What it is
Trade Routes is a mercenary-purchasing tournament. You send a captain carrying Silver to a Mercenary Exchange in another kingdom, buy the offered troops and receive the purchase's displayed tournament points.
The official event guide describes trading, not a monster battle. The event notes explicitly correct older confusion with a runic-monster event: this tournament's score comes from purchases rather than kills.
Its distinctive coordination problem is the exchange's public progress bar. Offers are unique to each player, but everyone buying at that exchange contributes to the same progress towards its clan chest.
When it runs
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Calendar recurrence | Every 6 days |
| Recorded event duration | 1 day |
| Current or next start | Wed, Nov 4, 17:00 |
| Offer selection refresh | Every 7 hours |
The recurrence is recorded in the game's calendar snapshot. The displayed start follows the game's current calendar. The official refresh rule describes offers at an exchange, not a new tournament start.
Check the calendar, then the live event and the particular exchange you intend to visit. A sold-out exchange disappears, so a planned refresh is not a promise that the same building will still be available.
Who can take part
Your city needs Caravan to send a march to an exchange. The official guide also excludes closed kingdoms and says you cannot trade at exchanges in your own kingdom.
The normal maximum travel time is 2 hours. A march that would take longer cannot be sent. Using Ayrin as your Hero removes that time limit, according to the event article.
That exception does not erase the other participation rules. Check the destination and offer rather than assuming a different avatar makes your own kingdom's exchange eligible.
How purchases work
Choose your offer before sending
Each player receives their own offers. Compare the mercenaries, cost and points displayed on your offer instead of using a clanmate's offer as a price list.
The official guide says more valuable offers provide more tournament points. It does not supply a universal conversion between currency spent and points, so use the value next to the offer you actually intend to buy.
- Find an eligible exchange in another kingdom and inspect your offers.
- Check travel time and the remaining event window.
- Choose a purchase that fits your army plan and available Silver.
- Send the captain and remember that the cost leaves your balance immediately.
- Check the purchase result on arrival and wait for the new troops to return home.
Distinguish departure, purchase and return
The cost is deducted when the march starts. Hiring occurs when the captain arrives at the exchange, and the journal records the acquired mercenaries and event points. The captain then returns with the troops.
If the purchase fails, the official guide says the currency returns to your city when the captain returns. Do not treat a missing immediate refund as proof that a failed purchase has become a successful one.
This timing also matters near the event's end. Allow for the purchase's arrival rather than treating departure as completion. Check the live event's handling of a late arrival before committing a last-minute march.
The official article explains that hiring happens on arrival, but not what happens to a purchase that arrives after the tournament ends. Check the live event before sending a late march.
The public bar is not a private reservation
Every player's purchases increase the exchange's shared bar. The buyer whose purchase fills it receives a chest for their clan. Buying earlier offers contributes progress but does not reserve that final award.
Clanmates can discuss who intends to attempt a finishing purchase. They cannot stop outsiders buying at the same exchange. A bar close to full is therefore an opportunity to assess, not a guaranteed chest waiting for your clan.
Avoid purchasing unwanted troops solely to pursue that contested finish. Your offer's useful troops and displayed points should justify the purchase without assuming the chest will follow.
Rewards
Purchases provide troops and points
The primary result is the hired mercenary force and the offer's tournament points. Silver is the cost, not a reward paid back on every successful trade.
The troop-acquisition guide compares this route with training and revival. Use it when deciding whether an exchange offer solves your army need or simply adds units you were not planning to use.
Chest chances for the event's chest
The catalogue binds Merchant's Chest to the event. The only chest the official guide describes is the one for filling an exchange's shared bar. The catalogue doesn't name its trigger, so it isn't confirmed that Merchant's Chest is the chest for filling the shared bar. This table selects the highest item-entry chances and the notable rarer entries from that exact chest.
| Item entry | Declared chance |
|---|---|
| Speedup | 17.8% |
| Speedup | 13.8% |
| Clan Speedup | 12.8% |
| Gold | 8.4% |
| March Speedup | 5.7% |
| Clan Speedup | 0.8% |
| Dragon Coins | 0.2% |
Some item entries share a displayed name but represent distinct catalogue items. The percentages describe those entries inside the chest, not the chance that your march will win the finishing purchase.
For what opening clan gifts contributes to shared progression, see Clan wealth. That progression is separate from the exchange's public purchase bar.
A plan for your clan
The UTC timing guide helps keep departure instructions and arrival deadlines clear across time zones.
Common mistakes
- Looking for points from monster kills instead of purchases.
- Visiting an exchange in your own kingdom.
- Budgeting as though the cost is deducted only on arrival.
- Assuming a clanmate's offers are available to your account.
- Treating progress contributed to the bar as ownership of the final chest.
FAQ
Can I use an exchange in my own kingdom?
No. The official event article requires an exchange in another kingdom and excludes participation from closed kingdoms.
When does the purchase cost leave my balance?
When the captain begins the march. The hiring itself takes place on arrival.
What happens if the purchase fails?
The official guide says the currency returns when the captain returns to your city. It is not described as an instant refund at the failed arrival.
Does everyone buying at the exchange receive its clan chest?
No. The buyer whose purchase fills the shared progress bar receives the chest for their clan.
Are the chest percentages my odds of winning the finishing purchase?
No. They describe item entries within the named chest after it is awarded. Competition for the shared bar is a different question.
Sources
- TB Clan Tools event notes
- Trade routes: purchase flow, restrictions and shared chest ·
- The in-game event calendar
- The in-game chest and reward lists
First published · Updated
