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Zapacila

Earning Coins Working In Wurm Online - Possible: Yes, Worthy: ?

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Disclaimer: One thing I love about WURM is that it gives us all the possibility to play it the way we want it - there are tons of things we can do, but none we have to do. So the goal of this topic is not to try to force my point of view to any of you, but just to present you a different perspective which you may (or you may not) seen before. If, after reading this, you will still see things differently then me, then is totally find, and I will totally respect your point of view - at least at that time I will know it is an informed one. ;)


 


Nobody loves to spend (real life) money when we don't have to and there was always a true mirage for FREE things. So it's no surprise that quite a few of us try to see if we can't earn our premium, deed maintenance and maybe some extra coins in game, without spending any money from our wallets. And the truth is that IT IS POSSIBLE even for a player that just started - either that we talk about selling useless items to tokens for free coins, about doing bulk (low qualified) work for other players - like brick and mortar, or about selling the lucky rare we just crafted. I saw people earning their premium time in game and I even did it myself with a few occasions.


 


But there are two question:


- Is this really FREE money / playing?


- Is it worth?


 


There are a lot of cases when selling things is a really legit, worthy way of earning money - selling the rares / supreme items you craft and which are not giving any huge advantage, but are nice collectibles for the rich people, selling the items you craft anyway while grinding the skills you want to grind (for example what would a farmer do with Ks and Ks of crops which will start stockpiling while grinding farming or what would a smith do with hundreds of knives he would create and improve for skill gain), etc.


 


But I don't talk about this - selling whatever items you happen to get while grinding and playing the game the way you like. I talk about working specifically for money, doing boring, repetitive jobs hours after hours (that other people can't be arsed to do, so they hire you for that), many times with low skills, and many times (in cases of free players trying to earn their first premium) without even gaining skills (because you are already capped).


 


Is it really free money? Yes and no... I mean yeah, you don't have to pay a dime, but you pay with your time... and let's see like how much of your time... and I'll take in this example the case of three of the most common jobs for low skilled players: making bricks, making mortar, digging


 


- Making bricks: takes two action (one action to mine, one action to create the brick); mine always succeeds, while for bricks with low skills and low ql tool you have ~50% chance to succeed, so that actually means like three real actions. With a total timer (for all three actions) of around 50 seconds (if you don't queue), that means that a newish player, can make like 72 bricks per hour. Please note that in real conditions, you will make much less than this since there is always wasted time between clicks, wasted time loading and unloading, wasted time transporting the shards / bricks to BSB, etc. Considering that the average price is of 20i per brick (2s per 1k), it results that you're making like 14-15c per hour (remember, in optimist conditions).


 


- Making mortar:  takes two action (one action to dig clay, one action to create the mortar - there is also the action to dig sand, but considering that it is consumed in much lower conditions I ignored it); digging always succeeds, while for mortar with low skills you have ~50% chance to succeed, so that actually means like three real actions. With a total timer (for all three actions) of around 55 seconds (if you don't queue), that means that a newish player, can make like 60 mortar per hour. Please note that in real conditions, you will make much less than this since there is always wasted time between clicks, wasted time loading and unloading, wasted time transporting the clay / mortar to BSB, etc. Considering that the average price is of 25i per brick (2.5s per 1k), it results that you're making like 16-17c per hour (remember, in optimist conditions).


 


- Digging: I will presume in this estimation that you're digging and selling clay. It is true, dirt is easier with leveling, but it is consuming the resource, you have to move a lot and it takes much more space in cart, so on the long run I think you end up working more than just stay in one spot and dig clay. Takes just one which always succeeds, with a timer of 15 seconds, which means that a newish player, can make like 240 clay per hour. Please note that in real conditions, you will make much less than this since there is always wasted time between clicks, wasted time loading and unloading, wasted time transporting the clay to BSB, etc. Considering that the average price is of 10i per clay/dirt (1s per 1k), it results that you're making like 24c per hour (remember, in optimist conditions).


