The Marketplace: A Trader's Guide

[Saetos]

As our current profession guide is five years old, I thought it'd be cool to get a new one up and running.

== Welcome to the Trader Profession ==

You've heard of us before, I hope. While usually rolled and played for the PVP aspect of things, the Trader is an incredible asset to nearly every team they visit. Our damage is quite good - weapons that would make the most revered of twinks sweat give us no problems at all - and we delve into the support role quite well, buffing skills directly, giving and taking health, keeping the nanopools of our Doctor friends nice and full, and other neat buffs and tricks.

What this guide aims to do is to attract the PVMer to the Trader profession. Hopefully after reading this, perhaps you'll give this profession a whirl, and see why I love it so much.

Part 1) Breed Choice
I find that breed choice almost doesn’t matter with the Trader profession, especially at high levels (this is of course assuming you have Shadowlands – if you don’t, then you’ll find the breeds carry more obvious key differences).

At the beginning, most people find Opifex or Solitus traders easiest to play; good HP combined with good nanopool and rather well-balanced abilities (except perhaps Opifex and its problems with Stamina sometimes) make these two breeds well-suited for the Trader profession. Opifex carries an advantage over Solitus with symbiants and a slightly higher Shotgun skill than Solitus Traders, but this merely places Solitus in a very close caliber with Opifex; both are great all-around breeds.

Nanomage traders have an easier time casting higher nanos, getting a better nanopool at low levels (our nanos can cost a lot of the bar when you start laddering skill drains), but of course has a problem with HP. Since Lost Eden came out, the Nanomage breed has been given some boosts: certain nanos we can use (Nanobot Defense) are more effective as a Nanomage, and there is a special item out there that is Nanomage only that gives a 5000 point absorb when right clicked. If you're free-to-play, ignore all that, but still doesn't stop the Nano breed from being perfectly viable - just watch out for that ticking time bomb of an HP bar.

Atrox traders have a good source of HP, which can be quite handy for soloing. However, we use a lot of nanopool in our life, and as an Atrox, you will have difficulty getting the nanopool to properly function as your best in a team - although this will probably not matter too much at TL7, what with all the nanopool regeneration we can get at that point. Definitely doable, and can be fun. Just consider yourself forewarned.

[Saetos]

Part 2) The Role of the Trader
Not only can we use weapons to help us fight, we can also use our skills, the opponent’s skills, our health, their health, whatever, and transfer it to ourselves or our team.

To take an example, let’s check out our top “team heal”…

Premium Delayed Health Payment
Every member in the caster's team is healed for 920-1,144 points of damage. The caster pays for this by slowly losing small amounts of health for the duration of the formula.

Essentially, we alter something in our character or an enemy target and transfer effects to ourselves or our team. Our Trader team heals heal the team for an amount of damage, while our own health is hit to "pay" for the effect. This is the same with some of our other nanolines: we have Health Hagglers, which drain our health and heal a single target; Health Freeloaders/Health Plunders, which drain a target's HP and give it to us, and a trio of lines that affect ACs: one drains our AC and buffs our team or a target, another drains a target and gives us ACs, and the third (that is available to Traders with expansions) debuff the ACs of a target by a very large amount.

On top of that, we have:

Skill Drains!
Our signature nano line. This line of nanos has defined our profession since the beginning of the game, and only recently have they been extended into new heights. This is how it works: we debuff the target of nanoskills and weaponskills, and then buff our own skills by a similar, yet smaller amount. Note that neither the drain effect, nor the transfer effect on us will affect weaponskill specials, such as Burst or FullAuto.

What’s even cooler is the fact that our two skill drain lines (Deprive/Divest, Ransack/Plunder) can stack, helping us increase our skills by leaps and bounds. Using these two drainlines, we can work at optimum performance, using great heals, good calms, and ...

Wrangles!
These buffs are the polar opposite of skill drains. Instead of debuffing our target and buffing ourselves, we debuff ourselves of weapon- and nanoskills to buff either our target or our team by a similar yet smaller amount for three minutes. Again, no weaponskill specials here either. The top single wrangle buffs 131 skills and is a very sought after nano by other players to help get their weapon on or their nano casted.

More wrangles!
At SL release we were graced with the Umbral Wrangler line. This line of nanos does the same thing as a team wrangle – with awesome differences. One key difference is that we aren't debuffed at all, though we don't gain their effects. The effects of these wrangles are also level locked, both in the parent nano and child "aura". These wrangles last for hours, and are much liked in teams, since they do carry the nanoskill and weaponskill buffs of their 3-minute brethren.

