ZOS can you put the AH debate to bed?

ItsGlaive · March 2015

There are two very passionate camps that have debated the absence of an auction house since the launch of the game. The forum is littered with threads and polls, the discussions often become heated. Both sides have valid interests and concerns but it's a never ending argument until you comment ZOS and put the debate to rest.

@ZOS_GinaBruno, @ZOS_JessicaFolsom, @ZOS_JasonLeavey, can we get a final official word on this. Are there plans, long or short term to add an AH or to make improvements to the guild store system? It'd be great to put the debate to rest finally.

Full disclosure: I'm a fan of the guild store system, I think it's been great for the game. But it's getting exhausting defending it all the time!

Nestor · March 2015

Just because people are posting threads about does not mean ZOS is considering it.

SteveCampsOut · March 2015

And asking ZOS to limit people's freedom to ask for and discuss it just because you're tired of the threads isn't going to make it happen. Learn to skip the threads like the rest of us tired of redundant threads.

Grapdjan · March 2015

forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/160434/in-game-poll#latest

deepseamk20b14_ESO · March 2015

Eh, I am fine with trade guilds. It promotes competition and variety. It's like the good old days when their were mom and pop shops and the economy wasn't crap. What you want is a Wal-Mart and Wal-mart is the devil!

I am also a firm believer that having a central AH will make it more tempting for gold farmers and bots to make their way back into the game. It's quite apparent just by looking at other games that do have a central AH. Having guild traders and such makes it WAY harder for them to find a profitable means of exploiting the game.

ItsGlaive · March 2015

SteveCampsOut wrote: »

And asking ZOS to limit people's freedom to ask for and discuss it just because you're tired of the threads isn't going to make it happen. Learn to skip the threads like the rest of us tired of redundant threads.

Wow, every thread has to become a debate lol. I'm not asking them to limit people's freedom. Simply say once and for all whether it's even on the table as a possibility. Who knows? If they say they're not looking at it, there are no plans for it or even if it's being worked on, then it might reduce the number of threads and the number of arguments on the forum - that's what I'm aiming for

Psychobunni · March 2015

A thread opening more debate, by a debater on another thread of the same subject?

I agree ZOS should respond. Something along the lines of there being other active posts on this subject...

Grapdjan · March 2015

Psychobunni wrote: »

A thread opening more debate, by a debater on another thread of the same subject?

I agree ZOS should respond. Something along the lines of there being other active posts on this subject...

lol yup

Grapdjan · March 2015

if they had courage however they would put the topic to bed once and for all by doing an in game poll on yes/no.

Naor_Sarethi · March 2015

ingame poll? yea... no.
it's one of those things you're not going to see, as there are *far* more pressing issues AND the Guild traders have been there since launch and it's a part of the game.
And honestly i don't mind travelling over a few cities to buy those ingredients or items i need.
Makes buying stuff a bit more interesting.

SteveCampsOut · March 2015

Psychobunni wrote: »

A thread opening more debate, by a debater on another thread of the same subject?

I agree ZOS should respond. Something along the lines of there being other active posts on this subject...

More ironically "A thread opening a debate on ending debates over a subject they claim they don't want to debate over!"

Gidorick · March 2015

They really should... By releasing the Auction Horse! (or The Bartering Mule)

http://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/159594/eso-needs-an-auction-horse-expanded-concept/p1

Sinthrax · March 2015

I didn't know ZoS was even talking about this. I think it's only the forums. Just because people talk about stuff on the forums doesn't mean its even on ZoS radar. People dream up this type of post on there own. Where? When? have you seen ZoS even discuss this. Please link.

LtCrunch · March 2015

ZOS has stated previously that an AH "is not possible" or desired.

Alphashado · March 2015

Brandalf wrote: »

ZOS has stated previously that an AH "is not possible" or desired.

They said it would have to be a global auction house, and THAT is what they are opposed to. It's been a year since they said anything about it. Right about the same time they said the subscription model was here to stay....

I personally don't mind the current system. I'm only tossing out a reminder that year old statements from ZOS must now be taken with a grain of salt.

Raash · March 2015

Xabien wrote: »

There are two very passionate camps that have debated the absence of an auction house since the launch of the game. The forum is littered with threads and polls, the discussions often become heated. Both sides have valid interests and concerns but it's a never ending argument until you comment ZOS and put the debate to rest.

