Making deals with other players is an essential part of the Complex Gaming experience! However, it's also important to know how to identify red flags when trading to ensure that you do not get scammed. This guide will hopefully show you how to do just that!
The Basics
You always want to start by taking note of what you are looking for/what the other player is offering. It's important that you remain patient and do a thorough job of looking through what they have to ensure it matches what you want. For example, if your deal involves Pokémon, check to see if it is the exact stats you're looking for such as if it's breedable/unbreedable, BP (Battle Perfect), HA (Hidden Ability), etc.
Note: You can use {pokemon[Slot]} and {item[Slot]) to post Pokémon and Items in chat. Doing so will allow players to hover over the post in order to view its stats/description.
Prior to sending/receiving any part of the deal, make sure that you clarify the transaction to the other player and get confirmation from them that they agree to the deal. For instance, if you are doing a trade for a BP Unbreedable Riolu in exchange for $600,000, you could say something such as: "To confirm, I am buying your BP Unbreedable Riolu for $600,000 coins, correct?" Then, wait for them to say yes or that they agree this is the case.
It is also useful to get uncropped screenshots of the conversation you had with the player, any posts in chat of the Pokémon/Item involved, etc. This will allow you to provide evidence to Staff should you be scammed.
Going Through With The Deal
Once you have full confirmation that both you and the other player want to go through with the deal, both parties should send their respective parts through the command /safetrade. This command allows both parties involved to get their respective ends of the deal without the concern of being scammed (see Useful Commands for more information). After you have received your Pokémon/Items, make sure to confirm that everything matches up to what you expected to receive. Look through all stats and inspect any items that you received. If there were Coins or Tokens involved, check your Balance History (/bal history) to ensure you got the correct amount agreed upon.
It is incredibly important that you take time to do the above as soon as you receive your end of a deal. The sooner you identify a problem, the better and faster Staff can assist you.
Deals Done On Discord
When a deal is agreed upon through Discord, always make sure you get complete confirmation of the player's IGN and Server. You can get this, for example, by saying "For confirmation, can I have your IGN and Server?" This will allow you to be able to link their IGN to their Discord account. Also, check the Discord account itself out properly by seeing how long ago it was made, how long it has been in the Complex Discord (if it is in there at all), etc. Generally speaking, you want the account to have been made a long time ago and have been in the Complex Discord for a fair bit of time as well.
Similar to in-game deals, be thorough with your explanations on what you are looking for, and ask for uncropped screenshot proof of the player owning everything they are offering to provide to you. Check all screenshots they provide and ensure it matches exactly what you want to receive out of the deal. It would also be good for you to check this out in game, so you can physically verify these items exist. Once this has been done, you should be clear to go through with the deal.
After all parties have received their goods, ensure that you have take uncropped screenshots of the Discord conversations and the Pokémon/Items being exchanged. Try to take screenshots of the Discord conversation as it occurs to prevent deletion/editing of messages. Finally, double check to confirm everything you have received is identical to what was shown to you.
Store Giftcard Deals
Deals that involve Store Giftcards (also known as Giftcard Deals, IRL Deals, etc.) are especially important to keep track of. Follow the information above depending on where the deal was discussed and agreed upon (Discord or in-game). As an extra precaution, if you are receiving a GC code, ask the player to go to our Donor Store and provide evidence that the code has the appropriate balance on it at the link below:
If you are receiving a GC code, you can ask the other player to send the GC code first. This is purely optional, however doing so can allow you to verify the legitimacy of the code through the link above. Once you have verified everything (the GC code being valid, the deal being clearly agreed upon, etc.) you can go through with the deal.
After all parties have received their goods, ensure that you take uncropped screenshots of the Discord conversations and the Pokémon/Items being exchanged. Finally, double check to confirm everything you have received is identical to what was shown to you.
Note: IRL Deals must ONLY involve Complex Store Giftcards. The involvement of other Giftcards, IRL Money, etc. is considered Illegal IRL Deals, which is against the Rules.
Useful Commands
- /playtime check [IGN] -> Allows you to check another user's playtime. Any accounts that have low playtime are at a higher risk for scamming. This is because they could be being used as alternate accounts by players in order to get items for their main account. This is not to say all new players will scam, however be a bit more cautious when it comes to accounts with very low playtime.
- /bal other [IGN] ->Allows you to check another user's balance. This can help particularly with deals that involve Coins/Tokens as you can confirm if the other player has the correct amount they are offering to give you.
- /bal history -> Allows you to check any changes to your Balance (/bal). If a deal involves Coins/Tokens, use this command to check if you received or gave the amount agreed upon.
- /pay IGN [coins/tokens] [Amount] ->Allows you to pay Coins/Tokens to another user. This command has a confirmation screen GUI should a payment exceed $10,000,000 or 500x Tokens, if the receiving player is offline, or if the receiving player has a low Playtime. This GUI shows information such as the receiving player's playtime, balance, first login, when they were last online, and information on how to make safe trades with others.
- /seen IGN ->Allows you to view information on a player. For safe trades, the First Joined section can be useful to determine if an Account seems legitimate or not.
- /safetrade [accept/cancel/cancelall/deny/invite] IGN -> Allows you to safely trade with other players. The menu that pops up can be customized to fit the deal both parties have agreed to. This command allows you to trade Pokemon, Items in your inventory, and Coins/Tokens. You can also Shift + RIGHT-CLICK on a player to send them a SafeTrade invite. Note that you MUST be near the player for this to work.
What To Do If You Have Been Scammed
If you have been scammed, please gather all of your evidence for what occurred and make a Ticket in the #help-and-support channel on our Discord. Staff will be able to assist you through the issue and get this reverted if determined to be a scam. When you submit your Ticket, provide your IGN, Server, the other player's IGN (and Discord ID if the deal occurred on Discord), and a description of the deal along with any evidence you have.
