How to play the Dealer: Deal with the Dealer?

A general guide to the game, I will tell you about the basic mechanics of the game and how to play comfortably. And I will delve into individual categories.

Introduction to the game

TRADESMAN: Deal to Dealer
It is a simulator of a merchant. You play as an ordinary merchant Goodman Tradeson, who lives in a settlement like ---. Everyone will get bored of living in the same village and our hero thought the same, so he took a cart and some personal savings, simultaneously hiring a detachment of mercenaries, set off on his way.

What goal did the hero set for himself? To make money, of course) That's all. Were you thinking of some global mission? Nooo, you're just an ordinary trader.
The game offers not only trading with other settlements and cities but also assistance, transportation of people and goods, as well as a full combat system: ordinary rank-and-file units that want to rob you! There are also other wandering traders whom you can certainly rob (they will defend themselves too). And then there are bosses, big, fat ones, but more on that later.

Start Game

As soon as you enter the game, you have a starting capital. It can be spent on goods, and then the game may forcibly end. Yes, you need to take goods measuredly. Taking 4 stacks of planks and sell them at the start won't work, you'll be quietly bent over on the very first road)

Goods

Each item has its characteristics, which are debuffs (negative effects)
The effects are given not to your mercenaries but to the enemy.
Everyone wants profit and freebies. That's why the hype increases for the goods.
If all the mercenaries and transport fled (lost all their health), it is an actual defeat, and you lose goods. Not all goods, but only a part. A couple from each stack.

Mercenaries

You can hire 4 mercenaries and 1 transport in the squad. Each has a separate characteristic:

• Level - The level is increased ONLY by enhancement scrolls, each rarity of the mercenary has its scrolls.
  
• Health - the amount of HP that a unit can withstand before fleeing (At the end of the battle, all units return with 25% HP (with skill 40% HP)
  
• Damage/damage per sec. - one-time minimum damage dealt by a mercenary. Damage per sec. - the minimum damage that can be dealt per sec (taking into account the attack speed)
  
• Attack speed (hit/sec) - the number of hits dealt in a second of time. (Battle time tends to pause during any animation)
  
• Critical hit chance - % with which the hit becomes critical.
  
• Critical hit power - this is the multiplier by which the damage is multiplied (more detailsu][/list]
  p.s. Don't forget about character bonuses, scrolls, food, situations. (more detailsu]
  
  

  Trader: Goodman Tradeson

  This is the hero you play as, the character also has his characteristics (except for health), and there is also a leveling system.
  
  

  Trader Level Up

  Yes, there is also a level system and it is unlimited, but with each level gained, the threshold increases. (To go from level 105 to 106, you will need 10,500 experience)
  
  How do you get experience?
  Experience is gained through trading, namely selling. The sale amount = experience, if you sold goods for 5000 coins, then you will get 5000 experience.
  
  But here's the catch, the more goods you carry, the more dangerous it is to carry them, and there is a chance to lose the cargo. But skills give an advantage, somewhere a lot of impact, sometimes not very, and there are situational skills. For every taste and color. Also, don't forget that skills further down the upgrade path cost more! (from 1 point to 4)

Where to play?

Are you in the sawmill? Just started playing or are you already a seasoned trader with a hefty wallet?
It doesn't matter. If you already have a squad (commoners, archers, warriors, bandits), then you're ready to transport goods. But what you'll be able to carry depends on the levels and rarity of your squad members.

With a full pack of commoners, you can safely transport 1 stack of goods. Be careful! Overloading (more than 1 stack of common rarity) or events on the road are not taken into account.

However, perks in the "Leadership" branch may allow you to hire rare, epic, and even Legendary units.
You won't be able to upgrade them immediately, and you need to upgrade them one by one, in sequence.
A small tip: Don't underestimate the trader, the more you level him up, the more impact he brings, at full upgrade he easily matches a legendary mercenary.
For your information - the trader's upgrade branch: Combat Training

Don't rush to get rid of the horse, it's better to upgrade it with scrolls, and insert an interception scroll into it. It doesn't deal as much damage compared to mercenaries, but as a tank unit, it helps greatly. Later you can replace it with more durable units, but the difference is not much up to 100 hp [the legendary Bigfoot was not considered in the guide].

