I’m guessing Twitter and the YouTube videos in addition to Reddit.
Imho - without feedback from blues, it feels like “they dont look at their own forums”
Ps - please, please, please, would someone add a “d4 discussion” sub forum (like “PTR comments”
“Only the best gear can’t be traded”
I don’t think is the route they should go in terms of trading. Open up the trading of all items. Gives people multiple ways to acquire that big item for their build. Some people like to grind and farm for that specific item but some people prefer to play the trade market and save up currency for it. Gives more reasons to play the game and will attract people who have different play styles. A strong trade market gives the game another “hook” and I think is important in the games longevity.
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Blizzard collects feedback from many sources including, but not limited to:
-These forums
-Reddit
-Feedback to the Diablo Twitter account
-Fan sites like DiabloFans and others. Comments on articles and forums there.
-Live streams discussing the games and the comments from chatters there./YouTube vids and the comments on them.
-Podcasts and the reactions from listeners
-Feedback from Alpha and Beta tests
-Feedback from internal playtesters and external influencers/testers.
-Data analysis from the Global Insights team (based on metrics gathered during gameplay), as well as research on market trends and player behavior.
So, even though they may realize a vocal part of the community wants X, that does not mean the actual gameplay stats and market research support going that direction. As in, say they remove free trading but the metrics show that there is no noticeable drop in player numbers as a result…well that tells decision makers that it is not a major factor in maintaining the target player base. Of course, we don’t actually KNOW those metrics, only Blizz does.
Something else they consider is the cost associated with a system like open trade.
-Third party sides WILL have a market based on it. A big one develops when you make it easy for them.
-Which leads to spam, account theft, and even financial and identity theft if people give those slime balls real money. If something has value, like your account with items on it, someone will target it and try to profit off it.
-Blizzard then has to spend money to combat account theft, restore stolen accounts, attempt to restore stolen items, etc. That has a real cost in terms of manpower spent by staff. Staff like to get paid.
-Even the annoying spam that sellers create is something that requires money and manpower to fight.
So, sometimes giving some portion of the player base what they want, does not actually result in positive results overall cost wise. If the feature does not attract enough players to offset the costs to deal with the negatives - why would they do it?
I think that is why we have the compromises we do on trade. We have some, but the best items will remain BoP/BoA.
EDITS - I can’t spell without coffee and I just got my cup. 
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That all makes sense MissC, thanks. So theoretically if the game is popular enough to bring in money, they might consider it worth it to allow open trade? Provided they have the right metrics to suggest that.
I hear ya, so glad pumpkin spice is in season! 
In theory? Sort of? Just being popular would not be enough though I don’t think. It would take a lot for them to go back to full open trade knowing the negatives that go with it. Just throwing money at them does not mean they will go for it.
I think a lot of my views on this are a bit biased because I spent a lot of time on TS/CS helping people who got their accounts targeted and stolen back in early D3 when we had the RMAH. Those same folks often had their financial and identity info stolen too when they paid the gold/item sellers directly. It was a mess and I spent a heck of a lot of hours helping people…and I know Blizz spent a LOT more time doing it.
There is also a very real non-monetary cost to having stolen accounts - people who spent days, months, farming and playing feel devastated and angry when some hacker phishes them or keylogs them. That anger, even if not deserved, transfers over to the game staff because they are easy targets. Is it better to make it so that accounts have little value and are not targeted anymore? It prevents the heartache for everyone. Note, since they got rid of the AH in D3, I have not had to deal with any recent account compromises. Only folks who lost access many years ago and only recently decided to play again.
What about an anonymous trade matchmaking system?
Your system is easy to defeat because it allows for player to player negotiations, a core part of what old D2 trading consisted of. If someone had a rare item then it is very easy to tell them to get online at the same time and just decline trades until you get the person you want. The person who paid real money on your website.
We have the same issue in WoW. Player char names are pretty anonymous and most have bank alts. Third party sites still manage to set up private trades and even use the AH to move goods. You tell them you want to buy gold. They tell you to put up a dried bear butt (grey item) for 100k gold on the AH. The gold seller then buys your bear butt and you get the gold. When players know what to look for during the trade negotiation the same thing happens.
Then you get into the whole philosophy of the game.
Do they want to make a trading simulator, or do they want a loot finding game?
What portion of the gameplay should revolve around trade?
How do you control player progression such that gearing up/getting upgrades feels rewarding (special), but not too frustrating? Trade is instant gratification vs game drops and can short circuit the reward system.
