Are Converters still the go-to for merit purchases?

[Yomo Kimyata]

21 minutes ago, Andreah said:

Also, there is an "Upgrade" button in the lower left corner of the enhancement management screen. Press it often. It's a fair deal and much easier. It instantly updates all your slotted SO's to your current level, and only changes the fair difference in price from what you last had slotted to what they would cost at your current level.

Be cautious with the Upgrade button if you are keeping your eye on your funds.  It upgrades all of your SOs (and DOs and others) to +3 your level.  There is a confirm button, but it is all or none.  I tend to use it every level, but you don’t need to upgrade all your SOs every level and it’s a big inf sink.  Id target every three levels or so, and if you shift over to IOs you won’t need to upgrade .

[Heliphyn34u]

19 hours ago, MegaloRob said:

Right. 

I don't expect to get into the IOs until 50. That was always my end game content. 🙂

 

My goal was to get enough influence so I can stat out my guy with SO and then be able to upgrade them when I need to. 

 

This has been a great help.

 

You probably already know this, but just in case: if you do DFB (Death From Below), it will net you a few SOs at your level and origin.  Run that a couple of times, then slot what you need and vend the rest.

 

Also, you can sometimes find affordable IO set enhancements on the market, but the real key at lower levels is to buy them already attuned -- they don't cost more than the non-attuned ones, and they work for the full range of their level availability.  For example, Bonesnap and Far Strike are available at level 7 but cap at 25 in terms of strength, and Cleaving Blow is available at level 7 and caps at 50, but of course they don't stop enhancing unless you exemp below 7.  Buying pre-attuned IOs saves you from having to buy catalysts, and having a few of them slotted as you level can help things go more smoothly.  You can swap them out with a respec once you get to 50.

 

[twozerofoxtrot]

On 9/1/2024 at 11:45 AM, MegaloRob said:

What would the market advice be for this? Everything is reflected as 100 merits. Well, can I take my 14 merits and turn it into more resources to build out my little baby noob toon out?

 

 

You've already received good advice, but I'd like to orient you to this thread.

 

I tried an experiment where I self-funded a character from 1-50 using this process and it was pretty effective, even with lots of playtime in a short span.

 

Obviously based on luck and a bit of knowledge on what sells well, but the latter can be divined the old fashioned way by seeing what sells high. Or higher than 3mil at least.

 

At 50, I already had most if not all of my build slotted. Playing got me the Enhancement Catalysts I wanted for my ATO and Winter sets.

[Ironblade]

On 8/31/2024 at 10:45 PM, MegaloRob said:

I finally talked a few friends of mine into playing too. And we have a weekly game set up. We have met once and our characters are level 10.

 

What would the market advice be for this? Everything is reflected as 100 merits. Well, can I take my 14 merits and turn it into more resources to build out my little baby noob toon out?

 

To maximize your merits, consider doing task forces.  Every week, three task forces / strike forces / trials are designated "weekly strike targets".  Upon completion (if you are not yet level 50), you will receive a large amount of bonus XP (up to half a level worth).  You will also, regardless of your level, get DOUBLE reward merits.  You can receive this bonus once per week per character.  Right now, the weeklies are higher level.

 

Starting Sept 23rd the weekly will be Positron (minimum level 8 for part 1, minimum level 11 for part 2).  Two weeks after that, Synapse will be up (min level 15).  Two weeks after THAT, Penny Yin (min level 20).  Followed at 2 week intervals by Citadel, Manticore and Numina.  These six task forces are the 'Signature Task Forces'.  I do these on every single character for the massive bonuses and also the Task Force Commander accolade power.  This gives your character 5% additional hit points.

 

 

On 9/1/2024 at 8:01 PM, MegaloRob said:

I don't expect to get into the IOs until 50. That was always my end game content. 🙂

 

My goal was to get enough influence so I can stat out my guy with SO and then be able to upgrade them when I need to.

 

Personally, I start slotting select IOs around level 35 and add more as I level up.  This reduces the cost of upgrading the SOs, although I have some SOs right until level 50 in the powers where I'm going to put purple recipes.

 

[Azari]

I’ve always found that boosters sell faster than converters

[Riverdusk]

@MegaloRob I suggest doing all the story arcs in the Hollows (levels 5-15).  You get an extra bonus merit drop and badge for doing all of them. 

 

Pretty sure you end up with something like 85 merits just from doing them all including the bonus.  Not to mention they are some of the more fun arcs in the game.

Edited September 3 by Riverdusk

[Gravitus]

On 8/12/2024 at 9:56 AM, EmperorSteele said:

I've been trying to deck out my latest character, so I started the ol' tried and true method of spending all my merits on converters, then using the inf from the sales to buy enhancements.

 

Well, one weekend later, and only half have sold, leaving me with a half unfulfilled shopping list.

 

=(

 

So I started to wonder if this method really is the most efficient use of merits. You can buy a purple recipe for 100 merits. That same number of merits will get you 300 Converters, which in turn SHOULD get you at least 15 mil after fees (assuming you don't just list for 5 and get unlucklily lowballed).

