I know I’m going to get flamed for this, but at some point we have to stop pretending the economy is in a normal state and look at what’s actually happening. People who disagree are more than likely running bots or have bought gold in the past. Thank you for finally being honest!!!
And on the topic of being honest, the economy isn’t exactly in a healthy state. Gold buying exists whether we want to acknowledge it or not, prices are inflated, and legitimate players are the ones who feel it most. At this stage, the question isn’t really whether something like the WoW Token would change the economy—it already has been changed by external factors.
The math doesn’t lie. Sure, you might say, ‘I just sold something on the AH for 4k—I’m not cheating!’ But let’s ask ourselves: Where did the person who bought it get that 4k?While we can absolutely earn that much gold eventually through questing, the sheer volume of high-value items selling right now shows the truth. Questing rewards are limited, but the amount of gold currently moving on the Auction House is infinite. This economy is being propped up by gold buying and bots.
The more relevant question is whether it’s better to leave things as they are, or introduce a controlled system that at least brings some transparency and balance. Yes, a Token would have an impact. But so does the current situation, and it’s already very visible in the Auction House. Ignoring it doesn’t change it.
If the goal is a more stable and fair game, then it may be time to acknowledge that inflation is being driven by illicit gold sources and bot activity, and that the current system isn’t holding up against problems it wasn’t built for. It may simply make sense to implement the Token and move forward. If not, players will continue buying gold anyway and therefore it shouldn’t be a bannable offence! Blizzard needs to be honest: by refusing to act, they’ve essentially entered into a silent partnership with the gold sellers and bots to run the server’s economy. Is this the future of Classic WoW?
