Merchant stock, combat loot and treasures problem

[Logist]

It all started with some weird feel about game balance - I couldn’t find some obviously basic pieces of equipment, and googling couldn’t help me either. It wasn’t like I was looking for “best of the best”, when it could be understandable that I fail to find such stuff quick. But when I have to pray to RNG to meet enemy with exact gambeson coat, I want, or trousers and leg armor, or knock out random wandering monk just to steal said trousers from him… Well, it was a solution, but felt weird. Sorry, random guy, let in bandit&cuman infested forest near Uzhitz, your sacrifice keeps me warm.

Ok, back to the topic. After some time I found that old topic on the forum.

A few gripes after ~300 hours in game

When did vendors stop getting wealthy? Was this part of the new patch? In the last i saw 1.07 maybe? They still did, now i hear there was a new patch recently. That would suck big time if that is true.

Let’s take a look at one paticular part of starting post:

A few gripes after ~300 hours in game

2c. The merchants’ stock is utterly unimpressive. Some of the best equipment can only be looted from renegades who creep in the bushes because apparently they have little to eat and no coin to spend. This is most painfully obvious in regard to high-level swords and armor. I understand some pieces are expensive and hard to sell, but I’d pay in advance to have them made or imported. Considering merchants are not there to sell me good stuff or buy stuff for me, why does Warhorse bother placing them in game?

It was late summer 2018. Now it is spring of 2019. Soon there will be one year since that post. What has changed? Well, in that particular case - nothing.

And it is not great at all. Merchants are merchants. Their purpose is to sell stuff to the protagonist and buy stuff from him. While I can understand need for the player to hunt for something unique, something being one of a kind, I definitely don’t get same approach when it comes to basic things, like coats, hats and trousers. Want to buy cool chaperon hat? How about no? Go to the bandit camp, north-east from the Sasau, and loot/steal it from the leader of band. Excuse me, have I come to the tailor or what? What is so unique in goddamn black hat? Want to buy some not noisy and not looking like crap trousers? Nope, go loot them from random guys, we sell only clothes with colours, suiting to clowns. Want to say, clothes which could be used for theft are not sold? Ok, why then dark saxon gambeson is on the market in the company of noiseless boots? They are kinda best of their ingame kind for such activities.

Merchant stock is the same. Always. While there could be some randome offers, appearing and disappearing, and size of “timed offer” list could depend on reputation of protagonist with that particular merchant, there is no such thing in the game. You buy what you want from them relatively early and then go wandering - you have unlooted bandits to try your luck with.

I can understand gameplay of “get your dream set of equipment”. Yep, it is understandable. Partly. I could understand if that were mentioned earlier unique things, not the ones that, as it comes from their name and descrption, could be easily found in the merchant shops or be ordered to make. Hell, you are tailor/blakcsmith/cobbler or what? Ok, you don’t make stuff, than order it to be made and shipped, I definitely can pay for this. And what is the purpose of my good reputation with merchants? They DON’T offer me something unique, or different from their usual stock. Oh, yeah, but I’m called a knight, how could I live without this…

Combat loot is the only reliable source of best ingame equipment. That is weird. And counterintuitive sometimes. I can understand, why I can’t find any cuman equipment sold, that is logical. They are invaders, not common for this place, their unique stuff is not imported and isn’t popular in general here. But, trick is, cumans don’t have anything really worthy to hunt for. And more common bandits in western european armour? Why can’t I buy some examples of their equipment? I like this game for variety of gameplay - quests have alternative ways to complete, combat is variable, combat is avoidable. Hell, name me the game, where you can quietly pay a visit to bandit camp, posion food and wine, wait for morning breakfast, killing ingame time with some book, and then return to the camp to loot cold corpses. But, where goes that variety when it comes to equipping protagonist?

And now, treasures… Sure, I like the concept. All those maps, no markers on player’s map, so only your own skills of searching/meta-knowledge (well, last one is inavoidable in games of such kind) to find your well deserved reward. Which would be… Wait, what is this? Some common boots/armor/whatever else, unique sword (well, unique until you meet high level bandits in full-plate and with same swords), maybe a book/recipe of potion, dice for minigame. Ok, last one is useful. Actually I bother with treasures just to get good dice set and have the game a bit more rigged (but my best throw was 6 ones in the first turn, with COMMON dice), but everything other… Meh, nothing interesting. Well, I collect short swords for the future use (especially, the ones, I can’t buy), but that’s all.

What is the purpose of common potion recipes, being either in merchant stocks, or in treasure chests? Why to bother buying them, when you can get a good set simply by treasure hunting? (Or just brew them with meta-knowledge again, but that’s not the point here.) Or, why to bother taking recipe books from the chests, when most of them are relatively cheap to buy? I could understood existence of unique potions with unique effects, being better and much more expensive than usual ones (still, not magic, some reasonable explanation of the effect for realism and so on) so that such stuff is rarely sold, and noone would agree to teach you to make this - who would want to give family secrets? Well, in THAT case book of ancient powerful recipe in the treasure chest becomes much more valuable to bother searching for.

Same story with armour and clothes, stored in the chests. Some are unique (while they obviously COULD be in merchant stocks - being nothing specific, judging by their names and descriptions), others are horribly common, which kills the purpose of either searching for them, or buying them somewhere. Treasures should be unique. Something really rare. One of a kind. And definitely not something, you can find in the nearest shop, which speaks about how common and generic that treasure was.