 

An average purple enhancement on the AH goes for 15-18 mil. So using merits to buy the recipe starts looking more promising.

 

HOWEVER, note that you still have to craft the recipe! Doing so costs 600k, plus 3 rare salvage, which all usually go for 400-600k each. So that's an extra 2mil in the bucket right there, assuming you don't have the materials on-hand.

 

Overall, it seems that the converter to Inf to buy method isn't as efficient as it used to be. If you have unlimited time but limited inf/resources, then it's still a good way to go to save some scratch, so long as you're willing to hold selling high/buying low bids for several weeks. But if you have plenty of resources and no time/patience, it seems you're not losing out too much spending the merits directly on the recipes and crafting them.

 

Thoughts?

I didn't see anyone mention this but if they did, I apologize.......Converters are absolutely a great way to make money.....here are some general tips to save on crafting costs.....

 

1. Doest matter if you sell an IO at level 31 or level 50...they show up in the market as the same to whoever is buying it.....crafting a level 31 will weed out the weaker IO's when converting and the crafting costs are much more affordable.

 

2. This one I'm going off of memory so someone correct me if I am wrong. 

 

If you want to get around the rare salvage cost...there are SOME rare IO sets that have a yellow in its set.......you can craft these with cheap salvage and then convert within the same set to get the rare counterparts in its respective set......and if you choose, once, you have that rare in hand....you can convert for a different rare out of set or a certain IO type which may prove to be more lucrative. 

 

 

[Yomo Kimyata]

54 minutes ago, Gravitus said:

If you want to get around the rare salvage cost...there are SOME rare IO sets that have a yellow in its set.......you can craft these with cheap salvage and then convert within the same set to get the rare counterparts in its respective set......and if you choose, once, you have that rare in hand....you can convert for a different rare out of set or a certain IO type which may prove to be more lucrative. 

 

Also, there are some uncommon IO sets that require a rare salvage to craft.  Pretty sneaky, sis!

[Yomo Kimyata]

I think it also worthwhile mentioning that when I ding 50 I turn off uncommon recipes and often rare recipes as well at the P2W.  The crafting cost is close to a half million inf for a level 50 recipe and if I’m going to craft on that alt I see no need to add a half million to my cost basis.  I keep commons, pvps, and rares active.

[Riverdusk]

1 hour ago, Yomo Kimyata said:

I think it also worthwhile mentioning that when I ding 50 I turn off uncommon recipes and often rare recipes as well at the P2W.  The crafting cost is close to a half million inf for a level 50 recipe and if I’m going to craft on that alt I see no need to add a half million to my cost basis.  I keep commons, pvps, and rares active.

 

Yes, and I do the opposite leveling on the way up.  I turn off common recipes until I get near 50.  Until you get to the higher level ones they don't sell for much at all and I figure I might as well get badge credit for rejecting recipes.

[tidge]

I use the common recipe drops (while leveling) to get the "sell 50 recipes" badge. My experience has been that I don't get that many until I can turn up the spawn sizes.

[Gravitus]

19 hours ago, Yomo Kimyata said:

I think it also worthwhile mentioning that when I ding 50 I turn off uncommon recipes and often rare recipes as well at the P2W.  The crafting cost is close to a half million inf for a level 50 recipe and if I’m going to craft on that alt I see no need to add a half million to my cost basis.  I keep commons, pvps, and rares active.

Wait am I missing something? Why is it beneficial to turn off rare recipes? 

[Ukase]

41 minutes ago, Gravitus said:

Wait am I missing something? Why is it beneficial to turn off rare recipes? 

You're missing the same thing I missed for quite some time - so don't feel badly. 

It's what yomo mentions - crafting costs. 

As an example: Obliteration:Chance for Smashing Damage, a level 50 recipe. (I actually used this example in another thread in this sub-forum, somewhere) 

    The crafting cost, as you see, not counting for salvage is 490,400 for a level 50 rare recipe. 
 

 

At level 41, the recipe would require the same pieces of salvage, but the crafting costs are much cheaper: 



I use level 41, simply because if I'm to craft and convert, this level range is better for me to get the IOs that I want. 

There are many players who would simply sell the level 50 recipe on the AH for whatever they can get, or vendor it, if the bids aren't that good. 
Then, they may purchase the same recipe, only at a lower level to save on the crafting costs. 

This is a small part of the reason why marketers make so much more inf than farmers. The farmers are generally level 50, taking advantage of all the slots and set bonuses a 50 can get, to be as efficient at clearing maps as they can. But the drops they get, as I've learned, cost a lot more to craft. If the inclination is to craft and convert recipe drops, you're better off simply forgoing that at level 50, vendor it or sell it on the AH, and either purchasing lower level recipes and crafting/converting those, or just let your lower level characters do this, while your farmer does their own thing, which is clear maps and pray for purple rain. 

