Thief/Valueing
Contents
People.trading.valueing
This page is about the pe.tr.va.* skills that all thieves have as primaries. It is not a rehash of the data available on the other wikis out there. This is more on the theory and what to look for when you chose an item to value.
There will be some discussion of items used at various levels but the hope here is that the lessons will provide you with the knowledge to pick any item out there and use it (or not) for your own gain (we are thieves after all).
There will be a discussion about aliases here as well.
Messages while valueing:
You feel confident that your estimation is on the spot.
You feel pretty confident that your estimation is close to the real value.
You feel pretty sure that your estimation is in the general region of the real value.
You're not very confident in your estimation.
You carefully look at the sapphire and diamond ring but are uncertain of its value.
The Taskmaster helppage has this to say about TMs: "Each task requires a certain amount of skill at which you begin to start succeeding if you attempt it; there is another, higher threshold, beyond which you will always succeed because you have mastered that particular task. Between these two thresholds, you could attempt the task and fail or you could attempt the task and succeed, and in either case there is a chance that you learn something from the attempt and gain a level in the skill used." This is nice but hints that, even with the information below, 'The Lady has her hand in it. That is not to say the below methods will not work, quite the contrary, they do work but She is involved and remember when you need her the most she will not be there, and sometimes She will...
Jewellery
The most often asked question when talking about jewellery valuation is "what should I use for my skill level?" It is not an easily answered question as there are many variables at play.
The best advice is to pick up some jewellery and test it. For around a 250 - 300 bonus in jewellery a diamond toe ring is a good place to start. What you want to look for is a mix of the above messages. That means you are probably in the right range. people.points TMs are another indicator.
Take that toe ring (or other piece) and value it ten times. If it comes up all uncertain, the piece is probably too exspensive, you will not reliably get a TM (if at all). Try a less costly item, if you get all "on the spot" you need a more expensive item. The same goes for the other messages, too many of one is an indicator that you need to change things up a little bit.
Speaking of change, another good idea is to value the item multiple times in various currencies. I use four in my alias, I also mix in a gem, armour and weapon in my "wasting time" idle alias (see below). When doing it in another country's currency, it is rather harder than your homeland's currency. If you're from Lancre valueing an AM$50 dollar ring with 230 bonus in jewellery, doing it in Morporkian means you can TM off of it longer than just stopping when you're done in Lancrastian. The syntax is value <object> in <currency area>. Here is my, rather long, alias:
value jool in genua;value cloak in genua;value sword in agatea;value jool in agatea; value cloak in agatea;value sword in lancre;value jool in lancre;value cloak in lancre; value jool in ephebe;value cloak in ephebe;value jool in pumpkin;value cloak in pumpkin; value jool in pumpkin;palm pearl from cloak;value jool in genua;value cloak in lancre; value pearl in agatea;value jool in ephebe;value cloak in genua;value pearl in lancre; value jool in agatea;value cloak in pumpkin;value pearl in ephebe;value jool in lancre; value cloak in agatea;value pearl in genua;value jool in pumpkin;value cloak in ephebe; value pearl in pumpkin;slip pearl into cloak
"jool" is my piece of jewellery, I identified it so that it does not interfere with anything else I may be holding at the time and also so it does not get put in with the general loot by mistake (remember to "keep" the item as well).
The cloak is for armour TMs (clothing falls under armour). I had a custom one made by Nicolette to fall in my price range (a guess the first time).
Below is some hard data culled from players and various other sources like the now defunct TM Wiki
Approximate item cost with correlation to skill bonus.
| Bonus Range | Low End | High End |
|---|---|---|
| 151-200 | A$0.00 | A$60.00 |
| 200-250 | A$50.00 | A$70.00 |
| 250-300 | A$65.00 | A$85.00 |
| 300-350 | A$75.00 | A$100.00 |
TMs by level & item
| Guild Level | Bonus | Item used | Value of the Item | Price of the Item | Messages |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 319 | purple saphire ring | A$80.38 | DjToon 160.00 (A$80.00) | Uncertain | |
| 399 | sapphire and diamond ring | A$149.78 | A$150.00 | Uncertain | |
| 461 | jewelled stick pin | A$113.63 | A$125.00 | pretty sure | |
| 535 | 434 | silver earrings | DjToon 250.00 (A$125.00) | uncertain |
Gems
There is not much in the way of gems in the game. There are many emeralds, rubies, sapphires, and others set in jewelelry but for actual gems there really are not any (fragments not included). Pearls are the main tool used to gain valuing TMs. The melon pearl seems to fit the bill for many thieves and covers a wide bonus range. Start with one of those and adjust accordingly.
Pearls:
- king pearl A$40.00
- white pearl is worth A$62.50
- black pearl A$75.00
- melon pearl is worth A$87.50
- teardrop pearl A$125.00
- iridescent pearl A$150.00
Other:
- purple mineral nugget is somewhat more difficult to value than the melon pearl, despite being worth less.
Weapons
A steel shoto is good for the 375 - 425 range (bonus around 370)
