When to hire an administrator?

[GreenGoblin1898]

On "merchant" difficulty (based in Luebeck) I have made around 50 000 in cash mostly through manually selling iron goods and buying skins / pig iron / meat. I now have a captain to use for auto-trading. Is it recommended to hire a trading office administrator at this stage?

I also want to diversify by starting to trade in non-high-value commodities as well now. I'm thinking about one of fish / beer / grain / wood. Is one of these easier to manage?

[knighttemplar1960]

I usually hire an administrator in my start city immediately so that he can begin gaining experience. If I start in Luebeck I have him buy enough iron goods to fill my start ship and I automate him to sell the things that I bring back. (Pig Iron, honey, pottery, leather, cloth, skins, whale oil, and beer). Of the things you want to diversify in the only one Luebeck doesn't produce for itself is beer. That's the one I would recommend.

[AlP]

Hire one when you don't have the time to buy and sell things in Luebeck manually. When you have several ships to babysit, or you have to pay attention to too many things at once.

If you only have one ship, you probably don't need an administrator. If you are so busy that you keep forgetting to buy iron goods in Luebeck, you probably need one.

He only costs 10g per day (until you start building industries), so you don't lose anything even if you don't need him. Three sailors cost 12g per day, for comparison.

[TheMaster1]

in short: ASAP

[GreenGoblin1898]

Thanks for the tips guys.

[Draconyx]

The first two things I do in any patrician 3 save file is to hire an administrator and warehouse security. Straight after that its bath time and prayer.

Saves me a hell of a lot in money these four things over time.

[AlP]

I don't think you need to hire a warehouse guard until its security goes below maximum. That happens when you build a warehouse, so you just need a guard for every warehouse.

[Draconyx]

Originally posted by AlP:

I don't think you need to hire a warehouse guard until its security goes below maximum. That happens when you build a warehouse, so you just need a guard for every warehouse.

Its a goods habit to have. I played this game on LAN with buddies a lot back in the day. Multiplayer burglery is an easy way to get a leg up on your competetion.

[russmiller4445]

Good tips above. I also like to buy my way into the guild Asap. 25k versus 75k later. The price quickly goes up. It's a bite either way, at start, you need that money.

[AlP]

Originally posted by russmiller4445:

Good tips above. I also like to buy my way into the guild Asap. 25k versus 75k later. The price quickly goes up. It's a bite either way, at start, you need that money.

It actually drops to 5k if you lose company value. Take a few loans, order a couple of ships, join the guild for 5000g.

[russmiller4445]

Thanks for tip, problem is I hate going into debt. I'll try it on the next start.