Trader's communication backgrounds. Details' colors change with creature's coat color.
“Traders are in it for the profit. Their only allegiance is to the almighty Sporebuck.”
- - In-Game description
The Trader archetype is one of the ten archetypes in Spore.
NPC empires with this archetype are welcoming and content about prosperity, therefore are rather easy to ally with thanks to their innate +30 relations. They also expand rather fast than other archetypes.
The Traders acquire the Cash Infusion unique tool. It can be used to instantly fill the economic takeover bar for any system the player has a trade route to when they're in their star system.
Gaining the archetype[]
Through Evolution[]
The Trader archetype is awarded to species that gain a majority of blue cards, or reach the Space Stage from the Creature Stage with one of each finishing on blue.
The recommended path is Blue, Blue, Green, and Blue.
- Cell: Discount for all standard equipment
- Creature: Faster travel
- Tribal: Extra relation
- Civilization: Faster spice production
| Behavior in the Cell Stage | Behavior in the Creature Stage | Behavior in the Tribal Stage | Behavior in the Civilization Stage | Resulting archetype |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Herbivore | Adaptable | Industrious | Economic | Trader |
| Omnivore | Social | Industrious | Economic | Trader |
| Omnivore | Adaptable | Friendly | Economic | Trader |
| Omnivore | Adaptable | Industrious | Religious | Trader |
| Omnivore | Adaptable | Industrious | Economic | Trader |
| Omnivore | Adaptable | Industrious | Military | Trader |
| Omnivore | Adaptable | Aggressive | Economic | Trader |
| Omnivore | Predator | Industrious | Economic | Trader |
| Carnivore | Adaptable | Industrious | Economic | Trader |
| Skipped | Social | Aggressive | Economic | Trader |
| Skipped | Adaptable | Industrious | Economic | Trader |
| Skipped | Predator | Friendly | Economic | Trader |
| Skipped | Skipped | Industrious | Economic | Trader |
| Skipped | Skipped | Skipped | Economic | Trader |
Through mission[]
First you must ally with an empire following this philosophy with a strength factor of 4 or 5, then you may request to become 'like' them from the mission interface. After paying 
2,500,000, the mission given is to sell 5,000 items. Upon completion return to claim your reward and you will change your philosophy and associated archetype, losing your old superpower and gaining the Trader's Cash Infusion power.
- Note that you may not sell 5000 items and then automatically complete the mission upon its acceptance. You must accept and pay for the mission first, then sell 5000 items. Selling items and then re-purchasing them back will revert the counter, therefore the player cannot "farm" the mission.
- Be sure that the Trader is not in war with another empire, otherwise, pick up the mission from the Trader's homeworld (this goes for any archetype, especially Warriors since they constantly pick a fight with another empire). This is because if the planet in which you accepted the mission has a weak defense and is at war, it will be conquered. If the planet does get conquered, you will have to start the whole mission over, and you will have wasted your time and money doing the mission.
Trade[]
Traders offer a wide variety of tools, albeit being somewhat expensive compared to other archetypes.
| Tool | Price |
|---|---|
| Crop Circles | 60,000
|
| Colony Incredi-Pak | 97,500
|
| AOE Repair | 30,000
|
| Energy Mega Pack | 10,000
|
| Energy Pack | 5,000
|
| Planet Scan | 50,000
|
| Wormhole Key | 1,500,000
|
| Create Creature | 975,000
|
| Creature Tweaker | 325,000
|
| Embassy | 325,000
|
| Fireworks | 18,000
|
| Global Mind Erase | 30,000
|
| Mind Erase | 180,000
|
| Monolith | 300,000
|
| Supersizer | 260,000
|
| Air Conditioning | 360,000
|
| Cloud Accumulator | 270,000
|
| Cold Cloud Vacuum | 360,000
|
| Hot Cloud Seeder | 360,000
|
| Hot Cloud Vacuum | 360,000
|
| Refrigeration Ray | 270,000
|
| Bio Stabilizer | 195,000
|
| Colony Incredi-Pak | 97,500
|
| Spice Storage | 250,000
|
| Uber Turret | 450,000
|
| Interstellar Drive 2 | 180,000
|
| Interstellar Drive 4 | 375,000
|
| Laser | 325,000
|
| Mini Bomb | 260,000
|
| Mini Auto Blaster | 65,000
|
| Mini Pulse | 130,000
|
| Proton Missile | 260,000
|
| Shield | 325,000
|
Trader's Philosophy[]
"As members of the Trader Empire, we strongly believe in the Philosophy of Prosperity. It teaches us to mind our own business, and to mind it very well. There's no other Empire in the Universe that can compete with our levels of operational efficiency! Although I must say, you look like a clever species, and I'll bet you're doing a heck of a job running your Empire, aren't you? Don't be modest, of course, you are, or you wouldn't be here talking to me! Only the smartest species in the Universe know to seek out the Trader Empire for all their financial advisory needs. And only the smartest species in the Universe sign up for our training courses on the Philosophy of Prosperity. We also offer group discounts if you know any other Empires who want to learn the secrets of the Tablet of Prosperity. Sorry, no refunds."
Galactic Adventures[]
Ranks[]
- - Runner
- - Analyst
- - Executive Assistant
- - Shift Supervisor
- - District Manager
- - General Manager
- - Vice President
- - President
- - CEO
- - Tycoon
Campaign adventure[]
The Trader campaign adventure is Ruins of Doom, where the player has to search for The Golden Llama.
Captain accessories[]
Trader tools used in Galactic Adventures.
- Sprint Pack - Enables Sprint Burst, a powered-up sprint that requires energy to use. Cannot be upgraded.
- Glider Pack - Enables Hover, a powered-up Glide that requires energy to use.
- Stealth Helmet - Enables Stealth Field, a powered-up Sneak that requires energy to use.
- Jump Jet - Enables Jump Jet, a very high powered-up jump with an energy cost.
In-game dialogue[]
Neutral[]
Angry[]
Happy[]
Laugh[]
Gasp[]
Urgent[]
Sad[]
Afraid[]
Trivia[]
- Trader Empires shares resemblance to Ferengi from Star Trek, as all they are interested in is profit. Other influences from popular science fiction could include the Hutts and the Trade Federation from the Star Wars franchise.
Traders will sometimes say they did it for the Grox after completing a mission.
- Sometimes after completing a mission for them, they will say they did it for The Grox.
- Sometimes after failing a mission or attacking them, they will "Tell the Grox on you!", meaning Trader empires may support or not-dislike The Grox, although they still, like all other types of empires, get attacked by the Grox sometimes.
- After being attacked by the Grox, the trader can often be heard saying "Not Even!" when the player tries to talk to them.
- Traders often flatter the player. This is occasionally followed by phrases such as "Will you give us money now?"
- Empires following the Trader philosophy will pay a higher price for Tablets of Prosperity than empires following other philosophies will.
- If assigning you a military mission, Traders may refer to the enemy as "nerfy-looking scruffherders". This is a spoonerism of "scruffy-looking nerfherders", an insult used by Princess Leia in The Empire Strikes Back.
