Update

On October 28 the Black Market was reintroduced as a Building (located at the right side of the rural area), which needs to be unlocked with a BLUEPRINT. I have not unlocked this, so have no further information on how it works. If you have unlocked it, anything you can share in the comment section is much appreciated.

Introduction

A new way is introduced to acquire premanufactured gear and regulated goods, unavailable anywhere else. In recent version of the black market also speed ups and various types of research files are available. These goods can be purchased using Black Market Credits, which can be acquired as prizes of Challenges, the Black Market Shooting Range, exclusive Sales and by attacking the Black Market with your commander.

How it Works

At certain times the Black Market is available. There are some similarities with Rebels, in the sense that there is a timer, a health bar, and the Black Market can be attacked by commanders. Rebel Target Level 1 research is required to do so. Like with Rebels, it might be that your base is too far from the Black Market and you need to teleport closer to be able to hit it. Once you have beaten the Black Market you can enter it via the More menu, there is a new Black Market Item. Here you can purchase some Black Material gear, materials and the Doomsday Mod. Your commander is not available while you are in the Black Market and when you are finished you need to pull him out by clicking on the Commander Troop and selecting Go Home. Multiple Black Market tiles can appear at random locations at the same time. If you have problem locating one best to ask in your Alliance Chat, or State Chat.

Our Impression

Initially this just seemed like yet another expensive method to get gear, but recently speed ups and research files have been added as well for prices that make them accessible without spending packs to get black market credits. Especially this extra source for the various research files is welcome, as these are hard to acquire for non-spenders.

In the June 17 Black Market addition speed up crates have been added as well as several gear pieces from other special events (e.g. Rocketeer, Headhunter and Judgment).

In the overview menu there is a Black Market item with a full list of items available (currently available and available in the past) and their most recent prices.

Comparison

There are three different ways to purchase a Lvl 6 Serpent's Head in the Black Market, although their differences are not huge, you might make a comparison to make sure you get the cheapest one, if you decide to go this route. One might expect that purchasing the finished product would be the cheapest, as you cannot do anything else with it, but with the initial prices this is not the case.

The Lvl 6 could be purchased directly for 708,000 credits, the required 4 lvl 6 materials could be purchased for a total of 814,200 credits. However buying lvl 1 materials and combining them yourselves costs “only” 695,360. I suggest to do a price comparison with latest prices before you purchase to make sure you do not overpay. As prices are changing (and not all in the same direction) it is unclear what is better, gear, lvl 6 mats or lvl 1 mats. Of course by making a choice between buying the materials or the gear the coin cost should also be a factor. In case of the Serpent's Head the manufacturing cost is 21M Coin, so this might be an extra reason to go for the finished gear.

Contributed by: GamesGuide on April 15, 2016

(last modified on October 29, 2016)