Quote Originally Posted by Karah View Post
Not to fault you directly, but I just adore it when people complain/compare economy in a video game... it's just so... I guess "cute"?

It's not real, I mean, come on. FFXI is not a country with a value... (people DO give it value, but it does not have ACTUAL value) ((semantics argument inbound)).
How about me basing it off a decade of watching FFXI's economy ebb and flow and the reasons why? Comes from being a long-term crafter, my guess.

And yes, thanks to RMT's (rule-breaking) action the Gil actually has genuine value, despite being a virtual currency only good in FFXI. The Linden it isn't, but it's still exchanged for real currency, and in sufficient amounts that manipulating it's value and amounts results in quite real profits to said illegal groups who sell it to others. And yes, that means manipulating FFXI's in-game economy to attempt to make the rate of exchange for some shmuck's dollars better.

Nothing would make me happier than seeing everything sell-able (in all forms) be made unsellable... the unmitigated glee as everyone's head exploded would be indescribable. "ZOMG YOU RUINED A FAKE ECONOMY THE REPERCUSSIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!111111111111111111111"
As it'd neatly obliterate crafting as we know it and jam a big thick sandpaper-coated rod up the collective rear ends of folks doing R/M/E weaponry, I'm sure it'd make you happy. Without a method of commerce, nobody would be farming anything save for whatever directly benefits them- as there's no benefit to doing so. Good luck on getting your ninja tools, your prism powders, your quest items for gobbiebags, etc. etc...oh, and have fun getting items off the NPC vendors with no real source of income save repeatable quests.

Without an economy, the game would grind to a halt. Your naive quips on the situation are adorably ignorant. Stay classy, my friend.