Entropia Universe Hunting Guide – Beginners Part 4

Entropia Universe: hunting smart is essential to profit — or at least to avoid losing too many PED!

You don't always use the same gear in Entropia — it changes constantly!

Unlimited vs Limited Weapons: Choosing the Right Gear

For Your Information: this article was last updated on July 12, 2026, Revised and Corrected by Claude.

Hunting smart means the right setup for the right mob — the right weapon at the right moment.

First of all, there are 2 main types of weapons in Entropia Universe: melee and ranged. And within each of these 2 branches of the "weapon tree", you'll find hundreds of different weapons! As in every other RPG out there, the more powerful and efficient the weapon, the more expensive it is.

In EU there's also a key distinction between UL (Unlimited) and L (Limited) weapons.

• UL weapons are the MOST expensive, because you can repair them. You buy them once, for a steep price, but every time they need repairs, you just head to a repair terminal and... repair them!
• L weapons are FAR less expensive, because you can't repair them. So whenever you buy a Limited item from a seller, you know you'll have to buy another once its value hits 0.
• When you buy a weapon there's a Markup — a price set by the seller. In the long run it costs you less to buy one Unlimited weapon than a hundred Limited ones, paying the markup each time.

But it's your call too... Some people go for (L) weapons their whole life, because the price set on an Unlimited weapon is sometimes so high it looks more like a scam than anything else, and doesn't justify the cost.

Here are 2 melee weapons — both Unlimited, but not that expensive, as they're not that efficient.

Efficiency is KEY in Entropia Universe... Remember, you're playing with your real money, so you want to make the most of your little PED! The more efficient a weapon, the better your profits in the long run.

Or I should say... the more efficient the weapon, the less you're going to lose 😅

Here are 2 ranged weapons — both Limited, and quite good!

Important: most people go for ranged weapons right from the start, because they're cheaper than melee. More specifically, we all go for rifles first rather than pistols, because rifles fire from far away and let you land a few extra shots before the mob reaches melee range, compared to a pistol where you have to get close.

That said, high and Uber-skilled players generally use pistols, because there are great pistols out there! 👍

Important: you can equip upgrades on your weapons, like Amplifiers, Scopes or Damage Enhancers.

By doing so you can increase damage and efficiency, but also the rate at which you gain skills with your weapons.

It's also a way to get more globals from the creatures you hunt... The more PED you spend, the more you raise your bet — like in a casino. So adding Damage Enhancers to your weapon, which makes you burn more PED, will potentially get you more loot in the end. (That's one of the loot theories out there...)

On your left, my Karma Killer without Enhancers; on the right, with Enhancers!

Karma Killer is one of the most inexpensive Unlimited pistols in the game, and still efficient enough!

The only catch: it requires a high profession level (100) to use at maximum efficiency. But you can start using it, like I did, once you're close to level 60. It works quite well even with only 6.8/10 in Hit Ability and Critical Chance. Tests run over the years by other veterans (searchable on the official Calypso forum) show that above 6 in Hit Ability, the PED loss is negligible.

With time I moved from the Karma Killer to a Gravis GLR-33, which has long range!

Just add a nice Omegaton Amplifier and you'll push efficiency to 62%+ 👍

Overkill: Why Bringing Too Big a Weapon Wastes Your PED

It's useful to carry multiple weapons... But of course, as a new player you won't need more than 1, even if you have the financial means. You'll mostly stick to the Adjusted Bukin (Laser Rifle) and won't switch for a long time.

— so just keep all this in mind for later in the game.

I keep several weapons and enhancers for different situations...

Overkill is basically when you use a weapon that does, say, 100 damage to kill monsters with a maximum of 30 HP. It's called Overkill because you're wasting PED — the mobs you hunt don't need such a powerful weapon! You can use something less powerful and stay in an economical, smart hunting mindset.

Overkill is a concept tied to EU. In other MMORPGs where you don't play with real money, you wouldn't care — you'd just wreak havoc everywhere with your biggest weapon! 😎 But not in Entropia, where you care about how many PED you burn with each shot. No matter how low the creature's hit points, you'll still consume the ammo needed to deal full damage.

DPS vs Regeneration: economical hunting isn't always the best option. Some creatures have high regeneration, and if you don't want the fight to drag on for hours, you'll need your best weapon. Otherwise, as the monster naturally regenerates HP, you'll have to land extra shots to kill it.

Team Hunt: not very popular in EU, mostly because items can drop and get randomly assigned to any team member, and there's no in-game system to split the value of an item worth hundreds or thousands of dollars. It's like a casino jackpot — and when money's involved, people don't share unless they're very close friends. So a word of advice: unless you truly know your teammates in real life, DO NOT join a Team Hunt.

