Are workshops Useless?

[Samantha Raven]

All i have bin doing is losing money nothing makes money and spending 16k-22k on a workshop and then it making nothing to at most 100 rarely mostly not doing any production all at 0 profits.

On top this cost 2k to change its production witch u have to do to find the right thing to produce with no hints what one makes the best profit.

I Deside its such a mess for no reward at all that there useless there not even worth the effort but i thought id ask is any one making any money off them?

I'm part of sturgian but the towns seem useless with workshops.
So far I really hate the games carvan and workshop systems they seem non profitable for the cost and risk vs the money return so far I am only losing money on these things and lots of money.

Any who any one know how to better figure out the workshop system or am i right in just ignoring it all togather?

[TardWrangler]

It should be annotated in some sort of in-game hint or guide, but the number one factor to profit is the prosperity of the city. Next to that, you gotta look at how the economy for your product is. There should be a source of the raw material whether there is a nearby village or good amount of caravans. There should be a shortage in product. Also, the less competition you have in the area, the more you make

So i usually get to a point where ill buy out competition, change product, and then sell that shop to increase passive profits

[Clovis Sangrail]

Originally posted by Samantha Raven:

Are workshops Useless?

Not if you know what you are doing.

There has been a lot written on this very subject, so you might try searching this forum on . . . 'workshops'.

[Ventus]

Originally posted by TardWrangler:

It should be annotated in some sort of in-game hint or guide, but the number one factor to profit is the prosperity of the city. Next to that, you gotta look at how the economy for your product is. There should be a source of the raw material whether there is a nearby village or good amount of caravans. There should be a shortage in product. Also, the less competition you have in the area, the more you make

So i usually get to a point where ill buy out competition, change product, and then sell that shop to increase passive profits

This is mostly accurate. I would suggest doing the following:

1) Look at the resources in the villages that are near by. Pen C, for example, has 2 clay towns, so a pottery workshop is almost always a good idea. Marunath is usually good for a winery due to the grapes near by. The availability of these resources are good indicators of what shops will be successful there.

2) As mentioned above, Prosperity is a big factor, though often out of your control. Just try to aim for more prosperous than not, if you have choices. Prosperity usually translates into a need for whatever the workshop is producing (selling %) but it STILL needs the raw material to be successful. Workshops in towns with prosperity of 2k are cheaper than 7k prosperity, but the more expensive workshop in the 7k prosperity is almost always more worth it.

3) Consider looking at some of the guides on workshops within the last year. Youtube has a few (StratGaming I think) but in general, you can manually help your workshop out, though be advised this is often an aggressive waste of time (you can make much better money doing other things). But it IS possible by buying and selling goods.

4) I have heard tell that you should avoid competing workshops selling the same goods, but I have also seen players owning 2 winery in Marunath, the first one being around 400 profits and the second at 150ish. But worth considering.

Workshops will never be a main source of income and usually take years to pay for themselves, but if your wars favor it, buy a pottery in Pen C and a winery in Marunath, and you should see some positive income in a handful of in game days. I think Sanala is good, and I know Vostrum is decent, usually (wars and RNG play a part).

[rjsbox]

Early game workshops can be hit or miss because economy is not stabilized yet, but like what earlier posters said, look at the input material availability, the workshop you buy should coincide with whatever is easily available. For the most part if there is input resources nearby, then your workshop should turn positive after a few turns. Dont hesitate to change production if your town is not getting those raw materials.
Caravan is not bad early game either as long as you stay neutral vs the dominant factions. Early game bandits are not large enough to threaten your caravan, but hostile factions will attack them frequently. So be mindful if you are joining a kingdom early game even as a merc group. One way to stack up dinar is to stay neutral, cap your workshops, create caravans for every companion, then roam the map with a party of 20-30 doing quests, doing arenas, clearing hideouts, find the father of your future partner, pay for marriage alliance, try to have as many children as possible, and when you are rich enough (or bored) & have enough children, then join a faction as a merc or a vassal.

[Samantha Raven]

Ok so what im gathering workshops are useless for certin factions and the faction im part of is a bad choice for workshops.

I chose sturgen as i said above and like i said above in my post none of the villages produce raw materials other then wheat that any of the workshops can use and the brewery like i said above make no profit.

Iron is common in the villages to north parts of sturgian but there tons of iron workshops none making profits really.

the resources sturgan produces seems every other faction produces too making like no demand for it.

So i was just wondering if workshops where useless but what i gather is they are for certin factions only factions in the middle or towns in the middle of the map make money it seems that have more raw resources for workshops the factions like sturgian that dont seem workshops bad idea.

[WingT74]

Nope, just be sure to put a workshop in a safe city. I love Sturiga workshops in the cities that are difficult to get to for invaders.

[kristianjakob]

Originally posted by Samantha Raven:

Ok so what im gathering workshops are useless for certin factions and the faction im part of is a bad choice for workshops.

I chose sturgen as i said above and like i said above in my post none of the villages produce raw materials other then wheat that any of the workshops can use and the brewery like i said above make no profit.

Iron is common in the villages to north parts of sturgian but there tons of iron workshops none making profits really.

the resources sturgan produces seems every other faction produces too making like no demand for it.

