Open Suggestions for increasing trade

[Sparky]

When you think about how things work in the real world, it sort of doesn't make sense the way things are at the moment. We are experiencing what you might call a 'Square Enix enforced recession'.

In this game, any and all Gil that you spend (aside from face to face trades with other players) includes a percentage of Gil that is destroyed by the mechanics of the game. If you buy an item from a vendor for example, then 100% of that Gil is destroyed, never to re-enter the economy ever again. If you spend Gil on the marketplace, up to 10% of the trade goes towards tax. Again, the Gil is destroyed and will never re-enter the economy.

This directly contradicts what we know is true about real world economics. Shopkeepers sell items but they buy stock, therefore the money keeps moving along, however NPC vendors are just an exit point for Gil. Governments tax sales in the real world, so while they stockpile currency, the currency still exists and can still be spent. In this game, all tax revenues are destroyed.

This causes a significant problem. In order for the economy to remain functional, the sum of all Gill spent received and kept by players must equal the sum of all Gil both in circulation, and entering the game, be that through quests, sales to vendor, or new players etc. I can guarantee that when the new players stop coming (they are already slowing down), then the economy will crash unless SE think up ways of balancing the Gil leaving the game with the Gil entering the game. And to cap it all off, players are expected to save millions of Gil for housing, if they want a house. So players who do have Gil are not spending it.

I liken the current flow of Gil to a swimming pool with a massive hole in it. If the pool is losing 1000 litres an hour, then a simple hosepipe isn't going to stop it from drying out. You could chuck in an extra bucket or two of water (new players and their Gil), but ultimately the pool will still be empty in a week or two.

So SE do not want massive stockpiles of Gil, and I understand that. However, they can not then justify extortionately large prices for housing because it is causing a detrimental effect to the economy. The very mechanism that would allow people to stockpile Gil is unfortunately the very mechanism that is needed to keep the economy alive. The game needs more Gil fountains to balance out the Gil sinks. In the real world, people can earn money to spend by doing their respective jobs, but in this game the only realistic way to 'earn' Gil is to craft and sell. Imagine a world where everyone was a shopkeeper! Yes that is ridiculous isn't it?