Markup is King — hunt mobs for sought-after loot with good Markup:

• Do NOT chase the Swirlies (globals)
• DO chase loot with good markups!

Look at the Purpurite Crystal below. Even though it's an old picture and the markup has dropped to almost nothing since, it's still a good example. Purpurite Crystal drops from several mobs on Next Island and used to be highly sought after. As a result, it sold — as you can see below — at an average of 500%!

That literally means that by finding just 1 PED of it, you could resell it fast for 5 PED!

People need to understand that chasing globals only leads them into a wall... If you chase the jackpot, you'll end up ruined or frustrated. Entropia Universe is a Casino MMORPG, and the same rules that apply in a casino apply here: the house always wins. So most of the time, globals (also called Swirlies, because they swirl around you) only show up to cover your losses, not to make you a profit. Profit is 90% Markup and 10% Luck!

So with time and experience — and only if you want to profit from EU — you'll have to work out for yourself which creatures drop what, and whether that loot is highly sought after by players. That's how you make money in EU, and nothing is set in stone, as Markup evolves with time and with events organized by the devs.

For example, WOOL generally sells for a few extra % to other players. But if there's an event where the main creature drops WOOL, the market floods with it and the price drops! Meanwhile, the creatures dropping ANIMAL OILS get hunted less — so that becomes the right time to hunt them.

It's all about staying organized in your hunting sessions, from January to December.

Armor in Entropia: No Single Set Rules Them All

And what about armor? One size fits all? Not in Entropia...

In the previous part we talked about Mentorship and how it can get you your first good armor, which lasts a long time. But there are many other armors in EU — Unlimited and Limited, like the weapons — with different protection profiles. Every armor has a purpose: to hunt many, or just a few, categories of monsters.

On the left, my Garments; on the right, my Gremlin Armor.

When you have enough skills, you can even start hunting without armor — because armor decays like weapons, so every hit you take costs PED to repair! I know, we never stop paying in EU 😅 So if your Evade/Dodge skill is high enough, you'll take fewer hits from the mobs...

Because let's be honest, we ALWAYS take a few hits from the mobs, whatever your skill. Even as a level 40 evader, I was still getting hit by puny mobs... So even the lowest mob in EU could kill me, unarmored, in a few minutes.

After the Mentorship armor, the next best Unlimited armor is the Gremlin. It protects nicely against many damage types, is cheap to repair, and stays affordable — a whole set runs about ~600 PED. Some Unlimited armors cost thousands of PED per part, and you need 7 parts for a full set... so yeah, 600 PED is nothing.

Now, a little pricier: the Vigilante on the left, and the Perseus on the right.

If you want to fight robots, the Vigilante (Unlimited Armor) is the way to go, with protection against Burn and Penetration damage. It's crucial to understand that in EU there's no one armor to rule them all. Every armor has its purpose, and which one you buy depends heavily on your combat needs.

Then there's the Perseus, available in (L) or (UL) versions — an armor for big mobs! I bought the Limited version, of course, since the Unlimited is (1) hard to find and (2) crazy expensive. It's very useful for killing mobs that deal around a hundred points of damage. Again, it depends on what you're hunting.

Sometimes the right armor for the right mob isn't enough... You need to reinforce it with Plates!

Armor Plates: Which Pieces to Prioritize

Armor plates are armor attachments that you simply drag and drop onto the piece of armor you want to protect further. For example, in the screenshot below, I bought armor plates adding Electric Protection when I took part in the Easter Mayhem in 2022. The robots we had to kill dealt 33% Electrical Damage, and my Gremlin had only low resistance to electricity-based attacks.

Of course you need 7 of them, since a full set of armor is made up of 7 pieces! These plates are usually crafted by players and can be found in the auctions. They typically sell above TT value, because people use them a lot — so their markup keeps climbing 👍

You can see them as an investment, since these armor plates have a VERY long durability.

So they won't be depleted any time soon! For reference, I spent around 47 hours in the 2022 Easter Mayhem, and the plating that took the most damage was the Torso — and after 47 hours of shooting (which is very long, trust me!)

it still had 26% utility left!

Now let's say you don't have the money for 7 armor plates...

Which parts of your armor should you prioritize?

1. The Harness: takes damage 20.09% of the time
2. Face Guard: takes damage 15.77% of the time
3. Shin Guards: takes damage 14.66% of the time
4. Arm Guards: takes damage 14.35% of the time
5. Thigh Guards: takes damage 13.99% of the time
6. Foot Guards: takes damage 11.09% of the time
7. Gloves: takes damage 10.05% of the time

The Harness (the Torso, the biggest part of the body) takes the most damage... and the Gloves, which only protect your hands, take the least.

