tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29172675.post116189683839887158..comments2023-12-28T04:50:49.486-08:00Comments on The Many Relms of Relmstein: RMT's Relationship with World of WarcraftRelmsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10358853054116842043noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29172675.post-1161973343366564622006-10-27T11:22:00.000-07:002006-10-27T11:22:00.000-07:00"When I am talking about RMT causing Tier-2 player..."When I am talking about RMT causing Tier-2 players who nothing about the game, I am referring to account buying not buying gold to get gear."<BR/><BR/>I am 100% with you there. I have only encountered a few instances of folks who have bought epic'd accounts, but my playstyle wouldn't usually cause me to notice them, so I have no idea how widespread the problem is.TV by the Numbershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06310526767350742372noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29172675.post-1161969410933484422006-10-27T10:16:00.000-07:002006-10-27T10:16:00.000-07:00Bill Gorman:I find that farmers keep the tradable ...Bill Gorman:<BR/><BR/>I find that farmers keep the tradable level 60 item prices down by keeping a large supply of them in the AH. Of course these are the same items that most players who are saving for an epic mount earn.<BR/><BR/>The gold inflation introduced by farmers really hit the prices of lower level items the hardest. Eventually it becomes so high that only twinks can afford any tradable item. <BR/><BR/>When I am talking about RMT causing Tier-2 players who nothing about the game, I am referring to account buying not buying gold to get gear.Relmsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10358853054116842043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29172675.post-1161963494326163332006-10-27T08:38:00.000-07:002006-10-27T08:38:00.000-07:00"Thus the cost of expensive items (like epic mount..."Thus the cost of expensive items (like epic mounts) at level sixty become much more time intensive to get without buying gold."<BR/><BR/>Gold farming does distort the WoW economy, but for individual players it's effect isn't as certain as you imply.<BR/><BR/>My opinion is that gold farming causes generalized inflation in the WoW economy. Gold farmers produce gold by farming infinitely respawning mobs, but "consume" little gold themselves, instead passing it to others in game. That leads to more gold in the hands of "consumers" which causes the prices of traded items to increase. <BR/><BR/>However, mount prices [your example]are *fixed* and their supply is infinite, so if you're after a fixed price item, the ability to sell other items at a generally inflated rate *helps* you get that item.<BR/><BR/>However, if you're after a traded item, and are farming to get it, the generalized inflation hurts you.<BR/><BR/>Also, and others have already commented on this, you won't see tier 2 epics on gold buyers, there aren't any T2 BOE items, and there are only 2 [belt, bracers?] T1 BOE epics per class.<BR/><BR/>Gold buyers can epic themselves up to a point, but only raiders can get most of the T1 and any of the T2 epics in the game today.<BR/><BR/>Not saying raiders can't be gold buyers, but T2 wearers *have* to have earned them the old fashioned way ;)TV by the Numbershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06310526767350742372noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29172675.post-1161960366781295822006-10-27T07:46:00.000-07:002006-10-27T07:46:00.000-07:00Tier-2 equipped people not knowing how to play isn...Tier-2 equipped people not knowing how to play isn't a result of gold farmers but it is a result of RMT. I define RMT as people trading real money for in game currency or items. <BR/><BR/>High cost items don't encourage bad behavior in most normal players. They have an investment in their characters and a ban or suspension effects them. Farmers however don't mind the risk since they are simply concerned with the amount of money they made with the account not any sort of in game progress.<BR/><BR/>As to whether casuals or raiders support RMT more then the other, its probably about even. Some casuals buy gold to get bind on equip rares and epics, and some raiding guilds use RMT to supplement repair and potion costs.Relmsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10358853054116842043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29172675.post-1161940565153137312006-10-27T02:16:00.000-07:002006-10-27T02:16:00.000-07:00Rather like prostitution, one wonders who the user...Rather like prostitution, one wonders who the users of gold services are - seeing as nobody actually puts their hand up and says "Yes, I buy gold".<BR/><BR/>Very interesting observations, I do wonder if gold farmers actually farm instances for loot, rather than just relying on a bot to wait until that mob drops the 0.1% items. Relying on sheer time played toget something, rather than requiring skill (and assuming you can't bot MC for example). <BR/><BR/>I also wonder if gold selling is more of a casual player's thing, rather than a hardcore player's - and does this really effect those raiding ? As Tobold says, can you really just buy all that uber gear without ever having done a raid, as most of it is BOP ?<BR/><BR/>So as such, is there really as much effect on keen raiders from RMTed up casuals ? Do the later not just tend to duel/PVP for a bit of fun - raiding for 5 hours is fairly boring. If you have cut out the "boring" grind by buying gold are you really likely to then do something boring, or do you just hoon around in your epics flexing muscles ? <BR/><BR/>Other than the "devaluing" of higher end rewards (as Tobold blogged), does someone using bought gold to buy an epic mount really change your game THAT much ?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29172675.post-1161925438067483082006-10-26T22:03:00.000-07:002006-10-26T22:03:00.000-07:00Relmstein, you fall into the familiar trap of attr...Relmstein, you fall into the familiar trap of attributing every possible evil in WoW to RMT. For example your last point of people in tier 2 armor not knowing how to play their class, that is certainly *not* due to gold farmers. Gold farmers don't sell chars in tier 2 armor, it takes too much time (and a guild) to get that sort of equipment. More likely somebody playing the char of his older brother or a friend.<BR/><BR/>People behaving badly, hogging farm spots, using cheating bot software, etc., is also not exclusive to gold farmers. Farming 1000 gold for an epic mount encourages such bad behavior, whether that farming is done by the person who will later ride that mount, or by somebody he pays.<BR/><BR/>I would like to see a game without gold farmers, but the only way to do it is not to have stupid money sinks. It is a question of game design, not a question of being able to police player behavior.Toboldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04354082945218389596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29172675.post-1161922154959807172006-10-26T21:09:00.000-07:002006-10-26T21:09:00.000-07:00Powerleveling services tend to not effect the econ...Powerleveling services tend to not effect the economy or tie up content as much as straight up farming. <BR/><BR/>The only thing it tends to do is get people in the high levels without knowing a lot of thier class abilities. Plus there is a risk of having someone know your account information.Relmsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10358853054116842043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29172675.post-1161912520411798452006-10-26T18:28:00.000-07:002006-10-26T18:28:00.000-07:00What is your opinion on powerleveling services? I...What is your opinion on powerleveling services? I have several friends that elected to use those services when we rerolled on a new server. <BR/><BR/>Now they weren't using the service to get to 60 before everyone else. A few guys just didn't want to get left behind by their friends and family. One other person is getting a PVP character leveled on a different account, so he can focus on raiding with his main.<BR/><BR/>I personally wouldn't risk giving my account info to anyone. I have way too much time invested in my various characters. I could see the second account option, but I don't want to pay for two subscriptions at this time. Just curious what you think.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com