So i was just wondering if workshops where useless but what i gather is they are for certin factions only factions in the middle or towns in the middle of the map make money it seems that have more raw resources for workshops the factions like sturgian that dont seem workshops bad idea.

If you have something better to do then you can safely skip it. In my humble opinion It is just not worth the opportunity cost (time and money) to set it up early in the game.

[TardWrangler]

Originally posted by Samantha Raven:

Ok so what im gathering workshops are useless for certin factions and the faction im part of is a bad choice for workshops.

I chose sturgen as i said above and like i said above in my post none of the villages produce raw materials other then wheat that any of the workshops can use and the brewery like i said above make no profit.

Iron is common in the villages to north parts of sturgian but there tons of iron workshops none making profits really.

the resources sturgan produces seems every other faction produces too making like no demand for it.

So i was just wondering if workshops where useless but what i gather is they are for certin factions only factions in the middle or towns in the middle of the map make money it seems that have more raw resources for workshops the factions like sturgian that dont seem workshops bad idea.

If you happen to get good tournament reward or two I personally just throw them into workshops early game. There is a Trade perk and a steward perk that both give you i believe +25% production and +20% production.

my workshops usually balance out around 200-300 per day each and sometimes even 400 if you find the right groove

[Shrugged]

So I just started a new game, have a caravan and 2 workshops. Both cities have over 4000 prosperity, one is a wood workshop with a village that has hardwood. Another is a brewer. It has been several in game weeks and both will not give any profit.
I have rolled dozens of characters and experimented with all different sorts of workshops etc but NEVER had zero income. I think something must be wrong with the game because I have never had this issue before and I haven't changed my strategy drastically.
I know people are saying its not the game...but i have never had this issue until this play through

[Don Cool]

Originally posted by Shrugged:

So I just started a new game, have a caravan and 2 workshops. Both cities have over 4000 prosperity, one is a wood workshop with a village that has hardwood. Another is a brewer. It has been several in game weeks and both will not give any profit.
I have rolled dozens of characters and experimented with all different sorts of workshops etc but NEVER had zero income. I think something must be wrong with the game because I have never had this issue before and I haven't changed my strategy drastically.
I know people are saying its not the game...but i have never had this issue until this play through

One of the problems is that the game ends in a downward spiral when it comes to prices, things become cheaper and cheaper. If you hover over your shops income you may see that they are actually selling everything but not making a profit due to wages, "tools" f.ex. start at 200 gold in most towns, after a couple of years they are worth 60 in most towns.

This can be fiddled with by buying and supplying goods which I really couldn´t care less about, I am a warlord ... not a freaking micro trader. I currently have 5 workshops, all making a big round 0. They can rot for all I care, I am making enough money elsewhere.

Caravans seem the only thing to keep things going for a steady income, this changes if you are a mercenary or have your kingdom ... thus wars, you will frequently lose your caravans.

A shop should in a general just make a small profit to help you in the early stages of the game, your main source of income will be loot later on ... or cheesy smithing.

[Clovis Sangrail]

Originally posted by Don:

. . . your main source of income will be loot later on ... or cheesy smithing.

Cheesy smithing, which is almost as cheesy and overpowered as exploiting battle loot.

[TardWrangler]

Originally posted by Clovis Sangrail:

Originally posted by Don:

. . . your main source of income will be loot later on ... or cheesy smithing.

Cheesy smithing, which is almost as cheesy and overpowered as exploiting battle loot.

I mean think of how much money it costs to buy a sword or a helmet on the market and think of how many theoretical swords you would actually loot from a 500 vs 500 battle

Idk if id call battle loot an exploit

[MΛRCUS HΞLIUS]

for the 100th time I will reply to this question with the same thing as I always do:

Caravans!

Drop 15k on a caravan and assign any random companion to lead it and you will make EZ big bucks.

This is of course only going to last as long as you are not at war with any major faction, but you can get away with being at war with the minor factions and they will rarely capture your caravans.

[kristianjakob]

Originally posted by MΛRCUS HΞLIUS:

Drop 15k on a caravan and assign any random companion to lead it and you will make EZ big bucks.

I am not sure everyone will agree on your definition of what "big bucks" is.

[ShadowFox]

Originally posted by Samantha Raven:

All i have bin doing is losing money nothing makes money and spending 16k-22k on a workshop and then it making nothing to at most 100 rarely mostly not doing any production all at 0 profits.

On top this cost 2k to change its production witch u have to do to find the right thing to produce with no hints what one makes the best profit.

I Deside its such a mess for no reward at all that there useless there not even worth the effort but i thought id ask is any one making any money off them?

I'm part of sturgian but the towns seem useless with workshops.
So far I really hate the games carvan and workshop systems they seem non profitable for the cost and risk vs the money return so far I am only losing money on these things and lots of money.

Any who any one know how to better figure out the workshop system or am i right in just ignoring it all togather?

They really should just simplify workshops and do like warband. invest in X get between Y and Z returns each pay cycle. The trouble is that they tried to make it tied to the actual economy in the game so its kinda wonky