LAST UPDATED - 14/04/12

 

Hi there everyone!

 

I am writing this guide for those of you who struggle to make ends meet in-game. I am going to share with you everything I have picked up through my 7 year MMO history. Hopefully you will leave this thread with a better understanding of the game economy and how things really work.

 

This is not a thread of exploits or scams. If anyone posts about scamming or exploiting, their post will be flagged for deletion.

 

So here we are again, another guide, another topic. If you find this information useful, please rate & comment to keep it at the top of the page for others to see and flag it for a sticky!

 

If you want to discuss what makes you a lot of money, feel free to share your ideas here so others can benefit! This thread is here so we can help others, help themselves.

 

[aname=anchor0]Guide: Making Credits[/aname]

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS - Click a link!

• [jumpto=anchor1]USEFUL LINKS[/jumpto]
  
• [jumpto=anchor2]PRELUDE[/jumpto]
  
• [jumpto=anchor3]GALACTIC TRADE NETWORK (GTN)[/jumpto]
  
• [jumpto=anchor4]GATHERING & MISSION SKILLS[/jumpto]
  
• [jumpto=anchor5]SERVICES[/jumpto]
  
• [jumpto=anchor6]QUESTING[/jumpto]
  
• [jumpto=anchor7]DAILYS[/jumpto]
  
• [jumpto=anchor8]SPECIAL THANKS[/jumpto]
   
  

 

[aname=anchor1]USEFUL LINKS[/aname]

 

• Guide: Newcomers - A recommended read to learn some of the basics
  
• Guide: Crew Skills - A recommended read to learn about Crew Skills
  

 

[aname=anchor2]PRELUDE[/aname]

 

Making credits can be a long and gruesome task if you don't know what you are doing. In order to make credits you must first understand how the economy works.

 

Now, the in-game economy is very similar to our own economy. If you have a basic understanding of how our economy works you are already at an advantage.

 

The main difference is in the game world, the NPC vendors can't run out of credits and In the game world we can generate them from nothing.

 

There are numerous ways to make money in-game, you just need to get creative. I will go through most in this thread and suggest other neat ways of making money as you build up a reputation for yourself.

 

Now then, before we start, I will start with that age old quote

 

"A fool and his money are easily parted"

 

When trying to make money in any game, the key thing to remember is patience. Patience can mean the difference of 2'000 credits and 20'000, 100k or 400k. I have experienced this first hand, there have been many times where I thought to myself "why didn't I wait!!".

 

The answer is greed, we all get greedy and want things as fast as possible with as little effort as possible. I can tell you right now that greed can and will make you completely broke if you go too far and push the limits too often. Sure it can pay off big once and a while but more often than not, greed has been the number one cause of all problems relating to money. (just look at the state of banks IRL as an example).

 

I want you to remember that whenever you make money, someone else is usually losing it. Never get big-headed or rude. This is a game and you are playing in a tighter community, once you start breaking rules or being offensive and a jerk, no one will want to play with you.

 

Finally remember, anything worth doing is worth doing for credits.

 

 

 

[aname=anchor3]GALACTIC TRADE NETWORK[/aname]

 

How much money can this method make?

 

 

What does this method entail?

 

 

The Galactic Trade Network (GTN) is the place where you go to buy and sell items to other players of the same faction across the galaxy.

 

You will notice that the GTN lets you sell and buy pretty much everything you could need or want. Each GTN is linked to one another so you can't wonder off into another region and find a different item for a different price. If you have ever played EvE you know what I'm talking about. This GTN is very similar to WoW's auction house.

 

This means you are drastically limited to the old buying and selling technique which can be both good and bad.

 

You might be wondering how to make money from the GTN and in this section I will explain. It is a very simple method which many do not fully understand or care for. Though this method has been known to make the most money.

 

This process of making credits can be the most rewarding, yet at the same time can be one of the most boring and time consuming. I have used this method before in other games and have made so much money it was frightening.

 

The key principles of this method are about reacting swiftly to supply and demand. Being able to spot a trend and adapt accordingly also helps.

