**OFFICIAL** Diablo 3 Thread

[TheKub]

I have three level 60s and bought two things that won't decrease in value anytime soon.

Soon is very relative. Every day more and more "keep worthy" items are being found not to mention the easier loot tables in 1.03 and lower difficulty Inf A2+ means more loot to saturate the market.

Ultimately though, in retrospect, it's not that different from what happened with Diablo II and D2JSP, which one could argue that it (D2JSP) was just an unofficial "auction house" of sort.

The most significant difference being is the people making the game are not profiting from the sales. In D2 they could focus on balance and adding cool features to the game. Now (I fear) more development cycles will be spent on ensuring additional layers of security/auditing as they are now accountable for that real money they are processing. Not to mention the temptation to make some choice loot modifications to help bump up AH activity.

When I first heard about the GAH I was very interested, made it safe and easy to get some value out of that super cool item that wasn’t of any use to you. The 15% fee was a gold sink that only affected the users using that feature rather than say jacking repair costs that “hurt” everyone. The RMAH however I was far less enthused about, but ultimately time = money, spend 10 hours grinding for XXXX or spend an hours worth of your salary and get it now. I do believe the current prices are super inflated, likely people are seeing some activity on $20-$200 and they figure they better pay up and buy some l33t gear and grind out more items to recoup their “investment”. Likely it will work for some people, but I have a feeling that window of big ticket purchases being somewhat limited.

 

[Adrenaline]

So people were originally buying gold for like $10/10 million gold (towards the end of the gold price market). Now people are buying items for $100-150 (not the norm but it happens). The question is, would they have purchased those items for 150 million gold? It would be interesting to see the psyche of people and if they think one seems more reasonable than the other. I would venture a guess people would rather spend $150 rather than "spend" 150 million gold they purchased. Which amazes me.

Gold was $10 per million last week. It is down a little now. I have not seenu any gold on the RMAH yet.

 

[TheKub]

Gold was $10 per million last week. It is down a little now. I have not seenu any gold on the RMAH yet.

Commodities and gold sales on the RMAH are disabled for now.

 

[EDUSAN]

a friend sold a semi-well randomized legendary helm lvl 50ish for 10 bucks in 15 minutes

i myself placed some items... not that good i may add (good, but not that good) in the range of 3 buyout the cheapest to 45 the more expensive. Havent sold anything yet, lets see what happens

im not planning on getting rich with this, but if i manage to get enough to buy the games i want to play then im ok with it!

yo dawg i heard you like games so we put a game in your game so you can buy games while you game!

 

[BadgerYou]

Gold was $10 per million last week. It is down a little now. I have not seenu any gold on the RMAH yet.

Oh, so.... adjust my question I guess. Would they rather spend $150 vs 15 million gold. I never bought gold so I was mistaken!

 

[Adrenaline]

Soon is very relative. Every day more and more "keep worthy" items are being found not to mention the easier loot tables in 1.03 and lower difficulty Inf A2+ means more loot to saturate the market.

That is why I got only two items. One of which I had not seen anything close to it at all for sale on the GAH.

Gloves with IAS, crit hit, crit dmg, 100+ dex, MF and resist all (negligible to me). They were a good price.

 

[TheKub]

That is why I got only two items. One of which I had not seen anything close to it at all for sale on the GAH.

Gloves with IAS, crit hit, crit dmg, 100+ dex, MF and resist all (negligible to me). They were a good price.

And if you can afford to spend that money now and use the gear for a month by then the value has dropped 50% and you are ok with that more power to you its your money enjoy it how you wish. Its the people with the expectation that they will come out even (after 15% cut) or ahead that are in a bigger trouble.

There is no real limits to these items, the more people that can grind the more items that will be on the market. The game has been out a month so yes truly good gear isn’t very common give it 3 months and even very casual players will have lvl 60’s capable of farming/grinding inferno.

 

[gothamhunter]

glad you're still providing worthless commentary for yourself to read.

Thanks!

Also, "still"? Sounds like you don't read my usual posts.

 

[railven]

It seems Blizzard is putting the power, in a sense, back into the hands of the players. Farmers exist on lots of different games. For example, in WoW farmers sell gold, rare Bind on Equips, rare mounts, and such stuff through real money. People buy these things, for whatever reason.

