Buy Order System

[DPZ2]

GW2's buy-order system isn't flawless. It encourages constant 1-copper bid wars, ties up player currency in outstanding orders, and makes market manipulation and speculation much easier for dedicated traders. It's great for efficiency, but that doesn't automatically mean it's the best fit for FFXIV's economy.

One thing people often overlook is that adding buy orders would make the market board more efficient, but it would also make it more financialized. The optimal way to make gil would increasingly shift toward analyzing markets, maintaining orders, and playing trader rather than crafting, gathering, or actually playing the rest of the game. That's not necessarily bad, but it's a major design change that would benefit some players while making others feel pressured to engage in market PvP if they want to stay competitive.

Another important difference is that GW2's buy-order system exists alongside a game-wide Trading Post. A centralized market dramatically increases liquidity and convenience, but it also concentrates economic power. Large traders, automated tools, and dedicated market players can operate against the entire player population at once rather than being limited to a single world or data center. The result is often a more efficient market, but also one that's more vulnerable to speculation, buyout strategies, and aggressive order management.

FFXIV's fragmented markets may be less efficient, but they also act as a natural brake on players attempting to dominate the economy. A trader can influence a single world's market, but influencing an entire region is far more difficult. If FFXIV were to adopt buy orders, comparisons to GW2 should also include the impact of its centralized Trading Post, since the two systems are closely tied together.

[Kranel_San]

GW2's buy-order system isn't flawless. It encourages constant 1-copper bid wars, ties up player currency in outstanding orders, and makes market manipulation and speculation much easier for dedicated traders. It's great for efficiency, but that doesn't automatically mean it's the best fit for FFXIV's economy.

So.... nothing different than what's happening in-game right now.