As for turning off these recipes, I don't do that, because I've never been full of recipes before, as I manage all my inventory frequently. And uncommons, rares - they still have value. And disabling them doesn't cause more commons or very rares to drop in their place. So, it's a loss. A small loss, but still a loss. May as well keep getting them and vendoring/selling them on AH - but that's me. Not everyone has the inclination to process their inventory so often. 

[Yomo Kimyata]

54 minutes ago, Gravitus said:

Wait am I missing something? Why is it beneficial to turn off rare recipes? 

 

By the time I hit 50, there are very few rare recipes that are worth crafting or selling.  Between the crafting cost and the rare salvage, you are already about 1mm inf in the hole.  And rare recipes are only worth 10k to the vendor, so I just turn them off so I have more room for commons, PvP, and purples.  It's a minor thing.

[tidge]

I used to turn off the rare recipes, for precisely the reasons mentioned (costs, return).  However... keep in mind I am only a casual marketer... I stopped doing this except for my "explicitly poor" characters. The primary reasons for doing this are:

• Generally, I build/slot characters with whatever I have around, and I keep pieces I am pretty sure I will use. This is wasteful once a character is "rich enough", but it is now a habit for me.
• Occasionally, I really want 50+5 pieces instead of attuned pieces. These cost the same on the AH of course, but see my note above about my habit to self-build.
• I'm lazy about turning these sorts of things off-and-on at S.T.A.R.T. !

 

 

 

[Gravitus]

I love you guys, but that was alot of typing just to say "to save room for commons, uncommons, and purples" I don't think recipe room has ever been an issue for me. not to mention when you turn off those recipes...you're missing out on some lucrative rares.......granted they are few. but imagine how many lotg...you may have missed out on,

[jprewitt73]

22 hours ago, Gravitus said:

I love you guys, but that was alot of typing just to say "to save room for commons, uncommons, and purples" I don't think recipe room has ever been an issue for me. not to mention when you turn off those recipes...you're missing out on some lucrative rares.......granted they are few. but imagine how many lotg...you may have missed out on,

I don't think it's about "saving room." The cost doesn't justify if you are high volume crafting, converting, and selling. Rare recipes cost too much to craft and purchase the salvage for, so the return is too low. 

 

[Gravitus]

7 minutes ago, jprewitt73 said:

I don't think it's about "saving room." The cost doesn't justify if you are high volume crafting, converting, and selling. Rare recipes cost too much to craft and purchase the salvage for, so the return is too low. 

 

just because the recipe drops...doesn't mean you have to craft it....but there are some you may want to craft like lotg and other resistance recipes that are lucrative despite high crafting costs....so unless you're doing it for space purposes....there is a net negative by turning them off. your logic only works if you're forced to craft the rares that drop.

Edited September 5 by Gravitus

[lemming]

5 hours ago, Gravitus said:

just because the recipe drops...doesn't mean you have to craft it....but there are some you may want to craft like lotg and other resistance recipes that are lucrative despite high crafting costs....so unless you're doing it for space purposes....there is a net negative by turning them off. your logic only works if you're forced to craft the rares that drop.

Yomo doesn't need to craft that way.  He has built up billions doing it the way he does.

You also need to take in time cost.   The more you specialize, the less you need to keep supplies for crafting and less time you take in sorting thru your stash.

Doesn't mean you have to do the way he says, but that has been working great for him.

[Yomo Kimyata]

I would have hoped that at this point, "Your mileage may vary" would be implied!

 

When I am playing a level 50, it's probably solo and I'm probably playing at +4/x8 and maybe with a Windfall active.  It doesn't take many missions before I am full or salvage or recipes or enhancements, and I generally only do inventory management when I get a flash telling me that I'm full of something or other.

 

I cut off rare recipes because I don't choose to put in the effort to weed out the valuable ones.  It's a higher return for me to get fifty common recipes that will net me 5mm inf than for me to get ten rares of which I will vendor 9 for 10k and spend 1mm on salvage and crafting for one LotG that happens to drop.  Or better yet, if I feel like crafting on that character I'll buy fifty level 41 Red Fortunes and craft and convert them to LotG and make 100mm+ profit.

[Andreah]

Regarding converters and boosters, look at the ratio between their going prices. Nominally, it should be 15:1.  Converters also get a bit of a premium because they're more click per merit to redeem, but it's usually within 10% or so.

 

If clicking/mouse-actions are not a consideration for you, you'll make more money from converters if they sell for more that 1/15 the price of a booster. And if boosters are selling for more than 15x the price of a converter, sell those instead.

[chuckv3]

I keep this in a text file. check the market prices, plug in those and do the math to get the best inf per merit:

 

merit conversions
unslotter 100k * 2 = 200k
catalyst 900k / 20 = 45k
converter 60k * 3 = 180k
booster 1m / 5 = 200k

 

and usually it's unslotter or booster with the best yield.

Edited September 10 by chuckv3
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