Now it seems, people who play the game, casually/semi-hardcore/hardcore, can benefit from their invested time by flipping an item on the RMAH for some money (or gold, which ever.)

Who is whining? The hardcore players? This benefits them the most, they can do what they would have done anyways (farm the living shit out of stuff) and flip any unused items for a profit - a return on their farming time. Come on that's a win.

The semi-hardcore? Well, sorry guys but like any other game you have two options to progress: invest the time (farm the gear) or buy it, some where, from someone - another user through a secure channel - or Chinese farmer through a nefarious website? You don't have to spend money, you can easily still enjoy the game as it is, the challenge, that whatever. Anyone claiming you HAVE TO GO THE AH TO PROGRESS. That is a bold face lie. How do you think that stuff on the AH got there in the first place? That's right someone progress to the point, got it, and posted it. If you aren't hardcore enough, don't bitch.

The casauls? Well they get to buy stuff and win. They most likely don't have the interest to farm it or they want to show off. Let them. Eventually the game will get nerfed and they can stroll through, possibly, act II, but the rest should be gated to them. Either become better through skill, and earn gear through farming or buying it. Either way casuals - they're the least to complain/worry. They don't need it and the ones well you got options.

I've yet to spend more than 10K gold on the GAH and I beat Hell. I'm starting to farm for Inferno gear, can't wait for the patch, and anything I can sell on the RMAH is just an added benefit to playing a game I greatly enjoy.

 

[slayer202]

And if you can afford to spend that money now and use the gear for a month by then the value has dropped 50% and you are ok with that more power to you its your money enjoy it how you wish. Its the people with the expectation that they will come out even (after 15% cut) or ahead that are in a bigger trouble.

Trust me, I am positive there are people who have already made thousands buying and selling real money items.

 

[railven]

Trust me, I am positive there are people who have already made thousands buying and selling real money items.

Wouldn't suprise me, after hearing stories of people making billions on the GAH.

For those that love playing games just for the economy, they can make a nice penny without really investing time in playing the actual game haha. Just an initial investment to buy some gold and setup shop.

 

[onza]

Think we will get 1099'd for this? lol

 

[darkewaffle]

I don't mind the RMAH. I actually sold an item for $5 last night, and as far as I can tell there's still plenty of good gear on the GAH. Just as many String of Ears, Stormshields and Blackthorne Medals as before for me to sift through.

I don't understand the 'pay to win' notion either; first off there's nothing inherently competitive about the game. If someone wants to spend a grand and clear inferno, more power to them, it has no bearing on me. Further, it's no more 'pay to win' than simply buying gold was a week ago. The items are still found by real people playing the game; to me pay to win is a system where the people who run the game sell items 'out of thin air'; as long as what's being bought and sold is legitimately 'generated', then I think it's a perfectly acceptable evolution.

My friends and I are using it; but I'm only on it for the extra AH slots really lol. I don't plan on cashing out unless I somehow max my balance and then have more sales incoming, otherwise I plan on just treating it as another 'virtual currency' simply through a second venue.

 

[HopJokey]

It seems Blizzard is putting the power, in a sense, back into the hands of the players. Farmers exist on lots of different games. For example, in WoW farmers sell gold, rare Bind on Equips, rare mounts, and such stuff through real money. People buy these things, for whatever reason.

Now it seems, people who play the game, casually/semi-hardcore/hardcore, can benefit from their invested time by flipping an item on the RMAH for some money (or gold, which ever.)

Who is whining? The hardcore players? This benefits them the most, they can do what they would have done anyways (farm the living shit out of stuff) and flip any unused items for a profit - a return on their farming time. Come on that's a win.

The semi-hardcore? Well, sorry guys but like any other game you have two options to progress: invest the time (farm the gear) or buy it, some where, from someone - another user through a secure channel - or Chinese farmer through a nefarious website? You don't have to spend money, you can easily still enjoy the game as it is, the challenge, that whatever. Anyone claiming you HAVE TO GO THE AH TO PROGRESS. That is a bold face lie. How do you think that stuff on the AH got there in the first place? That's right someone progress to the point, got it, and posted it. If you aren't hardcore enough, don't bitch.