Crowd Control!
We have three nanos in this category: roots, calms, and charms. Roots hold a target in place - simple enough - and calms attempt to remove a target from combat until it is attacked again. Charms work like bureaucrat charms, in which the target mob, assuming it has low enough Psychic, can be controlled like a pet by the Trader. However, during the charm's duration, we are essentially stunned; no moving, no fighting. Only when the charm runs out or the mob dies can we come back again. Not useful at all.

One thing about our calms is once you can drain up and use Simple Mind, Simple Pleasures, you won't be changing calms until level 209... which is quite the undertaking.

Damage Dealers!
One happy side effect of our skill drains is being able to equip very high quality-level weapons, giving us an opportunity to do massive chunks of damage at low levels. Like the situation with the calms, though, you’ll find you hit a plateau at level 120-130, when you can cast the top RK drains, you can get ql200 implants and/or Awakened symbiants in, and are relying on the fact that Shotgun can only go up 4 points per level, and that’s assuming you’re at the happy places where title-locks aren’t shutting you down. Don’t despair, though – some of our best shotguns start showing up at that point.

Healers!
We have three lines of nanos we use related to healing – our aforementioned team heals, our health Hagglers, and Health Freeloaders/Plunders. Of course, we’re nowhere near the effectiveness of Adventurers and Doctors in healing, but we’re on par with Martial Artists, and now with their new heal we are a bit behind them.

[Saetos]

Part 3) Improvement Points
Here’s how I would prioritise your spending of IP. Be reminded however that these come from the perspective of a combat Trader; for tradeskill-oriented Traders you may have to make some adjustments as you level, especially in your weaponskills.

As a general guideline, max all 6 abilities, with the possible exception of Strength if you're free-to-play. Do not neglect Strength for paid Traders, as it is a vital part of our Symbiant loadout, particularly in Artillery symbiants.

Most Important
BodyDev/NanoPool
Body Dev determines your max HP, NanoPool determines your max nanopool reserves. The amount is dependant on your breed.
For 220 PVP, especially in this era (as of December 09) with the prevalance of capping weapon specials, a regulated (i.e. low) amount of HP to shave off some damage from players is a good thing, so that outhealing these hits will be easier. If you don't plan on PVPing, be sure to keep your BodyDev maxed.
Shotgun
Pretty obvious: this is our main weaponline. Unless you go with more exotic choices (Heavy Weapons, Martial Arts, SMG/Pistol/RangedEnergy offhand), keep that Shotgun bar filled.
TimeSpace/PsyMod
Our skill drains and wrangles, the meat of the Trader, require these nanoskills.
Evade ClsC
This is the main defense stat that most mob's attacks will check against. RubiKa mobs are slightly divided between melee and ranged mobs, but it appears every single mob in SL has an attack that checks this stat.
Comp Literacy
This stat determines the quality of the belts and memory chips you can install, which in turn determines how many and how big of programs you can run in your NCU. We do have large buffs for this stat, but it's still a good idea to keep this stat high, as our drains can take up quite a bit of space. It also determines how much money you get from selling items to terminals, and how cheap terminals sell their items for.
Treatment
With the exception of Shades, there is no other skill that is more important to a character. This stat is CRUCIAL to installing implants and symbiants, which make up - literally - the structure of how your character functions in combat.

Skills to Raise When Able
Ranged Init
This stat determines how fast your Shotgun (or Pistol or SMG or...) fires. As most of our weapons are slow at the beginning, 100-200 points in this skill won't make a lick of difference. It's when you can raise it to about 400 and beyond that this stat starts to make any visible reduction later on. A skill of definite importance along the road, though, as it determines what the "sweet spot" of your weapon is (i.e. the farthest along DEF on the AGG/DEF as possible while still keeping your weapon at its fastest).
Nano Init
Copy/paste for Ranged init comment. No amount of Nano Init can change a nanoprogram's recharge, however.
DodgeRanged/DuckExplosives
Some RK mobs check Dodge Ranged, and some SL mobs check both of these skills. Duck Explosives is very rare on RubiKa, so keep it unIP'ed if you're short on IP for free-to-play Traders.
MultiRanged
This is largely dependant on what weapons you wield. If you stay the course with single wield Shotguns, pay no attention to this skill. If you do use multi-wield shotguns, raise this skill so that with buffs, implants and whatnot, you can meet the lowest MR requirement of the two guns you're trying to equip.
FlingShot/AimedShot
These two skills are the main requirements of our shotguns. Aimed Shot not so much, but our best PVP weapon(s) use it, and almost all of them require FlingShot. Raise them as you need to.
Sensory Imp
Used for calms. You can kinda glide by the first few title levels without uploading a single calm, but at TL4 and beyond, you may be asked to be a calmer if no crat or NT is in the team, so be prepared.
Bio Metamor
Used for our heals and Outfit nanos. Both of those are nanos that are rather useful only in certain situations. Outfit nanos (team nano regeneration buffs) are sought after for higher level team play for paid Traders, so keep those updated when you can.
Nano Resist
This is another situational skill: if you're a regular on Rubi-Ka, or focusing on PVP, increase this as high as you can. If not... then, well, whatever. Even at 220 I've never found a large need for this in PVM.
All Other Skills in Trade and Repair
For this explanation, include Break&Entry from Spying.

