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[BoogieMan]

I'm having a recurring problem game after game. It's so very, very hard to get my broker to go to the depot so I can actually trade. He'll take a break for what seems like months, mill around, and sometimes say "no job" instead of going. It's extremely frustrating that I'll spend like 15 minutes hauling stuff to the place and either they leave or I have to make it so anyone can and make his job pointless and getting worse deals.

 I've tried toggling off all other responsibilities and often he STILL won't find time to go to the depot. I've tried setting it as a burrow to force him to go, tried moving him as part of a squad, toggling on/off the depot options.. It's driving me crazy. That job should have an extremely high priority over anything non life threatening.

 Any tips?

[Sphalerite]

First, check his personality.  He might be incredibly lazy or something.

Second, make sure you're actually assigning him to the Broker job in the nobles screen.

Also, make sure you're actually pressing the key that requests the broker to go to the trade depot.  Disabling all his other labors and making a burrow on the trade depot that he's assigned to also helps, but you seem to be doing those already.

[Arekis]

Sounds like you're doing everything right; your broker just happens to be a lazy bum.  Even with all his jobs turned off, he can still be on break, sleeping, eating, drinking, partying.

Putting him in a squad gives me an idea: set up your depot inside a room with a door, then station the broker there.  Once he's inside, lock the door and get rid of the order.  The only things he should be able to do then are trade, go on break, or sleep on the floor.  If he sits there with no job and nothing else to do, then your assignments are broken.  If after fixing them he still fails to trade, apply magma liberally and assign a new broker.

[Sutremaine]

Deactivating and then reactivating the 'trade at depot' request seems to shake brokers out of their torpor when they're standing around with No Job.

[billybobfred]

I just let any dwarf trade. As long as the broker has Appraisal (and I replace him if he doesn't), then you'll see enough numbers to get by, even if he's halfway across the map from your TD and missing all his limbs.

[JmzLost]

I tend to give traders a huge profit anyway, so I don't care if it's my broker or someone else doing the trading.  Traders are always ecstatic after I give them 5 or 6 large, serrated silver discs.

JMZ

[Brian]

I agree that there's a fundamental problem with the priority of the broker profession.

That said, is there ever a case that an absolutely worst-quality broker (no skill at all) dwarf isn't good enough? I haven't had one personally, but I suppose some games might be that hard to make every dwarf buck count.

[Lytha]

Yeah, it matters somewhat in the first autumn of an embark with 0 points spent on items (i.e. no anvil) and a harsh scarcity of trees and flora. You want that anvil and that copper nugget right now and all you got are some prickle berry seed roasts. Ouchies.

[GC1CEO]

I have that problem sometimes too, and just replace my Broker if he takes too long.

[RTiger]

Grab his lazy butt and toss him in the trade depot

Make a burrow that is only the trade depot and assign the broker to it.

[wuphonsreach]

Always look through your first 10-15 dwarves and find the one that is organized and/or self-disciplined.  Give him/her a chair, a table and a bed in a tiny 2x2 room, and assign all three to them.

My broker always does quad-duty as the broker, bookkeeper, manager and expedition leader.  On the rare chance that the broker won't go to the depot, I just let any dwarf do the trade if I think we're getting close to "traders are almost ready to leave" deadline.

[Arekis]

That said, is there ever a case that an absolutely worst-quality broker (no skill at all) dwarf isn't good enough? I haven't had one personally, but I suppose some games might be that hard to make every dwarf buck count.

I've had a broker with no appraisal skills try to trade.  He couldn't even give me a bad estimate on the prices of items.  I had to guess how much each thing was worth and was very likely heavily ripped off.  In that case, at least a bit of appraisal skill is useful.

[Brian]

That said, is there ever a case that an absolutely worst-quality broker (no skill at all) dwarf isn't good enough? I haven't had one personally, but I suppose some games might be that hard to make every dwarf buck count.

I've had a broker with no appraisal skills try to trade.  He couldn't even give me a bad estimate on the prices of items.  I had to guess how much each thing was worth and was very likely heavily ripped off.  In that case, at least a bit of appraisal skill is useful.

Appraising is done separately from trading. What I meant was is there really any detriment to having a trader with absolutely no skills.

[BuGGaTon]

My broker is always my mason (I seem to never get moody masons until after my broker becomes legendary and only then it's my miners...) so I just suspend his workshop jobs and put him in a "Broker" burrow.