Trade routes are a late-game feature used to access rare resources such as clay, birch, gold and gems (topaz, emerald, ruby and diamonds). The trade routes menu can be accessed once the Trade Routes skill has been researched in the Mastery Tree.





Click the new icon that appears on your screen to access the trade routes menu.





To start sending items and receiving resources from a trade route:

• Pay a one-off unlocking fee.
  
• Unlock the blueprints of the required items.
  
• Assign a blacksmith to make the required items.
  
• Build and place a trade route chest (available from the shop and costs 300g).

The items will be sent automatically once all items for the order have been crafted. You can see how many items have currently crafted by opening the trade route chest or checking the menu.



In return for sending the required items to a trade route, you'll receive the rare resources available from that trade route. You'll need to store the items received, so this means buying an appropriate container from the shop (clay, wood, gem or ore) and assigning an assistant to carry the raw material from the warehouse to the storage container.

Once a trade route has been unlocked it can be upgraded four times, requiring an upgrade fee to be paid per upgrade. More resources will be provided to the player in return with each completed upgrade.

Trade routes are linked in a series like a chain. Each requiring particular blueprints of items unlocked by the previous trade route. The items themselves do not need to be crafted to unlock the next trade route, or upgrade a trade route to the next level. The trade route unlock order is:

• Clay Pit
  
• Birch Trees
  
• Gold Mine

The Gem Mine trade route is not dependent on the other trade routes and can be unlocked at any time once the Trade Routes skill has been unlocked.

The costs and benefits of unlocking the Clay Pit Trade Route and its upgrades are:


Before they can be crafted:

• Wide Cooking Pans require Smelting 2 and its item blueprint to be unlocked.

The costs and benefits of unlocking the Birch Tree Trade Route and its upgrades are:


Before they can be crafted:

• Battleaxes require Sharpening Wheel and its item blueprint to be unlocked, and a sharpening wheel ($1,000) purchased from the shop.
  
• Metal Pitchforks require Pine Forest and its item blueprint to be unlocked.
  
• Black Amphora require the Clay Pit Trade Route, the Pottery skill and its item blueprint all to be unlocked. It also requires the pottery wheel ($1,000), painting table ($2,000) and the kiln ($3,500) to be purchased from the shop.

The costs and benefits of unlocking the Gold Mine Trade Route and its upgrades are:


Before they can be crafted:

• Copper Goblets require Copper Mine and its item blueprint to be unlocked.
  
• Hunter Bows require the Birch Tree Trade Route and its item blueprint to be unlocked.

The costs and benefits of unlocking the Gem Mine Trade Route and its upgrades are:


Before they can be crafted:

• Pickaxes require Advanced Metalworking and its item blueprint to be unlocked.
  
• Shovels require Pine Forest and its item blueprint to be unlocked.

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