The upgrade branch: Tactics also contributes a lot.
It provides positioning and fine-tunes your squad of mercenaries.

Don't forget about quests, the reward is worth the effort. Although not always ))

Cart and Quests for a New Cart

You have a cart, at the beginning it will be basic, but as you travel, you will find cooler and bigger ones. But for all this, you will need to bring some goods: planks, ore, tools.
The cart does not give direct bonuses, but it has them. These are bonuses for overnight stays, to wait out the night simply by sleeping. Having set up a watch beforehand.

Quests

All tasks issued or received by the player are divided into types:

1. Go: there and back. Find something: a sheep, a brother, a mercenary/worker. They are completed quickly and do not require strong preparation.
   
2. Deliver: deliver someone somewhere. From one point to another. The cart has 1 slot for transporting live cargo. That is, you can transport 1 character at a time.
   
3. Bring: There is an order for goods: planks, ore, tools, food. And you must bring (collect around the world and bring), spending your own money on this. But usually, such quests pay off.
   
4. Assassination: there are few such quests, but they exist. This is an order for the assassination of enemies: Wolves, enemy units, bosses.

At the moment, there are about 30 quests. Good luck with them, they are interesting if you read.

A little bit about damage and health

If large numbers or an excess of formulas trigger uncontrollable aggression or attacks in you, please scroll past this tab to the next one.

What is damage, and how is it consumed? Below is a bit of mathematics.

Let's start with the basic mechanics:
Damage -> Health. The more damage the enemy has, the faster your health bar will deplete, and the faster you will lose all your mercenaries.
But not only damage affects this, but also attack speed, critical hit chance, and critical hit power.
All mercenaries are balanced. One mercenary is designed for pure damage, but his attack speed and critical hit chance are very low, which does not make him an imbalanced unit.
Therefore, you need to recruit not every mercenary that comes along, but look at the characteristics and his unique skills.

Critical Damage and Chance.

The final damage is calculated by the formula where:

Y - Average damage value
X - Base damage
U - Attack speed
Z1 - Damage multiplier
Z2 - Critical damage chance
F1 - Bonus damage in %
F2 - Bonus damage in units.

Y = Z1 * (X+ (X * Z2 / 100) + (X * F1 /100) + F2)

Example:
Damage: 20
Attack speed: 0.40
Crit chance: 25%
Crit: 2.00
Bonus: +30% to base damage

According to the formula: 2 * (20+(20*0.25)+(20*0.30) ) = 2 * (20 + 11) = 62 (average damage considering critical hit)
You can also add the attack speed here to get the average damage of a mercenary in combat:

Damage received: 62 needs to be multiplied by 0.4 sec Result: 24.8 damage per second in combat

We've come to the point where we learned the KDA of each mercenary. But how to choose correctly?

Transport

Transport is an integral part of gameplay, you can't do without it. And it doesn't have much impact on the squad.
But there are also advantages to transport, it has a lot of HP, which means you can use them. How? By inserting an interception scroll into the transport. The scroll gives a 40% chance to intercept the hit on itself.


For status effects, see below.

Mercenaries. How not to lose 5-10k coins

Mercenaries.
To assemble a good party of mercenaries, you need to consider many aspects of combat. Also, do not forget about complicated battles under the effects of legendary items or with a large number of stacks (loaded cartb].

Creating the optimal set of mercenaries is the key to success. Therefore, below will be detailed everything concerning this topic.

Aspects of Combat

1) Damage - who would have thought.
2) Health - the hp that your mercenaries can withstand.
3) Bonuses and Debuffs - items, books, scrolls that are applied to units.

A balanced squad should have:
1) Tank - the most durable mercenary, has interception, (can be transport) can also stand in 2 positions.
2) Fast Damage\AOE - a mercenary with quick strikes, who will cut down weak enemies in seconds.
3) High Damage - Damage that boasts a large number, characterized by slow attack.

You can ignore High Damage, but then you need to replace it with a DPS mercenary. (who can deal the same dmg per second.)
Underestimating tanks is not allowed, especially in the later stages, when enemies can have 50+, or even 100+ damage per hit.

