My Hoffish Global

You don't see it in the picture (I was having some lag), but there was also a 200 PED dagger, a full TT gun, another 50 or so PED of normal loot, and a 10 PED ESI (which sold for a bit over 70 PED)... Suffice it to say I'm pretty darn happy! The best part about it, was this wasn't even meant to be a hunting run... I came here to mine (you can see a mining global I got moments later, on the same LA, below)! I had only killed about two or three of them when this one hit.

Here are a couple of other globals I've gotten recently as well (I also got 3 more, in addition to these, but they're mining globals which I don't want to share, as they would give away some of my frequent mining spots):

This global sorta saved the run, was being really nasty before this point.

Was getting a whole bunch of NRFs, then suddenly... POP! This was actually found immediately after the combibo global.

Concerning Making PED In-Game, Part 2

Entropia Universe is unique, in that there is no easy money here. Every PED (short for Project Entropia Dollar) has a real World value, and thus is not easily attainable. There are, as mentioned in Part 1 of this guide, certain free methods of making PED. You can either gather Vibrant Sweat from mobs (which is something I'd recommend all new players do, until you've gathered 10k), or stand in line at the "Newb Rig" to get some free oil.

There are also, however, more expensive ways to make PED... In fact, any of the three main professions can be profitable in the long run! However, keep in mind that, just like in the real World, you can only make money by providing some sort of service. Thanks to the in-game auction system, this service doesn't mean you even have to interact much (or at all) with other players. With that said, here are the main ways to make money in Entropia Universe, from the three professions:

1. Hunting

If you're just starting out in Entropia Universe, you probably aren't going to be willing to bring in the roughly $500 you'll need just to skill up... If, however, money isn't an issue, you'll find that there can eventually be profit from hunting. The trick is to look at Entropia Universe as a casino, where the house takes roughly 10%. See, just like in a casino, the only way to win is to have an advantage-your "edge"-over other players. This is where markup comes in. With hunting at low levels, you won't get hardly anything that has a markup above 110%, and typically what you get has a markup more along the lines of 100.5%. This is due to supply and demand-anyone who wants to can go hunt really low level mobs, and thus there isn't any demand for their loot. So then, how do you "beat the system"? By skilling, skilling, and more skilling. You have to get to a point where you can kill mobs that drop items frequently, because items are the entire key to hunting. People are willing to pay a lot for guns and armor that they can't easily get themselves, and so by supplying that need in the market, you can eventually turn profit.

2. Mining

Mining is awesome, because you don't need to put a lot in to get a lot out. With hunting, you need to spend an incredibly long time getting to a level that's profitable, but with mining you can easily get to a profitable level. The trick is to find a spot that drops ores (and enmatters if you want to go for those too, though I find those typically don't have a high enough markup to make it worth it) with a markup of at least 112%. You need 110% to cover 'the house', roughly 1% to cover decay, and 1% to be profitable in the (very) long run. 

Keep in mind though, that there's a trick to mining which will help you mitigate your losses to 'the house', and increase your profit with markup, and it's dead simple: You have to be in the right place and the right time. This means that you have to find a spot that drops stuff with an average MU of at least 112%, in order to be "in the place" when the right time rolls around.

Once you've found your particular spot (and every good miner has several), you'll notice that it doesn't always drop the same stuff. A place that dropped igni and niks one day, will suddenly drop lyst and copper the next day. Likewise you'll notice that certain times you have an excellent hit rate (you're looking to hit at least once every two to three drops, depending on the claim sizes, when you're mining for ores only, and once every drop with both ores and enmatters), and sometimes you wont be able to find a claim for miles. I good practice is to get into the habit of not mining whenever you're finding junk (mu below 112%), and to stop when you haven't hit for between 4 to 6 drops (depending on the mu, if available, of the last hit).

There is also an immensely useful tool called, "Little Big Mining Log." I really can't stress how good this tool is! It keeps track of your hit rate for you automatically, and keeps you from over-lapping your last claim with your drops. It is an absolute MUST HAVE for any dedicated miner. There's no reason not to, because it's totally free, and also really easy to set up.

