Merchant¶
The Merchant makes nothing and gathers nothing: they sell, and learn by selling. Every Belly they earn from Cruise's travelling merchants, from their contracts and at the Auction House counts toward their level. They are also the only ones who can read the torn treasure maps that turn up in chests, on stalls and on the end of a fishing line.
| Workstation | none: the travelling merchants and the Auction House |
| Advancements tab | Trade |
| Levels | 1 to 100; torn maps up to level 75 |
You only earn Merchant XP if you practise the Merchant trade (in Crew mode, if it is your trade). A player who does not can still sell, deliver contracts and use the Auction House, but gets none of the Merchant's XP, prices or bonuses, and cannot read a torn map.
How a Merchant earns XP¶
| Source | XP |
|---|---|
| Selling goods to a Cruise merchant (the Sell window) | 1 XP per 10 Belly of the sale (at least 1) |
| Delivering a merchant's contract | 1 XP per 10 Belly of the reward (at least 1) |
| One of your lots selling at the Auction House | 1 XP per 10 Belly of its price (at least 1); if you are offline, it is given when you log in or collect |
| Being the first to open a buried treasure chest | Rumor map 100 XP, Old map 400 XP, Legendary map 1 200 XP |
Selling to the travelling merchants¶
Five travelling merchants visit the Overworld: the Fishmonger, the Hunting Merchant, the Travelling Cook, the Prospector and the Materials Trader. Each buys the goods of one trade through a Sell window, keeps a stall and brings three contracts.
A Merchant sells to them on better terms:
- from level 1, everything you sell pays +0.5 % per level, up to +25 % at level 50, where the bonus stops growing;
- from level 10, the market fills up half as fast with what you sell;
- from level 25, you pay 15 % less for what you buy from them (a village cured of its fever gives 20 % to those who helped: you keep the better of the two, not both);
- from level 40, a merchant's purse no longer limits what he buys from you (your own Belly cap still does).
Who comes where and when, and what each one buys and for how much: see Merchants and contracts.
Contracts¶
Every merchant arrives with three contracts for goods of his own trade. They pay 1.5 to 1.8 times what he would pay over the counter, not out of his purse, and your price bonus raises the reward too.
From level 10, merchants also show you the third contract, the one they keep for Merchants: it always pays the top premium (×1.8), and half the time adds a Torn Old Map. See Merchants and contracts.
The Auction House¶
The Auction House is one market for the whole server, where players list lots for each other. A Merchant has it easier with every level:
- the listing fee falls by 1.5 % of itself per level, down to a quarter of the normal fee at level 50 (2 % becomes 0.5 % with the default fee);
- +1 lot you may have up every 5 levels;
- +1 day a lot stays up every 2 levels;
- from level 1, the price history: what a kind of good has sold for lately, on average.
The fee stops falling at level 50; the extra lots and days keep growing up to level 100.
Treasure maps¶
Only a Merchant can decipher a torn treasure map: a Torn Rumor Map from level 1, a Torn Old Map from level 20, a Torn Legendary Map from level 75. The map then leads to a buried chest, and the first player to open it earns the grade's Merchant XP. See Treasure hunts.
Level perks¶
| Level | Perk | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 1+ | "Sales and contracts with Cruise's merchants: +…%" | +0.5 % per level on everything you sell to a Cruise merchant and on every contract reward, up to +25 % at level 50 (no more after that) |
| 1+ | "Auction House: fee -…%, +… lots up, +… days up, the prices' history" | a lower listing fee (down to a quarter at level 50), +1 lot every 5 levels, +1 day every 2 levels, and the average recent price of each kind of good |
| 10 | "The market fills half as fast with what you sell" | you can sell twice as many of one kind (32 instead of 16) before its price halves |
| 10 | "Merchants show you the contract they keep for Merchants" | you see, and can deliver, each merchant's third contract |
| 25 | "15% off Cruise merchants' stalls" | 15 % off everything you buy from a Cruise merchant; the Buy screen still shows the full price, but you are charged less. Not on Mine Mine no Mi's own traders |
| 40 | "A merchant's purse no longer limits what he buys from you" | a merchant buys everything you bring, whatever is left in his purse (your own Belly cap still applies) |
The professions book shows the two level-1 perks with their current values, so they grow as you level.
Advancements¶
The Trade tab opens at Merchant level 1: Trade (become a Merchant), Apprentice Merchant (level 5), A Deal Is a Deal (deliver a merchant's contract), Going Once, Going Twice (sell a lot at the Auction House), X Marks the Spot (dig up a treasure) and Legendary Treasure (dig up the treasure of a legendary map).