MODULE:KNOWLEDGE-BASE■DATABASE:ENGINEERING-MATERIALS■CLASS:UNRESTRICTED
TRADE: MATERIAL
Grades & Material Traders
Rarity, Exchange Rates & Cross-Trading
Engineering Profile
Signal Summary
Materials have grades that represent rarity and exchange value. Material Traders let commanders convert within a category, usually at a loss, which turns broad gathering into targeted progress.
GradesTradersExchange
Key Concepts
Grade - Higher grades are rarer and more valuable in trader exchange rates.
Trader type - Raw, manufactured, and encoded traders handle their own categories.
Trade loss - Conversion costs mean direct gathering is often better for repeated needs.
Field Notes
Gather high-grade materials when possible, then trade down for lower-grade needs.
Cross-category trading is not available, so category planning matters.
Reference
| Signal | Value | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Best use | Trade down | High grade to lower grade is usually efficient. |
| Boundary | Same category | Traders do not merge raw, manufactured, and encoded pools. |