This is a decision you make at the beginning of your Trader's career: do you focus on weapons, or tradeskills? If you focus on tradeskills, wait until 150 when you have the spare IP; and I'd suggest using single-wield Shotguns to make sure that you do. If you don't, then give Comp Literacy your eternal devotion and leave the other ones alone.

Skills to Slack Off With
Matter Crea
OK, I'm going to be blunt. Until 185, our AC nanos (MatCrea/TimeSpace) are a complete waste of time. They don't buff enough and they don't debuff enough either. RK mobs don't have any ACs worth writing about and most players today carry enough to not care about a few hundred or couple thousand point increase, depending on the level in question. If you're a free-to-play Trader, as soon as you can reach 777 MatCrea for Grid Gateway with perhaps one drain, then stop raising MC altogether. If you're not, wait until 185 to increase it; the large AC debuffs come into play at this point and many players (MAs, mostly) will love that their wide damage range can be put to good use.
Matter Meta
Matter Meta is even more useless: it's used for a grand total of ONE NANOLINE, damage buffs... and it really sucks. Argument can be made for Unstoppable Killer, the top nano in the line, but even so it's not your top priority.

Other Skills of Note
Martial Arts, Pistol, MG/SMG, Ranged Energy, Heavy Weapons
These are our "alternative" weaponlines, and I'll run you through them briefly.

Martial Arts
Well, this route involves abandoning using any weapons (until 210) and punching stuff. Really hard. Cool thing to note is that Martial Arts is buffed in our drains and no nanoskill conflicts occur in implant setups. Unfortunately, we're still not quite as efficient in this field as true Martial Artists, who not only can get a superior damage template but also a better rate of critical hits.
This is a fun little thing to experiment with, and if you can get your crit chance up there at the higher levels, it's a cool alternative to Shotgun. This does mean however that it will eat up all of your tradeskill IP: you need to increase MultiMelee, Martial Arts, Brawl, Phys Init and Dimach to do it and they don't exactly come cheap.

Pistol, MG/SMG, Ranged Energy
These skills tend refer to AI and LE weapons with this weaponskill that can be used as an offhand to one famous Shotgun we can use, the Fine Smith Shattergun. Kyr'Ozch Pistols - Type 1, Kyr'Ozch Machine Pistols - Type 5, and Dreadloch Rapiers (sometimes Kyr'Ozch Energy Pistols - Type 5) are found in this path. Again, this is a huge IP eater, but allows to you to keep your Shotgun perks and attack rating, and at the moment, FSS/DRapier is the best damage combo a 220 Trader can use, because of the quick Bursts.

Heavy Weapons
The Massive Bolt Charger. It's one weapon, sure, but it's the caster's dream gun, and a showman's option as well.


Vehicle Air
Raise to 81 for a Phasefront vehicle or a ql30 Yalmaha to enable flight in Rubi-Ka.
Map Navi
Raise to 150 early on for the map upgrades, then way way later on when you start to participate in Tarasque raids, raise to 450 for Sided marker upgrades.
Run Speed
General guideline is to keep it halfway, or at least enough to not get outstripped by people half your level.

[Saetos]

Now to focus on a really fun part of a Trader:

Part 5) Tools of the Violent Trade
As traders, our skill drains buff our weaponskills by up to 420 points for froobs and 550 for paid traders – so technically we’re allowed to use almost any weapons we want, provided they’re not profession locked or just out of our reach skills-wise. Anyway, our most popular:

Vektor ND Shotgun [ QL 1 - 180 ]
This gun is one of my favorite guns in game, for two reasons – no IP needed in FlingShot or MultiRanged, which helps us equip it on with our drains more easily than with most other guns, and the sweet graphics effect of the gun firing. The critical hits on this gun can be extreme, and the regular hits can be pretty good. For froob traders, this is an inexpensive path to use to level up.

