Economy
Economy
A fully player-driven economy lies at the heart of Stars Reach, where nearly every item—from high-end gear to everyday essentials—is created, harvested, refined, or crafted by players. Developers have indicated that they want the best equipment in the game to be player-made, with minimal reliance on static loot drops.[1][2]
Local Markets & Turnover
Rather than funneling everyone into a single trading hub, the game emphasizes smaller, local markets:
- Regional Price Variations: Each planet or settlement may value goods differently, creating opportunities for traders to move resources and sell items at higher profits elsewhere.[2]
- Transport & Logistics: The devs want “turnover” to be an integral part of economic design, giving players who enjoy shipping or caravan-style gameplay a profitable niche.[3]
- Import/Export Mechanics: Valuable resources might be unique to specific planets. Players can exploit these differences by transporting rare minerals or materials to worlds where they’re scarce.
Resource Quality & Crafting
Stars Reach uses a complex Harvesting and Crafting system:
- Variable Resources: Temperature, humidity, soil quality, and other planetary factors affect the rarity and stats of raw materials.
- Player Experimentation: With stats influenced by resource quality, crafters can create distinct, sought-after items—and brand them for recognition.
- Use-Based Progression: As described on the Crafting page, crafters level up faster when other players actually use their items, encouraging high-quality production over mass “junk” crafting.
Professions & Collaboration
Many Professions—such as Merchanting, Cartography, and Harvesting—contribute to a thriving economy. For example:
- Merchanting: Traders may specialize in shipping goods across planetary markets, benefiting from price disparities.
- Cartography: Provides valuable maps, aiding miners or gatherers seeking hidden resource veins.
- Civil Engineering: Vital for building settlements, shops, and protective outposts for trade routes.
Governance & Taxation
Because planets can be governed by player organizations (see Government), local governments may set tariffs or taxes on incoming and outgoing goods, further diversifying market conditions. Safe planets might charge higher taxes, whereas riskier PvP-enabled worlds might offer lower fees to attract more traders.
