Can we say that we a community without healthy trading economy?
I say NO. Sure, we have forums and ppl discuss builds and features and yell at others about their mistakes, but IMO a true way to be a community is to have a heathy trading community.
My point is, if Diablo 4 is not going to be robust trading community and tools to support it, then we are missing a crucial part of the eco system.
A community can exist perfectly fine without trading, as countless games prove every day.
Not that having a so-called community seems like a goal worth having regardless.
Regardless, trading should not be allowed in D4 imo. Does not belong in an A-RPG. Only hurts the basic gameplay experience.
D4 will be just fine, a game doesn’t have to have a trading community in order to have a community. D3 proves that to be true. Even with a limited trading system that D4 has talked about means that there will be a good community as long as the game turns out to be a great game.
It certainly adds to the community feeling
Just like coop and PvP
But in a not mmorpg game where coop isn’t that necessary and a lot of people just grind on the own it plays a bigger role
We will see how it turns out but in an mmorpg people are just more visible to you than in an arpg where you can decide to be alone most of the time
Well they are going more MMO with Diablo 4, so that in itself should bring about a more fulfilling community.
But…you do not need trade goblins to have a healthy community, goblins just want to sell their wares, or spam chat with all the deals they have, not my idea of community building to be frank.
I’ve played the WoW AH for the last decade and it netted me a few friends but nothing to write home about.
I think a populated open world map, that allows for players to group up is what you need for that, more than trading.
Chat jockies, guilds/clans and group activities will build community, and sure traders will add to the charm somewhat but really they’re just goblins after all, and not community pillars.
It will be fine. Trading is promised. Without trading, we’d still get some finely thought crafting system and this would do the job as well. We’re not entirely dependent on trading, as long as crafting system diminishes enough randomization.
You can be part of the community but only if you jump that hoop to push Greater Rifts. Casual gameplay won’t make you meet people, as hard rewards and solace won’t come without grinding for it.
I doubt it’s healthy but everything still depends on a treadmill as everyone gets measured by it just like college exams. You have to push toward the threshold yourself first then think about it later.
Exactly.
Even if I/one doesn’t use it, it’s still interactive features that build game communities, as long as they are not forced beyond necessity of course. It also makes the game feel more lively, which is something I hope to experience.
Having good trading and PvP is challenging though, I don’t expect them to be perfect day 1.
Knowing Blizzard, I bet PvP will have tons of quirks and require you to abuse secret mechanics or hidden knowledge for it to not be a rock-paper-scissor game. Then fans will cry about imbalances enough, and developer team will be obliged to nerf or remove such features while also nerfing “overpowered” characteristics.
In concept, trading is fine but only of certain items, I think as the really desirable things should mean accomplishment, a sense of arrogance in having found it. Being able to bum another dagger +1 of automatic demon slaughter from Joe Schmoe is just… well, coddling.
Yes.
Not if they participate to the community, in which case they would know of these secret mechanics. It’s up to Blizzard to favour social interactions.
In my opinion, a game should never force “social interactions”. I like playing solo. I like being able to keep up with group players as a solo player. I like having an equal chance of getting the items I need as a solo player as I would in a multi-player game.
In other words, as long as I can keep to myself and I don’t lose anything by doing so, then the Diablo game is where it should be.
I didn’t group up in Diablo, Diablo 2 and for the most part D3. If it changes in D4, I might just have to say good by to the series and by extension to gaming itself.
To re-iterate, a Diablo Game should be solo-able and not punish folks for doing it.
Just sayin’.
Trading is the second most toxic community in any game, well behind the pvp community, though
You will need to group up for the world boss and maybe the fields of hatred, unless you can defend yourself from all of the others who will be going hostile on you. They were misleading when they said you can play the entire game solo. They should have said most of it. 
“You can choose to play through the entire game solo — from campaign all the way to end-game — and that will be just as valuable and successful as a way to approach the game, as someone who might choose to group up for the large majority of it.”
maybe you are just playing the wrong games/with the wrong people xD
It’ll be a few minutes a week for the world boss if that, you wont need to talk or listen if you don’t want to.
I would assume world bosses is something you can run into at any time. Would be incredibly silly if it was a weekly thing.
Should definitely be soloable though.
PvP by definition can’t be soloable. The Fields of hatred event will be theoretically soloable, but obviously depend on whether there are other players around.
I can see it now all the level 40s sitting at the other end of the field just looking for some new kids to go in so they can jump on them and take all of the shard. Man, that was fun.
Yeah, that will definitely happen.
Should make a covenant system where people could sign up to be attackers and defenders for the one turning in, or something.
5 attackers vs. someone turning in => attackers gets nearly no rewards, encouraging some of them to play defenders.
Don’t Immortal have something like that, two factions going at each other in some event?