 

Playing the GTN is all about buying low and selling high. A simple concept but it comes with a lot of variables as I explain below.

 

At this moment in time I would recommend looking at my crew sills guide here to learn about the various skills and their counterparts.

 

An important thing to remember is that you can only have one crafting skill on a character. This means that if you are buying and selling crafting materials there are a lot of people out there who are already supplying their own trade with their own skills. There isn't anyone running around with three crafting skills unfortunately making this area a bit risky. I for one managed to get to rank 400 cybertech without visiting the GTN once.

 

Now, crafting in this game is unlike most, there is no real grind element involved. Meaning more people are doing it and the supply is generally high especially for gathering skills. I have seen the highest prices come from mission skills.

 

This isn't to say buying and selling gathering skills isn't worth it because it can be. Just look at it like this.

 

Scavenging is the gathering skill for 3 different crafting skills. That is 1-3. Meaning there is a high demand for the materials obtained from Scavenging. You might think high demand is a good thing but there are so many people who take the skill to supply their crafting skills the demand for it is rather low and the materials come in abundance. On my server the price of these items are very low due to the high supply. You might be thinking why is there a higher supply than demand if there is a 1-3 ratio.

 

Scavenging is probably the easiest set of materials to come by, you find loads of scavenging nodes throughout the game and the materials can also be harvested from defeated droids, and let me tell you, you will come across a lot of defeated droids in your journey. Putting it simply, there are too many scavengers out there making this skill a bit redundant due to the abundant nature of it. (rhyme not intended). So a high supply and low demand means a loss is inevitable.

 

Biochem seems to be one of the most useful crating skills out there for competitive PvP and PvE. Biochem gives players the ability to use high end stims and medpacs which can also be reusable! I previously thought that Biochem wasn't very high in demand, I can safely take that comment back and tell you, Biochem (even after the changes) is still one of the most popular crafting crew skills out there. Having browsed through the GTN for a while, the materials on the GTN for Biochem are short in supply and high in demand. This could be a great ticket to some credits for those of you selling the crafting materials obtained from Bioanalysis. With the recent changes of only being allowed to use some items if you have 400 biochem, I can't say how well these are selling at the moment. The same goes for the purple grenades from Cybertech since the nerf.

 

Now looking at this from a bigger perspective, it is safe to say the majority of players are force users. This means Artifice and Synthweaving materials will be in very high demand. The benefit of this over scavenging is that the resource is less common and therefore there will be less supply in the GTN and a higher demand. BINGO!!! However due to its popularity you will be competing with many other players. But a lot of players take it to feed their own skill. Now competition is expected in any area of making credits, you need to figure out whether the demand exceeds the supply and if it does, find a material which is needed most and begin to dominate that sector.

 

The easy way to do this is to simply buy all the low priced materials and put them back on the market for a higher price. Just don't be too greedy because no one will buy them. You then need to keep your eye on that section of the GTN. Making sure no one is undercutting your deals.

 

 

NOTE:

 

Each time you place an item on the GTN to be sold, you have to place a deposit. The size of this deposit will depend on how long the GTN holds the item (e.g. 1 or 2 days) and how much you are asking for it to sell (the higher the selling price the higher the deposit).

 

• When you successfully sell an item, you receive the credits through the mail. The GTN will keep the original deposit.
  
• When you fail to sell an item after its designated time allotment, you will be refunded your deposit in the post.
   
  
• IF YOU CANCEL A SALE PREMATURELY THE GTN WILL KEEP YOUR DEPOSIT
  

 

Remember the above, because if you keep taking your auctions down you are going to lose a lot of money. Only take the items down if you are sure you will still make a profit at the end of it.

 

 

Example:

 

Lets say you see some synthweaving materials on the market. These materials are in high demand as they cover a large section of the crafting skill yet the supply is low as it is an uncommon item. You buy all of them for a reasonable price then mark up the value by 20-30%.

 

Now this can go one of a few ways, remember we want them to sell.

 

1 - The sale is successful

 

Great! You just made a profit, rinse and repeat for another item on the GTN

 

2 - Another player puts up the same item for 1 credit less than yours.

