Auction House vs Wards

[Vernam]

I don't actually play, but I have an active subscription so I'm able to post on the forums. I haven't posted on these forums since beta, but I just had to respond to this one.

I've been planning to come back once 2.0 launches, but if I come back and this game still has the market ward and retainer system (which was one of the many reasons I left in the first place), I'm gone for good, I will cancel my subscription and never look back. My wife, who is a FFXI player and has been waiting two years for her PS3 version, says she'll cancel her pre-order if they decide they're going to launch with wards/retainer system.

I realize there has been a search counter added since launch, but this isn't just about ease-of-use or accessibility. Don't forget about the obvious reason here too — the fact that having thousands of lifeless NPCs in a designated area doing absolutely nothing but standing idle looks incredibly stupid, it is also bad for immersion and role-play. Just scrap the whole system Square Enix...it is currently garbage.

[Elexia]

the fact that having thousands of lifeless NPCs in a designated area doing absolutely nothing but standing idle looks incredibly stupid, it is also bad for immersion and role-play.

And thousands of people standing idle afk in certain spots in certain cities with shops/bazaars in most other MMOs is different...how?

[Vernam]

And thousands of people standing idle afk in certain spots in certain cities with shops/bazaars in most other MMOs is different...how?

They are not NPCs.

[xXHalloweenTrixXx]

Market Ward system = System born and created to fail. Trying to be different isn't always a good thing, and this wasn't one of them.

[Esk]

What? No sir you suck. No one complains about the wards but you FFXI players. This game been around for 2 years with the wards in it, why change it. "I can't get my retainer in Ul'dah". So put them in another city why don't you?

I was a XI player for a wopping 3months at CoP..
Wanting a system that works has nothing to do with XI for most people, I would prefer a EvE style market..
I think a SWG system would be the best balance as it's virtually a mix of the 2 systems.

Atm though the wards are just a mess, finding +1 lol, not being able to get a spot.. great fun and really effective.
And its basically a AH anyway now that you can shop from the menu.

But are you honestly saying that the huge amounts of nps just dumped into a room, looks good, adds anything to the game?
I can think of half a dozen systems that could be used and would fit the game world better.

[Resheph]

I hate this RP immersion garbage. If you have the imagination to pretend your character is a real person and make up a background for it, then you have the imagination to pretend that the market wards is a lively hub of commerce.

You can't argue that something is bad because it makes it hard for you to play a game of pretend.

[Vernam]

If you have the imagination to pretend your character is a real person and make up a background for it, then you have the imagination to pretend that the market wards is a lively hub of commerce.

Why pretend when they could have just made it a lively hub of commerce in the first place? They could have even had these NPCs beckoning players that walked by, take the animations from Aion for example. Also, you also don't need to create a background story for your character to appreciate immersion.

[Ferth]

Basically, the wards just don't need to be a physical place in the game we can visit. It wastes resources, it wastes time, and it;s a huge headache to use on crowded servers that can reach capacity in the wards.

They can call it whatever they want, the name doesn't matter. The functionality though... it just shouldn't work anything like the wards now, because it is just too prohibitive to try and sell things, unless you are willing to spend a lot more time than should be necessary.

[Arkh]

AH can i have it? Why they choose to implement retainers instead of an AH in the first place? O_O"

[Titans]

Well, let me say this. It was the players who stuck with the game, when it was at it's worst help shape the future changes of this game. There was player polls and the sort. Wards was one of them, many felt the need to improve it, not get rid of it. So now your are a new or returning player, who expect the game to be completely the why they want. But it's not. So now you come in making request for what you want when you are really in the minority of such matters. Don't think this company is burger king, have it your way.