I know some find some use on latest episode R&D plans and soda. But with all the trinkets, consumable items etc we have in-game, is R&D even used at all? I have a bank toon with full of R&D components. But it is only useful for R&D craft feats. I can't see any other use in those consumables compared to the other ones we get in-game. Should these be replaced with something more suitable with current game?
Some stuff are for feats as you said, some you can sell on the broker if you don't need those. I still have the Starro crafting materials on my bank alt, they probably don't have any use but It's nostalgic considering Starro was a event first then a DLC. Some items are also "Obsolete" so you can just get rid of those. And last but not least is episode plans & crafting of mods. Those are probably the only things used nowadays for crafting. I know I bring up Guild Wars 2 alot but honestly they have a few crafting systems (you can't use all at once) and each does different type of crafting. Mostly for achievements (equivalent of feats) and rewards like styles. But I think it would be abit much for DCUO.
Considering how much cash I make selling them on broker - yes, they are being used. I have no idea what you think sodas have to do with them, because sodas don't require R&D components, only exo-material and enhancers from R&D vendor. They're used for crafting the best base mods, as well as some consumables, like Chronometric Emitters, which many tanks use to stun adds, or Personal Dampening Fields - consumable shields. Some players use consumables for clipping, or applying power interactions. There are also some older crafted consumables, that allow for grabbing, or dropping aggro, which can be useful in certain situations. Um... No, of course not. What exactly would they be replaced with, especially that they are needed for all those older R&D feats? If you can't figure out how to use them - sell them or delete them. It doesn't make sense to remove something from the game, that offers more options to players, who are able to think outside the box.
What do you sell? I would sell them if I knew what is worth selling. I have stacks of old R&D components maxing out one of my bank toons and have no idea what to use them for. As for Shields and Stuns, isn't the power of the toon stronger than these? Yeah they may be useful during those powers in cooldown. But aren't you sacrificing another consumable like Soder Cola for this? Unless you are talking about swapping mid game. Would appreciate any suggestions you can make on these items. Normal Soder Colas are not as useful as the ones we get in-game. And they don't sell for much either. But some stuff are useful to make shields. Haven't used any of the DPS consumables to know how effective they are.
What sells and for how much depends on a few things. When new episode comes out and new plans become available, the components used for the most popular mods usually sell well - Cybernetic Actuators (Precision), Battery Fragments (Health), Ancient Vellum (Might), Brainiac Diode (Dominance), et cetera. Overcharged Matter for the Chronometric Emitters are usually sought after as well. The prices will depend on how much of the component is currently available on broker. You can also get better prices if you sell them in small stacks - 10 (for one mod), or 40 (4 mods) - as people who have money would rather pay more, than click on single items dozens of times. I often buy cheap single components, like Cyb. Actuators and put them back up in stacks, for 10x the price. A lot of the time broker is flooded with cheap stacks of certain components, that were farmed by hackers/exploiters, or simply drop from an instance that is popular at the moment, so the prices will go way down, but at those times I just stock up on those items and sell them later, when exploit gets patched, or most people stop running the instance. I have a mule, that keeps all my R&D stuff and every few days I check to see which components are expensive, or rare on broker and I put up a few stacks. I play on EUPC/PS server, so I'm not sure how it works on other servers. It may vary, depending on how many players trade R&D components and what is being farmed the most. Not all powersets and builds have good stun/shield options, or simply don't have enough of them for more challenging content. For example - Earth's 360 pull doesn't stun adds at all (and if you're using Brick you only have 4 power slots left for pulls and shields), so it helps a lot to pop an Emitter right after you pull all the adds to you, so that they can't attack you for a few seconds. As a tank you don't usually need a lot of trinkets in your loadout, so having an extra stun, or a shield is often worth a slot in your belt. As a battle build you might want to use your power tray for damage abilities, so having those consumable options can also be useful. Shadow Concoction can be helpful to a healer (or even DPS) for dropping aggro, especially when running without a tank, although their use is pretty niche and those plans are almost impossible to get nowadays - I'm not sure if they're still dropping anywhere at all. I just got a league-mate to make me a bunch of stacks. There are also other old consumable plans, which might not be available anymore, like Incendiary Mine, which have a very short cooldown and can be jump cancelled, so some long-time players use them for clipping, when Prec DPSing.
Thanks LowFlyingMoon. That's great insight. I didn't realize these items are still useful on other roles. I'll experiment andd see. I'm also playing in EU PS server. So your feeddback will be very useful.
Dang it! Looks like I created some competition for myself... I might add, that you shouldn't expect to make a ton of cash all at once just from selling R&D components - it's more of a slow and steady income. EU population is not very large, even at the best of times, so the demand is not high either. It's best to put up no more than 2-3 stacks of 10 of each component at a time, making sure there aren't tons of it on broker first. Some components can fetch 1-2 mill for a stack of 10, especially during busiest times, so on Thursdays and weekends, particularly when something new goes live, like a TC, Booster Bundle, seasonal, or new DLC, or during good bonus weeks. Cybernetic Actuators and Metagene Fusing Solutions can sell as high as 3 mill for a stack of 10 sometimes. On the other hand - Enchanted Beast Horn, Otherworldly Chitin and Ethereal Dust are pretty worthless, in my experience. It's also worth knowing, that currently Ancient Vellum and Overcharged Matter are cheaper than usual, because over the Summer some hackers were selling 1000s of them for next to nothing, so people stocked up on those and are selling them now. Still, on some days, if there are no stacks on broker, I can get 1-1.5mill for 40, or 2-3mill for 100. Selling stacks larger than 100 is not really a good idea, unless you want to get rid of them cheaply and quickly, because people usually don't need a lot of them at once and won't spend more than 5-10mill, even for a stack of 999. And if you don't sell a large stack - you lose 5% of the asking price, while if you put up a few smaller stacks and only sell one - at least that covers the broker fee. Generally - as with all broker trading - be prepared, that you may not sell anything sometimes, while at other times, you might sell a ton. And that prices, supply and demand may change at any moment. The more often you check prices and availability - the better. For me personally, buying and selling all sorts of things on broker is a game in itself. I spend a lot of time doing it, I enjoy it and I've made many billions of in-game cash, without spending any actual money on stabilizers, or Booster Bundles, or even farming rare drops. But it's not necessarily for everyone, so your mileage may vary. Happy trading!