As a rule of thumb, always remember to detach your armor plates when you don't need them.

Once again — you're in EU, only use what you need to Hunt Smart!

Hunting big level 40–50 mobs? You need a big weapon and a big armor (Perseus).

Hunting level 10 mobs? You just need a smaller weapon and a Gremlin (or even no armor).

Shrapnels > Trade Terminal Ammo: Squeeze More Value from Your PED

My final piece of smart-hunting advice is about getting more ammo for the same amount of PED. Shrapnels are looted from mobs all across EU, and you can choose to convert them into Universal Ammo.

• Universal Ammo can't be traded or sold anymore
• But it works with all weapons, most MindForce chips, and Mining
• It converts at a rate of 101%, so you gain 1% more ammo in the end
• Convert 1,000 PED of Shrapnels and you get 1,010 PED of Ammo (a 10 PED value gain)

Converting Shrapnels is one of MindArk's ways to keep people reinvesting their loot into the game.

As a hunter you want to make the most of your PED, so buying Shrapnels to convert them into Universal Ammo is the way to go! The average buy/sell price is 100.5%, meaning you'd pay 1,005 PED and get 1,010 PED of Universal Ammo. In that example you gain 5 PED of ammo value, usable with your weapons and most MindForce chips. Think of it as more ammo + peace of mind.

But during big events like Mayhem, when some people shoot a lot, the price can drop to 100.2% — you'd pay just 1,002 PED and get 1,010 PED, a value gain of 8 PED this time. And if you've played EU for a long time, you know every little PED of ammo can potentially bring you more profit!

2023 edit: unfortunately the advice above is no longer viable. Since Shrapnels were allowed into the auctions, their price has climbed from the usual 100.3–100.4 to 100.7 minimum, which is no longer worth converting into Universal Ammo. Nowadays it's only bought by players gambling with recycle blueprints.

Though with a bit of luck, you can still sometimes find a seller offering Shrapnels at 100.5%...

Tiering Weapons and Damage Enhancers

Once you own an Unlimited weapon, it's up to you whether to Tier it up! 😎

The more you use a weapon (Unlimited or Limited), the higher the tier ranks it can reach. There are 10 ranks total on every item (weapon or armor), and each unlocks a slot where you can insert a weapon/armor enhancer.

On Unlimited weapons you pay for materials to Tier up, while on Limited weapons the new tiers are reached automatically, for free. The catch, of course, is that the new tiers on a Limited weapon become useless the day it expires — because it was... Limited. On Unlimited weapons you pay because the weapon never dies!

Most of the time we Tier Up Unlimited weapons first. Armors can be tiered too, but only for long-term players. What's more interesting is unlocking slots on your weapon to add... Weapon Damage Enhancers!

Weapon Damage Enhancers:

1. Increase the base damage of your weapon (so the higher the base, the bigger the damage bonus!)
2. Increase the amount of ammo burn (naturally, since you're dealing more damage)
3. Potentially increase your returns! (because more ammo burn = more PED spent)
4. Decrease your weapon efficiency very slightly, but it's totally negligible
5. Will break at some point without warning — which is why you buy them in stacks of 10 to 100

The "death rate" of Weapon Damage Enhancers is random, and also depends on the weapon used.

For example, the Karma Killer I mentioned above is a very good option if you want to take part in the Mayhem events in the low categories (1 to 3). As you shoot with it over and over in Category 1, it reaches higher tiers that you may or may not pay to unlock. If you do, you'll kill faster, using Weapon Damage Enhancers to deal more damage — just remember you'll spend more PED doing so.

The same is true of my new weapon, a Gravis GLR-33, which I've tiered from Tier 0 to Tier 3 — and of course it took hundreds of hours of shooting to reach Tier 3 and above. As soon as it's ready for Tier 4, I'll pay for the tiering, knowing full well that each new tier is generally pricier to upgrade than the last.

Buying an Unlimited Weapon: Read This First

If you decide one day to buy an Unlimited weapon, read the following points carefully.

1. Buy it from the auctions — that's where you'll find the better prices if you check them every day.
2. Try to avoid buying from a vendor in #calytrade or #trade who didn't announce the price.
3. Buy only if the Tier Rate is 130/200 minimum! I'd even suggest 160/200 minimum. This one isn't a hard rule, though — it depends how many weapons of that kind are on the market. If there aren't many, you'll have to make do with what's available, which may mean a low Tier Rate.