3. Crafting

Crafting is right up there with hunting-you need to skill, skill, and skill some more to make it profitable. Most players come into the universe expecting that every-time they try to craft something, they will succeed, but unfortunately that isn't the case. Your "success" rate depends on your skills, and on the quality rate (QR) of the blueprint you're using, unless it's a limited (L) blueprint, in which case QR doesn't matter.

The trick to making crafting profitable is the same as making hunting profitable. You have to find what it is people will pay a lot of mark up few (e.g. hard to craft weapons, mining amps, etc..) and only craft those items. A crafter friend of mine once estimated it would take around the lines of $300 to make crafting profitable, and so while it is cheaper technically then hunting, I would not recommend it for new players. It's not even as fun as hunting can be for most people, and you really are giving money away until you get to a high enough level.

Disciples!

Indestructible BattleAxe OfPain is now accepting disciples... I may not be the most skilled (far from it), but I can show you how to make a profit from trading and mining. If you're interested, add me in-game by going to your friend list --> player register, then type in my name and add me to your friend list. Also, a couple things to note:

• I'm in the PST time zone, so if you aren't, it may be hard for us to be on at the same time. If we can't be on at the same time, there's really no point in me mentoring you, as you're better off choosing someone in your time zone (or at least whose on when you're on).
• I know next to nothing about crafting, though I can show you how to work the machine. As far as I'm concerned, crafting requires far more PED to become profitable than I'm willing to give it.
• I'm also not the best hunter, but if that's what you want to do I can give you some tips and help you start out.
• I do not give hand-outs. Asking for a hand-out makes me suspect that you're a scammer trying to take advantage of a mentor by creating multiple accounts. Any gifts I might give are because I'm fairly confident you're legit,  but don't go into expecting to be given a hand out. However, I will be happy to give you advice.

717 PED for Some CDF Scout Foot-Guards (F)...

Too funny. :) Sorry, I saw this on auction and just had to share it.

Hunting Log #3: 10? PED hunt on Argonauts by Twin Peaks

I can't give the exact details for this run, as I don't know them myself: I cut it short without knowing how much ammo I spent, do to the fact that I had entirely forgotten that my society was holding an event I wanted to attend on Arkadia.

Gun Used: Gun used: Breer M2a (L) + Omegaton A102 Amplifier. DPS/DPP [Damage Per Second/Damage Per Pec]: 10.20~/2.899~ (2.930~ before MU).
Finisher Gun Used: Opalo + B101 (L). DPS/DPP: N/A
Total Ammo Bought: 50 PED.

Total Ammo Used: 10 PED~

Global/HoF: None.

Number of Elevated Loots: 2.

Talk to you all later once me and my society finish up doing some Aakas Instance runs!

New Avatar Costumization System for Entropia Universe

Mo's Mining Musings avatar customization video:

PigBenis Pig Hateraid's avatar customization video:

One important thing to note about the new avatar customization  is that avatar's will have the opportunity in the next patch to change their avatar, for free, as much as they want. I assume this will last until the next patch. Regardless, sorry for not posting any runs or articles recently: something in the update bugged out and I ended up having to re-install EU. Hopefully I'll be able to get back in the game and record another run, or else show you the "new" Newb Oil Rig by Orthos West Mound.

Hunt Log #2: 50 PED Run on Argonauts By Twin Peaks

This run was rather bad to me. No elevated loots, which is really the main point of hunting for me, as that's the exciting bit. Regardless, I did skill up a bit. Not quite enough to push me from 99.9 HP to 100, but I'm fairly confident I'm almost there.

Gun Used: Gun used: Breer M2a (L) + Omegaton A102 Amplifier. DPS/DPP [Damage Per Second/Damage Per Pec]: 10.20~/2.899~ (2.930~ before MU).
Finisher Gun Used: Opalo + B101 (L). DPS/DPP: N/A
Total Ammo Bought: 50 PED.