 


We can easily see that, even not counting time spent on transport, load, unload, find a customer, make the sell, eventually help with loading / unloading in boat, not to mention potential delivery, maximum potential for a newish player is to earn around 15-25c per hour. On the other hand, an older player, which is skilled and has access to better tools would probably be able to earn double, so around 30-50c per hour.


 


The true exchange rate of a silver is not the one present in shop (1.6 euro / silver), but around one euro (either we talk about buying from gold sellers [and I don't talk here about cheapest ones] or buying using this little trick).


 


So, making the translation in real life money, this means that maximum potential for a newish player is to earn around 0.15 - 0.25 euro per hour, while an older player, which is skilled and has access to better tools would probably be able to earn double, so around 0.30 - 0.50 euro per hour.


 


Now ask yourself a honest question - would you even considering working for such a "wage / payment" in real life (even more, consider that you're having to pay the electricity bill too :P)?


 


If you would (can see cases - very poor countries, students not being able to get a job, etc) then all's fine.


 


If you wouldn't, maybe next time you're offered a working contract in WURM, you will consider just say NO, work just a bit extra (or skip a McD meal) IRL, buy the silver you need with RL$, and spend all your gaming time just having fun and doing something that pleases you, not doing the same boring, repetitive tasks that other people can't be arsed to do.


 


PS: I never made the exact math till today, when, while I was completing a 2k bricks + 2k mortar order and, being bored like hell, I was just curious to see at least how much money I save doing "slavery work" in game, instead of having fun. And when I realized that I work a full hour, for the price of a single cigarette (make the math if you don't believe me :P) I just said NO THANKS, this is the last time I do this. Really, I can almost bet that even a beggar has a better pay out than this - lol.


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just gona answer quickly by reading the first sentence and the question.


 


you can easily cover your premium by making things, bricks/dirt/mortar etc.


 


but imo its not worth it because i rather pay the premium and do whatever i feel like instead of making wurm a second job cause thats the last thing i want when i come home from work.


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Possible? YES! Done it myself.


 


Worth it? Depends on your definition of fun, and how you do it. Starting out with a noob account can take a lot of time to get your first premium, but after you get more skill and can use fancy enchanted tools, it gets a lot easier. It's very hard to get prem from nothing, and even after you get it you only have it for a month, which is hardly enough time to master a skill to make money by crafting.


 


As for bulk jobs as f2p, mining is the least profitable because of the long timers. Digging is great, but you can only dig up to a certain slope. Brick making is good. Mortar making is good too. Making buildings for people is great money. In all these things, you can't produce high ql items, but this isn't a big deal on freedom. Pan filling is a bit time consuming, but not too bad.


 


The fun part of this to me was traveling around and meeting new people. I saw a lot more than I would have seen if I was sitting in one spot. Having to travel between jobs was also a problem, especially since as f2p I couldn't even fight a bear and win. Getting a row boat allowed me to travel safer, but I was also a lot slower than if I was walking on land so I avoided using it if I could.


 


I know people that only spent money for the first few months, and then they got the skill they could pay for it with what they did ingame easily. I think that's the best route to take.


 


EDIT: I think I should explain mob evasion a bit more. As f2p, the wilderness is a very very dangerous place. Its best to stick to roads so you can travel at your maximum speed. I always made sure I wasn't carrying too much so I could go 17kmh. Its important to watch stamina, because if a mob sneaks up on you from around a corner and you don't have enough stamina to run away, then you are toast. I liked traveling on the coast because I could swim to escape most mobs. I followed the coast sometimes even if it had no road on it. But of course, there are crocs and bears which can swim, so those could give you a hard time. Major roads like the Freedom Highway on Independence are allways clear of mobs because they are surrounded by deeds with templars and walls and are traveled frequently, but when using back roads I had to be very careful. Cave tunnels are hard to travel in because you go slower, so mobs can catch up to you. I once traveled all they way through the collossus cave cannal on foot, but I was just really lucky because I didn't run into too many swimming mobs and could use the cannal to escape from most things. Green Tunnel on Deliverance gave me a really hard time until I realized I could walk on a road around it.


Edited by Sir Arowhun

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Worth it for a new player? No. Takes too long.
Worth it for a vet with a handful of 90 titles? Sure, if you enjoy it.

