What's the goto meta for making inf now?

[MattBold]

I have been gone 2ish years.  Back then it was a mix of AE farms and doing conversions for the market.

 

Is that still the case?  I know the AE works different now.  If anyone can fill me in it would be much appreciated.

[Spaghetti Betty]

Welcome back! Farming isn't quite as lucrative as it used to be, but that's mostly because it was reeled in a bit from being the absolute best option for making cash.

 

Converting and Marketeering still hold the #1 spot as the most profitable method with the least amount of effort.

 

You can also look into Prismatic Aether Particles. They're a new currency that was added in the 2nd to last update. They're used to unlock a bunch of vanity costumes (mostly NPC stuff but there are character effects sprinkled in there), but they have an extremely low drop rate. This makes selling them pretty profitable. On the flipside, you can mine a ton of them by participating in the new Advanced Difficulty settings that were added to the Aeon SF and ITF.

[MattBold]

9 minutes ago, Spaghetti Betty said:

Welcome back! Farming isn't quite as lucrative as it used to be, but that's mostly because it was reeled in a bit from being the absolute best option for making cash.

 

Converting and Marketeering still hold the #1 spot as the most profitable method with the least amount of effort.

 

You can also look into Prismatic Aether Particles. They're a new currency that was added in the 2nd to last update. They're used to unlock a bunch of vanity costumes (mostly NPC stuff but there are character effects sprinkled in there), but they have an extremely low drop rate. This makes selling them pretty profitable. On the flipside, you can mine a ton of them by participating in the new Advanced Difficulty settings that were added to the Aeon SF and ITF.

Ooh can you tell me more about these?  Where can i find more info?

[Spaghetti Betty]

14 minutes ago, MattBold said:

Ooh can you tell me more about these?  Where can i find more info?

https://homecoming.wiki/wiki/Prismatic_Aether_Particle_Salvage

 

There's lots of ways to earn a few of them, but only 1 way to spend them. You have a very small chance of getting one after completing any mission, and completing the WST with a 50 will also give you 1 or 2. If you don't mind a challenge, completing the max difficulty versions of ASF or ITF will grant you twenty. As of my typing of this, the going price for them is about 4 mil each.

[Luminara]

Lap dancing in Studio 55.

[Clave Dark 5]

Side note: curious about this use of the word "meta" that I am previously unaware of...

[biostem]

1 minute ago, Clave Dark 5 said:

Side note: curious about this use of the word "meta" that I am previously unaware of...

I typically interpret the use of "meta" in this context as "the game about the game".  In other words, how to utilize the game to achieve other goals you, as a player, may have set for yourself, that make use of the game - such as generating a lot of inf, obtaining all the badges, etc.

[Clave Dark 5]

That would seem to be a needless level of redundancy, but that tracks in that use, yeah.

[biostem]

Just now, Clave Dark 5 said:

That would seem to be a needless level of redundancy, but that tracks in that use, yeah.

Think of it like the term "metadata" - it's information about information - you have an image file, and the metadata would be when it was taken, where it was taken, who took it, and so on - it's not in the image itself, but still attached to/associated with it...

[Luminara]

7 minutes ago, Clave Dark 5 said:

Side note: curious about this use of the word "meta" that I am previously unaware of...

[TheZag]

Most Effective Tactics Available.  Basically means the 'best' way.

 

[Sanguinesun]

12 hours ago, Spaghetti Betty said:

Welcome back! Farming isn't quite as lucrative as it used to be, but that's mostly because it was reeled in a bit from being the absolute best option for making cash.

 

Converting and Marketeering still hold the #1 spot as the most profitable method with the least amount of effort.

 

You can also look into Prismatic Aether Particles. They're a new currency that was added in the 2nd to last update. They're used to unlock a bunch of vanity costumes (mostly NPC stuff but there are character effects sprinkled in there), but they have an extremely low drop rate. This makes selling them pretty profitable. On the flipside, you can mine a ton of them by participating in the new Advanced Difficulty settings that were added to the Aeon SF and ITF.

 

An important point to make regarding all this:  The market is a way to shift influence from one person to another, it actually doesnt (outside of a very minimal seeding) "generate" influence.  Only killing mobs, completing missions and similar actually generate the pool of influence by the game.  The market outside of that through fees is actually a small influence sink.

 

So when people say its the most profitable, the influence shifting for profit is only sustained by the efforts of people otherwise in the game, up to and including farming be it through that or running any other manner of content.   Thus the ones really making significant influence are the ones who both farm and manipulate the market as you point out since they're influencing both sides of the fence(pun intended).

Edited May 27, 2023 by Sanguinesun

[Voltak]

14 hours ago, Spaghetti Betty said:

https://homecoming.wiki/wiki/Prismatic_Aether_Particle_Salvage

 

There's lots of ways to earn a few of them, but only 1 way to spend them. You have a very small chance of getting one after completing any mission, and completing the WST with a 50 will also give you 1 or 2. If you don't mind a challenge, completing the max difficulty versions of ASF or ITF will grant you twenty. As of my typing of this, the going price for them is about 4 mil each.

Spaghetti Betty is a totally awesome person.   I would like to add to that something else.   By running the hard core content like ITF 4 stars, you not only gain those  Aethers , but you also gain a lot of influence and xp.   

When ITF 4 star first came out, yeah, sure I made tons by selling the Aethers but the influence I made just running the ITF was great as well. 

4 stars has a greater drop of influence than any other settings in the game. 

It's harder than your standard 54x8.  

[biostem]

A word of warning regarding the more difficult "star content" - familiarize yourself with just what those extra difficulty levels bring, because if you don't, you'll end up wasting a lot of time and missing out on the XP, inf, or other resources you were hoping to garner during that same time frame.  Ease into it, become comfortable with the added mechanics, and once you're there, knock yourself out.  I just hate seeing people, who are used to steamrolling even +4/x8 content, thinking they can just waltz into the new hard mode stuff, only to come to a screeching halt and rage quitting.  This is not a "you can't do this" comment, merely a warning to "do your homework"...

Edited May 27, 2023 by biostem

[honoroit]

i avoid the hard content because players are uncommonly nasty there, or can tend to be.  its not an issue of player skill or reading to arrange set bonuses (thats not as hard as youd think considering all the give me build posts), nor doing homework for abc mechanic.

 

it just feels unpleasant, to me.

 

im too tired for that mess.

 

prisms? farm, or cash in reward merits for seasonals and ah.

 

(people are mean on excelsior, sometimes)

[Glacier Peak]

Afk farming is the easiest method with the least risk, but it's not the most lucrative. Active farming is more lucrative, but has more risk and time investment compared to afk farming.

 

Running incarnate and higher 'star' content, if available, is somewhere in the middle for its potential rewards and risk.

 

Marketeering is the least risky, provides the highest potential payouts, but takes a good bit of time and learning the market for what to convert before its reliable.