The discrepancy is actually caused by the fact that the merchant in the Starfarer's Refuge is an object, while the Creon Embassy merchant is an NPC. NPCs automatically scale their inventory to the threat level of the location they spawn in (which is level 2 for the custom outposts), but this doesn't automatically happen for objects with an inventory.

I've listed this as an issue on my TO-DO list, and will be looking into a fix soon!

As for the price comparison, the two merchants use different currencies, which makes them prices seem wildly different. If you were to use pixels to purchase the 500 Tokens of Merit needed in the Starfarer's Refuge, you'd actually pay 87500 pixels for a single cache. That makes the Creon Embassy one a lot cheaper, as it sits at "only" 50000 pixels. There are other, more efficient ways to earn Tokens of Merit, of course, but a direct purchase with pixels is actually cheaper in the Creon Embassy.

Oh okay thanks for replying! That being said though, currently I employ a bit of a trick to get a lot under that price tag for an Avikan cache, because instead of buying those tokens from the Drifter's Emporium at 175 pixels apiece, I instead purchase monster hides at 35 pixels apiece from one of those merchants near the spawn point. This makes each 500-token cache worth (35*500 =) 17,500 pixels each, well under that intended 87500 pixel price-tag. Maybe it's something to keep in mind when making balances..?

Originally posted by TFQ ScrubbieDoo:

Oh okay thanks for replying! That being said though, currently I employ a bit of a trick to get a lot under that price tag for an Avikan cache, because instead of buying those tokens from the Drifter's Emporium at 175 pixels apiece, I instead purchase monster hides at 35 pixels apiece from one of those merchants near the spawn point. This makes each 500-token cache worth (35*500 =) 17,500 pixels each, well under that intended 87500 pixel price-tag. Maybe it's something to keep in mind when making balances..?

Good call! I'll take another look at the cache prices, and perhaps turn up the pixel cost of some of the basic crafting materials a little bit.