are completely contrary to your post. But I am not the only one having similar failures. What level are you and what is your affection level on your companions? Maybe that has something to do with it?

What level are you and what is your affection level on your companions? Maybe that has something to do with it?

50 and at 10k with all companions.

One key that I've found to prevent losing money on missions is to NEVER accept abundant or below. I only run Rich or Bountiful missions, even if I have to go down several levels to find one available.

I found that moderate missions almost always return at a loss for me unless they crit, and abundant are about 50/50, so I avoid them both.

50 and at 10k with all companions.

 

One key that I've found to prevent losing money on missions is to NEVER accept abundant or below. I only run Rich or Bountiful missions, even if I have to go down several levels to find one available.

 

I found that moderate missions almost always return at a loss for me unless they crit, and abundant are about 50/50, so I avoid them both.

Here's a more important question: When was the last time you genuinely did slicing? Not sending out the occasional mission, but sending out several at once over a long period of time and tracked the results?

Because there's a strong difference between your "feel" of your results and the actual numbers others report.

In addition, since you're level 50, could you do me a favor? Go walk around for an hour and kill mobs. Nothing special or anything else, just go grind mobs for an hour, sell off the grays and don't even count the green stuff or blues or epics. Let me know how much you made.

To Lord Aposno.

It bothers me to call you a liar because I don't know you. You might be a very unlucky person and it is a very abrasive thing to call someone, but at this point we either need to discuss the fact you are lying, or that you have a terribad luck with missions, or that you rolled in an empty server (with a deserted GTN and *this* would pretty much explain everything) because what you say does not jive with mine and my friend's experiences.

But.

I started with Slicing. Two friends of mine have as well. We spoke about it as we leveled together. General consensus? From the first time we started sending our companions to do slicing missions we got rewards starting with 100 or so credits.

A pittance, a drop in the bucket, such a small profit. But a profit.

Once... in... a... while... a mission fails, or the lockbox does not cover the cost. This is offset by a wide margin by the times when missions drop. From 500 credits (dumb bike schematics) to epic missions (ranging from 5k to 25k).

And still the lockboxes bring that tiny bit of profit. Miserly, I agree. When you have 700k getting a profit of 200-500 credits is almost nothing. But note, it's an almost nothing for *free*. I can keep on getting that while I RP, while I browse the GTN, while I quest, while I do FPs.

If you missed what I posted above I had 200k at 28, 450k at 33, and at 35 I now have 815k with two epic missions yet to sell.

I posted I was going to reach 1 mill by level 40 but at this rate I will overshoot that goal completely.

It is my first character so I have no idea. Is 815k much for a first character at level 35 or about right?

P.S. I do Slicing continuously. I play an average of four to five hours a day and my companions are out non stop. That's Gault and my ship bot. Gault has two hundred points of affection and nothing for the bot.

To Lord Aposno.

 

It bothers me to call you a liar because I don't know you. You might be a very unlucky person and it is a very abrasive thing to call someone, but at this point we either need to discuss the fact you are lying, or that you have a terribad luck with missions, or that you rolled in an empty server because what you say does not jive with mine and my friend's experiences.

 

But.

 

I started with Slicing. Two friends of mine have as well. We spoke about it as we leveled together. General consensus? From the first time we started sending our companions to do slicing missions we got rewards starting with 100 or so credits.

 

A pittance, a drop in the bucket, such a small profit. But a profit.

 

Once... in... a... while... a mission fails, or the lockbox does not cover the cost. This is offset by a wide margin by the times when missions drop. From 500 credits (dumb bike schematics) to epic missions (ranging from 5k to 25k).

 

And still the lockboxes bring that tiny bit of profit. Miserly, I agree. When you have 700k getting a profit of 200-500 credits is almost nothing. But note, it's an almost nothing for *free*. I can keep on getting that while I RP, while I browse the GTN, while I quest, while I do FPs.

 

If you missed what I posted above I had 200k at 28, 450k at 33, and at 35 I now have 815k with two epic missions yet to sell.

 

I posted I was going to reach 1 mill by level 40 but at this rate I will overshoot that goal completely.

 

It is my first character so I have no idea. Is 815k much for a first character at level 35 or about right?

I could definitively say the same about you. My findings are the same for me and my brother in law who plays on my server. They are the same results for every slicer I have spoken to in my guild. from my experience slicing has been nerfed to the ground. Your results seem as a fantasy to me. From my experience I can not fathom how you earned so much from slicing. Even the luckiest slicers in my guild have no where near that success. Every in game person has had varying experiences, but the consensus is that slicing is no longer profitable. If you read throughout the thread you will notice many people claim to have made a profit, while others are reporting their losses. I expect half the people claiming that they are making so much money are lying because these are the same people that cried nerf when slicing was a magic money machine.

I am neither lying nor falsifying data. I am merely making a post so the devs can take another look at slicing and correct the knee jerk over-nerfing they did to the profession. From my own experiences I can not see how slicing is remotely profitable. In this situation I will believe my own experiences to what you have stated as your results. They seem utterly impossible in the post-nerf world of slicing. I hope you are not lying in order to nerf slicing again.

I run the bountiful or Rich lockbox missions. My results have been posted, I stand by my posts. Believe what you will.

Very well. Then if we are to assume neither of us is lying I don't know what to say. Though I back up my theory about the GTN making the difference. Best thing I can offer is to post screenshots as I level up and my earnings accumulate.

GTN and local server economy will make a huge difference. My post was never on the GTN, but on the ridiculous nerf to lockbox missions.

GTN and local server economy will make a huge difference. My post was never on the GTN, but on the ridiculous nerf to lockbox missions.

...

But then you're taking things in a vaccum. using a WoW's analogy with Herbalism, it is as if you were complaining the Frost lotus (the bonus, rare plants that sometimes spawned when you picked a normal herb) droprate was nerfed while you still make a ton of cash selling the normal herbs.

Screenshots as offered. I went down from 815k by having bought a new helm.

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/687/screenshot2012013120300.jpg/

...

 

But then you're taking things in a vaccum. using a WoW's analogy with Herbalism, it is as if you were complaining the Frost lotus (the bonus, rare plants that sometimes spawned when you picked a normal herb) droprate was nerfed while you still make a ton of cash selling the normal herbs.

 

Screenshots as offered. I went down from 815k by having bought a new helm.

 

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/687/screenshot2012013120300.jpg/

First of all, no you do not make a ton of cash. This is completly relevant to your server and server economy. Mission skill drops sell for 5k max, on my server. Augments can go from 1k to 15k, depending on type, and quality. 15k is rare. And they don't always sell.

If comparing to wow, its like you go and pick a frost lotus but instead you loot nothing and end up dropping 200g on the ground.