Quote Originally Posted by Wolfie View Post
I still don't know why everyone is defending the retainer system.

Everything the devs will do with this system to make it more user friendly or intuitive will turn out to be extremely roundabout or awkward, because the base design of "NPCs selling your stuff in a separate zone like bazaars" is a bad design. There is nothing that this system does, that a system without retainers couldn't do better, easier, and for cheaper in terms of development costs.

Just because you can work with a system doesn't mean it's a GOOD one. SE pretty much spent extra effort to make a system that's WORSE than systems already available on other MMOs (including their own).
Ok let me see if I can summarize the main complaints against AHs. If I miss any let me know.

1) An AH will have price histories and price histories will bring about the robot unicorn apocalypse.

2) The system we have now is PERFECT because we can now search for items, and any argument to the contrary automatically implies you are lazy.

3) AHs, because they are so simple and efficient, allow RMTs to thrive because when RMTs are confronted with a retainer ward (seeing as they aren't as intelligent as the next 10 year old that can figure out an MMO market system) they burst into flames of confusion, since they cannot possibly find out how to effectively thrive in a market ward system, and are forced back to the nether-dimension they came from.

4) AHs hurt my immersion? a.k.a. alienating me from my fantasy land with the horrors of quick, straightforward, efficient, informative and competitive global commerce. I don't know if that's even a real one but I figured it might be on Besaid.

5) Hmmm... ran out. Any other perfectly valid suggestions as to why the AH is the devil himself reincarnated as a fuzzy bunny reincarnated as a post office box ?