Best Early Trade Route (Full Loop, Community-Tested)

This route was posted by a Chinese community player and then corrected by others in the replies. It is a full loop — follow it as written the first time, then drop the legs that feel too dangerous for your party.

#The loop

#Community corrections (read before you go)

• Consider dropping the 4-armor leg. One replier warns it makes the road fights noticeably harder — armor is heavy and pushes your danger level up.
• Do not overstock dangerous goods early. Another player's summary: keep risky items light in the first hours, or you will wipe a wagon full of profit.

#Two mechanics that change every route

1. Danger follows cargo. Every extra stack raises encounter difficulty on the road. The route above works because it keeps the wagon lean at each dangerous leg.
2. Reputation comes from matching town type — not the demand star. Selling goods that match a town's type raises reputation even without the "in-demand" marker. One player reported being misled by the star mechanic "the entire game" before discovering this.

#Sources

• Steam thread: How to build a perfect sales route (CN) — the full route and the two corrections above
• Steam thread: selling "in-demand" wares increase your reputation... I was misled — town-type reputation mechanic

Town names are the English localizations of the Chinese route; if you spot a mismatch after a patch, let us know.