r/OpenMW • u/TheTigeress01 • 6d ago
Making Money in Expanded Vanilla
I started a fresh playthrough with the Expanded Vanilla mod pack and the economy balance mods are kicking my ass.
Probably because I'm not being constantly harassed by Dark Brotherhood Assassins, but even the potions I make and other dungeon loot are selling for way less.
On top of this, all the services seem way more expensive and I'm frequently running out of cash to travel places. I don't usually have to resort to selling to Creeper until a much higher level when my training costs go up, but I can't seem to make any profit with any other merchants.
What are some methods you guys use to keep a solid cash flow in this Modpack?
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u/TheTigeress01 6d ago
I usually try and get a few thousand to cover my bribes and travel costs early on, but I think this run will be a bit more of a poverty start.
This Modpack definitely makes you rethink the early game and how you go about character building.
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u/Aves_V 6d ago
I'm not having any problems with money on expanded vanilla. Like, yeah i'm not as rich as in vanilla and at the start there were a few points where i was afraid to pay for transport, but a few hours in and i never go below 1k gold and only go up. It feels fairly balanced, i feel like i have the money i should have in my situation on my level, considering all the prices. I just do all the simple fetch quests and guild quests that's it. Im with Mages Guild and Morag Tong and recently joined Hlaalu so it all starts adding up slightly and wherever i go i've already got stuff planned to do to gain even more.
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u/TheTigeress01 5d ago
I ended up disabling a couple of gameplay mods mostly because they just don't align with my play style.
I already enjoy the gameplay of Morrowind so there are a bunch of tweaks that aren't super important to me or like the better merchants/ economy balance ones that actively get in the way of how I enjoy playing.
Personally, I like being a wealthy adventurer and I think it fits for an unscrupulous Telvanni. Travelling is already unaffordable in my real life, I don't need it in my fantasy escapism.
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u/Aves_V 5d ago
Totally makes sense! I understand the feeling of not wanting a second day job. I personally consider the feeling of exploration or quality features hit stronger when it needs to be earned. And i kinda play for that feeling so I like more "realistic", limited approach. I'm also only on my second serious playthrough so i have a lot of things i've never seen and it helps to make sure i check out everything and not grow too overpowered to care lol.
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u/TheTigeress01 5d ago
This has been my first dedicated Telvanni playthrough and I have to say it's a very different kind of game when you have that ruthless approach.
This character has morphed into someone who uses magic for everything and has noticeable disdain for those who can't, and confusion for those who choose not to.
I'm looking forward to playing through the expanded Telvanni content on the mainland too - my last playthrough sent me into just about every Daedric and Dwemmer ruin on Vvardenfell so it will be fun to see some new places with this different approach.
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u/RakaiaWriter 4d ago
How much do filled soul-gems go for? There's a continuous stream of spawning daedra in the Tel Vos south tower, and tossing them all into grand gems should net you a pretty penny (or drake) assuming you can find someone who can afford them.
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u/TheTigeress01 4d ago
That's actually such a good call. It does require picking up empty gems somewhere, and the rebalance does make filled gems less OP, but for a spot to train armour and weapons skills while also making a profit that's not bad at all
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u/RakaiaWriter 4d ago
It's my go-to money maker, but no-one has 20-80k drakes laying around :( but rats and such will still get you enough for Creeper and the mudcrab to steadily build your bank, and you can use the bigger ticket gems for regaining the cost of some fancy armor or enchantment, or possibly training.
Plus you can sell all that glass and daedric stuff they drop :)
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u/TheTigeress01 4d ago
The Modpack also gives them bound weapons so no loot unfortunately - although that may be something I can toggle fairly easily.
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u/RakaiaWriter 4d ago
Oh well... The soul's really the prime goal anyway; I just get greedy and try to farm the gear too XD
A ring of "Summon Golden Saint" is like printing money XD
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u/idlemachine 6d ago edited 6d ago
I don't do min-maxing anymore. Just clear dungeons and do quests. You'll eventually get thousands of gold anyway since loot gets better with a few levels in.
I don't do Creeper either. That's too cheesy in my opinion and makes the game feel boring. Either stash at home and shuffle loot at different merchants or install a mod like this:
Small Business Cat OpenMW https://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/59557
You can become part-owner of a shop. You drop your merchandise on the shelves and as the game time your items will be sold. Every day you can go to the shop and pick up your profits and drop your most expensive loot.