The economy is a mess here

#1 - Nov. 12, 2013, 1:25 a.m.

So I've been running a relatively low level toon lately, from about twenty five to forty three at the moment, and what's struck me is that it's almost impossible to equip her. I have five heirloom pieces which are fairly good. But buying anything else at auction is harder than I've ever seen it. And I've been here a long time. There's very little for sale, and what is for sale is going for ridiculous prices. I'm talking average of $300 per piece for green items, easily going to $500 -> $1000 GOLD for green items.

Now I have a decent amount of cash since I'm not new, but I'm not paying $500 gold for a basic green item I'll outgrow in a few levels. But what about newbies, assuming there are any newbies at wow. Every other toon I've raised up has made good use of the auction to grab a lot of extra, especially rare items. Not this one.

Meanwhile, how do you make money now other than charging outrageous prices for armor? Most herbs, skins/hides, and ores are going for chump change. You can make more mining, skinning and herb picking in lowbie areas than in the higher zones. What does that do to lowbies trying to raise their profession, trying to make money, and to equip themselves? The gathering professions were the ones I could always rely on to make money when i was low. Stuff like Alchemy doesn't produce money, it drains it, at least until you're much higher.

I don't know if WOW still gets newbies, but if it wants them it's going to have to do something about this sort of thing.

Bashiok

Community Manager

#4 - Nov. 12, 2013, 1:40 a.m.

11/11/2013 05:25 PMPosted by Nymia
You can make more mining, skinning and herb picking in lowbie areas than in the higher zones. What does that do to lowbies trying to raise their profession, trying to make money, and to equip themselves?

Probably makes them fairly wealthy off-the-bat if they have a gathering profession, which most do as the guides out there recommend against dual-crafting professions for new characters. Likely a what-if situation more than a real problem a lot of people run into. If low-level things on the AH are going for a lot, it means low-level players are going to sell the stuff they find for a lot, and they'll be able to get into the economy fairly quickly.

The redesign of 1-60 in Cataclysm also brought the quest/dungeon itemization in-line with newer designs, so crafting that OP Enchanting wand that'd last you until level 20 isn't really a thing any more.

11/11/2013 05:39 PMPosted by Venomheart
sell green item, obtain 300g.

hah! Right. This.

Bashiok

Community Manager

#13 - Nov. 12, 2013, 2:07 a.m.

11/11/2013 05:56 PMPosted by Lorralei
I disagree. You out-level the areas so quick that you are no longer able to gather anything...unless you put leveling your character on hold. The Monk I'm leveling just entered Panda land with her mining and herbalism in the mid-200's.

Yeah, I agree you sometimes have to put some thought into staying back to ensure you're keeping your professions up while leveling, it's not as natural as it potentially could be. But ... that doesn't really have anything to do with the topic of discussion or what I said. ;)