V.1 C.4

Alex woke up refreshed and ready for his second day in the game. He laid in bed for a few minutes thinking about how he had basically made $360 in a single day. However that was only the price on the public exchange that the devs controlled. The public exchange is exactly what it sounds like, a way to exchange your ingame coins for real money. Of course the devs weren't paying you, no instead anyone can put in exchange orders, exchanging real money for ingame coins. When a player decides to exchange their coins they get that persons money and the one who put in the exchange order gets the coins.

However the devs made it a set rate, meaning no matter how much or little demand there is, the rate will never change. Of course this was only the public exchange, players can still do private exchanges where the rate is changed since the devs do not control private trades. This issue with the private exchanges is that you needed to have connections to get to the big buyers, something he didn't have…yet. Which led to another important thought. Game statistics.

On the official game site the devs had live game statistics, things like players currently online, how many players chose a specific class or race. Alex had already looked at these stats a few minutes ago, and what he found shocked him. Only 8% of all players chose an artisan starting class. While he had expected it to be low, this was horribly low….which was good for him. Artisan classes are terribly weak when it comes to any sort of combat, however they are typically a decent money maker. Which makes sense since combat classes use most of the products artisan classes make.

While it is definitely possible to make big money as a combat class, it's extremely rare anyone does. Usually they'll make enough to repair their gear and buy whatever supplies they need before they set out again. Gear drops are extremely rare, usually only from dungeon bosses, treasure chests and wandering bosses in the wild. The devs did this purposefully to makes crafting based classes relevant, something most mmos don't consider. So while it's possible to get a piece of gear that you can't use and is worth big money, it rarely happens.

Add in the fact that playing as a combat class solo is nearly impossible in this game, and it just adds another factor. Because even if you get gear you can't use, you'll want to give it to a teammate who can. The stronger each person in the team is then the stronger the team is as a whole. So after all that combat players usually make 10-15 silver after a full 12 hours of playtime. So why did pretty much everyone choose a combat class cores?

Simple, most players aren't looking at this game the same way Alex is, as a job. Most want the thrill of action and adventure in a fantasy world, they want to feel physically or magically powerful. They want to get into huge epic battles between guilds. Of course eventually it will get out how much money artisan classes make and more will take one for one of their minor cores . You can only have one character so those choices are extremely important, which will lead to more not choosing a crafting class as a minor core.

While Alex wanted to go and find a rich player willing to spend 3x the set global rate for his gold. For now he wouldn't. No first he would save up to start his own operation and once he was making enough money to comfortably supply his business then he would look for a long term buyer for his extra gold. He has enough money to live his current lifestyle for a full year before he has to worry. Which should be plenty of time…hopefully.

On the first day he had made a total of 9 batches of potions, each batch earning him 60 experience, or 540 total. He was close to reaching level 3, after level 2 he but 2 of his stat points into mana and the last into stamina. After getting ingame where his character woke from the bed at the in, he called up his stat screen.

[Potio Regis

Major Core: Potion Crafter

Race: Telarii Goblin

Level: 2

Experience: [340/400]

HP:100/100

MP:120/120

SP:110/110

Not to bad, those extra 20 mana point would allow him to craft an extra batch without having to take a break. Today he would continue making basic potion, however he planned to also use his active class skill at the same time. Which should increase his output by 25%

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Alex flopped into his bed that night after going back to the inn and logging off for the day. He had made 12 batches of potions today, while it was worth it, he was completely drained. He had made 4 gold and 80 silver, as well as gaining 720 experience. He had reached level 4 and was 80/800 experience into level 5. Luckily Hardore would begin teaching him more advanced potion tomorrow, which should bring in more experience. Of course when Hardore says "teach" he really means handing you a book and leaving you to figure it out. Which Alex was perfectly fine with since the dwarf would still answer any questions about potion crafter that he may have.

He could've crafted a few more batches if he hadn't spent the first hour of the morning exploring the town. This helped him make some decisions about his future plans. Most importantly, he wouldn't stay here. While the town was nice, it would offer very little in the long term. Instead he would have to travel to the kingdoms capital where there was more business opportunities. Of course this also meant more competition, but he had no problem with that. Competition would simply push him to making his business and himself better.