Monday, February 23, 2009

The Shopper's Connection: The Brokers, The Vendors and You...

[The following paragraph is to be read in an old lady voice, please...]

When I was new to DDO, things were a lot different. We had to walk to quests through the ... wait ... the snow is new... oh...I remember what I was gonna tell you about, there was this big tent with NPC (non-player characters) hanging out selling all sorts of stuff. It had all these crazy levels and trying to find who sold what you wanted could be a bit frustrating, especially for casters. These days, it can still be confusing but it's much better. Why, I remember wondering why some o' those guys only bought the kind of stuff they sold and others bought everything...

[You may now axe the old lady voice for the rest of this post.]

Trapizia: Yeah, I remember you wasting a lot of my plat in those days and missing out on some good purchases due to your ... uh ... ignorance...
Player: Boy did I ever. And, I must have noticed that some were called brokers and other vendors. I just never made the connection and it was quite awhile before anyone told me.

Personally, I don't miss the tent. I found it rather tedious climbing all the levels and then losing my place and leaving via the wrong door. So, consider yourself lucky that the tent blew up and the vendors and brokers relocated to the Rusty Nail. I know the devs have talked about moving them someday, but I really hope they keep it simple when they do. I love that I can heal up and reset my clickies and skills while selling and shopping.

First, the difference between a broker and a vendor:
  • Brokers buy and sell a limited type of equipment. Their inventory comes from their purchases and nothing else. They tend to pay more for items and carry unusual things you won't find on vendors. They don't sell pots, scrolls, wands, or other consumables. Brokers do buy bound items but don't resell them. Brokers also only repair they type of item they sell (of any value).
  • Vendors sell what they sell and will buy anything that can be sold. What is sold to them is gone forever once it's left your buyback. I'm not sure where they get their inventory, but it's consistent and they never run out of anything. My guess is it has something to do with the Coinlords. These guys (and bartenders/tervernkeeps/etc.) will repair anything.
Second, where can you find them?

Let's start with vendors:
  • Dex Boon (any relation to Daniel?) in Korthos Village sells general lowbie items like heal pots, thieves' tools, arrows, bolts, throwing hammers and daggers (Roko wants me to add "no shurikens...grrrrr!"), and spell components.
  • Ves the Peddler can be found way out on Korthos Island near the quest giver for Misery's Peak. He sells the same stuff as Dex. Roko: Funny....I don't see a bike around here...oooh....I want a bike... Player: *rolls eyes*
  • Elspeth Wright is one of the first NPCs you'll see as you leave the boat in Stormreach. She's another general vendor and sells (you guessed it) the same stuff as Dex and Ves. She also sells sets of 3 rusty thieve's tools, which give a minus to your disabling skills.
  • Inside the Hammer and Chain in the Harbor, you'll find folks selling armor and weapons, including quivers. Roko: Finally! Shurikens!
  • Dagoward's Apothocary in the Harbor sells spell components, spell inscription materials (only needed by wizards), and a nice variety of potions (aka pots). Truffle: Please note that Repair Potions are for Warforged healing, not for repairing your equipment ... yes, she thought that's what they were for at first...let me tell you...they don't fix anything and taste horrid to us fleshies!
  • The Rusty Nail in the Marketplace is home to several vendors (yes, home. are they ever not there?). What they sell is pretty much self-explanatory. As you may have noticed in the apothocary, reagent vendors sell stuff for casters.
  • The Black Loch has 3 vendors (Hawk, Aycyntha and Philippe). General directions to them can be found in the brokers section. They're nice if you're using that entrance to Three Barrell Cove, but I wouldn't run out just to shop at the vendors.
  • Liquid Charm in House K sells spell spell components (level 1-5) and potions, including cure serious pots.
  • The House of Wizardry in House J sells divine scrolls (levels 3-7), arcane scrolls (levels 4-5), divine enhancement pots, and some nice wands (including cure and repair serious wands).
  • Feather's Fall Apothecary in House J is the place to go for level 1-8 spell components. They also carry a nice selection of pots.
  • Dragon Tooth Arms in House D sells +1 weapons and ordinary quivers.dw
  • The Lion's Head Armory in House D sells +1 armor.
  • Vestrii's Arms in House P carries a nice line of magically enhanced weapons that will help you hit better.
  • The Erstwhile Emporium in House P is home to Drudori Alzander, a general vendor who sells spell components; inscription materials; medium collictable, gem and ingredients bags; and some other general items. While there, you might also want to get to know Rekard Sorl, who is an expert at repairing accesories. He claims his repair jobs are top quality, so you won't have to worry about items coming back from his shop with permanent damage.
  • Object Desire in House P sells spell enhancement potions, level 3 scrolls, and level 6-7 wands.
  • There are also vendors in the Desert, Necropolis, Gianthold and Meridia. I won't go into detail on them other than to say that the general vendor in Gianthold carries most types of spell components.
  • You'll also see some favor vendors around (such as Sorville Smythe the Free Agent Vendor). You need to gain favor with that vendor's house in order to purchase from them. Favor sounds like a good topic for another post.
Now for Brokers:
  • The Rusty Nail in the Marketplace has the largest number and variety of brokers and vendors. Take a few minutes to check them out.
  • Not far from the ship on which you sailed to Stormreach from Korthos, is another ship. Nadine Shipton will invite you aboard the ship that will take you to the Black Loch. The brokers you find here are the only ones you can get to without either earning or bribing entry to the Marketplace. They're a bit tedious to get to and don't tend to have much. However, if you're looking for something specific or going there anyway, they just might have what you need. Make your way to the yellow dots on the map (you don't want me to spell everything out for you, do you?). Here you will fine weapon, jewelry, clothing and armor brokers. They don't seem to have a level limit as to what they buy or sell. When you're done shopping, make your way back to the ship and Nadine will get you back to Stormreach.
  • Fare Trades in House D carries level 4 and higher weapons with a value starting at 17,000gp.
  • Second Gauntlet Goods in House K buys and sells armor with a value of 8,000gp and up that can be used starting at level 4.
Happy shopping (uh....hunting, for you guys)!

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