 

The best thing to do is just ignore it, hopefully someone will need more than what that other person has put up and will start buying yours without caring about the 1 credit increase.

 

3 - Another players puts loads and loads of the same item for 1 credit less than yours.

 

When someone comes to buy the item all they will see is your competitors price. The best thing to do is take all your items off and undercut him by 1 credit again and hope he doesn't do the same. Or alternatively keep them there and see how the demand continues.

 

4 - Another player puts several items on all drastically cheaper than yours.

 

You should buy these items and then bump up the price up to match yours. (if this is a re-occurring problem then the supply for the item is high and you should find another niche)

 

5 - Another player puts several items on the market a bit cheaper than yours.

 

You should try and undercut his prices, though only if you still gain a profit at the end of the sales. Otherwise ignore it and move on.

 

 

Now crafting materials from gathering crew skills are generally selling for a lot less than mission items. This is because they are more easily obtainable and can be obtained without spending a credit through picking up gathering nodes around the world.

 

Mission crew skill materials are selling for a lot more due to their low supply, high demand and rarity. I would recommend buying and selling these items over the gathering skills once you have the credits to do so.

 

Note that you don't have to be buying and selling crew skill items, but as there is usually a demand for them, more so than any other items, it is usually considered the best thing. You can also buy and sell armour, weapons, implants and more. If you see a bargain, buy it and sell it again at a higher price. This works well when there is a unique item on the GTN that isn't going to come up again anytime soon.

 

There are also neutral trade networks on Nar Shadaa which can be used by both factions. It might be a good idea to sell some light side items on there if you are republic so lightside players on the Empire can buy them and use them. Maybe there are exclusive items on each faction, you could make a killing from selling things only obtainable by the Republic to the Empire and vice versa.

 

It is up to you to find out what would make the most profit but just remember that you are looking for:

 

HIGH DEMAND - LOW SUPPLY

 

or something unique at a low price that you can buy and re-sell at a higher value.

 

 

 

[aname=anchor4]GATHERING & MISSION SKILLS[/aname]

 

 

How much money can this method make?

 

 

What does this method entail?

 

 

Gathering and Mission skills supply the materials for crafting skills. As such there will be a demand for them on the GTN.

 

If you pick these skills and don't pick a crafting skill you can make a profit from selling the raw materials on the GTN. The highest raw profit would be from collecting the gathering nodes around the world, these don't cost you anything and have a good yield usually. Then putting them on the GTN. Alternatively you can send your companions on missions to gather them for you and sell them at a rate where the cost for starting the mission is taken into account.

 

Mission skills make the most from running missions because that is the only way you can acquire these materials. (there aren't any mission skill nodes around the world) Meaning with a mission skill you HAVE to spend money to make money. But don't worry, mission skill items generally sell for a lot higher value than their gathering counterparts. They have rarer materials which are needed in all crafting skills.

 

Looking at the crafting skills you can see scavenging supplies 3 crafting skills, arhaeology supplies 2 and Biochem supplies only 1.

 

Naturally you want to go for the skills which have high demand. But with there being so many force users playing the game archaeology might end up being the most rewarding.

 

Slicing is another gathering skill you can acquire a lot of credits from. Granted it was recently nerfed but it can still pump out credits. The unique thing about slicing is that the nodes you pickup throughout the world all have credits inside them. If you do a lot of harvesting you can really start to make a neat sum of cash. You can also send your companions on slicing missions where now a lot of the time you just manage to break even but you can still return with mission discoveries for other skills. I found these managed to sell for a fairly large amount on my server. Some sold for 25k each whereas the more common sold for 5k.

 

Slicing was never intended to be a mission skill, e.g. making cash from running missions. It was and is a gathering skill and the idea behind it is you make your money from gathering the world nodes. Despite all the QQ on the forums, Slicing is still a pretty good money maker. You can sell your augments at level 50 for neat prices as well. I still recommend slicing to many people due to this.

 

 

 

[aname=anchor4]CRAFTING[/aname]

 

How much money can this method make?