The casauls? Well they get to buy stuff and win. They most likely don't have the interest to farm it or they want to show off. Let them. Eventually the game will get nerfed and they can stroll through, possibly, act II, but the rest should be gated to them. Either become better through skill, and earn gear through farming or buying it. Either way casuals - they're the least to complain/worry. They don't need it and the ones well you got options.

I've yet to spend more than 10K gold on the GAH and I beat Hell. I'm starting to farm for Inferno gear, can't wait for the patch, and anything I can sell on the RMAH is just an added benefit to playing a game I greatly enjoy.

Great post. This "pay to win" concept is puzzling to me. How do you play Diablo 3 to "win"? This isn't Starcraft 2/Quake/Unreal or other competitive type game. You can progress without using the RMAH.

 

[LurkerPrime]

Think we will get 1099'd for this? lol

That does make things very interesting. If you are making decent money off of playing diablo, then you could essentially count your computer room as a work office and deduct a % of your mortgage, electricity, computer upgrades.

 

[EDUSAN]

Great post. This "pay to win" concept is puzzling to me. How do you play Diablo 3 to "win"? This isn't Starcraft 2/Quake/Unreal or other competitive type game. You can progress without using the RMAH.

but there WILL be a competitive side... we already saw it in some of those gaming demostrations like e3 in which there were 3v3 arenas and stuff like that

it will get there

 

[Magusigne]

but there WILL be a competitive side... we already saw it in some of those gaming demostrations like e3 in which there were 3v3 arenas and stuff like that

it will get there

But I won't be in those Arena's;p

 

[railven]

but there WILL be a competitive side... we already saw it in some of those gaming demostrations like e3 in which there were 3v3 arenas and stuff like that

it will get there

They can easily tune that like some other games, where the competitive play is separate from the other area.

They could easily make a separate armor type that doesn't can be had through farming (areas) or buying (with gold or money.)

Sort of how WoW handles PVP. Those really into PVP earn Conquest Points to buy their gear. The only other method to get Conquest points is to exchange Valor for it. You can't buy the high rated PVP gear with gold. You have to earn it.

They can easily implement that, so PVP'ers and PVE'ers aren't the same breed of player with the same "farm" mentallity.

 

[gothamhunter]

Great post. This "pay to win" concept is puzzling to me. How do you play Diablo 3 to "win"? This isn't Starcraft 2/Quake/Unreal or other competitive type game. You can progress without using the RMAH.

Well, when PVP comes out, people could be paying for better gear to win at PVP. But gear goes only so far ;-)

 

[Borealis7]

DIII will be competitive once Blizzard opens up the PvP option.

and you can still buy gold for real money. the seller places a worthless item for 10$, you buy it, the seller meets you in a game and hands you the gold. risky, but possible.

 

[darkewaffle]

People will make it competitive, yes, but I think it's a long established sentiment from Blizzard that PvP in D3 is not going to be a core focus and that balance is basically 'it is what it is' and won't be a major concern.

 

[BadgerYou]

"When the PvP patch is ultimately ready, it will add multiple Arena maps with themed locations and layouts, PvP-centric achievements, and a matchmaking system that will help you and your team get into fairly matched games quickly and easily. We'll also be adding a personal progression system that will reward you for successfully bashing in the other team's skulls."

http://us.battle.net/d3/en/blog/4574895

Maybe they have a way to match you based on gear level.

 

[Gunslinger08]

Think we will get 1099'd for this? lol

I believe Paypal will report your sales to the IRS if you have over $20k or over 200 transactions.

Regardless, it is your legal obligation to report any income to the IRS. If you're constantly buying and selling items, I'm not sure how it would work though. Do you get to report a cost-basis of $150 on the Blackthorne's Medal that you sold for $250?

 

[Imported]

I tossed some random items on the RMAH for bliz-money. My hope is to just use that as currency to buy other items in the future, not necessarily to make a profit for myself. I guess I'll see if this can be a viable solution. No way am I actually going to spend my own money on RMAH items..

 

[Gunslinger08]

When I decide to quit for good, I'll probably strip my character and put everything on the RMAH. With any luck, I'll earn enough to pay for the $60 game.