Curse

Burning Blade · Mar 25, 2008, 11:22 PM // 23:22

lol @ people who keep saying economy is currently healthy because everyone can buy almost everything at cheap price (excluding fixed price items like armor that remain expensive). Why dont you people ask Arnet to make everything available at traders like Dwarven Axe? I am sure you all would say Economy is healthier than ever!

kratimas · Mar 26, 2008, 12:00 AM // 00:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snow Bunny

I actually designed this thread with GW2 in mind. If the GW economy is screwed up, there will have to be a major reconstruction of distribution of loot and so on, as well as weapon rarity and flexibility.

If the economy's fine, how much needs to be changed?

But, in GW2 everyone starts at 0 so, how would the GW economy affect GW2.

I myself think the economy is just fine. Of course I am not a vanity person, for example my Ranger, the first character I created the day GW went live still uses the Droks armor I bought him when I arrived thier.

FoW armor does nothing to help my character and a Storm bow does no more damage then any other bow, so why waste my time buying them.

I guess what I am trying to say is, GW is just a game and when it is all said and done who really cares. The only thing that really matters is, was the time you spent playing it fun?

To me that should really be all there is too it.

Krat

Lady Lozza · Mar 26, 2008, 01:28 AM // 01:28

I think the key point a lot of people are missing (though it has been touched upon by a number of posts) is that GW is not like the real world. So the economy and the way we trade to make money will never be able to simulate what happens in the real world.

Supply and demand ard partially based on NEED. Or even perceived need. The problem with GW is that there is not need. Everything that is "needed" is cheap and easily obtainable.

Let me give you an example. In the real world we need shelter. It helps us to not die of exposure. We need it for survival. But we have options. We can rent, or buy a place of our own. Here is where supply and demand kick in. If house supply is greater than demand then "shelter" is cheap (relatively speaking) if supply is lower than demand, "shelter" becomes more expensive.

GW armour is "needed". But armour prices are static and, perhaps more to the point, maximum armour is cheap - it might not be pretty, but it is cheap.

Now let's look at another game, one called WoW. Armour is "needed", but armour keeps providing a greated advantage as the levels go up. Armour can be traded. At almost every point along the journey there is armour that will help you survive better.

In GW the difference between armour is vanity.
In WoW the difference between armour is functional.

In fact GW armour is more like clothes. We need clothes, but we don't need to have the designer stuff. A pair of $200 designer jeans FUNCTIONS the same as a pair of $30 ones from Target or <insert generic store here>.

There is no such thing as a "sure market" in GW. Once prices go down (due to oversupply) there is absolutely no guarentee that they will go back up again. Demand in GW is based on "fashion fads", and GW has a diverse population. For every person you see running around showing off their leet voltaic spear, there are a plenty of players who think the skin is ugly as sin.

There are very few "rare" items out there. These will always attract a price, but for the rest of the market the "best available" will always be cheap even if it isn't "fashionable".

The GW "economy" isn't in trouble because commodities are cheap. The trading scene isn't great - but the trading scene is only one facet of the "economy" and the problems it suffers are greater than just general "oversupply".

MithranArkanere · Mar 26, 2008, 02:39 PM // 14:39

Economy in GW should never work in the way: "Farm, then buy".
It would be senseless for this game.
Everything should be considered from the 'playing normally' perspective.

You play normally, without farming, you get a decent drop, but you don't want it. Instead of selling it to a merchant for a few gold pieces, you can then sell it to other players for between a bit more and a lot more, depending on demand.

Just as Traders work.

This makes that people do not have to waste too much time to find something they seek if someone else got it, and they do not want it.

With a system where the 'max stuff' is so easy to get a 'farm to pay for the rare item' economy would be a senseless mistake. And it is not very good in other games, either.
No rare items should be 'really rare', and so, the differences in prices between the most common and most rare items should never be more than 100k. No one would pay more if they can get the item by playing themselves playing normally during less time than they would get that cash.

Farming should be always only an 'extra', never 'the way'. 'Rare' items should not be the objective to get, instead of that, people should go for anything, as long as they like it.

Iuris · Mar 26, 2008, 03:10 PM // 15:10

Which real world economy is a good one?

One where everyone can go to work in a normal line for 8 hours a day and know that within a reasonable amount of time, he can earn enough to buy anything he wants.

Or

One where you can only live on social housing and social aid (I believe it's called being on welfare), and the only way to improve one's lot is to either win the lottery or work day and night on the one and only job that yields earnings?

Loot scaling was instated to allow people who play the game, IE play in a full party doing quests and missions, and still earn enough that they are not completely excluded from the economy. So they were not forced to solo farm day and night to even be able to enter the economy.