A Player-Driven Economy: Trading, the Market and Upgrading in Ancient Online: Remastered

In an MMORPG with a player-driven economy, nobody hands you a price list. What an item is worth is decided by the players who find it, upgrade it and sell it. Ancient Online: Remastered is being built that way: items are earned in the game, traded between players and sold at market stalls that players set up, and real money cannot buy power. This guide explains how the economy works: where items come from, how MMO trading and the market work, what you risk when you upgrade an item, and what keeps all of it fair.

Ancient Online: Remastered is in development; it is currently in closed alpha and no release date has been announced. This guide describes the development build and may change before launch; it deliberately gives no rates, fees or prices.

Where do items come from?

Everything that circulates in the economy enters the world through play:

• Hunting: Monsters in the open world drop items and Tael, the in-game currency.
• Soul stones: The soul stones you come across in the hunting grounds give drops of their own when you break them.
• Dungeons and bosses: Tougher fights, with drops of their own.
• Fishing and mining: Two quieter ways to gather materials.
• Upgrading: The blacksmith turns an item, materials and Tael into a stronger item, or into a loss.
• Rewards for playing: The development build has a login calendar, playtime rewards and a free, single-tier battle pass.

None of these sources can be skipped with a credit card. That is what gives a rare item its value: someone had to go out and earn it.

Tael: the in-game currency

The game's currency is Tael. You earn it by playing: monsters drop it, NPC shops pay it for the items you sell them, and other players pay it for the items you sell to them. Tael cannot be bought with real money, and nothing in the in-game shop gives Tael, directly or indirectly.

Trading directly with another player

The simplest deal is made face to face. One player sends a trade request, the other accepts, and the Trade window opens: each side puts in items and Tael, checks what the other side has put in, and confirms.

• If the other player changes the offer, the game tells you to review it again before you confirm.
• If you are about to receive almost nothing in return, the game asks whether you really want to continue.

Trade tiers: why new accounts start with limits

Every account has a trade tier: Newcomer, Apprentice, Journeyman or Master. A brand-new account starts at the bottom and cannot trade everything right away; the tier rises with your level, the age of your account, your play time, a verified recovery e-mail and two-step verification (2FA).

The limits are aimed at one-sided transfers, where value changes hands and nothing comes back. A fair trade, in which both sides give value, does not count against them. Type /tradetier in chat to see your tier, what is left of your limits and what the next tier needs.

There is also a security lock: after a sensitive change to your account, such as a new password, a login from a new device or a change to two-step verification, trading and the market are closed for a while. The idea is simple: an account that has just changed hands should not be emptied on the spot. Setting up 2FA is covered in the account creation and security guide.

The Market: a stall that keeps selling while you are away

Player shops in Ancient Online: Remastered work as an offline market. You set up your market on the Bazaar map, and it stays there and keeps selling after you log out.

1. Set it up. The market is placed where your character is standing. Your character does not turn into the stall; you can walk away and carry on playing.
2. Fill it. A new market opens in edit mode: drag items in from your inventory and set their prices. While you are editing, the market is closed to buyers.
3. Open it. Press Open for Sale, and buyers can browse your stall.
4. Collect. Income from sales, refunds and the items you have won wait in the Vault until you collect them.

Setting up a market has an opening fee, and a commission is taken from every sale; the window shows both before you confirm.

Three ways to sell

Tools for buyers

• Search: Search all markets by item name, type, level, bonus and price. A result shows you where the stall is; to buy, you walk to it.
• Watch List: Add an item along with the price you are willing to pay, and the game notifies you when it is listed at or below that price.
• Market average: In the market, an item's tooltip shows its average market price, so you can tell a bargain from a mistake.
• Sales History: Your recent sales and purchases in a single list.

Upgrading items: every attempt is a risk

Weapons and armour are upgraded step by step at the blacksmith. Before you confirm, the Upgrade window shows what the attempt will cost and its chance of success.

• Every attempt has a price. The Tael and the materials are spent whether the attempt succeeds or not.
• At the blacksmith, failure destroys the item. The window warns you before you confirm.
• Upgrade scrolls change the risk. With a scroll, a failed attempt lowers the item by one step or leaves it as it was, instead of destroying it. Scrolls are earned in the game; they are not sold in the in-game shop.

This is the part of the economy that keeps highly upgraded gear rare. Every failed attempt takes Tael, materials and sometimes the item itself out of the world, and every success is something a player risked a good item for. When you see an upgraded weapon in a stall, its price carries all the attempts that did not work out.

What real money cannot buy

Ancient Online: Remastered is free to play, and the in-game shop, the Item Shop (Nesne Market), stays out of this economy:

• It only offers costumes, appearances and convenience items; none of them grant combat power, experience or in-game currency.
• It does not sell Tael, equipment, upgrade materials or boosters.
• Everything bought there arrives bound: it cannot be traded, listed in a market or sold.

So nothing paid for with real money can end up as goods in a stall. The rules are set out point by point in the no pay-to-win post, and the design side is in our design pledge.

Five habits for your first trades

1. Look at the market average before you set a price.
2. Read the Trade window again every time the offer changes.
3. Verify your recovery e-mail and turn on 2FA early. Both protect your account, and both count towards your trade tier.
4. Do not upgrade an item you cannot afford to lose.
5. Use the Watch List instead of walking from stall to stall.

Frequently asked questions

Can I buy Tael or equipment with real money?

No. Tael, equipment and upgrade materials are not for sale; they are earned in the game.

Does my market keep selling after I log out?

Yes, for as long as its duration runs. Your income waits in the Vault, and anything still unsold when the market expires is returned there too.

Can I lose an item while upgrading it?

Yes. At the blacksmith a failed attempt destroys the item, and the Upgrade window warns you before you confirm.

Why can't my new character trade everything right away?

Because of trade tiers. A new account starts with limits that are lifted as you play and secure your account; type /tradetier to see where you stand.

Is there a fee for selling in the market?

Yes: an opening fee when you set up the market, and a commission on every sale. We do not quote the amounts here because they may be tuned before launch; the window always shows the current values.

Next step

If you are new to the game, the beginner's guide walks you through your first hours, your first Tael included. For news about the closed alpha, join our Discord community.