Editing Trading and item pricing

{{PageSeo
| description = How an item price is determined in Baldur's Gate 3
| image = Trading User Interface.jpg
}}{{hatnote|A calculator is available for this article at [[Widget:PriceCalculator]].}}
[[File:Trading User Interface.jpg|alt=The trading user interface in Baldur's Gate 3 (Trader's Attitude displayed in the bottom right corner).|thumb|The trading user interface in Baldur's Gate 3 (Trader's Attitude displayed in the bottom right corner).]]

'''Trading''' is a central gameplay mechanic in [[Baldur's Gate 3]] revolving around the sale and barter of [[Items]] and [[Gold]]. Depending on which [[Characters|Character]] is talking a given [[Trader]], including the trader's [[Attitude]] to the character, the character's [[Persuasion]] value, and the [[Difficulty]] setting of the game, a trade price multiplier is calculated. This multiplier is then applied to each item's inherent value, giving the prices for the character.

The price modifier is calculated as:

: <tt>P = max(1.0, 2.5 - persuasion modifier - difficulty modifier - attitude modifier)</tt>

An item's value is multiplied by the price modifier when buying, and divided by the modifier when selling, i.e. the smaller the total price modifier the better for the player.

== Modifiers ==

=== Persuasion modifier ===
A character's [[Persuasion]] value affects prices. Positive values will make prices more favourable (higher when selling, lower when buying) and vice-versa. On [[Difficulty#Explorer|Explorer difficulty]], characters have a higher Persuasion value if they are proficient in Persuasion because the [[proficiency bonus]] is higher on that difficulty. Each Persuasion value point changes the total modifier by 0.1., as detailed below.

: <tt>Persuasion modifier = Persuasion value × 0.1</tt>

=== Game difficulty ===
Depending on the game difficulty set, the player receives certain advantages or disadvantages.

==== Explorer difficulty ====

On [[Difficulty#Explorer|Explorer difficulty]], the difficulty modifier is 0.5. 

If a character is proficient in [[Persuasion]], they will benefit from the higher [[Proficiency]] bonus this difficulty provides, depending on their [[character level]], as detailed in the table below. This, in turn, increases the Persuasion modifier.
{| class="wikitable"
! Character level !! Bonus (explorer difficulty)
|-
| 1 – 4 || +4
|-
| 5 – 8 || +5
|-
| 9 – 12 || +6
|}

==== Tactician difficulty ====
In Tactician difficulty, the difficulty modifier is &minus;0.5, meaning the total modifier is increased, making it more expensive to buy and lowering the sell price.

=== Trader attitude ===
[[File:Trader attitude.jpg|alt=The meter displaying a trader's Attitude. Hovering over the meter displays the exact amount of Attitude gained.|thumb|The meter displaying a trader's Attitude. Hovering on the meter displays the exact amount of Attitude gained.]]

A trader's [[Attitude]] score represents how friendly a trader NPC is with a certain character. Each point of Attitude changes the total modifier by 0.005, resulting in a maximum attitude modifier of 0.5 at 100 Attitude. 

: <tt>Attitude modifier = Attitude × 0.005</tt>

[[Attitude]] is visible in the Trading interface under the trader model. Hovering on the meter displays the exact Attitude score. Attitude is per-character, and can be modified by friendly or hostile actions against an NPC. One of easiest ways to gain Attitude is by gifting [[Gold]] or other items to a trader using the Barter interface. The amount of gold required to gain attitude scales depending on the level of the player character.

{| class="wikitable"
|+Gold required to increase a trader's Attitude
!Level
!Gold required to raise Attitude by 1
!Gold required to raise Attitude from 0 to 100
|-
|1
|4
|400
|-
|2
|5
|500
|-
|3
|6
|600
|-
|4
|8
|800
|-
|5
|10
|1000
|-
|6
|14
|1400
|-
|7
|18
|1800
|-
|8
|24
|2400
|-
|9
|30
|3000
|-
|10
|36
|3600
|-
|11
|45
|4500
|-
|12
|45
|4500
|}

==== When is it optimal to gift? ====

Assuming you are only looking to buy once from a trader, we can calculate the cutoff above which gifting saves more than the value gifted.

: <tt>price reduced per gift value = base value / level modifier × 0.005 > 1</tt>

If this value is above 1, every gold gifted is worth more in discounts, so you save by raising attitude to 100.

: <tt>base value > 200 × level modifier</tt>

For example, at level 4, this cutoff would be 200 × 8 = 1600. If you are buying more than 1600 total base value of items, you actually spend less total gold by gifting 800 gold to raise the trader's attitude to 100 first. Note that this refers to '''base value''' of items, not the price you see at 0 attitude, which is usually more than 2 times the base value (see price modifier at the top of the article).

You could also consider respeccing your character with Withers and, before levelling up, visiting the relevant merchant and gifting them 400 gold. The spend cutoff will be 200 x 4 + 100 x 2 = 1000.

== Talking character ==
The trade price modifier is set depending on the character that initiates the dialogue with a trader. Even if the active character is switched in the trader screen, the first character's trade price modifier remains in use. It is thus a good idea to initiate all trade dialogues with the character that has the best trade multiplier.

You could keep a [[Hireling]] in camp for this purpose, having them join your party only for trading. Without respeccing, the best choices are [[Brinna Brightsong]] and [[Jacelyn]] for their high Charisma and proficiency in Persuasion. Leaving them at level 1 minimises the cost of getting 100 approval from a trader (400 gold). Conversely, Brinna can get Expertise in Persuasion at Level 3, increase her Charisma at Level 4, and get a higher proficiency bonus at level 5, where 100 approval costs 1000 gold.

== See also ==
* [[Widget:PriceCalculator]]

== References ==

# GaRy van Thos Gaming, ''[https://youtu.be/GkQ5U7fQeuQ "How Merchant and Traders Attitude work and effect Prices in Baldur's Gate 3"]. youtube.com''
# Annie Shi, ''[https://www.thegamer.com/baldurs-gate-3-bg3-how-to-raise-merchant-attitude/ "Baldur’s Gate 3: How To Raise Merchant Attitude"]. thegamer.com''

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