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You have missed a crucial factor. This is a game. You have fun doing it. I enjoyed my time digging dirt as a newbie.


 


If you're playing to replace any other possible income, then you're doing it wrong.


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as a new player, it's better to just buy premium, after you have a skilled account though?.....you can pretty much get 10s worth to re-prem in a few hours of time.


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i had to skim read.  just had to. but we can make money playing (PLAYING) a game. and joy doing it.  i use to make money in game when i first started. making bricks and planks.   sure many hrs for a few silver.  but is it worth it.  hell ya. my skills are much higher because i grinded on mats for others and myself. and made others happy buying from. and make friends doing so. even got a full line up of 50ql tools for free once for making 4k bricks for a guy once.  this game is community .  cant see why complain about the amount you make per hour.  it's really about the amount you make per transaction including the grind to skill. fun doing so and friends you make along the way.


 


i spent over 2k eu this yr in this game. made about 3 gold coins back.. selling deeds and stuff while moving servers. after 3 yrs and i'm sure 3-3.5k eu on wurm. my characters are almost ready to stop buying bulk and tools. and start making them and selling. if i'm lucky by april when my 4 characters prem time is up i hope to make enough to prem and just enjoy the game without spending money.(no more wife argo) but i know i'll hire new players to help me out with bulk mats and keep the circle going.  in time you will be in the same boat as me.


 


i hope you weren't trying to inflate the silver per 1000 actions costs


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Chance to make money is probably best and worst thing in Wurm. It is great to make a few coins while you play, but it is also easy to enter the cycle, where playing wurm becomes a chore instead of being entertainment. Can't imagine how many newbies have burned out while trying to make bricks/mortar for their premium.


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The way i see it is.....play and get some skills to 20 b4 you even think of paying for Prem (After all thats what the new play skill cap is for) .....If you can't get about 5 to 6 skills to 20 then maybe Wurm is not for you.


Even if you pay for Prem and then work on skills it's the same thing only your paying for your first 20 skill points when you could have got them for free.


 


Can you pay for Prem working in-game with low skill ?...Yes....i have done it loads of times.


Is it fun ? .....to some no to others maybe.


Can high skilled prem players make prem money easyer ? ....Hell Yea .....but thats why you pay prem to get your skills better so you can make more money OR play the game better and easyer.


 


All in all it's not much fun for most making in-game silver to pay for your prem But even if your not after making in-game money and just want to play ....some of the stuff you have to do in game is the same....Mining a load of rocks to make a load of bricks and digging loads of clay and sand to make motar so you can get around to make a brick house....most would not find that fun.


 


Take away the cash and all those jobs STILL need to be done if you want that building.....there's no geting away from that. Wurm is what it is....and i LOVE IT :)


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All these posts about money making... Think less about money and enjoy the game instead. If you can afford to smoke, I can't feel sorry for you, wurm is not expensive compared to that, at least if you are not the type who wants everything at once. It's just about priorities.


 


Pay for one character and a deed or go live on someone else's deed and pay upkeep with money or work. Expand slowly from there. Making coin will get easier for every month you play, but you will also want to spend more and more. Keep it balanced and don't over spend. 


 


Wurm is like RL. If you have no skills and no money it is very hard to make money. If you have lots of money and skills it's easier to get more money (and skills)... 


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pay ur first prem in real money.


You will save A LOT of time, which is more valuable than money in the end.


After that you will have no problem to cover the loss.


 


and as Wraith said, it's all for fun.


Dont make the game a second job for yourself.


Fun comes first, money comes second.


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Whatever wage people are prepared to work for IRL is irrelevant. This is a game, a leisure time occupation, that people do out of sheer enjoyment. I guess everyone plays the game differently which includes making money in some cases.

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Worth it for a new player? No. Takes too long.

Worth it for a vet with a handful of 90 titles? Sure, if you enjoy it.

 

Best and shortest answer I could see.

 

It's personal taste. Some people love it, some don't. I like making a coin here and there, and my girlfriend who also plays, finds it a part of the challenge to actually make money to pay some part of her premium.

