How Do You Safely Sell or Buy Hunt Items?

A couple days ago I stumbled upon an interesting topic on the official message board. The poster wondered how “safe” buying Hunt rewards is. I have to admit I never really pondered about the topic so far, because the rewards are bound, and I only farm them for me personally. The trade channel however, especially at the start of the module, is full of proposals to sell the BtA and BtC gear. So how can you even buy and sell them and how safe is it?

Bad News: There’s No Guarantee

Although this is kind of starting with the conclusion, let me say that there is no guarantee. In every case somebody has to go first and shoulders 100% of the risk. The idea obviously is that the buyer doesn’t have to do the farming and conveniently gets the item. That’s why buying the Lure itself is not enough for some, because there’s no guarantee that the specific item will drop. The theory behind directly selling the rewards is fairly easy. In Hunt parties leaders decide who gets the drops. This is usually themselves, but they can of course freely distribute certain rewards to other players. So the buyer pays for a drop, joins the Hunt, and the seller grants the item, should it drop.

There are quite some obstacles to overcome though. First of all: At what point do you pay for the drop? If you do it upfront, the seller could simply scam. There’s no way to tell if your trade partner even has any Lures. And even if, the item might not drop and then you would have to rescind the transaction. On the other hand, if buyers pay after they receive the drop, they could bolt as well.

Make Sure You Communicate the Terms

In any case you should make sure that you know the terms of the agreement. Never should you pay for “a chance” at a drop, because that means the seller keeps the fee regardless of whether the item actually drops. Also it can’t hurt to do at least a small background check of your trade partner. Maybe somebody in your guild, alliance or friends list knows the guy, and can either vouch or warn.

The safest way to do the transaction currently seems to be what dupeks described as “hunt sherpa” approach.

[su_quote]Someone essentially has a bunch of lures and is willing to let you tag along in order to get a specific drop. They use “leader decides” loot mechanic. When a desired item drops but before it’s assigned, you can see it as a loot notification in the log. Once the item drops, you provide payment (either in full or some kind of before/after split). They award you the loot and then you part ways.[/su_quote]

This is probably the way to go. It’s still not “safe”, but as safe as it gets. I’m not sure I would really recommend it though. First of all, you still need to invest time to find a trade partner and do the Hunts. Time you could also spend on farming for Trophies yourself. Depending on what you aim for it’s of course still faster, but then there’s still the risk of getting scammed.

Hunt System Not Designed to Sell Rewards

Selling Hunt rewards might be possible, sort of, but I think it’s clear that the devs never intended the system to work this way. They purposely didn’t allow the Lures and Trophies to be posted on the Auction House and made all the rewards bind to account or character. That the community still tries to circumvent the limitations might be telling. We’ve talked about the weird nature of Hunts as social feature before and while the devs seem to like the concept, this probably is grist to the mills for those that want Hunts to be less restrictive.


What’s your experience in buying or selling Hunt rewards? Did you already try it or backed off from the risks? Share your thoughts and experience on our social channels, in the comments below, or visit the corresponding thread on our message board!

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j0Shi

j0Shi plays the Neverwinter MMORPG since the open BETA in 2013 and is a regular contributor to the blog and the whole UN:Project. Originally a Guardian Fighter, he has built up ALTs of all classes and plays on BIS/near-BIS level.

4 thoughts on “How Do You Safely Sell or Buy Hunt Items?

  • March 17, 2018 at 11:48 am
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    The Devs have consistently displayed a profound ignorance of human behavior and economics. People trading is a natural component of the human condition. The devs assumptions that people wont trade is asinine. Worse the manifestations of these assumptions incentivize scammers, which lessens everyone’s experience in the game.

  • March 17, 2018 at 9:02 pm
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    I don’t understand where is the problem. In our server we use [Greater Mark of Potency] and [Superior Mark of Potency] to buy or sell items for hunt in Omu using trade. It is absolutely safe.

    • March 18, 2018 at 1:37 am
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      We’re not talking the Lures or Trophies, but the items. Like a Rex Corona.

  • March 18, 2018 at 10:48 am
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    I have sold a few +5 rings. I use a variant of the “hunt Sherpa” described. I only sell to someone in my guild. That way if they cheat me there will be a consequence. I then will invite the other player to my group and run the lures. I keep everything but the +5. If the ring (or desired item) drops the other player picks it up and they tender the agreed payment. I am taking some risk, but I have used trustworthy customers. I charge relatively high prices, but I am taking all the risk.

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