Springfield Arms (S.A.) Home Defender [ QL 1 - 200 ]
I also like this gun – what it lacks in cool trajectory graphics effects it makes up for in a sweet and snazzy name. This gun is one-handed, and for some crazy reason does better regular damage than the Vektor (yet a little less crit). Unfortunately, past QL65, the Multi-Ranged requirement can become rather troublesome – but even so, one Home Defender can still work quite well. Yes, there are RK weapon upgrades for this gun, but there really is no reason for you from using them – while it gives it Fling Shot, it throws pretty much all of its damage out the window.

Pump Trainee / Pump Master [ QL 40 - 49 / QL 50 ]
Hi, powerleveling gun. Outclassed now by the Neleb's Nightmare Battlerod for low level PVPers, this is still an amazing gun for leveling Traders. While slow, it punches holes in anything you point it at up until about level 50 or so. If you have the cash, or are just lucky, this will last you quite a while until you can find a QL100ish Fine Smith. Drops from QL40-50ish dynabosses on RK.

Krutt Assault 219 Waltzing Queen Special [ QL 1 - 184 ]
That's right, kiddos: 1143. The highest crit rating ever recorded on an equippable weapon in Anarchy Online. On top of this, the Max Beneficial Skill (a value of which a skill can be raised until it stops affecting damage) is stellar for an RK gun, and it has been reported that at high enough crit chances, it outdamages all other Shotguns. Shopbuyable and mission rollable.

Maw of the Abyss (level 125 required) [ SPECIAL ]
Drops in Inner Sanctum. The fling requirement on this gun is rather high for a gun requiring 1050ish in a main weaponskill, but once you get this gun on, you’ll be up and running at full speed again, especially as a froob trader, where it will last you until level 200. As a paid trader, this gun is still quite good, as the projectile damage can do decent damage against mobs in SL, although you might have some problems in Adonis.

Uncle Bazzit Diplomatic [ QL 1 - 200 ]
Dualwielded with a Shattergun, this gun can be pretty darn cool to use for a dual-wielding trader that doesn't want to spend IP in Pistol or SMG. Having Projectile damage also helps it in SL.

Shooter of the Door-Keeper / Shooter of the Porter (SL required) [ QL 1 - 299 / QL 300 ]
Really fun gun to try out at low levels, as the max and crit damage is high and the MultiRanged requirement is rather low. This will make an impact on Rubi-Ka, but with the minimum damage as low as it is, don't take a step in SL with it. Drops from, ironically, Shadowlands mobs, typically sided and anti-Guardian mobs.

Shotgun of Noticeable/Impressive Presence ( Omni required ) [ QL 100 - 299 / QL 300 ]
Shotgun of Safekeeping/Security ( Clan required ) [ QL 100 - 299 / QL 300 ]
Impressive it is. This is our Turn Spirit gun; and while it doesn't have FlingShot, the max damage is enormous (1000). The endgame gun for Froobs, and a great option for paid Traders, especially in Sector 10. The base shotgun (Inamorata or Sacrosanct Shotgun) drops from sided mobs in the Shadowlands, and you need the appropriate Turnspirit (Beauty for Omni, Lamal the Steadfast for Clan) of 80% of the QL to upgrade it..

Mudurlugu (SL required) [ QL 1 - 200 ]
Now this is a cool gun. With very high minimum, very high max, and really good crit, this gun, while slow, can do quite a bit of damage with enough Ranged Init, and if you can get access to the bosses in Penumbra and Inferno at super low levels, this gun will last you for a long, long time. Drops from Shadowlands bosses.

Fine Smith Shattergun (SL required) [ QL 100 - 300 ]
The peashooter's back, baby, and with a vengeance. Speed notwithstanding, this is the best one-handed Shotgun in the game, what with its low requirements, excellent minimum and crit ratings, and, especially at QLs 100-149, hilariously low MultiRanged requirements to add another gun to the offhand. Note that it's right hand only, so no strange ideas, ya hear? The only downside is that it deals Poison damage, a damage type we don't use at any other time, but it's hardly reason to call it anything other than a fantastic gun. Drops from sided mobs in the Shadowlands.

Kyr’Ozch Shotgun (AI required) [ QL 1 - 300 ]
Call me weird, call me insane, but I truly love the weapon mesh on this shotgun – it’s what a shotgun in a sci-fi game should look like. It also sounds awesome. This shotgun is quite fast – 1.5/1.5 is a lot faster than our old RK shotguns ever were. This weapon can be upgraded via a Type 1 bio-material to a Fling Shot version.

Special Edition Kyr'Ozch Shotgun (AI required) [ QL 150 ]
Fantastic damage for the requirements and ease of access, but the MBS will be a bit of a detriment for Traders - 1500 is no problem at all for late TL5 Traders. Still, a wonderful Shotgun especially for leveling Traders. Comes from the Sector 7 instance.

