Join the new world

As I take the first steps on the long road to becoming a major player in politics and economics, I’ve first had to figure out exactly what the hell is going on. In terms of economics I was, as I’m sure many new players have been, completely thrown off by the game’s mechanics. I had no idea what holding companies are, how much to pay employees or where and what to sell. With some guidance from Dio Eraclea however, I’ve come to establish a moderately successful small business that I plan on expanding. Read along with me as I explain what the hell is going on in eRepublik’s economic mechanics.
This article will be dedicated to explaining the most basic part of the eRepublik economy: companies. Companies: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly
Essentially, there are three forms of companies now. These are 1) Raw material companies; 2) Commodity companies and; 3) Holding companies. The first two companies produce different types of materials and goods while the holding company is something different altogether.

Raw material companies:
These companies produce the materials needed by commodity companies. These companies produce things like weapon raw materials, housing raw materials, food raw materials, and more. Certain regions have bonuses for certain materials, mainly because that region has an abundance of raw materials. For example, Kentucky has an abundance of saltpeter, thus saltpeter mines in Kentucky draw a sizeable bonus (about 25% ). Additionally raw material companies, unlike other companies, can be purchased through cash. Raw material companies are not ranked by star, that is there is no “one-star” raw material company or a “five-star” company; all raw material companies produce the same quality of raw materials. However depending on how expensive the company is it might produce more or less (expensive companies produce more, cheap companies produce less).

Commodity companies:
These companies produce the goods that you can purchase in a market place, such as weapons, houses, airplane tickets, food and more. They require raw materials in order to operate. These companies are qualified by a star-rating, and thus produce varying levels of goods. A one-star company would produce one-star quality products, while a seven-star company would produce seven-star quality products. The higher quality a product is, the longer or more beneficial its use is. For example, one-star weapons inflict minor damage, whereas seven-star weapons inflict major damage. Commodity companies can only be purchased with gold.

Holding companies:
Holding companies are a different beast altogether. These companies don’t actually produce anything, but are more like conglomerates that hold a bunch of smaller companies. To operate raw material or commodity companies in a certain country, you need a holding company in that country. Additionally, to operate a raw material or commodity company as a manager, that company must be “assigned” to a holding company. By assigning a company to a holding company, you are incorporating it into that region, and moving it to a different region will cost money. While the first holding company is free, they become increasingly expensive the more of them you own and operate. Example: To operate a food company in the U.S., you need a holding company in the U.S. to “assign” that food company to. Once that food company is assigned to the U.S., it will cost money to relocate somewhere else, but as manager you can work in that company since it is now assigned to a holding company.

I hope this has clarified to you new readers what these companies are, how they operate and what they do. If you have any questions, feel free to DM me or drop your question in the comment section!