People selling something without announcing the price — like "WTS Karma Killer" instead of "WTS Karma Killer 75 PED" — are going to try to rip you off! They know their price is higher than normal, which is exactly why they hide it. A good price sells in minutes 👍 And even if the price is high, a vendor who isn't afraid to display it usually signals a fair one. Still not a hard rule, though, as there are MANY scammers on Entropia 😏

Of course you can try to bargain... it's down to your haggling skills and whether the other player is open to offers.

The Tier Rate matters because the higher it is, the faster you reach higher ranks! So if you plan to use your Unlimited gun for a LONG time, you'll hit Tier 10 faster with a Tier Rate of 160/200 than with 32/200. Of course, if you're buying it just for fun and not thinking long-term, you can even grab one at 5/200.

PS: Many Unlimited weapons have already been tiered up by previous owners, meaning they already paid a lot for the tiering levels. Factor that in when buying — if the previous owner tiered it to, say, level 5, the weapon will automatically be pricier 😏, since the tiering cost is baked into the total. And if a weapon is already Tier 9.99 or 10 when you buy it, the Tier Rate is irrelevant, of course.

Be Very Careful Buying a High-End Weapon

Uber or high-end weapons in Entropia Universe sell at gold prices, because people are betting their investment will pay off BIG TIME! So it's not unusual these days to see Uber weapons sold between 100,000 and 300,000 PED... Yes, you read that right — virtual weapons sold for between $10,000 and $30,000.

For the same price, you could buy a brand-new car in real life!

Why? Because these weapons have very high efficiency: high damage, low decay, and so on.

And yet no one can promise you: with this weapon you'll get rich and recoup your investment in no time!

Because it's impossible to predict! We're in an online casino in disguise, remember?

Still... plenty of Ubers and veterans, on the official forum or in-game, will tell you these weapons are literally "PED Printers" 😅 — meaning once you own them, you'll make money and more money!

Why do they say that? Most of the time, these are the same players who own big weapons. If the false "PED Printing" rumor keeps spreading, they'll be able to sell their old investment BIG TIME — and screw you in the process! Because let's be honest: if someone had a genuine "PED Printer" in EU, a weapon guaranteed to make money, NO ONE would sell it! You don't sell something that can crush your competitors.

Rule of thumb: don't look for friendship, generosity or altruism in Entropia Universe...

That's why, if you plan to buy an Unlimited weapon in EU, only do it if it won't hurt your real-life budget — as if it were money you could part with any day. Don't treat it as an investment! A few years back, Unlimited weapon prices were still okay — maybe 50,000 PED at most for the best weapon available — and even that was $5,000 to invest! But these days, prices have skyrocketed to delusional levels!

Think twice: it would take you 5 years to recoup that investment... playing 10+ hours a day! Do you really want to spend your life on EU, when there are so many more interesting things to do out there?

That would be like locking yourself inside a real-life casino and gambling your life away, all day long...

Besides, since 2024 there's been an ongoing devaluation of Unlimited weapons — meaning a lot of them are no longer worth what players and sellers are asking. And still, those players invested so much that they'll cling to their price for eternity, or simply keep their weapons to their grave.

This is called the Sunk Cost effect — google it if you want to know more. So again, be very wary of the stories these players spin to make you buy their stuff. Nobody can guarantee it'll be an investment. Most likely it'll be a scam — and you'll end up broke, your life locked up with your virtual assets in EU.

Extender Findings on CDF Weapons (Community Testing)

If you're doing daily missions for the daily token, you know how good CDF weapons are! And you'd like them to last a little longer than their original TT life. The following results come from an intensive testing by Darkaruki a once famous player of EU, on using Extenders with CDF Weapons, which I'm reproducing here so the findings don't get lost:

 

1. All extenders are entirely useless on 0.20, 0.40 and 0.60 CDF Weapons (except P30 on 0.60).
2. P20 extenders absorb 25% instead of 20% on 0.80 CDF Weapons (due to favorable rounding).
3. P15 extenders absorb 20% instead of 15% on 1.00 CDF Weapons (due to favorable rounding).
4. P30 extenders absorb 33% instead of 30% on 0.60 CDF Weapons (due to favorable rounding).
5. P30 extenders are extremely overpriced and should never be bought (their only niche use is with 0.60 CDF Weapons).

Thanks to the testing results of Darkaruki, we now know exactly which type of Extender to use to extend the lifetime of CDF weapons. (These are player-run findings on obscure mechanics — treat them as a strong starting point rather than official MindArk figures, since the exact rounding behavior can shift with version updates.)

Next part: Daily Missions