A Short List of Mercenaries for Different Stages of the Game:

Tank:

From top to bottom stages of the game (where the top are the earliest "available", and the bottom are the late stages of the game "end")

1. Horse - As Dmg not much, but if you put the scroll "Interception", it becomes useful in the squad)
   
2. Guards - "green rarity", have a bonus for each guard in the squad, take damage well, but Dmg is their weak side.
   
3. Woodserker - With an interception scroll will fly off first (if a one-shot did not come on the weak). Has not many health points, but can also pour damage well.
   
4. Veteran - makes sense because of a good reserve of hp, as well as basic interception, but also cannot pass in damage.
   
5. Redzerker - Thrower - As a middle-class mercenary, excellent - balance between damage and tanking.
   
6. Bigfoot - has a place to be, excellent hp indicators, and good AOE Dmg, although not distinguished by large numbers, relevant for the 2nd position.

AOE \ Fast Dmg:

1. Archer - Proved herself from the very beginning of the game, but after going through a nerf, still relevant (but not much)
   
2. Rogue - has 1 minus, it depends on the time of day. But has excellent characteristics of crit. hits and attack speed, but has a gap in hp.
   
3. Sniper - If you need a stable DD in the squad of mercenaries do not hesitate, take! Tanks will help him not to be drained, and the 5th position and skills from tactics will make him a killing machine.
   
4. Duncan Sanders - A great person with a well-written preface, as well as with the best AOE damage (Chickenado - hurricane of chickens).
   
5. Bigfoot - has a place to be, he has not only hp, but also AOE damage, to neighboring mercenaries. Has a place to be in the squad.

High "one-time" Damage:

1. Executioner - Think not the best? Alas, he has a place to be, just not the most effective in the usual clearing of locations. But for bosses just right)
   
2. Bear Cub - If the squad of mercenaries consists of animals, and there is also the Legendary White Terror, then you will have enough for the whole game, but has a gap in attack speed)
   
3. Loud Roar - All bears have excellent synergy with the Legendary wolf, which enhances bleeding, and good survivability with damage, which cannot be said about attack speed

P.S. At the moment, the information in this section is being supplemented, expect it soon.

Status effects and just effects

Status Effects and Combat Effects. There are not too many or too few of these in the game, but it can be confusing, so I will tell you a little about each of the effects, reinforcing them with images for easier visualization.

Let's start with popular effects such as Daze and Fiasco.

Fiasco

is currently (at the moment) only imposed by animals.
It has the power of imposition up to the 3rd level (weak - medium - strong).
Fiasco gives such a parameter as a chance to miss. from 10% to 30% lasts 4 seconds.

Daze

is more popular among human mercenaries but is also found in animals.
It gives such a parameter as a slowdown in recharge from 20% to 40% duration 4 sec.

Bleeding

is strong for the beginning of the game and loses 50% effectiveness in the later stages of the game. But it still makes sense.

Poisoning

A relevant status for the entire game.
Increases incoming damage (from hand), does not take into account damage from bleeding and single values. The rest of the "mercenaries' attacks" damage increases from 20% to 50% acts 4 sec

Parrying

If imposed on allied units, the effect is very strong, but it is used as a debuff, imposed on enemies. Acts 10 sec, or until the mercenary receives a critical hit.

Why am I dying!

If you're new to the game and looking for quick information, this is for you.

Have you carefully observed how you're being killed? Strong enemies? Is something unknown taking your health away?

Strong Enemies:

Why? Or how? Goods, carrying a lot at the beginning is STRONGLY not recommended. Carry 1-2 stacks of goods, common or uncommon quality, until you get rare mercenaries. No more. Goods give bonuses to enemies, and you'll encounter enemies of higher rarity.
Solution: Walk through all the available territory, find mercenaries, see where you need to level up) In most locations, there are traders and places to recruit mercenaries.

What? Who was that?

Are your mercenaries taking damage during your journey? Carefully watch the ground. These are most likely traps (in the forest) or other traps (in other regions). You can step on them, they will activate and deal damage to a random ally. You can also disarm them by pressing on them in time (you just need to notice them in advance). There are also perks that allow you to see them from afar.

Roads and why everyone wants them

Roads

Roads are a separate topic in the game, which probably deserves its own section in the guide, but it would be too verbose.

