Retainer Markets vs Auction House

[Jennestia]

You think they work well now compared to how they used to work... The problem with this picture is that there are fanboys who will gobble up and pay for anything that SE plops on their plate.

Square Enix has to try to sell this game to the reviewers again. People unfamiliar with the market wards are going to hate it. They are a nuisance.

I know right? It's almost as if humans hate change and refuse to adapt to anything other than the familiar. The wards actually are a lot better than what they were (it's impossible to say you can't find what you want while using the search if it's actually being, which btw is a problem with Auction Houses also if there's none in stock.)

Wards only need refinement because remember retainers have more than one purpose currently.

[Zanfire]

I just used them again yesterday...and man they really are feeling like extra steps. I wished i could just use the item counter alone to buy things. First let me orginize the stuff by rank at least and just let me buy from there, instead of me having to find the guy in the right ward the NPC is sitting at.

[KitCat]

I just used them again yesterday...and man they really are feeling like extra steps. I wished i could just use the item counter alone to buy things. First let me orginize the stuff by rank at least and just let me buy from there, instead of me having to find the guy in the right ward the NPC is sitting at.

All it is, is SE trying to be different just for the sake of being different. Sure it's a great idea on paper (player run shops making it feel more involved etc) but I have NEVER seen an instance where it actually worked to benefit people without any crippling drawbacks. Those crappy free to play MMO's all have player shops and they've never been anything but a nuisance. MMOs all use auction houses now because they WORK. They're a simple way to buy and sell all your items in a convenient location QUICKLY, so you can go back to playing the game and having fun.

[Aistaraina]

I'm trying to sell my Ornate Silver Scepter +2. Oh wait. I can't. There's 30 NQ on the market.

[Evangela]

Auction House won via knock-out

end of discussion

[Zanfire]

Auction House won via knock-out

end of discussion

yet how many months later and we are still forced to use the market wards, which they keep trying to make better without actually doing what most people seem to want?

hell it doesnt need to be an AH, just let me buy from 1 counter and let me orginize the results (mainly need by class and level) and il be fine, i just dont like the extra step.

[zzapp]

Dead Horse, Meet my beat stick.

Eli man, this has been discussed in excess.

While I am sure you think you have a new and fresh opinion on the matter, I can assure you all options have been spoken about already in great length all over these boards.

The devs are painfully aware of the wards vs AH debate.

Doc, seriously, you think I just woke up this morning and thought to myself, you know what, I have this wonderful, new idea we should replace the current market ward feature with an AH? I know there have been many posts on this, and that this has been one of the hottest topics of debate since the game was launched. The point here is, this isn't working in its current form, and it's only going to get worse if the game really does take off.

I'm trying to sell my Ornate Silver Scepter +2. Oh wait. I can't. There's 30 NQ on the market.

Here's why - and if you don't think HQ gear is a big thing in this game then when I 'check' you tomorrow, you better be sporting nothing but NQ gear.

[Zemeckis]

Wards are just more trouble then there worth...as a new player i just sell all my items to a npc.It's to much of a learning curve for new players. And i don't think i will sub for this if they don't make the player's happy...they need to hear us!

[Phenidate]

I vividly and painfully recall, when I started playing this game in October, spending literally near-full days in one giant retainer ward searching for an item and best price. As most know, this entailed literally targeting and clicking on each and every retainer in the ward. Thankfully, these days are long gone. The search function was a giant step in the right direction, and for that I am grateful. However, as this game progresses it's still evident that this current retainer system is generations behind an auction house feature.

The player community was quick to devise a system that allowed visibility of HQ items vs. NQ, with the price suffix of 1/2/3. For a large part, this works fine. However, since the current search feature identifies and lists the 20 lowest priced items, when a particular item for sale exceeds that limitation, items priced 20+ never make the list. If one is selling, for example, a Crab Bow +3 on Istory it doesn't even show up, since there are currently 38 bows for sale. This is a major problem that needs to be resolved. I don't think I should have to stand in town spending my valuable game time shouting around an HQ item for sale because of a system limitation.

Further, with the current system, where everyone can see what's for sale, and at what price, you almost have to literally stand at the market to see who, in the last minute, has undercut your price. With an AH, you had a history of sales, but you couldn't see what the lowest asking price was. So, there was some reasonable element in that system that precluded direct price under-cuts. Overall, this provided for the basis of economic standard, which is not prevalent today with the current retainer system.

I'm sure there are other pluses for an AH that I've missed, but in its current state, the retainer/search function is woefully lacking. What's going to happen if this game ever does take off with the gaming community and the servers fill up? This is only going to be further exacerbated.

I've never seen an official response from SE regarding the reason for their hard stand against an AH. I assume it's a cost/storage issue. I, for one, would like to understand why we have to put up with such an inferior system when compared to a prior generation game ffxi, that worked so well.

To many 'trolls' are dismissing this topic because it 'beats a deadhorse'. Until there is a proper dev response to this I will continue to support similar threads until it is correctly addressed.

The original intent behind no proper 'market' system, AH or otherwise was to stop RMT. What SE failed to realize is that AH's and other ways to move goods are there for reasons OTHER than RMT's use. Ease of use, flow of goods, etc.

This intentional exclusion is one of the hallmark mistakes yet to be righted, and currently even makes the RMT's work easier when it comes to them buying out entire item markets and relisting them at THEIR desired prices. With no sale history or direct way to associate players with retainers, we players have no way of knowing if an RMT group is manipulating a market in this way and more or less making it impossible to make the correct reports to the STF when they do this.

This horsebird needs to be beaten more.

[Aistaraina]

Here's why - and if you don't think HQ gear is a big thing in this game then when I 'check' you tomorrow, you better be sporting nothing but NQ gear.

Did I say that? Stop putting words in my mouth. It was an example on how stupid the market system is.

Oh, and by the way. It's my backup, I use Verdant, and i'd rather have the 2.5m.