Travis Day's Comments on the AH

[Nerraw]

If people wants to buy items, for me it's fine. their choice. The difference is that long time ago it was considered like cheating and you got banned accounts, now it's supported by devs themselves.

The reason why they added it to the game itself is because a lot of people got burned back in the day in D2. While some sites indeed "legit" (a few of my friends utilized them), a lot of them were not. Blizzard realized, and rightly so in my opinion, that the fight against trading of items for real-life currency is a battle that is already lost. So they provided a safe way for people to do these exchanges instead.

[Deleted]

The reason why they added it to the game itself is because a lot of people got burned back in the day in D2. While some sites indeed "legit" (a few of my friends utilized them), a lot of them were not. Blizzard realized, and rightly so in my opinion, that the fight against trading of items for real-life currency is a battle that is already lost. So they provided a safe way for people to do these exchanges instead.

You're acting as if Diablo 3 doesn't have alternative sources to buy money and indirectly items.

When these alternative sources have lower prices to buy gold then people still still use them. Blizzard maybe made it a little bit harder, but they didn't eliminate the competition. I know, because a friend of mine would rather use some chinese website than to buy gold through Blizzard's service.

So I'm not sure that Blizzard implementing the RMAH really changed anything. And I honestly believe they didn't do it to hurt the competition, but simply so they could earn some extra money on the side.

[Nerraw]

You're acting as if Diablo 3 doesn't have alternative sources to buy money and indirectly items.

When these alternative sources have lower prices to buy gold then people still still use them. Blizzard maybe made it a little bit harder, but they didn't eliminate the competition. I know, because a friend of mine would rather use some chinese website than to buy gold through Blizzard's service.

So I'm not sure that Blizzard implementing the RMAH really changed anything. And I honestly believe they didn't do it to hurt the competition, but simply so they could earn some extra money on the side.

I have no doubts such sites exist for D3. However, with the services being offered in the game itself in a secure way, a lot of people would rather go through that instead of risk being scammed by some Chinese site.

[Shinzai]

You're acting as if Diablo 3 doesn't have alternative sources to buy money and indirectly items.

When these alternative sources have lower prices to buy gold then people still still use them. Blizzard maybe made it a little bit harder, but they didn't eliminate the competition. I know, because a friend of mine would rather use some chinese website than to buy gold through Blizzard's service.

So I'm not sure that Blizzard implementing the RMAH really changed anything. And I honestly believe they didn't do it to hurt the competition, but simply so they could earn some extra money on the side.

The money that comes out of RMAH transactions covers the cost of putting the transaction through Paypal. The RMAH is simply a far more sophisticated and secure method of making such transactions. Blizzards gains from it are pretty much nil. Buying gold through Blizzard's "service" is actually giving money to another player, rather than a farming sweat factory in China.

In the end, it's impossible to remove all alternative sources. The sheer fact that sites can make huge amounts of money with such low prices is just more proof that there's been a long and well established trade formed by players of online games. It's not Blizzard's fault - the problem's existed before WoW and after. It exists inside Blizzard games as well as almost any other online game with a form of currency available, whether it's free to play or subscription based or otherwise.

The fact still exists: Lots of people are greedy and/or lazy by nature. The online item/gold trade is never going to go away, because people went out of their way to make sure it was established. It's a multi million dollar business, if not billion dollar and that's not something you can get rid of easily. They sold gold for Everquest, they'll sell it for whatever comes next.

[melodramocracy]

The AH isn't the issue. The laughable amounts of gold needed to purchase said items is the issue. "Fixing" itemization simply means players getting better equipped faster, and winding up with no inclination to play until the next patch or expansion. (hell, I'm at that point already with merely 'decent' gear, and paragon 30 or so. Farming faster so I can farm faster isn't much of an incentive)

[BenBos]

Hardcore shows that trading through an Auction House that is constantly reset in gear (due to deaths) is working perfectly.

[kail]

The AH isn't the issue. The laughable amounts of gold needed to purchase said items is the issue. "Fixing" itemization simply means players getting better equipped faster, and winding up with no inclination to play until the next patch or expansion. (hell, I'm at that point already with merely 'decent' gear, and paragon 30 or so. Farming faster so I can farm faster isn't much of an incentive)

AH is very much an issue and doesn't belong in ARPGs IMO. As to fixing the itemization, well that depends. If they fix the drop rate, then yes the replay value diminishes. I'm hoping that instead they fix the Stat/Ability mechanics in the game to allow greater variety in builds and item-hunts.

[Deleted]

Hardcore shows that trading through an Auction House that is constantly reset in gear (due to deaths) is working perfectly.

So everyone should simply play Hardcore so Blizzard can delete everything else? Yeah, good move.

Instead of saying that hardcore AH works fine, try admitting that softcore AH does NOT work.

[Deleted]

Let's think about this argument a bit more.

In order to reduce reliance on the AH, you need to make it so that people don't want to trade. You suggest that this can be done by making useful items drop. But if there are items that are even more useful in the game, then you would still want to trade. So not only do useful items need to drop, the MOST useful items need to drop. But not just for you, for everyone. Because, if the most useful items didn't drop for everyone, then those people without it would want to trade.

Therefore, the only way for your argument to make sense is for the best items to drop for every single player.

Thus, this is a nonsense and unworkable argument.

Most people don't want perfect items in themselves, but want to be able to progress decently (PLAYING the game and not the AH) and climb their way to the highest challenges avaiable: MP10, ubers, etc. Right now you have no way to progress decently on your character, except for the crafting slots - which are too RNG dependant themselves btw. The only way to progress is to play another game, i.e. the AH.