Salabim Shotgun [Supremo] (AI required) [ QL 1 - 300 ]
Not much to say about this gun. Great minimum damage, good max damage, fast hits and Flings, and you’ve got a great two-handed gun.

Vektor ND Grand Wyrm (AI and level 210 required) [ QL 300 ]
Our old friend Vektor has come back, a veteran of the battlefield. Great gun at TL7 once you get the critical chance up there.

Scoped Salabim Shotgun Supremo (AI and level 210 required) [ QL 300 ]
While the projectile damage proc looks impressive, it turns out it really doesn't last long enough to have it beat out the Greed of the Xan. It's a neat gun to try - it certainly isn't a bad option - but it shouldn't be your go-to choice.

OFAB Silverback Mk x (LE required) [ QL 25*n - 300 ]
The damage efficiency of the Kyr'Ozch Shotgun with, at Mk 6, the PVP prowess of the old Ithaka. This is our prime Shotgun for PVP, thanks to the relatively fast AimedShot and the very healthy crit damage it can dish out. The MK 5 version is also a solid PVM weapon until you get the Greed equipped. Base shotgun bought with Victory Points, the upgrades (80% of gun's QL) looted in LE missions.

Greed of the Xan (LoX required) [ QL 300 ]
This is the one. The epitome of awesome shotguns. The damage is stellar, the speed excellent, and the modifiers right in line with what we use. This is the upgraded form of Lord/Lady of Greed, the upgrader obtained from any of the Legacy of the Xan playfields.

[Saetos]

Other Common Guns
Wooo-eee! And we’re still not done with weapons! Here are some non-shotgun weapons I’ve seen traders use.

Customized IMI Desert Reet 1000 (Level 41 required) [ Pistol ] [ QL 80 ]
Drops from Lab Director in Foremans. Some froob traders (and a couple paid ones too) say this is a good offhand gun for their Home Defender or Fine Smith Shattergun. If you’ve got the IP, I say go ahead – it enables Burst and Fling Shot, and both specials are rather fast.

Diamondine Kick Pistol (Atrox breed required) [ Pistol / Shotgun ] [ QL 200 ]
Also one-handed. A behemoth of a pistol, this is a great pistol for froob atrox traders, where it can score some massive (although slow) Bursts and occasionally critting Flings. For paid Atrox traders – very good in SL paired with a Shattergun, since its max is quite high and projectile damage AC is good there, but once you enter Adonis, it’s time to ditch this gun. Drops from Diamondine Soldier.

Kyr’Ozch Pistol (AI required) [ Pistol ] [ QL 1 - 300 ]
Starting at 150 or so, the Type 1 version of this gun can be really sweet to use at QL199 (or QL200+ if you use a Shattergun with low enough MR requirement) to help with Accumulator procs.

Kyr’Ozch Machine Pistol (AI required) [ MG / SMG ] [ QL 1 - 300 ]
The Type 5 version of this gun can be very fun to use paired with a Shattergun starting at level 120 or so. While it does use Burst when it’s typed (and we’re not too good with getting Burst up there) it’s still a great gun to use.

Special Edition Kyr'Ozch Energy Pistol (AI required) [ Ranged Energy ] [ QL 150 ]
One-handed, decent Burst recharge, not based off of Shotgun, and tremendously easy to equip. Yes, yes, and yes. The damage is actually respectable as well, especially with the relatively fast Burst recycle timer. Oddly enough, it does Projectile damage, so plan to switch Aruls when you equip the next gun on this list. Comes from the Sector 7 instance.

Dreadloch Rapier (LE and level 210 required) [ Ranged Energy ] [ QL 300 ]
Yes. Ranged Energy. Not Piercing. Anyway ... key difference between the Kyr’Ozch Machine Pistol Type 5 and the DRapier is that the burst requirement is 1001 instead of 1501, making this gun way easier to equip at 210. Also, the gun does not have a Burst recharge delay. As soon as you can equip this gun, you’re guaranteed a 9-second delay between Bursts. Drops from Dreadloch bosses scattered throughout Rubi-Ka.

Massive Bolt Charger (SL Required) [ Heavy Weapons ] [ QL 220 - 260 ]
This gun is a lot like the CDR - Burst and Fling, both of which are quick. Except with this gun, you're almost guaranteed a capped Burst as soon as you equip the gun. For this reason, it is the Trader weapon of choice for many Sector 10 twinks, and is a cool path to level with from TL5 to TL7. Drops from Afreet Ellis.

