Arbitrage

From LSWiki

The Arbitrage system is essentially a dynamic quest system where a merchant will give you a task to retrieve an item (or multiple items) purchased from another merchant in exchange for experience and gold. In order to ask a merchant for an arbitrage opportunity, simply say "arbitrage opportunities" within their range of hearing in a language they understand.

Noteworthy Information

• Merchants will ask you to retrieve a particular class of item, not a specific item. If a merchant stocks a specified object of 'Bowl of Fruit' and the actual fruit in question can be random within the object specification, any bowl of fruit will do, provided it has the same object specification. This can be challenging, since players can't see object specifications. If you're having trouble getting a specific item, make sure you're at the suggested vendor and buy anything that looks like it might be similar to the item.

• You don't have to buy the items requested from the indicated vendors. If you can purchase the desired item from a more convenient vendor, it will work just fine provided it is of the correct object type. Be warned this can get very confusing very quickly if some items are named similarly or even identically but have different object specifications. When in doubt, use the indicated vendor.

• Merchants will pay you a relatively static amount of gold as a reward for fulfilling an arbitrage opportunity. This means that you will generally turn a fairly consistent profit on inexpensive items, but might take a bath on expensive ones. The experience will usually be worthwhile, however.

• Merchants will generally grant greater experience for items from much further away. This is not measured in straight-line distance, but rather how difficult it is for your character to procure the item. In general, this means if you can retrieve an item very quickly from a distant location via teleportation or other shenanigans, you will gain fewer experience than a character who would have had to hoof it.

• You can only have a maximum of roughly 25 arbitrage opportunities. If you stop receiving opportunities when asking for them, this is probably why. Also, be sure the merchant speaks the language you're asking in.

• You cannot level entirely from arbitrage. This is intended. The calculation for how much experience is awarded is related to how far away your experience total is from your next level, so as you get closer to leveling, the experience rewarded for fulfilling an arbitrage opportunity will decline. Try mixing in some exploration, combat, or other sources of experience.