 

 

What does this method entail?

 

 

Selling crafted items on the market has always been an old time favourite of mine. It is a simple concept but if you don't sell the right item you won't be making any money.

 

The first thing you need to decide on is what level range you are appealing to. A lot of the time people won't buy gear until they hit max level. Depending on how easy gear is to obtain people won't buy crafted armour and weapons anyway.

 

Now having hit 50 myself I can honestly say that I have never needed to buy armour or weapons for myself as quest rewards have been more than sufficient. I have however needed to buy armour and weapons for my companion. Especially at level 50.

 

However now that I am level 50, I have the cash to spend on getting myself some tidy new gear. You may want to make your crafting skills for level 50's due to this. They have a thicker wallet and more reason to buy new gear.

 

Depending on your crafting skill will depend on what you sell. If you are a biochemist you might be able to make tidy profits on medpacs and stims, as long as you keep them cheaper than the medical droid vendor, unless yours give superior hp/stats then you can charge more.

 

I chose cybertech for my crafting skill, I plan on making lots of mods for people so when they hit level 50 they can buy my stuff to improve their current gear and get it to level 50 standard.

 

As stated before, there are more force users in the game than anyone else. This means that the demand for lightsabers and fore user armour is very high. But it also means that you will have more competition because it is a bigger market. Whereas armstech has a smaller market audience but you can charge more for your goods because less people are making them and the demand is still there.

 

It really comes down to what is going on in your server's GTN. If you can spot a gap, fill it. You will find a lot of your items selling.

 

 

 

[aname=anchor5]SERVICES[/aname]

 

How much money can this method make?

 

 

What does this method entail?

 

 

Providing a service can be a great way to earn money. You need to get creative here! Perhaps you are offering protection to newbies on a PvP server as they level, or helping them through heroic quests or running them through instances so they can get the gear they want.

 

Maybe you are helping people get datacrons. I had the idea of riding that jawa baloon to the broken sand crawler then using my rescue power (which pulls people towards me) so they can get the datacron without having to ride on the baloon. I didn't charge people when I did it though but if you get a friend to come with you, they can act as the bouncer to collect the money then you can pull them up to it once the payment has gone through.

 

Maybe you are a really good PvP player and are offering hits on the enemy faction. Someone might be interested in paying you so they can get revenge.

 

As long as you don't charge ridiculous prices people will usually be happy to pay but make sure you get the payment beforehand. Before you know it you will have given yourself a good reputation and people will come to you before anyone else.

 

 

 

[aname=anchor6]QUESTING[/aname]

 

How much money can this method make?

 

 

What does this method entail?

 

 

Questing can be a great way to make a lot of credits. I for one made hundreds of thousands from completing every side quest on a certain planet. They seem to really throw their credits out at you but you need to do it in some of the higher level planets where the rewards are worth it.

 

I recommend trying to find and complete every quest in the level 35-50 level range if this is how you want to make some credits. Not only does this make a lot of credits but it can be really fun if you listen to all the quests too.

 

The good thing about questing is the bonus quests that come with it, often when you complete one you will get a large amount of experience (yeah useless if you are 50) but you will also get something like 3 commendations and other nice cash rewards. You can use the commendations to get some really awesome custom gear which can sell for a high amount on the GTN. You can also sell or vendor any other items you come across along the way.

 

Questing is one I highly recommend, not only for the cash but the story is just awesome too. It is safe and reliable but once you have completed them all you will have to start doing daily's.

 

 

 

[aname=anchor7]DAILYS[/aname]

 

How much money can this method make?

 

 

What does this method entail?

 

 

Daily quests have always been a major source of income for people at max level in games. Daily quests are as stated, only available to complete once a day. You can the pick up the same quest the following day and complete it again. There are also weekly's you should pick up too and as their name suggests can only be completed once per week.

 

These quests are usually obtained from mission terminals which can be found in your faction fleet. They can also be found around various worlds as some NPC's give them out. These quests can be pretty easy and some can ve pretty hard depending on what you take. Doing these daily's/weekly's will net you a really nice profit. I recommend them to anyone who is level 50!

