Quote Originally Posted by Smokie23 View Post
'Want to buy' is the same thing as 'seek item' in ffxiv. sry for the mix up.
Not all AH systems are able to place 'seek item' orders and the one's that don't have that option are not fail. FFXI is not a failed system. It worked fine. Sure we could use innovation here and there, change this up but the systems worked. I just think it would be nice for more ways or opportunities for players to obtain goods. Going to a AH window, searching, buying, obtaining from window seems...to mainstream and easy in some cases. But by no means is this system meant to be 'next gen' or some breakthrough lol

Judging by the community MW is failing. To me I don't mind it, I can travel and browse retainers...I guess it just a lot of player can't do that.
A system without the ability to 'seek item' is definitely not next gen or break through, I would never suggest a stale one sided system like that was anything worthy of note. My standard of failure for these systems is a little high I suppose. I don't consider failure to be outright collapse. The old systems were well established with their failings ingrained deeply enough that they were intractable. I played FFXI for many years I know it 'works just fine' like the MWs in this game 'work just fine'. That doesn't make them good, only the preferred alternative to using nothing at all. Recreating the FFXI AH for this game (because I don't know what other model they'd go from given it is SE we're talking about) is a mistake.

I should hope they're able to conceive of something better, and frankly the community has conceived many curious ideas for different ways to do things that are better and when taken as a whole and amalgamated into a franken-idea it has substantially more creativity and potential than what we may well get if/when SE changes the markets. When I suggest an AH over a MW I should never be taken to suggest that old garbage from FFXI or WoW. It's one dimensional and stale.

The "AH" system above all else needs to be efficient, convenient and preferably global (although that's not a set in stone requirement it would alleviate but not totally remove the player base clustering in only one city). The MWs are not. I think you're spot on in saying they should remove the MW, and that the system should have multiple access points.

Also, players identify a good many problems that are the result of a one sided system.

The MW, in theory (bear in mind I can only speak in theory here because the in practice implementation is off), should have helped in that regard by allowing for a full two sided exchange. It was also great that it allows you to put up repair items as a third bonus option. Not that that works well either with your money requiring its own slot (yes I understand why it is that way currently).

For the time being though I don't foresee the MW changing meaningfully from where it is now. It works, like a shitty old car with rust spots works in that it will get you from point A to point B alive (maybe), but you aren't exactly clamoring to be seen driving it. As long as "it's not so bad", "I can live with it", "it works for now", "that's fine I guess" gets you by, then everything's peachy.