So, why track the Exchange rate?

Not everyone is into crazy Z:D currency exchange shenanigans, and its easy to understand why. I can be boring, it’s a slow process, and you really have no control over it. However, if you buy Zen at all, and have any left over, its worth looking at. Why?
The Dilithium Store.

Because you can buy items ranging from Ground Weapons to Ship Weapons to Fighters, the Exchange rate can make things more or less expensive. When the Z:D exchange rate is high, your Zen offers you more value as you’re buying more Dilithium per point. Conversely, if the Z:D rate is low, you’ll have to spend more Zen to get enough Dilithium for your goodies. Regardless if you’re using a monthly stipend or the leftover points from a Zen card, you can save some Zen by keeping an eye on things.

For instance, the Stalker Advanced Fighter costs 30,250 Refined Dilithium.

• At 1:153, it would cost 198 Zen.
• At 1:165, it would cost 184 Zen, a savings of 14 Zen.

If you wanted to get 6 Vice Admiral’s Tetryon Cannon Mk XI [Acc][CrtD][Dmg], that would run you 135,720 Refined Dilithium.

• At 1:153, it would cost 882 Zen.
• At 1:165, it would cost 823 Zen, a savings of 59 Zen.

So, sometimes a little patience can help! So far, it seems if the exchange is going to dip down, it’s the weekends. As such, if you want to buy Dilithium, you’re likely better off not buying at that time (better to buy Zen).

If you ever want to get really crazy, using a Spreadsheet can help you easily see what your buying power is. For instance, in Excel:

	1	2	3
a	Item	Price	(insert exchange rate)
b	[Tetryon Cannon Mk X [Acc][CrtH]]	15,125	=ROUNDUP(C2/$A$3,0)
c	[Tetryon Turret Mk X [Acc][CrtH]]	15,125	98

=ROUNDUP(C2/$A$3,0) is a wonderful thing. ROUNDUP tells Excel to round the results up. $A$3 is the cell where you’ll put the exchange rate value (153, 155, 165, 200, whatever). The ,0 after that tells ROUNDUP to round up to the nearest whole number (no decimals). So, from my spreadsheet...

[Tetryon Cannon Mk X [Acc][CrtH]]	15,125	98
[Tetryon Turret Mk X [Acc][CrtH]]	15,125	98

And there you go! An easy way to see what your relative buying power is, a way to see how the Exchange rate can be useful to you, and to translate Dilithium prices into Zen prices!