Total Ammo Used: 50 PED.

Global/HoF: None.

Number of Elevated Loots: 0.

Argonauts killed: 60.

Progress in Iron Mission: 235/1000

Armor Used/Decay: Pixie/2.22 PED

FAP Used/Decay: Herb Box/1.01

Amplifier Used/Decay: Omegaton A102/5.42 PED

Gun Decay After MU: 7.46 PED

Total Cost in Decay: 16.11 PED

Total P/L: -19.89 PED or 53.1%

But, I should be happy! After all, I did find 15 Bombardo while hunting! Not only that, but I looted a bit of iron too!

Hunting Log #1: 50 PED run on Argonauts by Twin Peaks

While I did have a few mildly elevated loots, and was able to sell a few items for MU, this run was something of a failure. Things started out pretty good, and I got two five PED loots within the first ten PED of the hunt. After that, I got one more half decent looter when I was on roughly my last 15 PED of ammo.

Elevated Loot #1

 

 

Elevated Loot #2

Elevated Loot #3

Gun used: Breer M2a (L) + Omegaton A102 Amplifier. DPS/DPP [Damage Per Second/Damage Per Pec]: 10.20~/2.899~ (2.930~ before MU).
Finisher Gun Used: Opalo + B101 (L). DPS/DPP: N/A
Total Ammo Bought: 50 PED.
Total Ammo Spent: 55 PED (5 PED of ammo loot).
Total P/L: -20 PED.
Global/HoF: None.
Number of Elevated Loots: 3.
Argonauts Killed: 70~.
Progress in Iron Mission: 179/1000
Armor Used: Pixie.
FAP Used: Herb Box.

I didn't record the exact details. In future runs I will include the exact defensive cost, offensive cost, and take a screenshot of the TT value of the loot. On a side note though, has anyone else noticed a significant drop in the amount of iron Argonauts drop? I got at most four loots which contained iron (about 2.89 PED of it in total). Back six or seven months ago I couldn't hardly get a loot which didn't contain iron. Perhaps it's part of MA's re-balancing efforts.

On still a further side note, I ended up making back the 20 PED I lost hunting with by mining. I would've ended up being several PED in profit for the day, in fact, if I hadn't dropped those last seven probes. (I drop three to five, in this case five, probes before changing area, and the change in area resulted in another two NRFs).

Ample finds are always appreciated MA.

Answering Google Searches

10 PED = $1. This means that 1 PED = 0.10¢.

In order to turn in your Merry Mayhem solo or team keys, you have to first make sure you've used all 30 keys in that particular category. Once you've done that, simply go to Port Atlantis and turn in the mission to Carl Tucker.

The reason you're at Camp Icarus, is because that's where everyone goes after completing the beginner missions. I would highly recommend completing the missions you're able to complete while you're there, and getting the missions that you can't yet complete. After that, go to planetcalpsoforum.com, as well as to entropedia.info. Entropedia.info will help in preventing you from wasting PED trying to take down something out of your level. planetcalpsoforum.com will help you to get a mentor (post a new thread asking for a mentor by telling them your timezone, when you usually play, etc..). While you're waiting to get a mentor, try sweating. To sweat a creature, just equip your VSE Mk. I, right click on a mob, and select "use tool".

If Entropia Universe is lagging, try turning down your graphics settings. Most average computers can't handle playing EU [Entropia Universe] on high settings, and some can't even handle medium without lagging. To change your graphics settings, just press "O" on your keyboard, go to, "Graphics", and adjust your settings from the drop down menu.

Concerning In-Game "Morality"

As many who have played this game have experienced, "morality" is not a very common attribute among the players of Entropia Universe. There are quite certainly those who won't scam you. The problem is, people love trust scams. For example, "trusting" someone to take your 50k crude oil and "refine it real quick" for "free", is not a very good idea. Other kinds of scams, too, happen on a somewhat regular basis. "Pilot" scams, where someone pretends to be a pilot, but as soon as you give them your PED ditches you are perhaps among the most common. Less common scams are easily avoidable for experienced players, but new players must be on the watch. If something appears to be too good to be true, nine times out of ten, it will be.

