Any word on when we will get an Auction House?

[Rumo]

I haven't read all the 22 pages but what I read in the first few really made me wonder why so many people don't see the necessity for an Auction House.
So here are some of my problems with the wards that I wouldn't have with an Auction House:

- Crashes
- Gotta search, then switch zones, then wait for the Retainers to load to buy something. Buying takes way too long.
- People sell everything everywhere. Just browsing a specific ward to find new gear won't make sense because, in my perception, over 80% sell their Marmot Pelts and Wind Shards in the god damn Battlecraft ward...
- I want to sell my thousands of crystals since a few weeks but only thinking of that horrible UI and the lag while setting up the prices frustrates me. Selling takes way too long.
- If I then finally want to do it anyway I can't because that specific ward is full. And that's my main complaint.

So if I ever will play again more than once or twice per month I need an Auction House first. Its role in such a game is just too important to me to let it be replaced by such a crappy imitation of it.

[Morticous]

I haven't read all the 22 pages but what I read in the first few really made me wonder why so many people don't see the necessity for an Auction House.
So here are some of my problems with the wards that I wouldn't have with an Auction House:

- Crashes
- Gotta search, then switch zones, then wait for the Retainers to load to buy something
- People sell everything everywhere. Just browsing a specific ward to find new gear won't make sense because in my perception over 80% sell their Marmot Pelts and Wind Shards in the god damn Battlegraft ward...
- I want to sell my thousands of crystals since a few weeks but only thinking of that horrible UI and the lag while setting up the prices frustrates me. Selling takes way too long.
- If I then finally want to do it anyway I can't because that specific ward is full. And that's my main complaint.

So if I ever will play again more that once or twice per month I need an Auction House first. Its role in such a game is just too important to me to let it be replaced by such a crappy imitation of it.

dont forget your retainer has like 50 spots but you get mega taxed if you sell in the wrong area, and not only that moving your retainer from one area to another is work in its self. Trying to sell something has never been more of a pain in the ass.

[Sagagemini]

I haven't read all the 22 pages but what I read in the first few really made me wonder why so many people don't see the necessity for an Auction House.
So here are some of my problems with the wards that I wouldn't have with an Auction House:

- Crashes
- Gotta search, then switch zones, then wait for the Retainers to load to buy something. Buying takes way too long.
- People sell everything everywhere. Just browsing a specific ward to find new gear won't make sense because, in my perception, over 80% sell their Marmot Pelts and Wind Shards in the god damn Battlecraft ward...
- I want to sell my thousands of crystals since a few weeks but only thinking of that horrible UI and the lag while setting up the prices frustrates me. Selling takes way too long.
- If I then finally want to do it anyway I can't because that specific ward is full. And that's my main complaint.

So if I ever will play again more than once or twice per month I need an Auction House first. Its role in such a game is just too important to me to let it be replaced by such a crappy imitation of it.

^
This

MWs are a huge waste of time.
As a casual player i don't even bother selling stuff anymore...
"Hey, i'm gonna try and sell this Lance i bought! owait, i can't cause the ward is full! Ok, i'll just place it somewhere else...WTF is up with these taxes?!"
Plus the waiting between zones, loading reatiners, exchanging items and etc.

[TheVedis]

I haven't read all the 22 pages but what I read in the first few really made me wonder why so many people don't see the necessity for an Auction House.
So here are some of my problems with the wards that I wouldn't have with an Auction House:

- Crashes
- Gotta search, then switch zones, then wait for the Retainers to load to buy something. Buying takes way too long.
- People sell everything everywhere. Just browsing a specific ward to find new gear won't make sense because, in my perception, over 80% sell their Marmot Pelts and Wind Shards in the god damn Battlecraft ward...
- I want to sell my thousands of crystals since a few weeks but only thinking of that horrible UI and the lag while setting up the prices frustrates me. Selling takes way too long.
- If I then finally want to do it anyway I can't because that specific ward is full. And that's my main complaint.

So if I ever will play again more than once or twice per month I need an Auction House first. Its role in such a game is just too important to me to let it be replaced by such a crappy imitation of it.

-i aint seen a crash in over a month
-omg you actualy gotta walk around to find the retainer(which has a star over his head) so much hard work!
- Sell everything everywhere? who cares! item search buddy, you dont have to browse to find stuff
-Then sell them, the lag isnt as bad as you make it out to be unless your computer isnt up to par for this game, in which case its all on your end
-You can do it in any ward anyway and people can find you cuz of the magical item search feature, that was hard right?


when was the last time you played anyway? november, alot of what you state was an issue back then, not now

[Rumo]

-i aint seen a crash in over a month
-omg you actualy gotta walk around to find the retainer(which has a star over his head) so much hard work!
- Sell everything everywhere? who cares! item search buddy, you dont have to browse to find stuff
-Then sell them, the lag isnt as bad as you make it out to be unless your computer isnt up to par for this game, in which case its all on your end
-You can do it in any ward anyway and people can find you cuz of the magical item search feature, that was hard right?


when was the last time you played anyway? november, alot of what you state was an issue back then, not now

Of course it's not much hard work to walk around and find a retainer with a star over his head. But it's really not necessary that I have to. It's just overcomplicated to buy a new Axe for my MRD (for example).

And I know I don't have to browse stuff. I'm mentally capable to use a search function. But sometimes I just feel like browsing a certain category of equipment to find new stuff I can wear. And please don't tell me now that there's websites I could go to. As long as the fullscreen mode crashes when I tab that's not an option. On top of that I just like exploring for myself which can get very nasty with the system we got at the moment.

Also my Computer works well. I can play the game flawless for the most part. The problem is not on my side if the server responses take too long and the UI is too complicated to be somewhat enjoyable.

