NTE Auction Guide: Ebisu Auction House's 51 Lots + BidKing's 3 Tiers, Bidding Strategy From Real Data

Players tend to lump every bidding feature in NTE under one label, but the source tables split it clean in two: different item pools, different opponents, no shared data at all. Confusing one for the other is the single most common reason newcomers walk into the wrong room expecting the wrong thing.

Short version: Ebisu is a see-it-buy-it city stall, BidKing is a standalone mind game with a win/lose ruleset and an S/A/B leaderboard grade. Need upgrade mats or decor? Go to Ebisu. Want to test your read on rivals? Go to BidKing. For every other currency in NTE, see the NTE Currency Guide.

The source table DT_AuctionItemDataTable lists exactly 51 lots, sorted into 5 random-draw groups (DT_AuctionGroupDataTable) — every auction session pulls a total of 10 lots following this exact formula, never all 51 at once.

The 6 pieces in Group 4 are the real headline: decor items (2 drawer pieces, 1 display cabinet, 3 others) with base prices from 150,000 to 750,000 and expectation prices from 500,000 to 2,500,000 — hundreds of times the 3,000-7,500 range for ordinary material lots. Their random weight is only 10, versus 3 for common lots in Groups 3/5 and 5 for Boss materials in Group 2 — meaning rare as they are, they'll actually keep showing up across enough sessions rather than being locked away forever.

Every lot ships with 3 fixed bid-increment buttons (BiddingAdd): 200/500/1,000 for ordinary lots, 500/1,000/2,000 for mid-tier ones, and a hard jump of 10,000/20,000/50,000 per click for the 6 super-rare pieces.

DT_AuctionBidNpcDataTable confirms exactly 12 NPCs that can show up bidding against you, all sharing the same appearance weight (1000) — no single NPC is favored to appear more than another. The real difference is how far each is willing to bid, measured as a percentage of that lot's expectation price.

All 12 NPCs respond to your bid within 2-3 seconds (identical BidSecondsRange across the board) — reaction speed isn't a differentiator, only bid range is. Since appearance weight is equal, the odds of facing NPC #1 or #2 specifically in any given session are only 1-in-12 each — most of the time you're up against the 10 predictable ones.

DT_BidKingClone confirms BidKing runs 3 official tiers, plus a separate practice room for new players — all four share the same currency, Gold Shells (display name for the internal BidkingCoin currency, confirmed via quest text like "Earn over 50,000 Gold Shells").

Tables always seat 4 (real players matched in, or bots filling gaps), with a base match timeout of 60 seconds per round. New players get a separate practice room too — same Beginner configuration, but the match timeout stretches to 80 seconds and it ALWAYS guarantees a full table of 3 bots to learn the ropes before stepping into real matches — and it hands rookies a starting stash of 100,000 Gold Shells plus one free appraisal device set.

One rule worth remembering before you click in: the game's own exit-warning text states plainly that leaving mid-match counts as forfeiting and your entry fee is NOT refunded — at Top tier that's 20,000 Gold Shells gone, not pocket change. See what else City Tycoon offers at City Life, or compare it with another risk-reward minigame, Pink Paws Heist.

DT_BidKingRounds confirms exactly 18 rounds, split evenly into 6 rounds per tier (Easy/Normal/Hard mapping to Beginner/Advance/Top). Two numbers change round to round within a tier: bid time (BidTime) and the "early close" multiplier (EarlySuccessRatio — how much extra you pay to end the auction instantly instead of waiting out the clock).

All 3 tiers share this same 6-round timing/multiplier template — closing instantly in Round 1 costs double the base price, but the multiplier tapers back down to a flat 1.0 by Rounds 5-6.

The real difference between tiers is the "show common info" flag (ShowCommonInfo — whether reference data is shown to the whole table): Beginner only shows it for the first 3 rounds then hides it entirely for the last 3; Advance shows it inconsistently (only rounds 1 and 3); Top shows it in ALL 6 rounds. In other words, the supposedly hardest tier is actually the most transparent of the three.

At match end, the system grades you S / A / B based on profit earned (measured against a max-profit benchmark of 200,000 in the DA_BidKing config) — B gets a sympathetic "tough luck, try again", A confirms a small profit, and S is the top-tier reward.

Before you ever see a Collectible's true value in BidKing, you have to buy and use appraisal devices. DT_BidKingItem lists exactly 50 devices, split into 9 functional groups matching their own in-data descriptions:

The 5-tier rarity scale runs exactly Green → Blue → Purple → Gold → Red — one small gotcha: the displayed label is "Gold" but the internal config key is actually ORANGE, a display-versus-internal-key mismatch similar to other NTE currencies, not an error on this page's part.

17 starter bundles (DT_BidKingItemGroup) pre-pack 3-6 devices each, priced from 2,000 Gold Shells (the 2 basic white bundles) up to 200,000 Gold Shells (the top-end orange bundle) — bundle color (white/green/blue/purple/orange) tracks the same rarity scale as the devices inside, so the higher the color, the stronger the toolkit.

Every tip below traces back to numbers verified in the sections above, not gut feel:

• At Ebisu, anchor on the expectation price, not the base price. 10 of the 12 NPCs rarely go past 125% of expectation — meaning if you're willing to pay 130%+ you'll usually outlast most of the table. Only NPC #1 and #2 are exceptions capable of going further.
• Don't panic at an early spike. You might just be facing NPC #1, who can fold at 40% of expectation right after that spike. Stick to your planned max, don't chase one erratic push.
• Hunting Ebisu's 6 Group-4 super-rares takes patience, not miracle luck. A weight of 10 (versus 3-5 for common lots) means they'll actually resurface across enough sessions rather than being a once-in-a-lifetime pull.
• In BidKing, buy appraisal devices before entering a paid tier — don't pinch pennies on tools and then lose the whole entry fee instead. Top tier charges a 20,000 Gold Shell entry fee, ten times the cheapest white bundle (2,000), so skipping appraisal tools before a high-stakes table is a losing calculation, not a saving.
• Time your early close to the round. The multiplier drops from ×2.0 (Round 1) down to ×1.0 (Rounds 5-6) — if you're not in a rush, let the match run to the later rounds before closing early; you'll save roughly half compared to rushing Round 1.
• Never quit a BidKing table mid-match. The game's own exit warning confirms leaving early counts as forfeiting and forfeits the entry fee you already paid, even if the match wasn't actually lost.

Look up individual lots, decor pieces, and devices on GameVika's Items page, or check the Beginner Guide first if you're not sure what to prioritize before touching either auction system.