An issue that can arise over discussing the issue of having "morality" inside of a game, is the point to it all. It is a game, after all. However, the difference with Entropia Universe, is that it is a real cash economy game. This fact turns each in-game dollar into something with a real, and hard to attain. Scamming a person out of 100 PED is like not paying them to a do an entire hour's worth of work in the real World. The problem is, many people don't care about this. They are protected by the "all trades are final" rule MindArk has set up, as well as their computer screens. But things are different when it comes to Entropia Universe, as in order to survive, most people require a place to sell things. You need only attempt to by-pass the line at the "Newb Oil Rig" to find your reputation, as well as your ability to buy and sell things, quickly diminished.

In general, it's profitable, both for your conscience and your reputation, to not play unethically. You may give your PED card a small boost, but in the long run, it's really just better to earn something rather than cheat to get it. Cheating, as it should in any game, makes it less fun. The difficulty to make PED is half the fun, after all. Also, cheating shows down right weakness in a player. If you don't have the patience to play like everyone else, or the ability to work at a real job, you really ought not be playing games with a real cash economy.

Random "Good Looters"

It's easy to get discouraged while playing Entropia Universe, especially as a new player that doesn't seem to be getting any good loots. Don't let that happen! Push through the bad times, and you might just hit something good.

The chip sold for 16 PED on Auction.

A Useful SpaceMap

Download this, and when you enter a different server, just log out and log back in. You'll be on the nearest space station in that sector. It's a great way to save time, particularly if you're in a sleipnir.

DON'T feed the ANIMALS Merry Mayhem Globals

Note: I missed capturing a 300 PED global, and to avoid lag I had to take all the pictures in safety mode. Also, we got a small fortune worth of item loots. However, the only time I looted one was during the 300 PED global I didn't take a screenshot of, and I have chat lag, so all my loot appears to be "tiny" for a global.

Concerning Merry Mayhem

Note: This article assumes you are still in category one of the Merry Mayhem event.

Solo: MM [Merry Mayhem] is a great deal of fun, especially when done in a team. There are a couple of things, however, that new players should know about it. For example, people often tend to think, especially those newer to the Entropia Universe, that killing higher level mobs in always a good idea. This is not the case, if you can't handle the mob in question. If you're using an EWE EP-2 Proton (L) or Sollomate Opalo, and attempt to take down a MM mob, odds you will fail miserably. A good idea to first attempt a Kerberos Male Alpha, which can be found around the Boreas TP. If you succeed in taking that down without taking too much damage and somewhat quickly, you should be fine to try a category 1 MM mob.

Another extremely, extremely important factor is mob respawn. - The Kerberos respawn every time you've killed a certain number of them. This means, once you start emptying the area of mobs, it is vitally important that you begin backing up to near to the turrets, or else that you get mildly close to the Aranetrox (though, of course, getting close enough to make one start chasing after you is a bad idea). Note: This applies to both solo instances and team instances.

Team: The mobs will be six times more difficult when you're in a team instance. That means you need at least six people that can take down a category one Kerberos, or else that you have one or two experienced  and well equipped players with the ability to shoulder a heavier load. Also, something you should keep mind when doing MM as a team, is that it may not be the wisest idea to attempt to take down the Yulebot, a robot which spawns around the time when you've been in the instance for about forty to fifty minutes. Unless, that is, you don't have six people who can take down a category one Kerberos, but one or two heavy-loaders with good robot armor.

Also, some general courtesy when doing MM in a team: It is polite to set the team settings to the second available option, if you are the team starter. This is because it allows everyone to get loot according to the amount of damage they do. Also, when an item drops, make sure you split it evenly among the team. This means that, if the team can't wait to receive their PED, the item gets sold the Trade Terminal and the resulting PED is split evenly among the number of team members. If the team can wait, the item gets sold the Auction, and of course the PED split up evenly. Note: Before selling an item to the TT or the Auction, make sure no one from the team wants to buy it for it's daily MU.

