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Workshop interior: a craftsman NPC talks with two players among ship models. XLGAMES via Steam

ArcheAge Chronicles Crafting and Trade

Updated

Early Access is live. We are updating this page from launch-week patch notes, player reports and creator videos; changes land in the change log.

Yes, ArcheAge Chronicles has crafting, trade and life skills. Steam’s store copy lists life skills including hunting, gathering, housing, farming and crafting, plus player trade and trading runs. XLGAMES has not published a list of crafting professions or recipes.

What is confirmed

Steam says players can “engage in rich life skills content such as hunting, gathering, housing, farming, and crafting.” The Early Access FAQ lists crafting and trading among launch content. The full-version plan includes expanding life skills and community content, so more is coming later.

The 2024 developer diary adds two points. Crafting plays a crucial role in character growth, and trade uses wagons, carts and goods that move from region to region.

Where crafting materials come from

The October progression post gives the clearest look at how crafting connects to the world:

Riverside camp with red-and-white tents below hillside ruins.
Riverside camp with red-and-white tents below hillside ruins.Image: XLGAMES via Steam
  • Treasure chests can hold gear, rare crafting recipes and other helpful items. Each chest can be opened once per character.
  • Field bosses roam the open world and drop gear, including accessories, along with crafting materials you can’t get anywhere else.

A sensible approach is to treat exploration and boss fights as part of your crafting routine, not a separate activity.

Trade runs

Trade is built around wagons and carts. Official YouTube has a video called Trade Run Gameplay. XLGAMES told Wccftech in 2025 that trade missions can be taken solo or with others, and that they were retuned away from large raid groups or PvP blockades.

Frontier settlement square with a timber watchtower and green-clad townsfolk.
Frontier settlement square with a timber watchtower and green-clad townsfolk.Image: XLGAMES via Steam

On the PvP side, Creative Director Jay Lee wrote that trade runs through PvP channels, and guilds fighting to take and hold trade posts, are early planning and not a launch promise. See the PvP guide.

What the demo skipped

The Steam Next Fest demo left out some life content, including housing and trade. So trade and the life skills are untested by the public.

Gliding, sailing and underwater

A Games Press writeup of an October 7 XLGAMES developer video says the team is developing gliding, underwater exploration, housing, life skills, crafting and trade. The Steam FAQ does not name gliding or underwater play. A 2025 Wccftech Q&A with XLGAMES said sailing remains part of the game, but Steam’s launch description gives no ship or ocean rules. Treat those as in development until we see them live.

Do not use 2014 guides

Guides for the 2014 ArcheAge describe a different set of systems. XLGAMES has not said those systems return in Chronicles, so we are not repeating any of their terms or numbers here.

Not published yet

  • Profession names and how you level them.
  • Recipe lists and crafting stations.
  • Which items sell where, and trade run payouts.
  • How farming works and whether it links to housing.

How to prepare

  • Fight field bosses when you can. Their drops include crafting materials you can’t get anywhere else.
  • Open every chest you find, since it can hold rare recipes.
  • We are adding profession lists and route notes as XLGAMES, patch notes or player reports confirm them, with links.

Sources