How to know the value of loot?

[r.coronato1@ver]

I tried scanning the first few pages of this forum, but couldn't find any related posts ...

Between trash mobs, bosses, merchants, chests and other debris there's a countless variety of loot. Things like beetle guts, skeleton fingers, gems, etc. that I discarded or never picked up suddenly turn up as requirements for later quests. How exactly can you determine what may have any value in the future?

I'm a former WoW player, so the auction house in that game was the clearing house of almost anything of value ... often helping to determine what something was worth and if it was worth keeping. Any place or site like that for this game?

[Etherial]

There are a few ways you can look at the value of the items you pick up in your adventures, really. This might not answer your questions as to the actual monetary value of items... but that's because I have no idea what they are and without the proper books I couldn't calculate them because they are, unfortunately, arbitrarily set. Still! The opportunity presents itself to make a general guide on encountered items and so... time to pontificate and hope I've helped someone.

Basic, nonmagical items: Worthless unless you have nothing better. Ignore all together unless you're desperate for that extra 25 gold.

Basic, nonmagical ammo: Totally ignore when encountered unless you're a ranged character and have nothing better to shoot with. Pray you have a good weapon in those situations.

Slightly Better, +1 items: It's there to be used more than it is to be resold in the shops. Still, the prices you can get for them aren't anything to sneeze at especially if you're saving up for that +3 Mace of Ballbusting for sale at the Temple of The Divine Emasculatrix.

Slightly Better, +1 ammo and elemental ammo: Pick it up when you see it. It won't get you much for resale, but it's actually worth picking up given the amount of coins you can get for the inventory space used and weight taken up by the item itself. Elemental ammo is even better, though, as it can be freely wasted on bashing open trapped chests at a distance if not sold for even more money than the +1 stuff.

The Good Stuff, anything with +1 and an additional enhancements or +2 anything: Ah, the workhorses of successful adventurers, such are items like these. Normally out of reach for most adventurers the in shops, when you see these items and they happen to fall into your preferred character's fighting styles? Cherish 'em. If they do not? Cha-ching, cha-ching, cha-ching. They get good prices for resale, JUST BE SURE YOU WANT TO SELL THEM, because if you try and to buy them back you'll be losing a LOT of gold in the process.

Beyond Useful, uniquely described items of +3 or more with additional enhancements: You're in the money now, boy, or if you like you're now a force to be reckoned with. There is no reason not to pick these things up and to either use or resell them... unless they are cursed, then they're only good for resale.

Junk, the niggling little things you find like gems, skeleton bones, leather hides, and planks of wood: Unless you know that the stuff you find in random containers will be used for something specific, sell or ignore these. They're usually useless and not worth the space or weight they take up. Nor, for that matter, are they worth refining into items. Most merchants won't buy the traps you make yourself, thinking that they are "stolen goods."

Epic Crap, +5 items that may or may not have additional enhancements put on them: Hoo-boy, by the time you encounter these you shouldn't need my advise as you're prolly experienced or high enough in levels in to know what you're doing already. If you're not, then shame on your for cheating and read above for anything useful, you cheating bastard.