The Basics
You always want to start by taking note of what you are looking for/what the other player is offering. It's important that you remain patient and do a thorough job of looking through what they have to ensure it matches what you want. For example, if your deal involves Pokémon, check to see if it is the exact stats you're looking for such as if it's breedable/unbreedable, BP (Battle Perfect), HA (Hidden Ability), etc.
Note: You can use {pokemon[Slot]} and {item[Slot]) to post Pokémon and Items in chat. Doing so will allow players to hover over the post in order to view its stats/description.
Prior to sending/receiving any part of the deal, make sure that you clarify the transaction to the other player and get confirmation from them that they agree to the deal. For instance, if you are doing a trade for a BP Unbreedable Riolu in exchange for $600,000, you could say something such as: "To confirm, I am buying your BP Unbreedable Riolu for $600,000 coins, correct?" Then, wait for them to say yes or that they agree this is the case.
It is also useful to get uncropped screenshots of the conversation you had with the player, any posts in chat of the Pokémon/Item involved, etc. This will allow you to provide evidence to Staff should you be scammed.
Going Through With The Deal
Once you have full confirmation that both you and the other player want to go through with the deal, both parties should send their respective parts through the command /safetrade. This command allows both parties involved to get their respective ends of the deal without the concern of being scammed (see Useful Commands for more information). After you have received your Pokémon/Items, make sure to confirm that everything matches up to what you expected to receive. Look through all stats and inspect any items that you received. If there were Coins or Tokens involved, check your Balance History (/bal history) to ensure you got the correct amount agreed upon.
It is incredibly important that you take time to do the above as soon as you receive your end of a deal. The sooner you identify a problem, the better and faster Staff can assist you.
Deals Done On Discord
When a deal is agreed upon through Discord, always make sure you get complete confirmation of the player's IGN and Server. You can get this, for example, by saying "For confirmation, can I have your IGN and Server?" This will allow you to be able to link their IGN to their Discord account. Also, check the Discord account itself out properly by seeing how long ago it was made, how long it has been in the Complex Discord (if it is in there at all), etc. Generally speaking, you want the account to have been made a long time ago and have been in the Complex Discord for a fair bit of time as well.
Similar to in-game deals, be thorough with your explanations on what you are looking for, and ask for uncropped screenshot proof of the player owning everything they are offering to provide to you. Check all screenshots they provide and ensure it matches exactly what you want to receive out of the deal. It would also be good for you to check this out in game, so you can physically verify these items exist. Once this has been done, you should be clear to go through with the deal.
After all parties have received their goods, ensure that you have take uncropped screenshots of the Discord conversations and the Pokémon/Items being exchanged. Try to take screenshots of the Discord conversation as it occurs to prevent deletion/editing of messages. Finally, double check to confirm everything you have received is identical to what was shown to you.
Store Giftcard Deals
Deals that involve Store Giftcards (also known as Giftcard Deals, IRL Deals, etc.) are especially important to keep track of. Follow the information above depending on where the deal was discussed and agreed upon (Discord or in-game). As an extra precaution, if you are receiving a GC code, ask the player to go to our Donor Store and provide evidence that the code has the appropriate balance on it at the link below:
If you are receiving a GC code, you can ask the other player to send the GC code first. This is purely optional, however doing so can allow you to verify the legitimacy of the code through the link above. Once you have verified everything (the GC code being valid, the deal being clearly agreed upon, etc.) you can go through with the deal.
After all parties have received their goods, ensure that you take uncropped screenshots of the Discord conversations and the Pokémon/Items being exchanged. Finally, double check to confirm everything you have received is identical to what was shown to you.
Note: IRL Deals must ONLY involve Complex Store Giftcards. The involvement of other Giftcards, IRL Money, etc. is considered Illegal IRL Deals, which is against the Rules.
Useful Commands
- /playtime check [IGN] -> Allows you to check another user's playtime. Any accounts that have low playtime are at a higher risk for scamming. This is because they could be being used as alternate accounts by players in order to get items for their main account. This is not to say all new players will scam, however be a bit more cautious when it comes to accounts with very low playtime.
- /bal other [IGN] ->Allows you to check another user's balance. This can help particularly with deals that involve Coins/Tokens as you can confirm if the other player has the correct amount they are offering to give you.
- /bal history -> Allows you to check any changes to your Balance (/bal). If a deal involves Coins/Tokens, use this command to check if you received or gave the amount agreed upon.
- /pay IGN [coins/tokens] [Amount] ->Allows you to pay Coins/Tokens to another user. This command has a confirmation screen GUI should a payment exceed $10,000,000 or 500x Tokens, if the receiving player is offline, or if the receiving player has a low Playtime. This GUI shows information such as the receiving player's playtime, balance, first login, when they were last online, and information on how to make safe trades with others.
- /seen IGN ->Allows you to view information on a player. For safe trades, the First Joined section can be useful to determine if an Account seems legitimate or not.
- /safetrade [accept/cancel/cancelall/deny/invite] IGN -> Allows you to safely trade with other players. The menu that pops up can be customized to fit the deal both parties have agreed to. This command allows you to trade Pokemon, Items in your inventory, and Coins/Tokens. You can also Shift + RIGHT-CLICK on a player to send them a SafeTrade invite. Note that you MUST be near the player for this to work.
What To Do If You Have Been Scammed
If you have been scammed, please gather all of your evidence for what occurred and make a Ticket in the #help-and-support channel on our Discord. Staff will be able to assist you through the issue and get this reverted if determined to be a scam. When you submit your Ticket, provide your IGN, Server, the other player's IGN (and Discord ID if the deal occurred on Discord), and a description of the deal along with any evidence you have.
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