Part 6) How To Protect Yourself
In Anarchy Online, there are plenty of armor choices out there, and for a Trader most any armor will do you well to level in. Hell, most Traders slap on a Medsuit right off the island and go off to level without giving a care about their armor until much later, owing to the fact more health recovery can be more effective than minor damage mitigation. However, as most sane traders aren't gonna level in Medsuits and Newcomers all the way to 220, here's a short list of popular Trader armors:

Predator Armor ( SL and TitleLevel 3 required ) [ Sense ] [ QL 100 ]
This is another one of those lazy-man's armors some traders wear after they've outgrown their Medsuit. This set of armor can be rather expensive - the sleeves especially can carry a huge price tag - but you will almost never need another set of armor until 150 or so. Drops from Elysium Predator bosses (be forewarned, these bosses are camped very often)

Carbonum Armor [ Stamina / Agility ] [ QL 1 - 200 ]
A favorite of many a player looking for a readily-available set of armor. Tradeskilled from storebought Carbonum plates, this armor has a decent shelf life as well. Can be upgraded via Omnifiers (makes Omni Carbonum, adding HP) or Clanalizers (makes Storm Carbonum, adding NanoResist) to sided-only armor. Starts to lose its favor a little sooner than Predator, as much better armor choices start popping up.

First/Second/(Chosen/Faithful) Tiers Trader Armor ( SL required ) [ Intelligence / Psychic ] [ QL 100 - 160 / 160 - 220 / 220 - 300 ]
I've deliberately left no link in "Second/Faithful" - because it's a waste of the incredible amounts of time and effort just to get this armor and get it upgraded. The only, only pieces you MIGHT consider ever in your life is the chest, which adds to Shotgun... and yet so does OFAB Chest, which is "free" and beyond better. One thing I will say though - Chosen / Faithful Trader armor looks absolutely awesome (in my opinion) so if you need a social armor, get it made I guess

Barter Armor [ Intelligence / Psychic ] [ QL 25 - 200 ]
This armor is sexy in two ways - modifiers, and looks Made almost the same way as CAS Symbiotic armor is (CAS by the way is nice armor for Atrox Traders, as it adds some sweet mods, looks cool, and requires Strength and Stamina), except Barter is made with Augmented Nano armor as its base armor, instead of Graft/Organic armor that the CAS uses. Way better than Tier, in my opinion, and it's usable by froobs!

Elysian Protector's Cuirass ( SL required ) [ Psychic / Stamina ] [ QL 100 ]
However much the icon looks like a Omni Carbonum breastplate, it looks nothing like it on your character. -5% Nanocost is incredible, and the 50 NanoPool is sweet too. This armor will probably last you all the way until 180 or so, when Azure Breastplate comes along.

Ancient Container ( SL and TitleLevel 4 required ) [ Adventuring / Stamina ] [ QL 150 ]
Great ACs, cool bonuses, easy to equip - great stats for a great piece of armor To get one:

[To get an Ancient Container, you'll need to go to Adonis, collect 6 insignias of your Opposing faction (you need Redeemed insignias if you're OT, and Unredeemed insignias if your Clan.)

Then visit the Adonis temple of your opposing faction, slay the Eccapilist (or whatever his name is.), trade your insignas to the friendly transparent mob that spawns, wait about 5 minutes, then kill the Empath.

Neleb's Nano-master Robe ( Level 41 and 301 in all nanoskills required ) [ um... nanoskill requirement! ] [ QL 50 ]
Not to be confused with the Nano-circuit robe, which is the base for this back armor. Basically, you fetch the cloak (that drops off of the end boss of Steps of Madness), collect one of each ether from the dungeon, throw it all together, and you get what's pretty much an Exarch Robe with a 15 point bonus to all 6 nanoskills. And boy is it awesome; this one'll last you quite a while, actually.

Veil of the Revoked [ Comp Literacy / Intelligence ] [ QL 100 ]
Incredibly sexy modifiers on this back armor (unfortunately has no mesh ), adding 30 to Ranged Init and evades, and 5 to all nanoskills, plus several other modifiers.

Perfected Alien Tank Armor ( AI required ) [ Stamina / Strength ] [ QL 150 ]
Oh my lord. Fantastic modifiers on this piece of armor, and the Nanomage version of this tank armor is sick and wrong in terms of stat boosts. Tradeskilled from parts found in Sector 10.

(Improved/Penultimate) Ofab Trader Armor ( Lost Eden required ) [ Intelligence / Psychic ] [ QL 25 - 300 in increments of 25 ]
A lot like the Tier armor, except the myriad modifiers on this set is well worth the effort to acquire a set of OFAB. Bought with VP from LE missions and Battlestations, upgraded using Type 468 Bios.

