Caravans for Beginners

[Adjuchas]

I see a lot of confusion about caravans and for a long time I didn't even know they were in the game! So I thought I'd weigh in with some info...

What are Caravans?
- Caravans are independent units that carry varying quantities of commodities (tradable materials that have no use).
They will follow you everywhere and slow you down considerably until the route is complete, generally speaking it won't come under attack itself but should you lose a battle, the Caravan will be looted and lost.

How do I make a Caravan?
- Speak to the mayor of a city or fort, select "I'd like to talk about trade..." then "Yes, I'd like to send a caravan.". You'll be presented with a list of locations.. this is where you need to do some research by buying a single unit of a commodity then visiting places to see how much they sell for.

Why can't I make an Oil Caravan now?? I was able to do it from this place last time...
- You can only create a Caravan with commodities that are available from the goods merchant of that place, even if it has 1 unit, you can create a Caravan.

Trade Permit???
- After completing your first Caravan, you'll be notified that you were tricked and taxed by the sneaky mayor. This isn't a big deal.. You need to talk to a mayor (of any city) about trade and a new option will be present to buy a permit. This is a one off and applies to all cities of all nations.

Help! I can't afford to make a Caravan!
- Buy cheap commodities from merchants the old fashioned way until you have around 10000 (more than enough for your first Caravan). You may find that the merchant doesn't have enough cash to buy all of your stuff... never fear, you'll get the same price from all of the merchants in that city, so just sell them to the arms merchant, for example!

Help! I keep getting attacked by *Insert enemy here*
- having at least 30 soldiers of any type with you will deter all but the most bloated of deserter groups, if you're being attacked by national armies, you'll need to travel to city/fort of your antagonist and pay for a peace treaty.

Help! I keep making losses on my Caravans!
- You're buying too high or selling to place that has no demand for the commodity you're selling (See "How do I make a Caravan). Here is an important note! The sell price depends on several factors.. such as your trade skill and the wealth of the place you're trading to, however, the demand never changes (IE, buying oil from the Crimean region and selling to cities in the north of the Muscovite region (excluding Moscow) will bring in good money.

 

[tarakan]

Good idea.

Additionally, I suggest sending Velvet from southern cities, like Bratislav (check for lowest Velvet prices, under 200 per item), to northern Swedish cities, like Dorpat, Narva and Vyborg (which usually are above 1500 per item). These are usually the places with the highest prices for Velvet (and quite low for furs). Keep in mind that this may vary per game, so be sure to check.

Also, to activate a caravan from a city where the merchant doesn't have the commodity you're trying to send, have one piece of the commodity with you at all times and sell it to the goods merchant a moment before asking to send a caravan. If the goods merchant has at least one item in inventory, you can send a caravan of up to 40 items. Do not forget to buy the item back before leaving the city. Protip: don't leave your item with the goods merchant while doing the 'assess prices' thing. He might sell it by the time you're done with the assessment.

 

[Afterstar]

Link for successful caravan trading steps:
http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/620581-mount-and-blade-with-fire-and-sword/59030243/655296865

Other tips:
-Stay Neutral with everyone and make sure you have an army of 50-70men, doesn't matter what they are, to scare away bandits,thieves etc.
-Hold CTRL+SPACE to accelerate the speed on the world map,so you don't have to wait ages to make one travel.(This is not a cheat)
--Only bother yourself with Velvet and Spice and don't bother sending if the profit for each item after "Assessing Prices" is below 1100,unless there is no better alternative from a nearby city.
-Make use of the "Assess prices" 2-3 times in a row to see which city is more profitable to send to.
-Most profitable cities to start a karavan FROM:  Bakhchisaray and Kafa --TO--> To Narva,Vyborg and Novgorod.

 

[Fierkraag]

Another thing to note is that the bigger caravans are more profitable, because you will notice there is a base amount paid for the caravan then added on top is what you pay for the items it carries, you pay a smaller base price the larger the caravan. For example for this velvet caravan I made I calculated the base price for the caravan and got 3363 thalers for a small caravan, 3089 thalers for a medium and 2678 thalers for a large caravan.

 

[Afterstar]

Another thing to note is that the bigger caravans are more profitable, because you will notice there is a base amount paid for the caravan then added on top is what you pay for the items it carries, you pay a smaller base price the larger the caravan. For example for this velvet caravan I made I calculated the base price for the caravan and got 3363 thalers for a small caravan, 3089 thalers for a medium and 2678 thalers for a large caravan.

Of course, always take the Large caravans.

 

[tlovhak]

1. find ingri

2. ???? profit!

 

[nokrosh]

I see a lot of confusion about caravans and for a long time I didn't even know they were in the game! So I thought I'd weigh in with some info...

What are Caravans?
- Caravans are independent units that carry varying quantities of commodities (tradable materials that have no use).
They will follow you everywhere and slow you down considerably until the route is complete, generally speaking it won't come under attack itself but should you lose a battle, the Caravan will be looted and lost.

How do I make a Caravan?
- Speak to the mayor of a city or fort, select "I'd like to talk about trade..." then "Yes, I'd like to send a caravan.". You'll be presented with a list of locations.. this is where you need to do some research by buying a single unit of a commodity then visiting places to see how much they sell for.

Why can't I make an Oil Caravan now?? I was able to do it from this place last time...
- You can only create a Caravan with commodities that are available from the goods merchant of that place, even if it has 1 unit, you can create a Caravan.

Trade Permit???
- After completing your first Caravan, you'll be notified that you were tricked and taxed by the sneaky mayor. This isn't a big deal.. You need to talk to a mayor (of any city) about trade and a new option will be present to buy a permit. This is a one off and applies to all cities of all nations.

Help! I can't afford to make a Caravan!
- Buy cheap commodities from merchants the old fashioned way until you have around 10000 (more than enough for your first Caravan). You may find that the merchant doesn't have enough cash to buy all of your stuff... never fear, you'll get the same price from all of the merchants in that city, so just sell them to the arms merchant, for example!

Help! I keep getting attacked by *Insert enemy here*
- having at least 30 soldiers of any type with you will deter all but the most bloated of deserter groups, if you're being attacked by national armies, you'll need to travel to city/fort of your antagonist and pay for a peace treaty.

Help! I keep making losses on my Caravans!
- You're buying too high or selling to place that has no demand for the commodity you're selling (See "How do I make a Caravan). Here is an important note! The sell price depends on several factors.. such as your trade skill and the wealth of the place you're trading to, however, the demand never changes (IE, buying oil from the Crimean region and selling to cities in the north of the Muscovite region (excluding Moscow) will bring in good money.