Concerning Gaining HP [Health Points] In-Game

A note for new players: Gaining skills is the only way to gain health in this game. Certain skills also have a more profound impact on health then others. You can expect to gain about one point of health every 1,000 - 1,500 skill gains, roughly speaking.

Climbing up the HP ladder can be a difficult and daunting task for those new to the Entropia Universe. However, you simply need a couple of PED, and the ability to do a couple of "skilling runs" where you don't worry about hunting in an economic fashion. Hunting "uneco"can be a great way to gain skills. It can also be a way to go bankrupt very quickly. You essentially have to decide between two possibilities: First, you can hunt in an economic way, and thereby cycle more PEDs, which will eventually get you skills. That, or you can hunt in uneconomic way, and gain far more skills. Some may argue, of course, that more PEDs cycled equals more skills in the long run. However, this isn't always true. Using a Sollomate Opalo, for example, when level ten in laser sniper (dmg) won't give you all that many skills. However, using a Castorian Survival EnBlade-A while a level one in short-blades is guaranteed to give you more skills in the long run. With that said, here are the major ways in which you can increase your HP:

Melee weapons. Melee weapons are quite possibly the most useful when increasing your health. Among other reasons, this is because they give strength points, a skill which you will get only rarely if ever when using an opalo. In addition, the close proximity to the mob which is required when using a melee weapon aids in getting more courage skill gains - another skill useful in increasing your health.

Ranged weapons. Ranged weapons are also useful in gaining health. Usually they are the more economic chose for a new player, as the typical chose is to start a hunting career by using a Sollomate Opalo or Omegaton M2100. Now, while this may be the case, you will tend to get far less strength skill gains, as well as less courage gains. However, you will get useful skills, such as ranged weaponry. In addition, if you are hunting with armor, it will take less decay. However, if you are managing to kill the mobs before they reach you, you are also loosing all possibility of gaining evade. These are skills you will need later in the game, and they are far easier to attain when hunting with a melee weapon.

Mining. Mining, on a very large scale, can get you many skill gains. Prospecting and surveying, as well as perception, geology, and I believe it's even possible to gain strength. However, even when using a finder that has a SIB [Skill Increase Bonus], you will find it can be difficult to gain skills when mining. In addition, you will be spending far more PED than you would to get skills when using melee or ranged weapons.

Crafting. Crafting can be useful in gaining health points, but it is certainly not a good option for a new player. Even with a low cost per click blueprint, you are bound to spend more PED to gain skills than you would by hunting. - You might even end up spending more than you would mining and end up getting fewer skill gains than a mining run. However, you do still get some useful skills. For example: computer, electronics, engineering, machinery, etc.. Depending  on what you craft, and what your skill levels are.

In summary: If you don't mind spending PED to gain some health, I would highly recommend using melee weapons. If you want to still be economic, but gain less skills, you may want to go with using long range weapons - depending on what you started out using for hunting. If you are willing to spend quite a few PED in order to get some skills, mining or crafting would be a good idea. My personal recommendation for a new player is to hunt without armor or a FAP [Fast Aid Pack], and using a pistol. Getting a EWE EP-2 Proton (L), and hunting Carabok on Planet Arkadia is a particularly good idea.

Concerning Making PED In-Game

As many who come to this blog are likely aware, making PED inside of the Entropia Universe is harder than it first appears. However, there are a couple of ways for both brand new players with nothing, and players that have managed to get a few PED, to make PED. With that said, here are some ways for a brand new  player to make some PED:

Hopefully everyone here knows about sweating. If, however, you are brand new to the game, collecting Vibrant Sweat is a fairly simple activity. Simply open your inventory, equip your "VSE" [Vibrant Sweat Extractor], target a monster (referred in-game as "mobs"), and double left click on it with your mouse. It's worth noting that every attempt you make at sweating will not succeed. You will have to try multiple times before managing to collect sweat. In addition, if the "mob" attacks you during a time when you are close to succeeding (you can tell if you are close or not by if you see a green kind of shimmer connecting you and the mob), the extraction attempt will fail.

