Merchant Starting Class

[Schwartz Prime]

I've been playing this game and got a lot of friends to play aswell.

One of my favorite things to do when playing multiplayer with my friends was managing our trades, making sure we have stock of easy to trade items, gathering and accounting our Gears,
keeping track of trading times, and bringing home useful items from said trades.

i was thinking of a starter class trader that could have benefits in haggling, bartering, etc
for 1 passive i thought it should be easier to travel from trade to trade so he could get the 10% movement speed bonus.
for another, maybe being able to detect merchants from a certain radius with some sense and or item.
maybe an ability to get a discount at shops for rapid trading over time, so it won't spoil the early game, but will give you some benefits from playing your role.

of course, as debuffs like all classes get, he can be penalized in melee and ranged combat, and have a little less health.
finally maybe as a craftable item, some sort of special clock that'll let you keep track of when merchants resupply, as well as a unique bag that can carry extra tradable stuff like coal, or honey.

lemme know what you guys think.

[ifoz]

Honestly, I feel like the way trading works could really use an overhaul before a merchant class could truly offer unique gameplay.
I think one of the biggest things would be trader stocklists being made more versatile (eg, "looking for axe, will pay better depending on material" rather than "looking for bismuth bronze axe, will not buy any others"). These people are supposed to be scraping by in the wilderness, it doesn't make sense for most of them to be so picky about things like the colour of leather on a shield or the colour of the ceramic bowl you're selling them honey in.

I also think a merchant class would greatly benefit from some kind of bartering or haggling system, especially if trader reputation was added. Making multiple consecutive trades could increase reputation, as well as potentially offering a trader supplies for free. Better reputation would mean you'd have a better chance to successfully haggle their prices down by a handful of gears, and a merchant class could gain faster reputation and haggle lower than other classes. Ideally I think clothing sets and clothing condition could also influence reputation/haggling, kind of like how KCD handles it.

In regards to the buffs/debuffs you proposed, I think just getting bonus movespeed is a bit basic considering we already have two classes with bonus movespeed as it is - I wonder if something like bonus speed when riding an animal might benefit a merchant more, especially given the new mounts teased yesterday in the devlog that can be seen carrying both saddlebags and backpacks, which would benefit a merchant ferrying their wares across the land.

Edited July 12 by ifoz

[Facethief]

13 hours ago, ifoz said:

I wonder if something like bonus speed when riding an animal might benefit a merchant more, especially given the new mounts teased yesterday in the devlog that can be seen carrying both saddlebags and backpacks, which would benefit a merchant ferrying their wares across the land.

On the discord? I can’t find this any sane or reasonable place.

[Schwartz Prime]

14 hours ago, ifoz said:

Honestly, I feel like the way trading works could really use an overhaul before a merchant class could truly offer unique gameplay.
I think one of the biggest things would be trader stocklists being made more versatile (eg, "looking for axe, will pay better depending on material" rather than "looking for bismuth bronze axe, will not buy any others"). These people are supposed to be scraping by in the wilderness, it doesn't make sense for most of them to be so picky about things like the colour of leather on a shield or the colour of the ceramic bowl you're selling them honey in.

I also think a merchant class would greatly benefit from some kind of bartering or haggling system, especially if trader reputation was added. Making multiple consecutive trades could increase reputation, as well as potentially offering a trader supplies for free. Better reputation would mean you'd have a better chance to successfully haggle their prices down by a handful of gears, and a merchant class could gain faster reputation and haggle lower than other classes. Ideally I think clothing sets and clothing condition could also influence reputation/haggling, kind of like how KCD handles it.

In regards to the buffs/debuffs you proposed, I think just getting bonus movespeed is a bit basic considering we already have two classes with bonus movespeed as it is - I wonder if something like bonus speed when riding an animal might benefit a merchant more, especially given the new mounts teased yesterday in the devlog that can be seen carrying both saddlebags and backpacks, which would benefit a merchant ferrying their wares across the land.

Oh yeah, i completely agree with you there, it really sucks, especially early on that the merchants ask for materials or colors you don't have and that cancels out the whole deal, i think they should be desperate like us for the tools.

I was going to suggest something to do with the mount mechanic but i didn't think it would be considered seriously, even tho i'm all for a travelling merchant mount with fancy luggage, extra decorated leather pouches and what not.

I was even considering the possibility of making a Trading Depot where you could sell your own stock, but i know it's mechanically complex, and perhaps shouldn't be reserved only for a merchant club, but the mechanic takes inspiration from Dwarf Fortress.

[ifoz]

9 hours ago, Facethief said:

On the discord? I can’t find this any sane or reasonable place.

Yeah, a lot of the smaller dev updates are posted on the Discord, while the forums is usually reserved for the large update posts. Here's the screenshot! 

[Facethief]

24 minutes ago, ifoz said:

Yeah, a lot of the smaller dev updates are posted on the Discord, while the forums is usually reserved for the large update posts. Here's the screenshot! 

Ooh, looks cool. I find the sturdy pillion interesting.

[ifoz]

Kind of off the topic of specifically the merchant class a little bit, but I wonder what the tradeoffs between mount types and the saddle with backpacks will be.
If I had to guess, maybe horses can only step up one block heights unlike elk, but run faster. I feel like it's also decently safe to assume that since backpack mounting seems to be unique to a new type of saddle, there will probably be some tradeoff there, maybe in lowered movespeed.
I do wonder though if the moose and camel will have some unique traits or not.

Edited July 13 by ifoz

[ifoz]

4 hours ago, Facethief said:

Ooh, looks cool. I find the sturdy pillion interesting.

I don't know how to add a quote to an existing post so this can just be a separate message, but the sturdy pillion is actually already in the game! It doesn't really serve any functional purpose considering it's just a retexture of the regular pillion, but it is at least nice for consistency's sake. It'd be cool if we also had sturdy saddles and bridles too, so that your entire ensemble could match in colour.

Edited July 13 by ifoz

[Facethief]

7 hours ago, ifoz said:

Kind of off the topic of specifically the merchant class a little bit, but I wonder what the tradeoffs between mount types and the saddle with backpacks will be.
If I had to guess, maybe horses can only step up one block heights unlike elk, but run faster. I feel like it's also decently safe to assume that since backpack mounting seems to be unique to a new type of saddle, there will probably be some tradeoff there, maybe in lowered movespeed.
I do wonder though if the moose and camel will have some unique traits or not.

Looking at it and seeing it on the camel, I think the "saddle" with backpacks is probably more of a cargo-oriented thing, so maybe it isn't possible to go full speed on it, or maybe you can't ride it at all.

[LadyWYT]

On 7/12/2026 at 11:15 PM, ifoz said:

Kind of off the topic of specifically the merchant class a little bit, but I wonder what the tradeoffs between mount types and the saddle with backpacks will be.

The saddle with backpacks is a packsaddle--that is, it's a handy tool that allows a creature to carry a lot of stuff, but it's not really a saddle that could really carry a passenger. At least not comfortably. I assume that mounts equipped with packsaddles wouldn't be able to be ridden.

As for mount types, I'm guessing there might be some tradeoff, but I think tradeoffs would be a little easier to manage if mounts had actual stamina. Then you could have mounts like horses, that could take some hard riding for a day or two before needing to rest to regain their strength. Camels might not be as fast, but might be able to travel several days before they need a proper rest. Some mounts could be sturdier than others. Of course, there's also the matter of how they're acquired. If these are mounts that the player is meant to catch and tame themselves, rather than purchase from the nearest trader, then the mounts could be mechanically the same(for the most part) and which one the player gets just boils down to geography.