New trader comming through

[Mycosyth64]

Well I need a tradeskiller, atm I can make reasonable money blitzing missions on my main, what I want now is to level a character I can tradeskill with, saw some forum posts about reasonable solo play. Raggy said why not trader. So here I am. It was between engineer and trader, I have seen loads of engineers about and not many traders. Is it still viable to be competitive in pve and still ip tradeskills as a trader, if so how would levelling one best be done.

Obviously shotgun is one option, another forum post said martial arts and then there is the diamond kick pistol setup. Is it better to level one way then swap at a certain point or is one clearly above the rest.

It will be solitus breed to keep the flexability also trade skills are all 50% int or more.

A lot of time will be solo I think so general tips greatly appreciated she is rolled and just getting through the starter zone now, if I can plan more than just ark beck teams I may even make a video series of it.

[Nycrow]

I am no expert and I am sure some will advise but to clarify are we talking tradeskilling or TRADESKILLING? An all out tradeskiller capable of the high level stuff is a different matter than reasonable ability to do basic stuff.

[Mycosyth64]

High end all items ideally, I saw post in engineer forums says it's doable, same said for trader. It's also why I don't mention PvP I know you can't PvP competitive and still tradeskill endgame items but can you pve and do it

[SirAronar]

Few qualifying questions which will affect the advice you'll get:

1) Froob or Paid account on the Trader?
2) Are you wanting to be able to tradeskill throughout your career or waiting until TL5 or 6 when IP is plentiful?
3) How strong at soloing (able to solo bosses in ToTW/Biomare OR Level +10/20/30/50/100 missions OR at level or better in Shadowlands)?
4) How much can you twink (have access to Nano Programming for custom and step implants, what kind of gear can you transfer or purchase)?

[Mountaingoat]

I have both an engineer and trader. They both can be very good at tradeskills. Traders do have one advantage of psychology not being DARK blue, but otherwise both are essentially equal in terms of capability. That being said, IP will be way tighter on the trader than on the eng mainly because an engineer can get away with not maxing evades where as a trader really can't. My engineer and trader are both in ql 300 silvervack mk6 setups, and my engineer has a spare 3.7m IP whereas my trader is completely out of IP. My engineer and trader both have relevant nanoskills, chemistry maxed, NR maxed, ranged init maxed, body dev, nanoc init. Trader does have conceal maxed however.
Another factor to consider is teamability. Engineers have a much easier time here because of reflects and at endgame good damage.

The MA setup and other dual wield setups like PDKP may be too intensive IP wise to make a good tradeskiller. Maybe others can speak to this who are more familiar with these setups. Bottom line is yes you can be a very good tradeskiller as a trader but it is going to make pvp off limits and may negatively affect your pvm experience.

[Mycosyth64]

Paid account I can wait till tl 5/6/7 the solo part is as I'm levelling so level appropriate things that most other classes can do.

I have access to a 220 crat full 300,scouts and about 800 mil at moment

Oh my really that different in abilties, I can see why not so many traders if engineer can do it and still 3mil ip. Would the reduction of conceal be enough, PvP on the character I am not too fussed about, team play I am
decisions hmm.

[SirAronar]

If you skip Tradeskills until TL5 caps (and you might get away with 1 or 2 as you level up), you'll probably be fine. Max PM, TS, Treatment, Shotgun, and NanoC Init. Raise Body Dev, Dodge, Duck, BM, SI, Ranged Init as you can. Keep a rolling amount of IP so you can pump up Comp Lit as you need it. Some IP into First Aid when you're old kits aren't keeping up to taste. If I recall correctly, the Accumulator Perk Line all but eliminates the need to IP Nano Pool, so you'll have some savings here.

I'd skip IPing Fling, Aimed Shot, and Multi Range until much later so you'll have a good stock to dive into Tradeskills once IP is no longer tight. Don't put any IP into Matter Meta and skip Matter Creation too (later you might want MC for AC drains, but that can wait). Also skip Duck and Nano Resist (these can come later if you want). The general issue on traders is that they are average (and have average IP cost) at almost every skill, so you won't tend to hit Title Caps until the 4/lvl cap off (TL3 will royally suck).

For easy equipment, Vektor ND or Home Defender are decent at low level since you can Drain and Wrangle high QLs on. There are other options as a subscriber, though. The neck piece from Crypt of Home will be pretty good to slap on as soon as you can too.

Oh, and don't forget to nab the 3 Focus Funnel Devices for more + Tradeskills.

[Missdjaxx]

pls dont't forget a big different,trader cant buff Chemistry

[Mycosyth64]

Level 83 all the way so far as MA although solo play is tricky, that or I need to redo imp and gear more often

[SirAronar]

MA trick:

Drain up skills, then zone.

The MA weapon template (skill / 2 = QL of MA weapon) updates on playshift and log in events.

For added bonus, get an MA to buff you with Martial Arts Mastery before you zone into the area you plan to get XP from.

[Amerigo]

MA trick:

Drain up skills, then zone.

The MA weapon template (skill / 2 = QL of MA weapon) updates on playshift and log in events.

I've just tested this and, thank god, it doesnt work that way. Zoning before or after casting drains doesnt change your damage in any way.