Guide: Earning Credits
Contents
[hide]Professions & +paycheck
The main way for characters to make their money is by working their jobs. A character's Profession is set at CGen and can be changed at any time with a +request to staff, but doing so will not refund any XP spent in the previous Profession skill(s). Players are advised to familiarize themselves with the skills their Profession requires if making credits is a priority.
Once a week, players can +paycheck to get their weekly earnings. This paycheck is an abstraction representing the credits earned during the IC week whether or not you chose to actually RP out doing said job. The amount paid is directly influenced by your Profession level + all relevant skills. This information can be found under +prof <profession name>.
A character must have received a +nom within the past 30 days in to use this command.
Groups & +gpaycheck
Along with their profession, characters may find themselves joining an existing faction/+group or making their own. Not every group offers their own paychecks, but those like the Rebellion and Empire certainly do. Similar to +paycheck, +gpaycheck can be run once a week, and you must have received a +nom within that timeframe to collect.
However, unlike +paycheck, you must be at a banking terminal to collect from your group's funds. The amount you receive is based on the group you are a part of as well as your rank within it.
A character must have received a +nom within the past 7 days to use this command.
Investing in Vendors
There are several vendors across the galaxy that are open to investment. This means that a PC has put their own credits into the vendor and thus shares a percentage of the credits made. It is important to note that investing in a vendor does not mean the player owns the establishment. Think of it more as being a shareholder who has a vested interest in the business.
You may only invest in three vendors at any given time, and they must all be of a different type. There are twelve different types: Armor, Bacta, Booze, Clothing, Droid, Exotic, Misc, Ship Mods, Vehicle, Weapon, Weapon Mods, and All.
Not every vendor is the same as the others. One based in rural Tatooine may make fewer credits than one in the center of Coruscant. There is absolutely no way to tell, however, but investing in vendors is a good, passive way to make credits in the long-term. Characters who do not log in after thirty days run the risk of the system booting them from their investments, thus keeping them open to active players.
A character must have received a +nom within the past 14 days to collect from vendors.
Running Legal/Illegal Shipments
AoA has a robust cargo system in place that can send players all over the galaxy. These are open to those hoping to make extra money on top of their other investments as a means to pay for upgrades, crew, apartments, or new equipment. Running cargo is a time commitment, however, and you can find yourself locked on a planet while awaiting loading or unloading of goods. It is a Time = Money scenario.
Cargo
Characters of any profession can opt to run cargo for extra credits. These missions can be run twice a day, refreshing at the same intervals. Basic freighters have built-in cargo space to match their specs, but many can be upgraded to the maximum 200 units. Others have limitations to how much can be upgraded, so it is important you pay attention to a ship's stats before you buy them with the intention of running cargo.
Loading and unloading cargo is also a factor. The maximum speed upgrade is 200% or double the baseline. Loading times can be increased with the purchase of certain droids, vehicles, or NPC crews. These are not essential to running cargo, but are goals to keep in mind to speed things along in the future.
Beyond that, most other information can be found on EV-Terminals scattered throughout the galaxy. You pay dues monthly to access the terminal list of available runs. Failure to deliver in a timely manner will be a mark against your reputation with the guild, so make sure that you have the time to complete the travel time and unloading. Some systems are much further away than others. If your reputation falls too low, your character will be automatically banned from taking new contracts until the start of the next month.
A character must have received a +nom within the past 14 days to run cargo.
Smuggling
Much like running cargo, smuggling shares many of the same commands and processes including paying monthly dues to Shady Dealers, taking contracts, and loading/unloading times. Beyond that, smuggling becomes a different beast. Only characters with the Smuggler profession can access the various smuggling terminals which offer larger payouts than legal goods. Further, while cargo runners get access to two runs a day, smugglers can run goods four times in the same time period. This is balanced by the fact that smugglers run a constant risk of losing their load and suffering the financial and reputation penalties.
Because smuggling requires a dedicated Profession to access, the level of one's 'Profession: Smuggling' will affect the money made from runs as well as lessen the chance of losing the load. Similar to cargo running, if your reputation falls too low, your character will be automatically banned from taking new contracts until the start of the next month.
A character must have received a +nom within the past 14 days to smuggle goods.
Hiring Crew
| Profession Name | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Deckhand | |
Employee / Crewmember |
| Cargo-Hauler | |
Indentured Servant / Slave |
Reducing the time spent loading/unloading cargo is a huge boon for those who find themselves doing these runs often. This can be done a number of ways through the purchasing of assistance. Each type is assigned a certain number of points, and the amount of points needed to maximize loading/unloading times depends on whether you are smuggling or cargo-running.
Smugglers need a total of 12 points and Traders (non-smugglers) need 18 points.
NPC crews can be hired/bought on a weekly, monthly, bi-annual, or yearly basis. The price for hiring can be found by typing crep/help while in a ship's cockpit. Each ship has a maximum number of crew that can be hired, so make sure to note this by typing crep in the ship's cockpit.
Professions assigned to crew will determine how many points they are worth and what their IC relationship with their employer is. Be careful about what profession you pick for your crewmembers.
Hauler Droids & Vehicles
An alternative to an NPC crew is seeking out and purchasing specific droids or vehicles to do the hauling. These are found at Droid and/or Vehicle vendors and are randomized like anything else in the game. Each are worth 9 points.
A combination of 2 droid and/or cargo loaders are needed for full reduction regardless of whether you are smuggling or trading. Ranging from 46,000-50,000 credits each, the cost is much higher than an NPC crew, but there is a significant benefit to them being a one-time purchase without further contracts to renew. These will need to be placed in the room of the ship that has been designated for 'cargo.'
As not every ship capable of loading cargo has more than one room, the default placement is often the cockpit. The other option is the hold (usually where characters board and disembark) which can be set as the designated cargo room for your ship.
If parking your droid or vehicle in the room that displays the cargo information (seen in the room description) doesn't effect the loading percentage, you will need to request staff set the proper attribute to the correct room. It is a known and easy fix.
| Droids | Vehicles |
|---|---|
Binary Load Lifter ASP-7 Labor Droid |
Ubrikkian QL-2a Speeder Truck Aratech Z-12 Speeder Truck SoroSuub RGC-18 Landspeeder |
