Quote Originally Posted by Betelgeuzah View Post
Yes, they are. The only people not acknowledging it are those who want a separate AH instead of improving the Marketplace.
You're being entirely too literal. The Marketplace *is* a basic AH. The people asking for an AH would be quite content to have the Wards improved to match a traditional AH's offerings. And yet, the entire topic is full of people saying they *don't* want an AH, they like the *wards* better - when at this point they're referring to a rose by different names. And a rose is still a rose by any other name.


And you do not use the Market Wards to sell or buy items for you- you use the Retainers.

The two systems are so closely integrated that it is silly to think that they should be kept separate. Without Retainers the Marketplace wouldn't function. They are as crucial part of the system as the item search screen is. Even more so in-fact. Should the item search function be kept separate from the Marketplace too?
Er, why not? As someone else posted, Retainers have a level - it would be an easy transition to Adventuring Fellow/mule. They are not a crucial part, at all. They are simply random stand-ins that don't need to be there, an arbitrary location to go to to receive an item. There's really no reason not to do it all from a menu at this point. The concept of Retainers as sellers is a relic of the *dead* original concept behind Wards.