There are other cool armors out there; the oldschool RK armors like Flower Tech and Decus armors, Miy's armors (Miy's Nano Chest for the -%nanocost and Miy's Ranged Gloves for the Shotgun and Agility take special notice), Mantis, etc. Wear what works for you, and by TL6 you should have a solid idea of your choices in armor from then on, mainly involving AI Combined Armor and perhaps some pieces of Dust Brigade armor, among other things.

[Timberb]

Very Nice guide, Saetos, Answers alot of questions.

[Saetos]

Perks!
At SL release, we were treated to a massive chance at upgrading our skills – perks. As players, we get one every 10 levels until 200; at 200, we get one per level. I will list the major perks that we use, both for AI and SL. (There is an LE research guide on the forums, so I will not elaborate on our research lines)

Here we go, down a rough list of what you will use: ( P> profession, G> group, GNL> general)

P > ACCUMULATOR [ 240 MaxHealth, 960 MaxNano, 11 HealDelta, 11 NanoDelta ]
Max it.

... Oh, you need an explanation? Here: hidden within the modifiers is a special little health and nanopoint drain proc. Every time you hit with a weapon, you have a 25% chance of stealing a little bit of HP and NP from the target. At low levels, the amounts are hardly noticeable, but once you get into Perk Point 6 or 7, enjoy not needing kits anymore, especially if you dualwield.

P > DISTILL LIFE [ 220 HP, 30 HealDelta, Reap Life, Bloodletting, Vital Shock ]
One thing to note here is that Distill Life adds some extra points to the effects of Umbral Wranglers (making the top one go from 147 to 153 at perk level 10). Until you can max your Accumulator and Shotgun Mastery perk lines, and also be able to get 9 points in this line for Vital Shock, I wouldn’t touch this line. The HP and Healdelta modifiers on this line are too small to be worth it, and Reap Life/Bloodletting don’t do a whole world of good until you can get enough points into Distill Life.

P > VOLUNTEER [ 100 to all evades, 100 Ranged Init, 100 Nano Init, Tap Vitae, Sacrifice, Purple Heart ] ( AI )
Now this is one shiny perkline. Tap Vitae is a perk that damages the target – and heals the entire team! Unfortunately it only gains marginal boosts in power until perk level 9, where it damages for 300 and heals 500; still not much. Now, at perk level 10, this perk finally shows its potential, damaging the target for 560 points and healing the team for around 1200-1400 points; with a 25 second recharge this can be really cool. Sacrifice is a huge boost to the team's damage (1300 points at perk level 10), but your health is set to 1000 points and your attack rating and defense rating is completely shut down, and oddly enough seems to cause an AOE aggro spike - and with this perk running, all monsters will hit you for critical hits, so hide in a safe spot near your team before firing. Purple Heart is a rather cool team heal (6500-8000) but cripples you the same way as does Sacrifice.

G > ALCHEMIST [ 200 Chemistry, 200 PharmaTech, Taint Wounds, Chemical Blindness, Poison Sprinkle, Seal Wounds ]
Funny line, this. While not adding too much to skills (although some people find the bonuses here very useful), the two DOTs from this line (Taint Wounds and Poison Sprinkle) become better with two perks that we use, Reap Life and Bloodletting respectively. Also, Chemical Blindness can be a powerful blind if done at an opportune time (even though we do have blind rings.) Not a bad line if you need to dump spare perks somewhere, especially endgame.

G > SHOTGUN MASTERY [ 200 Shotgun, 80 to all damage modifiers, Leg Shot, Easy Shot ]
There’s really not much to say about this line. Max this line, if not for the +shotgun modifier, then the +80 to all damage types.

G > POWER UP [ 59 Ranged Energy, 14 to all damage modifiers, Energize, Power Volley, Power Shock ]
Even if we can only spend 5 points in this line and the damaging perk actions only really work with Ranged Energy skill, this perkline is great for the +damage it gives and the Energize perk action that gives even more damage.

GNL > GENIUS [ 40 Intelligence, 40 Psychic, Regain Nano ]
At Genius 2, this line gives an incredibly good nanopoint heal (200x6) - terrific perk to try out before you get the ball rolling with Accumulator. The Intel/Psy mods aren't bad either. Do wait until you can get 2 points in this line; Genius 1 isn't all that worth it alone.

GNL > CHAMPION OF LIGHT ARTILLERY [ 100 Shotgun, 100 Pistol, 100 SMG, 100 Bow, Collapser, Implode ] ( AI )
Really cool line; buffs our three main weaponskills (well, Pistol and SMG aren’t our “main” ones, but some Traders use them as mentioned), and gives us a couple decent perk actions.

