The aim of this short guide is to give a quick overview on Neverwinters basic economic concepts and currencies: Astral Diamonds, Rough Astral Diamonds, ZEN, The ZEN AD eXchange (ZAX) and its cap, AD sinks, refinement cap, inflation and so on.
This is not a guide on how to make AD or how to get rich.
ZEN and Astral Diamond
Neverwinter has two fundamental currencies as the basis of its economy. The first is the time currency, named Astral Diamonds or AD in short. AD is used to buy important game resources, trade with other players at the Auction House (AH) and in short, is treated as the base currency in the economy. This is the player`s “salary” for investing time in the game. In a very simplified way, AD is gained by playing the game.
The second basic currency is ZEN, which represents an investment of real money. ZEN is generated from real money purchases.
ZAX
The ZAX allows players to exchange AD for ZEN and ZEN for AD. The exchange is made among players. If players do not list ZEN that they are willing to exchange for AD, then no player will be able to exchange AD to ZEN.
The mechanism is somewhat similar to auctions or stock exchange listings. A player will list the amount of ZEN they want to buy or sell and the price they are willing to pay or wish to get for it in AD.
There are some limitations:
The minimal price possible to list is 50AD per 1 ZEN, and maximum is 750AD per 1 ZEN. The 750AD maximum is often called the ZAX cap.
A player can have at most 5 listings at any time. Each listing is limited to a maximum of 5k ZEN.
If there is a higher buy listing and lower sell, the highest will be fulfilled at the higher buy rate. Meaning that if a Player A asked to sell at 50AD per 1 ZEN (50:1) and Players B and C, offered to buy at 500:1 and 750:1 respectively, player A will sell and receive at 750:1 even though they only asked for 50:1.
Important to note: This prevents costly mistakes of players selling their ZEN for very low price, and prevents ZEN transfer even at a loss. One can’t list at some arbitrary price lower than all the requests and another to sell at exactly same price. This means that if someone offers to buy something from you for ZEN, with a promise that they will then transfer the ZEN to you after the trade, they either don’t know how it works, or they are trying to scam you.
Listings are fulfilled in order, like a regular queue, first in, first out.
In the game the ZAX is made of 3 panels, one to list an offer to buy ZEN, one to list an offer to sell, and one shows your current and past listings.
Auction House
The Auction House provides a way for players to offer goods for sale to other players and is a key part of the game economy. The Auction House is a venue in Protector's Enclave where players can buy and sell gear pieces, weapons, mounts (including mounts, insignias, collars, upgrade tokens), companions (including companions, companion equipments, upgrade tokens, enchantment for companions), profession goods, fashion items and various other items for Astral Diamonds.
When putting an item up for auction, Neverwinter will set a starting bid and a buyout price. These can be configured to be higher or lower depending on the players choice. Generally, the buyout price is set higher so that the seller can get a fair price for his/her items when somebody needs/looking for something fast.
➾ Purchases on the Auction House must be paid for in Astral Diamonds. ➾ The Auction House collects a big fee (10%) from the seller for each successful sale. ➾ Characters can list up to 40 items at a time on the Auction House. ➾ Items purchased or own items not sold must be picked up at the Postal Courier. ➾ Astral Diamonds from selling items, or when your bid was not the highest, must also be retrieved through the Postal Courier.
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