Diablo 3 and HyperInflation

[diabolus]

Awesome article if you're somewhat into economics and what is happening in Diablo 3 right now.

http://mises.org/daily/6435/A-Virtual-Weimar-Hyperinflation-in-a-Video-Game-World

But in the last few months, various outposts in that world — Silver City and New Tristram, to name two — have borne more in common with real world places like Harare, Zimbabwe in 2007 or Berlin in 1923 than with Dante’s Inferno. A culmination of a series of unanticipated circumstances — and, finally, a most unfortunate programming bug — has over the last few weeks produced a new and unforeseen dimension of hellishness within Diablo 3: hyperinflation.

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[onlinebaas]

I have not played for months and started again last week. I was shocked at how overpriced mundane items are.

Started to flood the AH with cheap items. Maybe somehow I could affect the average price.

 

[James]

The AH ruined D3 for me - I feel no desire to play it further because I don't want to engage in a shopping and micro-economy simulator, but that's the only way to get decent gear.

Well done Blizzard for poisoning a game (which is supposed to offer a fun bit of escapism) with real world drudgery.

 

[Pooky]

The AH ruined D3 for me - I feel no desire to play it further because I don't want to engage in a shopping and micro-economy simulator, but that's the only way to get decent gear.

Well done Blizzard for poisoning a game (which is supposed to offer a fun bit of escapism) with real world drudgery.

This...

I LOVED the loot system in D2, it was so exciting to get a unique or set drop even if it wasn't for your character and that was what made the game so good..


I absolutely HATE the Auction house, it completely ruins the game for me.

 

[Graal]

The AH ruined D3 for me - I feel no desire to play it further because I don't want to engage in a shopping and micro-economy simulator, but that's the only way to get decent gear.

Well done Blizzard for poisoning a game (which is supposed to offer a fun bit of escapism) with real world drudgery.

I had the same experience. AH ruined the game for me, because it was the only way to get great gear. Strangely enough, some people (mostly the game's more dedicated fans) insist that you didn't have to use the AH at all.

At level 18, I was still running around with mostly white equipment and many of it was under level 10. If I didn't use the AH, I would likely have fought Diablo with that garbage equipment.

 

[Murph]

I had the same experience. AH ruined the game for me, because it was the only way to get great gear. Strangely enough, some people (mostly the game's more dedicated fans) insist that you didn't have to use the AH at all.

At level 18, I was still running around with mostly white equipment and many of it was under level 10. If I didn't use the AH, I would likely have fought Diablo with that garbage equipment.

Yeah. That I'd like to see. I actually played it again the weekend, and even at lvl 60 p 2 I get level 40/50 gear sometimes and every bit of lvl 60 gear i do manage to get is either useless or for another class entirely.

In short, I really don't know why I bothered again.

 

[Namdrater]

You don't have to use it. Especially with all the changes they've made. There was a point a few months after release where I thought it's likely impossible to not use it, but I still haven't (except some gems for my hc character at the lower levels). The crafting, design drops and item drops in general have been improved a lot as well and will keep on improving.

It's not ideal and it's not as cool as D2 in many ways, but it's improved 100x from this time last year. In fact, the game at this time last year was beyond ridiculous - the jump from inferno act1 to act2 was just laughable if you didn't use the AH.

 

[Pooky]

You don't have to use it. Especially with all the changes they've made. There was a point a few months after release where I thought it's likely impossible to not use it, but I still haven't (except some gems for my hc character at the lower levels). The crafting, design drops and item drops in general have been improved a lot as well and will keep on improving.

It's not ideal and it's not as cool as D2 in many ways, but it's improved 100x from this time last year. In fact, the game at this time last year was beyond ridiculous - the jump from inferno act1 to act2 was just laughable if you didn't use the AH.

But it's still there to use and that makes it stupid to not use it IMO. I would never enjoy playing the game knowing that I can just pop on to the stupid AH and buy what I need.

 

[Mephisto_Helix]

Like any game with a micro-economy or AH, it's up to you the player to not buy, thus feeding it, and rather to better yourself and get the loot yourself. I sat for almost a year with dead normal gear (in my game) until I decided to rework my toon and start hitting the quests where the good stuff was. Now I can easily group with some guildies and do an Epic Elite run and eventually get what I may need.

Maybe it really is that much more hardcore in D3 but if it exists on the AH, it means some other dude has put in the work to list it. Don't buy it if you don't wanna, the choice is there. But don't sit back and not try get the gear yourself.

 

[Zagan]

Like any game with a micro-economy or AH, it's up to you the player to not buy, thus feeding it, and rather to better yourself and get the loot yourself. I sat for almost a year with dead normal gear (in my game) until I decided to rework my toon and start hitting the quests where the good stuff was. Now I can easily group with some guildies and do an Epic Elite run and eventually get what I may need.

Maybe it really is that much more hardcore in D3 but if it exists on the AH, it means some other dude has put in the work to list it. Don't buy it if you don't wanna, the choice is there. But don't sit back and not try get the gear yourself.

Give that man a Bells!!!!

I have tried it again now for a couple of weeks, and the game is 1000x better than what it was last year. Now, if you do grind a bit and put in some hours, you will get that awesome drop that WILL better one of your toons.

 

[chan0o]

It's been a while since I played D3.
Last update I played was when they made the repair cost of an item more than what it was worth. :wtf:

Anyhow, it seems like the AH has become a full-time gamer's way to make money.
There is actual real world reward for sinking hours into a game! (can see steam is starting to follow on with trading cards)
Besides, you don't need to grind for gears if you don't plan on playing on higher difficult settings.

 

[Banelight]

I played again a little over a month ago...but get bored fast. My barbarian can solo MP 5 pretty easily....just doing higher get boring...no new goals....eish

 

[willanfel]

Give that man a Bells!!!!

I have tried it again now for a couple of weeks, and the game is 1000x better than what it was last year. Now, if you do grind a bit and put in some hours, you will get that awesome drop that WILL better one of your toons.

Are you serious? I just quit last month and I really hated the endless farming diablo 3 gold instead of playstyle. But anyway, I'll try the PS3.

 

[Zagan]

I really enjoy what they have done with the game this far.

Crafting is viable now.

And you dont have to do constant farming anymore. Depending on MP level, all acts have good density, so you dont have to do elite/champion farms the whole time. You can now actually skip the elites, only kill trash mobs fast and do some ledgendary hunting.

You can do demonic essense farming and key runs all in one.

Uber bosses are quite fun ...

All in all i think that up to where the game is now, the new GM did a 100x beter job in 2 patchea than what JW did in 6.

Theres some interesting feedback from blizzard regarding the next "updates" to the game.

I really do believe that D3 are slowly but surely becoming an improvement of D2.

My 5 cents