A considerably newer, and somewhat less well known way to make PED for a brand new player, is to line up at the "newb rig" near Orthos West Mound. Assuming you don't have Orthos West Mound, you can also get there quite easily from Camp Icarus. This method of gaining PED is certainly quicker than sweating, and occasionally somewhat easier, however you do not gain the skills that you would through sweating. If you plan on later in your Entropia Universe life to be using Mind Force chips, this can be a major draw back. My personal recommendation is to sweat 10k of sweat before even going to the newb rig, as this will help you get familiar with the game mechanics, as well as giving your Mind Force abilities a small boost. This can be useful if you don't currently plan on using Mind Force, as certain skills help you to dodge mind force abilities being used against you (either by a mob or by another player in a PvP area).

Aside from these two ways, the only other way for a new player to make PED is to beg. This is a very extremely looked down upon practice, but none-the-less, it is technically a way to try make PED. Often, though, beggars in this game are not only ignored, but are typically are scorned as well. This is because, quite simply, you can make the PED yourself by the two ways I outlined above; you just have to patient. Also, being patient is likely to both save your reputation and time, as like I said you probably won't be given any PED for begging.

Now, this next way for making PED requires you to have 6 or more PED, and to have the Teleporter (TP for short) "Twin Peaks". It is known as "fapping", aka, "first aid packing". With your 6 PED, you will want to buy a Herb Box. They typically sell for their TT price of 5 PED, plus 1 PED of Mark Up. Once you have your Herb Box, simply type something akin to, "Offering herb box fapping service @ (insert your location here)." into the trade the channel. Before doing this, it's important to work out a price for your service: For example, most fappers charge their clients only the decay of the FAP, as it helps them get free skills. You, however, will have to decide your price for yourself. Once you've done all this, and have succeeded in getting a customer, it is a courtesy to show him the current Trade Terminal (TT for short) of your FAP, in order for the customer to be able to pay you for your decay (assuming you charge that, which I would recommend doing). When you actually begin healing the person, make sure to stay behind them, otherwise you'll interfere with their ability to shoot the mob.

Another way to make PED in the game is to offer a Space Taxi service. This requires anywhere from 23 PED to 125 PED. If you want to go the cheapest possible route, you can by a sleipner Mk.I (C,L) with a TT value of 6 PED for 10 PED, a space thruster (L) for around 9 PED (if you're lucky), and 3 PED of oil for around a 125% MU. If you want to go the most expensive route, you can buy a Quadwing Interceptor (L) for about 110 PED, a space thruster (L) for around 9 PED, and several PED of oil. Once you've bought all this, attach the space thruster to the sleipner or quadwing by dragging it onto one of their icons in the inventory. Now spawn the sleipner or quadwing, and drag the oil onto it. Now despawn it, head over to Twin Peaks, and begin offering your service to the World. Note: Make sure you set your prices right, and make sure you get your money! A good idea to charge five PED before leaving the planet, and the rest once you get to the space station of the planet you're flying your client to.

Finally, the most expensive way to make PED is by trading. Trading costs anywhere from 200 PED to 100,000 PED, depending on what you're trading. If you want to trade ores and enmatters, I would recommend starting with 1,000 PED. If you want to trade something like pixie armor parts, I'd suggest starting with 200 PED in order to be able to dominate the market (by buying all the pieces of the part you're looking at currently on the auction and re-selling them for a few PED more). If you want to trade modified faps, or something similar, you'll need a significant amount more PED. That being said, most people are willing to pay an extra thousand or two PED in order to get such a rare item.

Regardless of the career path you decide to follow in Entropia Universe, good luck to you, and remember to have fun!