First, there are many easter eggs, click on everything - you'll see. ;)

Road Hazards

The topic is quite slippery.
The road level corresponds to the enemies you will encounter. If within levels 1-3 you may only encounter rare enemies, then at 6+ you will already find Epic ones, not to mention 11+ levels.
But remember, any enemies can be buffed) even the epic ones.


Road hazard increases:
1) Goods - Each of the goods increases the road hazard level, but they do not stack; the highest one is chosen. For common goods +1 level, for epic +4, and for legendary +5.
2) Time of day - At night +1, during the day no debuffs.
3) Region - In the base region, the basic hazard is 1, in Winter +1 (2).

I would also like to add that roads have a spawn of "events", which means everything that does not relate to battles and bosses.
These are Kirya the Miser, bands of robbers (with dialogue), a scroll merchant, a broken cart, and others.
Each such event has a chance of spawning, and it is the same for all, on the roads there can be no more than 1 of each event, but on roads with higher danger, there is a chance of more events appearing, and this affects ordinary events, reducing their real chance of appearing in favor of all the others. (This can be used to your advantage.)

Saw a red brick on the road?
[Unfortunately, I cannot display images, but imagine a visual representation of the red brick here.]
It means access to this road is prohibited, and behind it is either an area where active world tuning is taking place or an unfinished area, so there's no way through (for now!) but it makes you think that it might be removed and there will be a new area with new quests and much more.)

Beastborough

You can only pass the red brick after reaching the maximum allowable reputation in Furryfoot Village.

The same cannot be said for the second brick, which leads to the "New Cemeteries", this area is under development, so we wait.

A kitty may run after you on the road, it won't give you anything, and won't bring any new mechanics, but it's cool that the kitty runs with you and sees you off to the next location.



You may encounter

Kirya the Miser

He offers to give him a random number of random items so that he can exchange them for other random items and also for an equivalent or not too large number.
Guessing what he will have this time will not work, it's always random.

The reputation of settlements and why is this so?

What Does It Affect?

What is settlement reputation?
- It's the experience you earn by bringing and selling goods of the same category as the settlement/city.

Example:
Military, if you sell goods described as: Demand - Military, then the value of the goods is converted not only into profit but also into reputation for that settlement.











A reward is given for the maximum reputation earned.
What kind?
- They used to give "Ys", but not anymore ((
Instead, they might give additional slots for scrolls and food, the ability to purchase unique goods, or hire a legendary mercenary.
They also give out books, which strengthen the entire squad.


You receive them after achieving maximum reputation right under the sign. In each Watchtower (1, 2, 3) - Each Watchtower has its own book.

Different and interesting things

Bosses or Mini-Bosses

Knight Eggy

He has a suspicious pedigree, but after defeating him (can be killed once), he becomes a merchant who buys eggs (profitably).
If you haven't met him yet or are on a quest, then the description of such an item as Eggs will help you. Read the description.

Kingpig

A real bandit, you can fight him once per game. Can be found on a quest in Fortifinsk.

Cargo Mole

The first and last thing you'll see is your photograph at night and in dungeons.
You can meet and kill him once per game in the dungeons.

Collectors

Guys who love their bits as much as they love their clients' faces, and even more, they love combining these things.
They follow Dobrynya after borrowing money from the treasurer in Ordinarytown (Biba and Boba).

Wandering Merchant

And here's the caravan itself, which you can also rob.
You can not only rob him but also trade. Buy out the goods he offers (random) and sell some of your own. But yes, you can rob him and get all the goods for free.

Conclusion

I wrote this guide in Notepad, taking the basics from the demo and updating the information each time. Right before the release, I had to rewrite a good half of the text. But this is not the end, currently in development is a damage and mercenaries calculator TradeDamage - Deal to Die.

Thanks to tujib and Rombus for providing screenshots and materials used in this guide.

I am always open to new suggestions and ideas (within reasonb]. So with each new day/week, there will be additions.

This translation may be inaccurate in some places, please let me know if you find any errors.

[DjByKayadibi38]

ich bin neu.

[Endgunner]

Merc level can also be increased via points you get when you level up, not just scrolls.

[AZAMATIKA]

Отмечу, что Кабанданте в переводе это Kingpig, Эгго это Eggy, Домодедово это не Домодедово, ну и Кураган это Chickenado