So, back in the day I wrote a thing because sometimes it is confusing trying to figure out how to pay or tip a tradeskiller for their work, so I wanted to give some guidance as a tradeskiller, to:
- Tradeskillers trying to figure out what to charge for their services
- People trying to figure out how much to tip a tradeskiller without being insulting
I went along, took a break from the game, started playing again and jumped over to RK19. After running into a couple of problems with people tipping or treating me rudely because of a quoted price, I decided to revive this guide.
Keep in mind that these prices are based on my experiences over the last several months on RK19. Right now my rough estimate of how much it would cost on RK5 is multiple everything by 10.
Iâm not going to say that everybody will agree with these prices, (I know they wonât) so use them to make your own judgements. These prices are based on:
- Hassle involved in the tradeskill process (lots of steps, lots of components, uncommon skills)
- Amount and number of skills needed in the process
- Amount of tools needed
- Rarity and market price of the final product
My rough Formula: (((Top Tradeskill Multiplier)/2)*# of Tradeskills in process)*ql of final-ish product
+500K for each 5 steps beyond the first 5
+500K for pulling out a rare tool for an order (shape soft, Permafrost melter, etc)
+1-2m for super valuable items
Multiply at least by 10-50 for tradeskills on RK5
Classic Tradeskills
VTEs: 1m each
Nano Crystal Creation 14K*ql
- Ql 50: 625K
- QL 100: 1.45m
- QL 150: 2m
- QL 200: 2.6m
Soft Armor Creation
- Dragon*: 225K+1.5m
- Mantis: 2.2k * QL (QL 200=450K)
Implant Creation
- The price is for any number of clusters, including any number of Jobe Clusters
- Standard Implants: 1.5Kql (ql 200=300K)
- Jobe Clusters: 3Kql (ql 200=600K)
Hard Armor Creation
- Carbonum:
- Notum Saturated Metaplast:
- Junk Metal:
Monster Parts: 1.25*QL
- My recommendation is to never do these for public trade
Ring + Gem: 5K*QL
RK weapon creation: ~6.75L*QL of final weapon
- Not worth it for regular play and there are very few weapons worth making
-000 weapon updates: 2.5K*ql (ql 200 = 500K)
Implant cleaning: 4.75K*ql (QL200=950K)
Implant leveling
- I only do this for myself, friends, and org mates because the work is too futsy
Sealed weapons: 3.7K*QL (ql 194 = 718K)
Libraries (implant, pharm, treatment): 6.38K*ql (ql 200=1.25m)
Coffee Machines: 600K
Notum Wars
Service Towers: 5.75K*QL (QL 200=1.15m)
Tradeskill towers
- Conductors: 11.5KQL (ql 200=2.3m)
- Turrets: 8.62Kql (ql 200=1.7m)
Stiletto: 13.75K*QL (QL 160=2.2m) + 4m if you need to make the mesh
Shadowlands Tradeskills
Arul Saba:
- 1 Gem: 3m/pair
- 2 Gem: 5m/pair
- 3 Gem: 7m/pair
- 4 Gem: 9m/pair
- 5 Gem: 12m/pair
Thawing stuff:
- NCU Injectors: 600K ea
- Robe of City Lights: 750K ea
- Galactic Gems: 875K ea
Icey Shoulder Pads: 750K
Frozen remedies: 550K ea
Ancient Hud Items
- Ancient Skills Library: 625K
- Ancient Combat Tuner: 3.3m + 1m
- Masterpiece Ancient Bracer: 6.6m + 1m
Spirit Infused Yuttos NCUs: 3K*ql (ql 200=600K)
Pocket Bosses: 6K*QL (QL200=1.2m)
Perennium Weapons
- Standard: 10.5KQL (QL200=2.1m)
- Pre-Hacked: 7KQL (QL200=1.4m)
Sided Glyph Weapons: 9K*QL (QL200=1.8m)
Tier/Jobe Armor Glyphs:
- T1: 300K ea
- T2: 500K ea
- T3: 700K ea
Alien Invasion Tradeskills
Alien Armor
- One armor: 15kql+2m (QL300= 6.5m)
- Combined armor: 18Kql+4m (QL300= 9.4m)
Alien Tank Armor
- Materials processing: 225K each
Alien Augmentation Devices: 500K each
Alien Weapon Combines: 6K*QL (QL300=1.8m)
CRU Creation: Generally charge 1m per bag, its not hard, just tedious
LoX
Xan Elite NCU Creation: 6.75K*ql+1m (QL300=3m)
Tradeskill Etiquette
It is not always clear how you should approach a tradeskiller, so here are some pointers for the crafter and the client to make sure everything is shiny and awesome.
- The client brings all the components needed and if there are more than 4-5, puts them in a bag
- The tradeskiller brings their own tools to the job. The client doesnât need to include hacking tools and the like, with a few exceptions (Indigo Carmine, T3)
- When talking about the job, the tradeskiller needs to tell you their prices up front before the job starts and before any items are traded
- The client states any special requirements up front and any âneed to knowsâ, such as if implants should not be bumped or if all the clusters for one implant are in one bag. This helps things go faster and prevents mistakes.
- The client gives payment after the job is done, in the trade window, when they can see the completed item.
- Even if all the components are in bags, the tradeskiller should show the result of the work or one of the results in the trade window as verification of the job being done.
- If the Tradeskiller messes up, they replace the components. This might be expensive but if you are unsure, you should use the tradeskill kit and double check everything. Some tradeskills, like high ql refined implants or Alien Armor can be messed up and are very costly.
FAQ
Q. But I work for free/tips/favors/for-the-love-of-the-craft
A. That is fine and I think that is wonderful. I also do free tradeskills for my org and my friends. The issue is that some people want to charge, and some people need some guidance going into a tradeskill about how much they could pay for assembly after they spent all their money on components.
Q. I donât charge these prices.
A. Wonderful, but make sure you tell your prices to your clients up front. If you have feedback for my pricing, feel free to message me in game.
Q. Why should I have to pay for tradeskills when I donât pay for teaming with people?
A. Tradeskilling requires an extensive use of IP and radically change how a character operates and the choices they have to make about leveling, equipping, perking, and more. Since this often gets in the way of combat, which is the core game play mechanic, I feel that tradeskillers should be compensated because they are intentionally depowering their characterâs combat ability to make some of the best equipment in the game for people.
Q. I donât have the cash required, can you do it for less or can we trade items?
A. I like doing this, personally, but this is a part of the âstating pricesâ and âstating special requirementsâ portion of the tradeskill conversation in the etiquette section. Make sure you tell the tradeskiller up front and see if you can work out a deal. I personally love to trade for rare components.
Q. Some of these tradeskills seem out of line with the market need. 625K for a QL 50 Nano crystal!?
A. Yeah, I get that. The problem is that some of these tradeskills need vast quantities of skill in multiple skill category (with Nano Crystal Creation being the best example), and that really hurts a character. Think of that price as the price you would pay to get a Grid Armor disk made or a Nullity Sphere, not a common, shop buyable, or mission rollable nano.
Q. I cannot make any money selling the tradeskilled item if I pay these prices!
A. Iâm not sympathetic here. While market prices fluxuate, sometimes people expect prices that are unreasonable for components, but the traderskiller should not be thrown under the bus economically. Either the market price needs to come down, the selling price needs to go up, or you need to be able to tradeskill the item yourself.
Q. Where are the LE and LoX tradeskills?
A. Lost Eden and Legacy of the Xan certainly introduced some tradeskill processes but there is really only one that was introduced that can be done by an outside tradeskiller, everything else is selfed with nodrop components.