 

There are two kinds of daily's/weekly's available, PvE and PvP. PvE daily's usually make you run through a quest or flashpoint for completion. They will reward you with credits and commendations. The other kind, PvP are done on planets such as Illum where you are required to sabotage the enemy's defences and repair your own. PvP daily's will give you PvP commendations and some credits to go with it, these are usually harder due to enemy interference.

 

 

 

[aname=anchor8]SPECIAL THANKS[/aname]

 

Thanks to everyone who has helped me update the guide so far!

 

Alipasha, Holdricks, Owsley, Cokecroft, Bovinity, Eryndel

Edited April 14, 2012 by Goshee

I'm eager to hear your comments on this guys.. I found it quite hard to word a lot of it so feel free to leave feedback! I will be updating this thread in the near future.

Just wanted to add, since you said it's what you are.

 

A Cybertecher (like myself) Makes money off Earpieces and Ship Parts.

 

Not Mods/Armor Pieces at 50 (for 50s that is) due to Daily providing epic 22's (with mods we can't even make) or using Commendations to buy 23s...

 

One of the most important things to making credits, is knowing what you won't sell so you won't waste your time making it.

Just wanted to add, since you said it's what you are.

 

A Cybertecher (like myself) Makes money off Earpieces and Ship Parts.

 

Not Mods/Armor Pieces at 50 (for 50s that is) due to Daily providing epic 22's (with mods we can't even make) or using Commendations to buy 23s...

 

One of the most important things to making credits, is knowing what you won't sell so you won't waste your time making it.

 

Hmm a lot of my mods have been selling, nearly all of them to be honest. My ship parts havent been selling at all I guess its just my server ^^

subscribed!

Im currently running Archaeology Scavenging Bioanalysis on two alts since i have a biochem main which crafts medpacs and i sell the other stuff on the GTN

 

i have been thinking of dropping scavenging on one alt and have them also run diplomacy and sell those mats on the GTN as well

 

i have been selling some spare diplomacy mats i had on my biochem character and have been making a lot for even just a few diplomacy mats.

 

since diplomacy mats are hard to come by, especially the purple ones it could be a good thing to go for for making money.

 

So my two suggestions would be either:

Archaeology Bioanalysis Diplomacy OR

Scavenging Bioanalysis Diplomacy

Will update later to show about the daily's etc

Very nice, this should be perfect for people who are struggling.

 

I like your point about not being obnoxious and building a reputation. People should remember this. I was one of the first people on my server to begin moving purple ship upgrades on my server. Not the first to make them, or put them up on the GTN, but one of the first to actually start MOVING them. Why? Because I sold them for a fair price when other people were trying to sell them for 200k. I try to make a profit, but I also try to be fair, because people often remember who isn't trying to rip them off. In fact, I've sold them for less when people have PM'd me saying they have some or all of the mats, or don't have quite enough credits.

 

An economy is give and take, and both sides of the equation, supply and demand, need to remain in close proportion.

 

I'm glad you mentioned patience, as well. When there are a lot of a particular item for sale on the GTN, I'll store my own and wait until a better moment. On the flip side, I often scan the GTN BEFORE I craft, and then work where the supply is low.

 

Good job with the guide.

Thanks for the feedback! ^^ Couldn't agree more!

Also depends on the server. Not sure how many servers, didnt take the time to count. But each has its own needs and wants. What might sell good for you on your server will not work on another. Best advice to anyone is to watch the market on their server, try a few things until one clicks. Go from there. Many people have wasted 100's of thousands wasting time and resources leveling a skill just to sit idle and nothing sells.

 

Other than that good sound advice.

Server economics play a big part in reaping any rewards from crafting. Personally, I'm not bothering selling or buying anything from the markets for at least another month or so. I think it will take at least that long for things to settle after people level their main characters to 50.

Two important income sources are missing:

 

- Running daily missions

- Farming Mobs for credits and grey stuff

 

These are probably more important than some other (like crafting), since they have well defined and secure time/reward ratios.

