Late last night, I logged on to Tribble to take another gander at the revamped trait system. I noticed that the Ferengi had a nifty “Lobes” trait, which “provides a 20% discount in all store prices for items sold for energy credits or gold-pressed latinum.” I poked around on the STO wiki only to discover that, lo and behold, the Lobes trait was already live, and apparently had been for at least a year and a half.
I know the Ferengi did not always have this trait. I’ve searched the forums for any discussion about this change (come on, there had to be some sort of flame war about how this would destroy the economy!), but I can’t find any exact date for when this went live. At least this old wiki page has prevented me from doubting my sanity.
Regardless, the obvious choice for any rational player is to roll a Ferengi alt as a trader. Of course, energy credits aren’t what they once were; I’m learning that dilithium is now the gated currency of choice for a great many things in this revamped version of the game. (Like I’ve said before, I’ve been gone a really long time.) Regardless, I need a million credits to get the Galor of my dreams, and if a Ferengi alt can help make that possible, then so be it!
Naturally, me being me, I had to write up a short biography:
The misogynistic and patriarchal nature of traditional Ferengi culture long precluded female Ferengi from owning property, participating in business transactions, or even wearing clothes. But Holdra came of age in a time of transition on Ferenginar. The liberalizing reforms of Grand Nagus Zek were only accelerated under the reign of his successor Rom, and Holdra’s generation was the first to benefit.
Educated in the state-sponsored school system founded by Grand Nagus Rom in 2386, Holdra decided she would follow in the footsteps of her role model Rhea and seek her fortune in the Federation. Unlike the famed Ferengi geologist, however, Holdra hopes to one day command her own starship. Good money says she has the lobes for it.
The Self-Aware Colony 
Eh…I think the Galor’s go for about 50 mil. (-: Best way to get one – use some of that stockpiled stipend, buy 10 packs of the Master Keys and sell them for 1.5m each. Hold firm on that number. They won’t sell immediately, but they will sell. Three ten-packs will net you 45 million, and you can probably earn the rest from there. I just do Tour the Universe ever so often to keep about 3 million in reserve.
Glad to learn what the accepted going rate for keys are. I know that the Legacy pack comes with 20 keys, so there’s a nice pack for me to sell if I so choose. I’ve heard that the rarest ships have a .4% drop rate, meaning its a trade off between certainly get a ship at a certain EC level, or risking burning through all my keys for a cheaper payout.
Also, 50 million you say? I’ll have to redouble my looking efforts; I had only seen them listed for 100 million+.
The market has been in pretty wild flux since the Legacy announcement, so they could well be up to 100m right now.
I always wanted a Tuffli, but while I’m more than happy to throw $35-50 at WoT for a new tank, I am, for some unknown reason, hesitant to do the same for STO.