[stridingshadow]

Excuse me, have I come to the tailor or what? What is so unique in goddamn black hat?

I understand they might not have the specific hat in their current inventory. How about making one for you? It’s not a Nurembergian cuirass, which is made according to some trade secrets.

I can understand, why I can’t find any cuman equipment sold, that is logical. They are invaders, not common for this place, their unique stuff is not imported and isn’t popular in general here.

There’s plenty of fights between guards and Cumans, so there’s plenty of Cuman stuff to be looted and resold. I don’t think many men-at-arms would frown upon wearing a heavy lamellar armour if given the chance, Cuman sabres are also a nice upgrade in relationship to the junk swords you find with many bandits and many commoners.
In the XV century everyone was extremely poor, nobody would refrain from using equipment basing solely on cultural reasons. That’s how the Hungarian Sabre found its way to Poland, literally.

Or, why to bother taking recipe books from the chests, when most of them are relatively cheap to buy?

You can brew your potions and sell them for a tidy profit early in the game. Whether you’ll rely on your own supply, loot from bandits or purchase from merchants is up to you, but I must say I appreciate the choice.

Why can’t I buy some examples of their equipment?

I understand that the Rattay/Sasau/Skalitz area is in the middle of nowhere and that the local traders and artisans don’t stock exotic goods. I can’t understand why all those exotic-equipped brigands come to this area on second thought.

[Logist]

I understand they might not have the specific hat in their current inventory. How about making one for you? It’s not a Nurembergian cuirass, which is made according to some trade secrets.
Logist:

Yep, ordering something to be made or bought and delivered for double price would make perfect sense. First one - for simple stuff, people should know, how to make. Second - for less common “foreign” equipment, which is unlikely to be massively bought.

There was such interesting function in Stalker COP - trader, who can find you something “uncommon” when it comes to firearms and protection suits. More expensive, but exclusive. Why not to have same in the KCD…

There’s plenty of fights between guards and Cumans, so there’s plenty of Cuman stuff to be looted and resold. I don’t think many men-at-arms would frown upon wearing a heavy lamellar armour if given the chance, Cuman sabres are also a nice upgrade in relationship to the junk swords you find with many bandits and many commoners.
In the XV century everyone was extremely poor, nobody would refrain from using equipment basing solely on cultural reasons. That’s how the Hungarian Sabre found its way to Poland, literally.

Hmmm, ok, maybe you are right here. I don’t actually use sabers as most ingame ones are crap and shortsword of same AGI level is always better. Maybe I miss some hidded stats…

Ok, cuman equipment can be sold. I’d not make tailors sell their clothes, and preferred to see whole cuman set divided between arms trader, general goods trader and etc.

You can brew your potions and sell them for a tidy profit early in the game. Whether you’ll rely on your own supply, loot from bandits or purchase from merchants is up to you, but I must say I appreciate the choice.

Yep, I know, variety. But it could be cool to have more unique “prize” from treasure chest. Maybe, specific recipes for complex potions/poisons like night vision, cat paw and stuff like that could be taken out of herbalists stock until you have good reputation with them. Or, you can always search for recipe books, hidden here and there.

I understand that the Rattay/Sasau/Skalitz area is in the middle of nowhere and that the local traders and artisans don’t stock exotic goods. I can’t understand why all those exotic-equipped brigands come to this area on second thought.

Well, if can’t buy right here right now - why not to order? With conditions, ofc, like good reputation and high price of delivery. KCD trade system has a huge potential with such tweaking.

Right now I found the stop-gap solution in mod for expanded merchant stocks (they have EVERYTHING) but in needs some fixing with removing test items, quest items and stuff like that. Maybe I’ll try to make something out of this personally. Or not. Time will show.

[stridingshadow]

Yep, ordering something to be made or bought and delivered for double price would make perfect sense.

Actually most of the stuff at the time was made to order if someone was selling from his shop and not some fair. A tailor could hardly afford using a length of precious fabric to make a garment that nobody would end up buying, because fashion. All production was done by hand so most of it (except for mass orders, like 50 swords for a garrison) was custom. I understand that goods such as weapons and tools, which take longer to produce and will get sold eventually (every hammer and axe fits every hand, unlike every shirt for every back) would be made in advance without a specific order, but no serious artisan would lay off an order on a specific item, especially if paid in advance. Actually, if you want to buy a sparring or replica (“battle ready”) sword today many companies will still accomodate you with a wide array of customization options witin the stock price, because it’s made on order anyway, and making a slightly longer blade isn’t more difficult than making a slightly shorter one, which is also true for making a slightly more curved guard vs a straight one. A decent sword costs more than a commoner sees in their entire life (notice how the game reflects this, by only arming men-at-arms, bailiffs and wealthy merchants with decent swords, and everyone else with junk swords and repurposed tools).

[jamunmiks]

Aside from tourneys and bandits hunt. when i go bandits hunting for bernard i make like 400-500 gold because of the trophies and around 2k with their equipment but the problem with that it becomes a chore in hardcore difficulty having to ride back and forth and i think the merchants run out of money. i have currently finished questions and answers mission and am doing bernard’s side quest, the one related with his family.