Any word on when we will get an Auction House?

[ShinChuck]

Who are you to talk for them? I can assure you that there are those who want AH system called Auction House separate from the Marketplace and can not grasp the fact that Marketplace is about to be made into one. As well as those who say "they don't want an AH since there is the marketplace" who mean that they want the marketplace improved to be as efficient as AH.

Most people aren't so unreasonable that they won't use an auction house called "Market Wards" because it's not called "Auction House." Don't you think it's a little absurd saying people wouldn't accept "Wards" that offered everything AHs do but weren't called "Auction Houses"? A rose is a rose by any other name.

Of course they'd be happy if they got everything they wanted from the system, call it an AH or call it the Wards.

Well, if we take that approach then there is no reason why SE can't make this game free forever while updating it regularly for years to come and implementing an expansions worth of content every few months. Except the fact that it costs too much money, it uses all of their resources and manpower and is not financially viable tactic for a company looking to make profit.

Anything is possible as long as we ignore the 'details' above. They can improve the item search but they can also keep the retainers to function as-is. There is no logical reason to take it away from them, it just means more work for no apparent gain.

Er, you're saying cutting Retainers from the Wards would not be feasible financially or in terms of manpower? That big, massive SE and it's brilliant minds couldn't figure out a way to do that? Okay, I'd like to see your financial numbers, and would like to know the name of the dev team member who has told you this.

There's an entirely logical reason to take them away: they're an unnecessary, unintuitive aspect. The Retainers right now are extra work for everyone involved, it's extra maintenance, it would make the game flow better. It would not be hard to move them to another area, and allow people to summon them for banking aspects. Do you really think SE can create gorgeous, ingenious games, but not simply move the locations where NPCs are allowed to be summoned?