PoxNora Trading Beginner’s Guide

PoxNora Trading Beginner’s Guide by Malosi

Made this thread for the KF Forum a long time ago so any values listed are out of date, but the advice is all still good and should help new players learn how to think when it comes to trading:
I’m writing this because our Faction seems to more heavily rely on Exo’s than others. I wanted those who play our Faction to have a better understanding of the trading system so they didn’t get taken advantage of and are actually able to become profitable traders so they can become assets to the K’Thir Faction.

In all of this you will see that there are 3 currencies in Pox Nora, Money (Qty you can Buy), Luck (What you get when you buy), Time(Invested in Champs and the Trader can make up for the others)

It is my hope to help new KF’ers optimize all three. I can’t help you with Money, but in the remainder of this thread I hope to empower your use of time, and the amount of luck you’ll have.

I will be addressing the Following in Order:

>Understanding Rune Values
>Trading, Bidding, and Stores
>Volatile Trading.

Understanding Rune Values:

Because this is a Collectable game Rune Values are not set by any company, but rather by us the players. For that reason everyone’s perception of what a fair trade is will vary from player to player. Player created Stores have helped to standardize pricing somewhat, though with so many stores even those prices vary. For this post I will be using Pox Portal (http://www.datachild.ca/index.php#) pricing. It’s important to know rune values not only for trading purposes but also for purchasing purposes.

Rune Values are determined by 3 things:

>Accessibility, This goes beyond Rarity but we’ll get there.
>Usefulness
>Time Invested, CP.

I’ll address these in opposite order, because I have the most to say about Accessibility.

Time Invested

-A champ that has CP is more desirable in the trader than one who does not, so if you need to trade away some unwanted pieces for some more needed champs, playing your unwanted champs in unranked play can help increase their value. Premium Memberships now help you gain cp twice as fast, so if you don’t have a lot of money to invest , taking the time to upgrade cp may be a good option to move up the Exo scale. Premium Membership does cost money so really low budget players will just need to put in even more time.

{Edit}lanslord gave an excellent tip on how to expedite this process that I feel is genius, if your trading or for your own use with new runes, do yourself a favor and read post #5

Usefulness

-The Greater a Champs usefulness, the more players want it, the higher demand is, the greater the value of the rune. This factor is the greatest determining factor in Rune Values that are still in circulation.
-If you have a few lower valued runes and you can’t seem to trade them away, another possible option to increase their value is to find a new way to use them. Win a few times, make several posts on the forum and attempt to get people to want to try the new tactic out. It’s not an easy option, but it is a viable option to increase the value of runes.

{Edit}Rumors Of, or Officially Announced Buff’s may also increase value, paying attention to these and trading prior to the buff happening may also pay off.

Accessibility

-Obviously this relates to the Rarity of a rune. But the Rarity is only the beginning. The accessibility also has to deal with how many and what Exo’s are in the same expansion and this has a lot of bearing to you as a trader to know which expansions to purchase.
I’m going to go through each expansion and reveal a few numbers (again all values are PoxPortal based).

{EDIT} : The values below are out of date, but give you an idea of how to break down the value’s based on Pox Portal Pricing. The idea is to take the pattern and educate yourself to make an informed purchase.

>Expansion Name, # if Exo’s, Lowest Valued Exo, Highest Valued, Average Value of Exo’s, median Value of Exo’s (Middle Value)
>Release Set : 17 Exo’s, 700 LV, 14,000 HV, 5206 Avg V, 3000 median V.
>Savage Tundra : 4 Exo’s, 1000 LV, 4,500 HV, 2425 Avg V, 2000 median V. (No KF Exos)
>Shattered Peaks : 5 Exo’s, 1000 LV, 9000 HV, 3300 Avg V, 2200 median V.(No KF Exos)
>Drums of War : 7 Exo’s, 2000 LV, 6000 HV, 4071 Avg V, 4500 median V.
>Skeezick Rebellion : 11 Exo’s, 400 LV, 4800 HV, 2291 Avg V, 1800 median V.
>Grimlic’s Descent : 9 Exo’s, 800 LV, 7000 HV, 3011 Avg V, 3000 median V.
>Path to Conquest : 7 Exo’s, 2300 LV, 14000 HV, 6243 Avg V, 6000 median V.
>Nora Surge : 9 Exo’s, 2900 LV, 24000 HV, 6233 Avg V, 4200 median V.
>Dawn of Elements : 8 Exo’s, 2000 LV, 20000 HV, 7588 Avg V. 3500 median V.
>Ancient Awakenings : 8 Exo’s, 500 LV, 3800 HV, 1813 Avg V, 1000 median V.
>Rise of Serkan : 8 Exo’s, 500 LV, 7000 HV, 3875 Avg V, 3000 median V.

{EDIT} The Starter Decks were updated, and improved a lot. If your just starting off and wondering what to buy, check out post 22 in this thread.

The above information will help you in purchasing packs with the intent to trade your way to a killer BG. From a Traders Perspective Nora Surge packs may be the best to start with, because even if you get the “worst” Exo as your one, he’s still worth 2900 and could be used as trade material. Your Highest Valued Euan Ironfist can trade straight for a Ranger Elite, or any mixture of needed KF Exo’s. The next best is arguable between Dawn of Elements and Path to Conquest. DoE has 2 Power Exo’s that can get you whatever, but has a lower Mean Value than PtC, which means odds are that you will get a much lower valued Exo. Where PtC has the Highest Mean, and the second Highest Low Value both very desirable to a trader.

Also understand that it will be worth your time to search the Trader for individual exo’s to see if the market is saturated. IE, lots of people read this, go and buy Nora Surge and instead surge the market with tons of the same Exo’s in that case it would be better to be trading Path to Conquest Exo’s or…you get the idea.