And then there's still the fact that 2 retainers don't give enough options selling your stuff in different wards. And even if you can manage that there's a big chance the ward you need is full and you just can't sell.

I don't actively play at the moment but I log in every now and then to see how things are going. Last time a few days ago. Did some leves, wanted to sell stuff, clear my inventory, you know. A basic thing in a game like this that shouldn't be that big of a hurdle.

I don't know why you're defending the Market Wards in their current state. Benause obviously they suck.

[CatchaFire420]

I have read many of things that people debated about and found that on both sides there is a definitive line being drawn in which both sides counter each others argument with a question of a question, us vs. them, and / or playing to the consideration of RMT botting and manipulation of the in-game economy.

While I respect the opinions of each person who has decided to offer something of value to development team, I think a more overall perspective is warranted. Like all things that provide us with entertainment value, we always are in favor or not of changing something we are accustomed to. It is the nature of the beast: Since this game is a self-indulgent exercise in itself, we always seem maintain the opinion that what is good for our self-indulgence is also the best for someone else.

While in theory, this shouldn't really be a problem, but in the real life we all have expectations that will give a reason to play or not to play. A healthy discussion is what people want over the topic, not one sentence rhetoric that satisfies one's need to have their voice heard. As a long time vet of FFXI, i acknowledge the fact the AH system wasn't perfect, but it least it was a fast, efficient way of providing commerce to an already fast based set of party camping, HNM, and linkshell based oriented activities that required at moments notice for someone to grab a piece of equip, food, and materials required for the mission, party, or what have you.

It is hard for anyone to predict what the future holds, but I just think players need to acknowledge, in the 2nd generation of MMO's, following the release of WOW and FFXI, that we gamers have a new set of expectations that come along with our previous experience; whether we like it or not. I am of the opinion that since I held FFXI in high regard as to the thought put into overall game experience, I can and do have the same if not higher expectations for the current game.

It is ok for anyone to disagree but I think we are missing a few things to consider:

The overall health of the community is what is important here, and SE and Yoshi, I think are taking a comprehensive look at what Tanaka and the original development team did wrong and what they did right. SE has to exercise caution not to inflame the community further until they sit back and see what the community truly desires. This is a apparent in the push back of the new raids to make sure this is a solid addition to game play versus further risking players scorn with "another crappy addition to an already crappy game".

I have my complaints and my praises for the game, however this is neither here nor there. My focus is the health of the community. Consideration is the key to providing the development team about what they should improve and what they should consider high or low priority.

It is hard to ignore the survey which indeed, put the AH system as the 2nd highest priority, but like everything it will take time. Easier fixes to the current MW will satisfy the masses until an AH can built or not. The reason people are upset are legitimate, simply telling people we don't need an AH is an ultimatum rather than a solution as to why we don't need an auction house. What is my solution you ask?

Well, the community suffers from Uldah-itis. There is no reason for many of us venture to grid or LL for anything. This is a problem. I like the MW in some aspects, but really if you compound the seconds it takes to move from ward to ward for items, take account the time it takes for a room to load all the mules in the room; it becomes a huge time sink many of us aren't don't want to endure imersive or not.

We live in the fastest growing information age of human history, and for the sake of argument I must contend a glorified bazaar based market system is archaic in design at best. Having said that, yes the MW can be imersive and fun, I'm not saying that at all, but some seem to think if an AH is implemented all of their time-sink fun exploring the wards will ruin it for the rest of us. Economics have nothing to do with forcing a society to go back archaic ways of doing business. For example, Amazon.com is a marketplace but they ship everywhere in the world; where in their business model do they say oh the cheapest price item you desire is in New Jersey and so after you buy from us you must go there to pick it up? It doesn't happen, we buy the things we want now and have them delivered to where we want when we want. It is simply a carry-over of modern day thought to an in-game experience.

This is the crux of the problem we face, does the game reproduce the savvy we have in our everyday world buying and selling? I think not, the MW only provides a Rolanberry field bazaar system that was originally only created to avoid tax at the AH in FFXI. This system simply put is an extension of that and has been done little better, but totally inefficient as to how we are used to doing business in the modern world.

RMT rears it head anytime we speak about the AH functionality which is simply playing to our own self destructive nature in which we view the pros or cons of the AH concept in principle. But know this: the minute we accommodate the reasons for not implementing an AH based system based on the RMT threat, we further acknowledge that RMT will be non-existent. Truth be told, all RMT has to do is hire a bunch of people to search market wards and go buy all the item which is even easier since uldah is really the only market place, then they have circumvented people's fears and they still will exist.

The future is uncertain, since the game is free atm, no one can say what the impact will be until there is a reason to sell gil for a rl profit, that is where i think we tend to think short term and not long term. Without risk their is no expectation of return. And I for one of course is against RMT, but this isn't about me. This about that if people had reason to buy and sell things with the fear of someone undercutting them or losing out we wouldn't be here.

Finally, i think its important to understand the economy would be better served to have a yes, a way to browse all of the items that are available, to counter sluggish ways of doing business by providing an additional AH to buy and sell things on the fly when needed. Linking cities to one buyer / seller database can only help revive reasons we would want to spend time in other cities. If the system is implemented in addition to what we have now can only help our ever shrinking community. Commerce is the key to any healthy community RMT or not. It is a means to provide community with something to work for, set prices, use our technology for the betterment of the fast paced world we live in real life; we are stuck now with a concept that is in direct conflict with what we know about our real life world.

I for one vote to have an additional way to do business, a faster streamlined way that can accompany the current system and I am willing to wait for it. This isn't about RMT, it's about us.