A noble profession for those that like to work with their hands, Traders craft items and then sell what they craft to eager folks that need items that they make. Credits can flow into a shrewd Trader's hands if they follow the desires of the market.
Traders specialize in one of four fields: Domestic Goods (Chef and Tailor), Structures (Shipwright and Architect), Munitions (Armorsmith and Weaponsmith), or Engineering (Droid Engineer and Weaponsmith). All master Traders will be Master Artisan and Master Merchant as well, granting them the ability to place vendors, advertise, use merchant droids, etc.
Trader is, in many respects, a well developed "game within a game". Some players play trader and no other profession, just as some play entertainer only. It is, in fact, unnecessary to play a combat profession. Because traders are not usually attacked within the world of SWG, it is possible to explore most of the planets as a trader (but not the higher level dungeons without a group).
Traders do not gain experience through combat, they gain it through crafting. The more you craft, the more xp you bring in. Based on the complexity of a schematic, you will gain different amounts of xp.
Specializations[]
Trader (Domestic Goods) = Chef / Tailor[]
Specializes in crafting various domestic goods including clothing, foods, drinks, Clothing Skill Enchancing Attachments and Shirt Skill Enchancing Attachments.
Trader (Structures) = Architect/Shipwright[]
Specializes in various large item construction including structures, decorations, furniture, space ship hulls and space ship components.
Structures incorporates the two heaviest users of resources into one branch of trader. For this reason, the majority of Structures traders are either shipwright or architect, not both. There is no obvious overlap between the two crafting professions and in choosing Structures, one should have in mind if you plan to do more ship building or more architect.
Trader (Munitions) = Weaponsmith/Armorsmith[]
Specializes in making armor, weapons, Armor Skill Enchancing Attachments and Breastplate Skill Enchancing Attachments.
Overview:
Armorsmiths have a reputation of extreme dedication to their craft. This, historically, has been a necessity as it is a crafting profession that is dominated by resource quality. Even now, in a simplified crafting environment, smithing still emphasizes exotic, expensive resources. Because armor is such an integral part of combat, having the best armor available is a desirable goal for most players. In the current system, this requires using the best resources. In actual game play, the difference between an energy resist of 7055 and 7035 is negligible. Nevertheless, in terms of cost and desireability, the small extra edge given by the better armor remains. Armorsmithing and Weaponsmithing are due for a major overhaul within the trader revamp. It is entirely unknown if schematics will change, how they will change, and if exotic resources will continue to play the same role.
Trader (Engineering) = Droid/Weaponsmith[]
Specializes in high tech engineering including the construction and modification of droids and melee and ranged weapons.
Crafting Macros[]
A crafting session requires a great number of mouse clicks to complete. While it is possible to perform all these tasks manually, many Traders find it useful to create macros to automate this process. This is not AFK grinding. You will have to still be at your keyboard. All it does is reduce the monotony of the crafting process. For details on crafting macros, see the Crafting macro article.
Trader expertise[]
- As of Chapter 5 all traders will have Trader expertise points to spend. See Trader expertise for more information.