Hopefully this has helped you understand how rune values are determined, and how you can best use your purchasing power to get the greatest Rune Value in return for your purchases.

Trading, Bidding, and Stores

If you are using the trader at all, it’s probably for one of these reasons:

>You need a specific rune for a specific bg. (Short Term)(Minimum Time Required)
>Your trying to finish a collection (Mid Term)
>Your trying to increase the value of your collection. (Long Term)(Maximum Time Required)

It’s important that you know the reason you’re trading, because it will affect how you go about it. Sometimes you need to increase the value of your collection before you can bid for that specific rune. Know where you’re at so you know how to proceed.

In order to trade effectively you need to understand this one rule: The Trader is in control

Trading:
-When you create a trade you set the terms of the trade. You have the power to reject any offer you choose even if by all other standards it would be a “fair” trade. You are in Control.
-As the trader, you should always be looking for a profit. Even if it’s a small one. Which means you are usually acting in a Mid Term, or Long Term capacity. There is nothing immoral about this.
-Making a profit in trading may include asking for runes at a SLIGHTLY higher value than your offering, or asking for equal valued rune + a small “Sweet”(an extra common, uncommon, rare, or token to sweeten the deal.) Or you may be looking for lower valued runes who’s combined value is SLIGHTLY greater than the value of your offer.
-It’s important to understand how you list your trade helps determine the response you get. People at this point have become very turned off by long lists of things they want, always including “unobtainable” runes. I have found a lot more success knowing exactly what 1-5 runes I wanted and just listing those. I don’t always get bids but when I do they are most always bids I’m happy with.
-If you don’t get a bid, or at least one you’re willing to accept, just repost. Timing is everything, and that’s why acting as a Trader tends to be for a more Mid to Long term trading style.
-Be courteous and accept or reject quickly, don’t lock others runes or over time people may stop wanting to trade with you. I am less likely to bid on something that has 3 open bids, than I am on something that has 3 rejected bids.
-If you’d like you can even look at offers others have posted of the same rune, go through their rejected offers and if there is an offer that was rejected that you would be willing to accept PM the person a link to your trade. If they bid, make sure you accept ASAP.
-Never accept a trade you are not satisfied with.

Bidding:
-As a bidder you’re either looking for something you need, or you may have found a good deal that will increase the value of your collection. For this reason you’re probably a Short or Long Term Trader.
-When you are bidding on something you are the one in demand, expect to offer a little sweet of some sort, don’t be turned off by that just understand it’s the way things work. The trader is looking to make some type of profit, if you give it to him the trade will happen quickly and you’ll have what you need.
-Pay attention to the person offering the trade. Read what it is they want if you don’t have it, don’t bid UNLESS you’re willing to offer something valued even higher. If you do you’ll be locking your runes and unable to use them for another offer that might match another trader better. Also, if it’s not specifically mentioned what is wanted, try looking at the user profile so you have a better idea of what factions they play. This will help you bid more appropriately.
-Avoid any trade that mentions “Buyout”, or has long lists of Tier 1 Exo’s that they will accept. These are sure signs that the Profit these traders are looking to make is beyond the above mentioned “SLIGHTLY” level.
-IF there are a large qty of the rune you’re wanting to bid on available, it may then be appropriate to offer a bid that is of equal or even lower value. They may be accepted in a saturated market.
-If the trade has time don’t offer the max your willing to right away. It’s ok to let a trader reject your bid and then go back and increase it accordingly.
-Never make a bid you don’t want accepted.

Stores:
-Stores have a place for a Short Term, and even a Long Term Trader, but rarely for a Mid Term Trader.
-Short term traders can rely on a store when no one is accepting bids that are slightly less than or equal to a stores trade price.
-Stores usually fill trades quickly and do tend to be fair.
-Stores give you options to more fairly get your hands on some “unobtainable” ruins. Thorn Collection, Polymorph can both be obtained from time to time at Pox Portal for much less than what it would usually take to get them on the trader. I’m sure other stores offer them as well.
-Use the stores as a reference prior to trading and as a resource if no bids are accepted. Stores do a great job of keeping up with changing values of runes, so you don’t have to. Though you can if you want.
-Also, look for opportunities. Sometimes a store will need a rune you have and give you full value for it, allowing you maybe to get your hands on another rune that will be easier to trade.
-Shop around, different stores may offer better deals on different things. This goes back to knowing what you have and what you want.

So, if you know where you’re at in your rune collection, and have a goal, hopefully the above info can help you better understand the road in between.

Remember the rule, the Trader is always in control.

Volatile Trading

Volatile means “characterized by or subject to rapid or unexpected change” in the world of PoxNora the trading market seems to be fairly stable. However, when a new release comes out, or a mid release LE rune that first day the trader market becomes very volatile. Value is not yet clearly defined for the new runes so you can make BIG gains, or BIG loses. If you like slow stable trading then it is to your best advantage to stay out.

People will trade high tiered exo’s for new exo’s to avoid having to purchase packs, especially if they have extra runes. Knowing this if you have been unable to get your hands on a Ranger Elite, or on a Grimlics Mirror, or anything else really, you may find you have a lot of success offering a brand new exo to existing trades of those runes that have previously evaded you.

Odd things happen on these day’s because of the fact that values have not yet been determined, after a day, or maybe two the market usually stabilizes again and it’s not until then that you know if you were on the winning or losing side of these deals. For me at least for the first one I always consider it a win as long as I wind up with the new KF exo(s) and just hope my other ones panned out alright.

Personally I have had a lot of success trading this way. Just remember the Risk of Loss is just as great as the risk of gain.

Good Luck!