"Weekly" Update Number 2

[Ualaa]

I've got a spreadsheet.

I enter the value per single Bloodstone, Chalcedony, Dark Jade, Huge Citrine, Shadow Crystal and Sun Crystal, which is then multiplied by 0.18 (the chance for each prospected stack of 5 saronite ore to get any of these). 18 x 6, is more then 100, but you can get multiple gems from a single prospect.

I also have the prices for Autumn's Glow, Forest Emerald, Monarch Topaz, Scarlet Ruby, Sky Sapphire and Twilight Opal in the spreadsheet, with these values multiplied by 0.04, and the everything totaled.

So, assuming I am only selling the lesser gems, I know how cheap Saronite has to be for prospecting to be a profit. And assuming I have enough of the higher gems, then I have that value added too (by glancing at another column).

If I'm short on gems (the more expensive ones), prospecting is generally the cheapest route to replace them. So far, a lot of the time I can break even or be down only a little bit even if I disregard the resale value of the gems used in transmutes. So prospecting isn't so much for its own profit, but to greatly reduce the cost of materials for the epic gem transmutes. Actually, if I were to sell everything except Scarlet Rubies (for example), I could say they are free and prospecting is very slightly profitable too.

On my server, at today's prices, stacks of Saronite for 16g13s (81s per single ore) or less are worth buying. Only found a dozen or so auctions at that price. If I'm keeping all of the transmute gems, and only selling the lesser stuff, then stacks of 20's at 10g03s is where prospecting is a profit. Most of the time, its just a cheaper method of getting mats.