How fast do you want players to gear up? If the game is a loot hunting and char building game, then the “end game” is getting all BiS gear. How fast should that process be? That decision determines how loot is made available in game. Drop rates, crafting, and trade, all are loot sources so those sources get adjusted to ensure the rate of gearing is within the parameters the Devs want.
It is not as cut and dry as it might seem! They are going to think through and debate all these things and eventually make a decision on the direction they want to go for D4.
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“Do we want a trading game, or a loot finding game”. What is being missed is that TRADING is a major part of a loot finding game. It’s what gives provides much of the value and excitement in finding loot. Loot finding without trading and you get Diablo 3, which a lot of people find boring.
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Yeah I don’t understand why it has be one or the other…the more elements added to the game, the better. Why limit it to just “finding loot”
creating multiple ways to play a game is what makes it great.
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Call random people at home, while they are eating dinner. This works for politics 
I gotcha. What if instead of chatting in player trade screen, they take away the ability to send people external links by only allowing hearthstone style communication buttons to give players a way to communicate during trade but does not allow spammers/scammers to do their thing.
Buttons like,
“Yes”
“No”
“Will you take this for it?”
Etc
Exactly right! Both are needed to make the game fun.
Tardar,
Your idea would end up taking away the social negotiation aspect that many feel is core to trading.
And you are going to get some trading, it just won’t be the full open trading of D2. They are attempting to compromise in a way that preserves the actual gameplay as the only way to get BiS items which also limits the profit third party sites can get off an account. They really don’t want trade to be profitable OR the way to end game.
Your philosophy in what you want for a game is just different than their current views. We shall see of those views evolve as game Dev goes on. We have a long way to go.
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Really? I recall trades in D2 going down like this.
Players enter into trade.
“Wug?”
“Botd”
“Enigma?”
“Hr?”
“What about this?”
“No ty”
Exits trade.
It wasn’t all that social, it was pretty quickly decided if what you had to offer was worth the other person’s time or not. Trades happened in like 2-3 minutes time usually, if not less.
It was sometimes like that. However, if you read the player feedback here on the forums many many cite the social interactions, bartering, etc as being a major aspect of trade they liked. Not saying it was everyone, but there are those who get really into trade and that is what they spend a lot of the game doing. Those are the ones who want full and open trade again.
Most of this discussion does not even impact casual players.
i totaly agree with everything you said,
what i was suggesting, is, monthly fee for such staff, to manage safe trading and fighting bot and shops
A few things to think about there. Would players actually pay monthly to play Diablo 4, on top of the cost of the game? Second, would throwing money at them actually STOP bots or abusers. Given the billions of dollars the video game currency/trade market brings the third party sites, they have a high incentive to keep doing it. They evolve and make new bots/programs as fast as game companies find ways to shut down the older bot. It is a game of whack a mole. WoW has a monthly fee on top of the game cost, and while they most certainly do ban botters and cheaters, they are right back at it on a new account as soon as they can get the new bot up and going 
We shall see what they end up doing by the time D4 comes out.
Soulbound doesn’t belong in Diablo. Quit trying to retain the horrible qualities we hated about Diablo 3.
All the things they stripped out of Diablo 3 that made Diablo 2 great, are what Grinding Gears Games kept in Path of Exile and why people prefer to play that.
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If it really is about the ability to trade, just on that premise alone then this system should have some merit. It solves the illegal websites problem while still allowing people to trade with others and barter. It might take you some time to find a successful trade, but that took a long time in D2… I’d argue even longer. This system automates finding someone to trade with, so at least you can be farming or doing something productive while waiting for a trade match.
I’m not saying my system is perfect as it currently stands, just that it provides a basic framework that I think could be explored by the devs.
For instance, they could implement some type of button that you can highlight the items offered, signaling those are the items you are interested in to the other person.
It’s a comprise, but it should allow trading while stopping the illegal activity. And while I agree the devs have to decide if this amount of work going into a trade system is worth it, there are clearly a lot of people asking for it, and if it’s a big demand, deserves a higher level of attention imo.
well, i my self also dont agree with soulbound, yet i understand why, but
diablo is what diablo is, and the player base accepts this, and probably prefers having the game with that problem, and not having the other problem of not trading.
i my self want free trading, and im ready to do and pay whats needed, to make the system as safest as possible.
but thats my coin, as you said, everyone has its own opinion, but
blizzard at first should focus, on what diablo 1 and 2 was, without looking at people’s opinions, because in the end, d3 failed, people want diablo 2, nothing else. cant please everyone, but can do for most.
i think such things should be explained to people, the fans, so they will understand why they dont, and do things, and after people understand they should ask for stuff.
but, i think the right thing would make it free trading.
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