Trading is a great way to obtain a variety of useful items in Dwarf Fortress, and players will have the opportunity to engage with the mechanic many times as they build their forts. That said, trading can prove to be confusing, and it is likely that many new players will struggle with the mechanic initially. Fortunately, it is not actually very difficult to trade in Dwarf Fortress, and this guide is here to walk fans through the process.
Dwarf Fortress: Trading Guide
The first step toward engaging with Dwarf Fortress's trading mechanic is establishing a Trade Depot. This is done by clicking on the place structures icon at the bottom of the screen, selecting trade depot, and then setting it down in a desirable position. Notably, it is recommended that simulation video game players create an entrance to their fort in which the trade depot can be placed, and that there is a 3-tile wide path with no obstructions leading to it.
After placing a Trade Depot, Dwarf Fortress fans should assign a dwarf to act as Broker. While this is not strictly required, using a Broker will ultimately lead to more-favorable trades, and here is how to assign one:
- Click the nobles and administrators icon near the bottom-left corner of the screen.
- Click the plus sign next to Broker.
- Pick a dwarf for the position, favoring those that have some relevant skills listed.
- Make a study in Dwarf Fortress and assign the Broker to it.
With a Trade Depot established and a Broker ready to facilitate trades, players must now wait for merchants to arrive. Fans will know that this has occurred when they receive a notification indicating as much, and they should jump into action promptly upon receipt of that notification. More specifically, players should click on their Trade Depot and execute these actions:
- Click move goods to/from depot and select all the items to be traded.
- Click broker requested at depot.
- Wait for the broker and items to arrive and click trade when it turns white.
Players will now be looking at the trade interface, which is split in half. On the left side, fans will see the items that the merchants have to trade, and on the right they will see the items that they have requested that their dwarves bring to the depot. Fans should now go through the Dwarf Fortress items on the left and put checkmarks next to anything that is of interest. The cumulative value of the selected items will then be displayed below the list, and players must select items of an appropriate value from the right side before clicking trade at the bottom.
Trading in Dwarf Fortress is not one-to-one, though, as merchants will expect to make a profit from the exchange. The amount of profit that merchants expect to receive is contingent upon two factors, their mood and the skill of the Broker, and they may refuse a trade outright if an unacceptable offer is made. Fans of city building video games can avoid this situation while they wait for their Brokers to improve by using this strategy, which looks to elevate the merchant's mood over several small trades:
- Pick a couple items from the merchant's offerings.
- Offer items that will give the merchant 100% profit and confirm the trade.
- Pick a couple more items from the merchant's offerings.
- Offer items that will give the merchant a slightly smaller profit and confirm the trade.
- Repeat this process until the merchant is accepting just 30% profit per trade.
One final thing to mention is that players must pay some amount of attention to the race of the merchants with whom they are trading. More specifically, indie video game fans should take care not to offer Elves any items that contain wood. Indeed, offering that type of item will cause great offense to an Elven merchant and bring the trading session to an immediate end.
Dwarf Fortress is available on PC.