However, it can/probably will be boring, long and tedious, unless you are skilled, and enjoying the particular skill, and if there is a market for it. Markets go up and down, and there is a lot of (silly silly) players who find it easier by selling things for cheap, undermining the market for everyone else, without realising the long term problems they are causing themselves and the rest of us.

 

Willing buyer, willing seller however...

 

In my opinion, as long as I have a day job, and can afford it, I will probably pay for my premium in real money, and take it one month at a time.

 

Your post is nicely written, OP. *thumbs up*

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But there are two question:

- Is this really FREE money / playing?

- Is it worth?

 

1- "free"? I would rather work part/full time IRL, that would be more profit in a lot of ways.

2- If you enjoy working only. I mean, I play for fun in my free time, not as second job.

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Zapacila is Romanian, where the minimum wage is under £1/h (under $1.60/h) - taking that into consideration she could actually earn more in Wurm than she does IRL (with more hours).


 


After building her skills and working out a good income stream, she could (with enough effort) make an actual living in Wurm.


 


(Speculation based on Romanian minimum wage)


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Zapacila is Romanian, where the minimum wage is under £1/h (under $1.60/h) - taking that into consideration she could actually earn more in Wurm than she does IRL (with more hours).

 

After building her skills and working out a good income stream, she could (with enough effort) make an actual living in Wurm.

 

(Speculation based on Romanian minimum wage)

 

In finland minium wage is 12euros/hour

Hard to balance it for everyone.

 

sadly for me, I could make in 1 regular work day more than in 1month wurming.

good part is, ill never sell my account, even if i quit ;)

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You got me wrong, guys.


 


I never said that I would like to make real life profit out of WURM - like "working in WURM" eight hours per day / five days per week, earning coins, selling coins and cash out in real life. Also I doubt any sane person would actually considering this (I apologize if I offended someone here).


 


My dilemma was between:


- work in WURM just enough to allow you to play the game for free... that meaning 10 silver per month for premium and... dunno... 2 extra silver per month for deed maintenance


- just buy the premium time and those silvers with real life money


 


And, despite the fact that yeah, Romania is a poor country and minimum wage is indeed around 1.5 euros / hour, and for example I only make like 3 euros / hour, I still don't find it worth to "work in WURM" for a payment of 0.20 - 0.25 euros per hour. So I just decided I will finance any of my game expenses with real life money.


 


And the point of the thread was to show other people (who may have not the math), that in the vast majority of cases (I can understand there are exception) it is simply not worth to try to earn the coins in game and that "free" playing can easily turn into a chore or into a second job.


 


That was all.


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You got me wrong, guys.

I never said that I would like to make real life profit out of WURM - like "working in WURM" eight hours per day / five days per week, earning coins, selling coins and cash out in real life. Also I doubt any sane person would actually considering this (I apologize if I offended someone here).

My dilemma was between:

- work in WURM just enough to allow you to play the game for free... that meaning 10 silver per month for premium and... dunno... 2 extra silver per month for deed maintenance

- just buy the premium time and those silvers with real life money

And, despite the fact that yeah, Romania is a poor country and minimum wage is indeed around 1.5 euros / hour, and for example I only make like 3 euros / hour, I still don't find it worth to "work in WURM" for a payment of 0.20 - 0.25 euros per hour. So I just decided I will finance any of my game expenses with real life money.

And the point of the thread was to show other people (who may have not the math), that in the vast majority of cases (I can understand there are exception) it is simply not worth to try to earn the coins in game and that "free" playing can easily turn into a chore or into a second job.

That was all.

The worth of any task is in the eyes of the person doing it, not in the eyes of the biased observer.

Once you have a high trade skill in wurm you can make several silver an hour... Not everyone is a brick maker...

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And the point of the thread was to show other people (who may have not the math), that in the vast majority of cases (I can understand there are exception) it is simply not worth to try to earn the coins in game and that "free" playing can easily turn into a chore or into a second job.

 

I'm pretty sure people don't need to be mathematics professors to understand that playing an online game is not a valid source of income.

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