Two important income sources are missing:

 

- Running daily missions

- Farming Mobs for credits and grey stuff

 

These are probably more important than some other (like crafting), since they have well defined and secure time/reward ratios.

 

There is a Jedi Kanada in Ilum, level 50 Champ. Drops close to 3K Credits every time, and a lot of times a very nicely statted Moddable 50 Item. (He's inthe section where you need to pick up the battle plans)

 

I farm him whenever he is up (not sure of respawn, I just do my dailies and see him).

 

Not the easiest soloable class but I am a tank with a geared out Mako.

 

I've probably made 500k total from him alone between creds/selling drops.

A very good post! Thank you! I can't understand people saying the economy is broken. On my server I am doing very well on just selling craft items. They sell alot. Modifications are a killer. People need them all the time and I can't produce enough.

 

I would also like BW to add some more rear crafting shematics so the people that are realy into crafting could get a little bit more interesting work.

updated ^^

Two important income sources are missing:

 

- Running daily missions

- Farming Mobs for credits and grey stuff

 

These are probably more important than some other (like crafting), since they have well defined and secure time/reward ratios.

 

I agree with Flin, the daily missions on Ilum and Belsavis (once you hit level 50) are worth a -ton- of money. To put it in perspective, the day I hit level 50 I was down to under 8,000 credits (after speeder training, class training, and crafting training that I'd put off since 340 and had hit 400). That -same- day, after going through the Belsavis bonus quest line and the Ilum quest line (and unlocking/doing all the associated dailies) I was back up to 450,000 credits. In one afternoon. Granted, the story-lines themselves aren't repeatable, but I can make 200-400k credits easily in roughly 2 hours playtime just doing the dailies and selling the trash drops.

 

Its odd, levelling up to 50 I was always broke, or had just enough to train that next level (Admittedly I went overboard on crew skill missions), and once I hit 50 I found myself veritably swimming in credits with nothing to spend them on. My alts are all riding in style with no credit worries though

Edited January 9, 2012 by Kyiera

Yeah I mentioned I was going to add the daily's last night in a previous post. It is all there now ^^.

 

Still though, playing the GTN works the best! At least for me ^^

A Cybertecher (like myself) Makes money off Earpieces and Ship Parts.

 

Not Mods/Armor Pieces at 50 (for 50s that is) due to Daily providing epic 22's (with mods we can't even make) or using Commendations to buy 23s...

 

One of the most important things to making credits, is knowing what you won't sell so you won't waste your time making it.

 

Same here. I make decent money on droid parts too. Nobody besides me really sells the Sensor Units on my server for some reason so they always fetch me a nice price

Droid parts you say? Hmm I may have to check this out!

I don't really have much to add, just wanted to thank you for these advices. I didn't though the economy was that large and I'm really eager to enter this world thanks to you.

 

I was seriously hoping this thread was not about cheating or exploit and I'm pretty happy to find these advices helping our way to get some credits the way it is intended. Great topic!

Thanks for the good guide! Just one quick note, beware of losing your deposit. Apparently your deposit is forfeit if you cancel a trade (or may be cancel it too soon). I just did that to "correct" a price and boom, lost 500 for something worth 400!!

Thanks for the good guide! Just one quick note, beware of losing your deposit. Apparently your deposit is forfeit if you cancel a trade (or may be cancel it too soon). I just did that to "correct" a price and boom, lost 500 for something worth 400!!

 

Really? Are you sure the cash didn't come in the attatchment? It does for me!

Shakuul

 

That is the exact opposite purpose of this guide, flagged for deletion.

Really? Are you sure the cash didn't come in the attatchment? It does for me!

 

Well, not only it was not in the attachment but the text said that I have lost my deposit! May be there is a CD on trades! So if you cancel before that time, they take your deposit. Haven't been brave enough to try it again (but might do that with a small amount tonight). But if I let it "expire", then sure, the money is in the attachment.

On the GTN, you will lose your deposit if you cancel the sale before the duration of the sale. That means you can't adjust the price without a credit hit after it's posted.