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    Your Elvenar Team

Are Traveling Merchants Completely Useless?

Henroo

Oh Wise One
I have a T2 Traveling Merchant producing Marble, which is not boosted (I currently only have boosted Planks).
It's giving me more Marble than my T1 unboosted Manufactories. I'm keeping it for now. Not yet sure if I'll upgrade my unboosteds past Lv 4.
I'm tempted, but I'm playing Solo (and likely will for a while longer).
Thank you, everyone for the advice. I really appreciate it.
I have other questions about other items that are "Culture Only" buildings.

Dwarven Ship. It's a huge one for my tiny Chapter 2 city.
Is it worth it? I only have it as a Summons in 1 of my cities. And she has room for it. But it is worth it?

Same question for Spot of Whispering Trees.

Thanks.
SuNaya Dark
A Travelling Merchant is always going to be better than a non-boosted manufactory. It is a terrible idea to use non-boosted manufactories because they are so inefficient. The best way to go is to use only boosted manufactories. Make way more than you need of your boosted goods and then trade them on a 1 for 1 basis to get your non-boosted. If you have a bad trade environment then a mix of boosted manufactories and Travelling Merchants is going to be better than using non-boosted manufactories.

In terms of culture buildings, the ones you make with your builders are almost always inferior to the ones you win from events on a square for square basis. Generally the only time I construct a culture building with my builders is when I need it to fulfill a quest. And I normally end up deleting it shortly after the quest is complete. To answer your question about Spot of Whispering Trees vs Dwarven Ship: they are both the same size, 4x3. The Spot of Whispering Trees gives 400 culture. The chapter 2 version of Dwarven Ship gives 790 culture. Obviously Dwarven Ship is giving a lot more benefit for the exact same space. The only reason to build Spot of Whispering Trees would be if you have a quest asking you to make it. And then your best bet would be to sell of the Spot of Whispering Trees as soon as the quest was done and to put the Dwarven Ship in the exact same space.
 

SuNaya Dark

Active Member
A Travelling Merchant is always going to be better than a non-boosted manufactory. It is a terrible idea to use non-boosted manufactories because they are so inefficient. The best way to go is to use only boosted manufactories. Make way more than you need of your boosted goods and then trade them on a 1 for 1 basis to get your non-boosted. If you have a bad trade environment then a mix of boosted manufactories and Travelling Merchants is going to be better than using non-boosted manufactories.

In terms of culture buildings, the ones you make with your builders are almost always inferior to the ones you win from events on a square for square basis. Generally the only time I construct a culture building with my builders is when I need it to fulfill a quest. And I normally end up deleting it shortly after the quest is complete. To answer your question about Spot of Whispering Trees vs Dwarven Ship: they are both the same size, 4x3. The Spot of Whispering Trees gives 400 culture. The chapter 2 version of Dwarven Ship gives 790 culture. Obviously Dwarven Ship is giving a lot more benefit for the exact same space. The only reason to build Spot of Whispering Trees would be if you have a quest asking you to make it. And then your best bet would be to sell of the Spot of Whispering Trees as soon as the quest was done and to put the Dwarven Ship in the exact same space.

Thank you.
My Dwarven Ship is a Chapter 1 version, so 680 in Culture. Still worth it?
 

DeletedUser31614

Guest
Yes, it’s still worth it. There will be a new event starting soon so you’ll be able to get new culture buildings that will be higher
 

Henroo

Oh Wise One
Thank you.
My Dwarven Ship is a Chapter 1 version, so 680 in Culture. Still worth it?
It is still better than your Spot of Whispering Trees if you currently need more culture. Generally when comparing buildings it is best to break them down to a square for square basis. This will allow for a more direct comparison of buildings of different size and will tell you which is truly most efficient. But before placing it, do you truly need more culture right now in your city? If your culture bonus is consistently 160% or 170% then you probably do not need any more culture right now. You would be better off using that space for something else. If you culture is in the 100% to 125% range, I would place it. High culture bonus is especially important to early game cities because it boosts gold and supply production, which are 2 big bottlenecks in the early game.
 

SuNaya Dark

Active Member
It is still better than your Spot of Whispering Trees if you currently need more culture. Generally when comparing buildings it is best to break them down to a square for square basis. This will allow for a more direct comparison of buildings of different size and will tell you which is truly most efficient. But before placing it, do you truly need more culture right now in your city? If your culture bonus is consistently 160% or 170% then you probably do not need any more culture right now. You would be better off using that space for something else. If you culture is in the 100% to 125% range, I would place it. High culture bonus is especially important to early game cities because it boosts gold and supply production, which are 2 big bottlenecks in the early game.

Another question:
Magic Academy has Witches Hut.
What item does it give you as a side? (31 - 1/hr)
I don't recognize the image. Is it something I'll need chapter 3?
 