GNL > CHAMPION OF NANO COMBAT [ 100 to all nanoskills, Nano Feast, Bot Confinement ] ( AI )
You need those drains to land? You want them casted earlier? Well, this line is your answer. Simple line with great effects.

There are other perk lines out there, for abilities, HP, tradeskills and the matter, but they’re more situational and I’ll let you use those to your whim.



Whew, finally finished May I take this time to thank Didymus for providing both a superb guide for beginning traders in the Shadowlands era to follow religiously and for inspiration for this new guide; Core for both putting up with me () and helping my trader grow and become my first TL7 character in five years; dozens of other people for giving me advice and answers to any question I’ve asked over the years; and you, dear reader, for rolling – once again – the most awesome profession in the game

P.S. Glad you like it Tiimmy

[Nubs]

This guide makes me want to roll another trader, mine is beyond repair and I had nearly forgotten my trader addiction.

[Rotawm]

Should probably mention Genius 2, as until Accumulator takes over it's a lifesaver.

[Effrit]

any chance of armor suggestions and any of the special items which may help?

Its a great guide, and is helping me alot with my trader.

edit:
org mate just noticed you've missed treatment out on the IP spending section. (thats if it was unintentional)

[Deathorglory]

Very nice guide, good work.

Just a little correction: Silverbacks are upgraded with type 687, not 295.

Personal opinion: strength is needed for artillery right arm and right hand symbiants, which both have shotgun in them, so I'd raise it for sure

[Saetos]

any chance of armor suggestions and any of the special items which may help?

Thanks for noticing, will add when I can Under the weather today so I will uphold my promise in due course

edit:
org mate just noticed you've missed treatment out on the IP spending section. (thats if it was unintentional)

Oh my lord...
Thank you and thank your orgmate for catching this - I will fix this now
Keep the suggestions coming, I appreciate every one of your comments

[Shareida]

Little screw up in the weapons section about the scoped salabim Supremo. Its the damage of a ql 300 Salabim. Not 200.




Like that guide.

Pretty complete, hope it won't end up last page.

[Saetos]

Got around to adding Armor section, and tweaked up a couple errors here and there. Also incorporated the suggestions put here.

[Twangleman]

What can I say? GJ! Havent had the stamina to read thro it all, but so far good stuff, brought to a long outdated trader guide! ^^

[Koizumi]

Nice guide, altho id change the description on CoNC...
IMO that perkline is damn usefull in pvp when used on a nano-oriented toon.
Nothing beats the drains that land on 1st try, the same for roots.

[Thymoglobul]

Nice guide!
In the armor section, you may add that the barter is available for froobs and a very good choice for them indeed.

I wonder why you didn't mentioned the alien armors. Combined scout and combined sharpshooter are among the best choices, especially for pvp but also for pvm or even tradeskills. If you are not rich enough, observant armor can be obtained at very reasonable price in the middle QLs, the mods are pure trader love and you can upgrade it later to combined scout or sharpshooter of a higher QL, when you level a bit and get creds.

In the perk section, you may talk about the alchemist line. If you tradeskill it's good for chemistery and pharmatech but the nice thing is the "chemical blindness" special at 2nd level. It's awsome in pvp, and quite usefull in pvm as well for an extra -150 AAO debuff. If you have 2 free perk points, is an interesting choice to put it here. Note that if you ant this sepcial to land on high evades mobs or players, you'll have to raise the chemistery skill.

[Sawbones2]

Great work Saetos, thanks

May I suggest adding a comment about the "Ancient Container" in armor and the "Shooter of the Door-keeper" under weapons?

The SoD makes a nice combo with the FSS.

[Saetos]

I wonder why you didn't mentioned the alien armors. Combined scout and combined sharpshooter are among the best choices, especially for pvp but also for pvm or even tradeskills.

Well... I'm not about to suggest to a new Trader to go find a set of armor worth a billion credits, as it is a Trader guide aimed at newer traders I actually hinted at it too, when I said at TL6 you might know what you'll be up to armorwise.
Alchemist after looking it over again seems quite cool now (noticed the DOTs work well with our perks), so I guess I'll add it

Sawbones: Your suggestion about SotDK also kinda reminded me of Uncle Bazzit Diplomatics; I'll see what I can do

[RobotJunk]

Great great post!
My little comment:
For me, who chose not to spend MC ip for AC drains, I stopped it at 766 for our fastest grid, namely "Grid Gateway".

And what about runspeed? Do we want all new traders to walk around?