I can see the appeal to many of this kind of meta-play with the focus of your game being gold or control of the marketplace instead of XP or gear.

But as an outsider to this kind of play, I cannot help but sympathize with those who are side casualties to this type of activity.



I do not play the markets in any way, but I have felt the effects of those who do as they manipulate the supplies of goods. Those of us who do not have our game lives wrapped around the AH can get frustrated when on occasion we need to purchase something or craft something with mats we do not have access to on our own. We head over to the AH to see what is available only to find the supply chain for what we are looking for is serving as a battleground for other players.


What consumers desire above all else is stability. We do not care if prices are high or low, if the supply of a given good is rare or common. So long as we know in advance what to expect so that we can plan accordingly we are happy.



Using the game-economy for a PVP battleground is of course completely supported by the rules and human nature, but having such a key element of play that everyone needs to use able to be disrupted by others can be frustrating.


If a player does not want to have their game time directly interrupted by others, they can stay on a PVE server and avoid battlegrounds, something that only mildly impacts the regular game play experience.


If a players wants to avoid being swept up in AH-PVP their only recourse is to use NPC vendors or try create their own network of material/goods providers, hardly an adequate substitute for easy access to the AH.



Please understand that this is not a whining rant wishing all gold-cappers to leave my AH alone. As I said before, AH-PVP is clearly supported by the rules and human nature.

I only ask that those playing the gold game occasionally remember that the playing field they have chosen exists only because consumers find the AH useful. Play AH-PVP too hard, make things too unpredictable, and your playing field will suffer as other players get frustrated. Plus, remembering that their are other humans out there playing this great game in ways other than you can never hurt.

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