The point of merchants and gold.

[Deleted]

Hello. I'm fairly new to Diablo type games as I've previously only played about half way through Torchlight 1 and now am currently on Act II of Diablo 3. I felt the same question entering my mind during both games so I thought I'd write something up quickly. What's the point of Merchants other than to sell items? I always seem to have gear that is just simply better than almost everything they have to offer from going out and playing the story. It sort of makes me wonder why there are different merchants in New Tristam at all, they seem to sell the same kind of items, all of which I have no need for. I'm also minded of crafting, I'm rather high up in blacksmithing for my level, all the items are now too high level for me use, and yet I already have better gear from again, going out and doing dungeons, etc. I use my acquired gold for levelling Blacksmithing and occasionally buying potions, so with all the previous mentioned in mind, I don't really see the point for gold either. I could be wrong, and probably am, but my gear from mobs just seems to eclipse merchants and crafting and thus the need for gold.

Thanks.

[Aurinax]

I've found a couple rings that were upgrades, but yeah; I would say 95% of my merchant use is just selling my junk. Also buying potions I guess, but the ratio of potions I find to those that I use is so high I don't need to.

Also, a tip on crafting: craft stuff for a higher level than you currently are, that way you can have some upgrades right away instead of hoping for a mob drop. If by that time you have gotten an upgrade, you can always just salvage the crafted item to get a little bit of the mats back. I personally use a lot of crafted gear, though it is very much a crap shoot.

[anothdae]

They occasionally sell yellow gear for pretty cheap, so you might just want to glance and see

[Prag]

They're pretty good for the odd item you just haven't been able to find. Like my DH keeps getting +Str or +Int gear when I need +Dex.

[cp1]

I've been finding cheaper, better stuff on the AH, so I also don't see what the point is.

[Darsithis]

Sometimes you can find some real interesting things from the vendors. You're more likely going to find something better from either a drop or crafting, but I've seen a few good pieces to grab that just never seem to drop from any mobs I get.

[Judge Malthred]

Check the AH for spending that gold. You can't access it from in-game though, I think the option is on the same screen as hero selection. AH is your best bet for relevant item upgrades.

[Deleted]

So far merchants have been pretty rubbish for me, although I did get a nice ring from Radek the fence in nightmare

I don't think they're good value for money but they're there if you're desperate... and you might get a nice surprise.

I'm already hitting 1500g repair bills from dying in nightmare btw, and crafting higher gems in all my gear has been very expensive... as well as starting to unlock the 2nd tab of the stash (100k x 4 (I think) to unlock the whole 2nd tab!)

[darklogrus]

The merchants seem like small Wow merchant upgrades and nothing more. Every once in a great while you find something useful but for the most part its just a trash vendor..