Henroo

Oh Wise One
Another question:
Magic Academy has Witches Hut.
What item does it give you as a side? (31 - 1/hr)
I don't recognize the image. Is it something I'll need chapter 3?
Those are Faineant Frogs. They are the heavy range unit which is normally trained in the Mercenary Camp. Frogs are so-so at 1 star level but they become really good once they get their 3 star promotion. However this does not happen until very late in the game (chapter 15). The Witch's Hut building become very good once you reach the Orcs chapter (chapter 8). At that point it will become one of the best orc producers in the game. I'm not sure if Witch's Hut is worth it at your level. Especially since you do not have any artifacts to evolve it with.
 

SuNaya Dark

Active Member
Those are Faineant Frogs. They are the heavy range unit which is normally trained in the Mercenary Camp. Frogs are so-so at 1 star level but they become really good once they get their 3 star promotion. However this does not happen until very late in the game (chapter 15). The Witch's Hut building become very good once you reach the Orcs chapter (chapter 8). At that point it will become one of the best orc producers in the game. I'm not sure if Witch's Hut is worth it at your level. Especially since you do not have any artifacts to evolve it with.

Thank you. Very helpful information. I appreciate this.
I just got a Traveling Merchant II that produces Crystals and Scrolls. I do not as yet have Crystal or Scroll Manufactories built. Is it ok to place the Merchant and activate it for Crystals and Scrolls that I can exchange for other things I might need? Will the Merchant actually work if I don't have them built yet? (I'm getting there. but it's slow. I play solo for now, by choice.)

Thank you again.
 

crackie

Chef, Scroll-Keeper, Buddy's #1 Fan
@SuNaya Dark, it looks like you are playing without a fellowship. This is fine if you want the quiet solitude play style. However, if you change your mind, a fellowship will extend your free trading network by up to 24 more people. This means you can trade with each other for free without any fees, unlike neighbors you haven't scouted to yet. In a functional fellowship, the bigger cities will support your trades. Considering you are in chapter 2, most cities will prob be larger than you to help you out. That means if you ever list your own trades, it will be gobbled up very quickly. A traveling merchant is still going to be better than trying to make your own nonboosted goods, but it's still not great in the efficiency depart. If you decide to play without a fellowship, I suggest you send out some feeler trades and check out your neighborhood. List a bunch of same tier 2* trades and see how fast it disappears. Even if they sit in the trader for 24hrs before getting picked up, it'll still be faster than trying to make nonboosted goods yourself.
 

SuNaya Dark

Active Member
Silver Lady, Lady Dastardly (LOVE those names !!) and Crackie (*giggles*) -
I thank you all for the information.
Very helpful, as I'll remember it for a long time.
I'm considering a Fellowship, but I do love the "solitude" of single-play.
 

Yavimaya

Scroll-Keeper
Silver Lady, Lady Dastardly (LOVE those names !!) and Crackie (*giggles*) -
I thank you all for the information.
Very helpful, as I'll remember it for a long time.
I'm considering a Fellowship, but I do love the "solitude" of single-play.
There are some fs out there that in their description say they are for the ones that prefer solo play basically but are only in there to be able to get the fs rewards. Maybe keep an eye out for one of those if you end up deciding you want to stay solo. (Obviously a regular fs would be able to help you out with more stuff though)
 

Zoof

Well-Known Member
@SuNaya Dark : If you haven't, scan through the descriptions of each fellowship to find one that matches your playstyle. There are "fellowships" out there that even include variations on the playstyle of "Alone, but together" with varying levels of "commitments" including (but nowhere near limited to):

1. We have a swap thread, but that's okay if you don't want to use it.
2. Don't mind us; we're just names on a list you'll never have to interact with. Feel free to mooch off the extra spire and tourney goodies, though! We're doing the same!
3. Commitments? What's that? Is it something you can eat? Can you pay the bills with it? You're free to leave anytime! Or come back Like a cat!
4. There's no drama if we're all dead on the inside. Come. Let's be dead together. No warm bodies here, no siree bob.
5. Free to come, free to leave. But we'll pick up on 0-star trades if you need the help. Do whatever.

There's so many different folks out there, and some of them know that not only is this "just a game" but it's a game meant to be gamed. And if that means you want game-provided free food and beverages, then by golly there will be a party or ten where you're free to walk in uninvited and wearing a pair of [INSERT NAME BRAND] Noise-cancelling headphones, navigating ever-shifting labyrinth of people as though they were bits of scenery while you snack on cheese doodles, cheese cubes, cheese sammiches, and totally-not-adulterated fruit punch all while not saying a single word.
 
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Darielle

Chef, Scroll-Keeper, and Buddy Fan Club Member
Thank you. Very helpful information. I appreciate this.
I just got a Traveling Merchant II that produces Crystals and Scrolls. I do not as yet have Crystal or Scroll Manufactories built. Is it ok to place the Merchant and activate it for Crystals and Scrolls that I can exchange for other things I might need? Will the Merchant actually work if I don't have them built yet? (I'm getting there. but it's slow. I play solo for now, by choice.)

Thank you again.
If your traveling merchant produces crystal and scrolls, then the last thing you should build is a crystal or scroll manufactory, since that isn't your boost. By all means place the traveling merchant. It will help you with your nonboosts. You'll need what it gives you. Trade your silk if you need more crystal and scrolls. Good luck!
 
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