@ZOS_GinaBruno, @ZOS_JessicaFolsom, @ZOS_JasonLeavey, can we get a final official word on this. Are there plans, long or short term to add an AH or to make improvements to the guild store system? It'd be great to put the debate to rest finally.

Full disclosure: I'm a fan of the guild store system, I think it's been great for the game. But it's getting exhausting defending it all the time!

Not really up to you to defend anything against what other people would like to see in the game tho.

LtCrunch · March 2015

Alphashado wrote: »

Brandalf wrote: »

ZOS has stated previously that an AH "is not possible" or desired.

They said it would have to be a global auction house, and THAT is what they are opposed to. It's been a year since they said anything about it. Right about the same time they said the subscription model was here to stay....

I personally don't mind the current system. I'm only tossing out a reminder that year old statements from ZOS must now be taken with a grain of salt.

They have never said the subscription model was here to stay. Ever.

And it's not even a remotely comparable situation. Their opinions on an AH have been the same since long before launch. Besides guilds with a trader are effectively mini auction houses.

Alphashado · March 2015

Brandalf wrote: »

Alphashado wrote: »

Brandalf wrote: »

ZOS has stated previously that an AH "is not possible" or desired.

They said it would have to be a global auction house, and THAT is what they are opposed to. It's been a year since they said anything about it. Right about the same time they said the subscription model was here to stay....

I personally don't mind the current system. I'm only tossing out a reminder that year old statements from ZOS must now be taken with a grain of salt.

They have never said the subscription model was here to stay. Ever.

And it's not even a remotely comparable situation. Their opinions on an AH have been the same since long before launch. Besides guilds with a trader are effectively mini auction houses.

Yes, in fact they did. I've seen an interview with my own two eyes where one of the devs said, and I am paraphrasing, "we are sticking with a subscription model because we believe it offers the best gaming experience in order to develop and impliment a steady supply of new content".

I would find it for you, but I am on my mobile. Times change. They will do whatever they think will net them more players and therefore more profit.

I don't believe it will be a global auction house, but it wouldn't surprise me one bit if they changed the current system. Zos is not some kind of white knight that puts standards before profit. The b2p conversion makes this very clear.

Like I said. I like the current system. But people would be wise to not reference old statements as future facts.

fromtesonlineb16_ESO · March 2015

Xabien wrote: »

There are two very passionate camps that have debated the absence of an auction house since the launch of the game. The forum is littered with threads and polls, the discussions often become heated. Both sides have valid interests and concerns but it's a never ending argument until you comment ZOS and put the debate to rest.

@ZOS_GinaBruno, @ZOS_JessicaFolsom, @ZOS_JasonLeavey, can we get a final official word on this. Are there plans, long or short term to add an AH or to make improvements to the guild store system? It'd be great to put the debate to rest finally.

Full disclosure: I'm a fan of the guild store system, I think it's been great for the game. But it's getting exhausting defending it all the time!

Right now I'm looking to level enchanting and am buying 'whites' to help speed it up. Until this game provides me ONE PLACE where I can see everything that's for sale in the game it's a FAIL!

I'm having to teleport all over Tamriel and it's beyond crass.

So no, until there's a central place to buy from the demands for an 'AH' will continue until and unless ZOS begin to block/delete such posts.

LtCrunch · March 2015

Alphashado wrote: »

Brandalf wrote: »

Alphashado wrote: »

Brandalf wrote: »

ZOS has stated previously that an AH "is not possible" or desired.

They said it would have to be a global auction house, and THAT is what they are opposed to. It's been a year since they said anything about it. Right about the same time they said the subscription model was here to stay....

I personally don't mind the current system. I'm only tossing out a reminder that year old statements from ZOS must now be taken with a grain of salt.

They have never said the subscription model was here to stay. Ever.

And it's not even a remotely comparable situation. Their opinions on an AH have been the same since long before launch. Besides guilds with a trader are effectively mini auction houses.

Yes, in fact they did. I've seen an interview with my own two eyes where one of the devs said, and I am paraphrasing, "we are sticking with a subscription model because we believe it offers the best gaming experience in order to develop and impliment a steady supply of new content".

I would find it for you, but I am on my mobile. Times change. They will do whatever they think will net them more players and therefore more profit.

I don't believe it will be a global auction house, but it wouldn't surprise me one bit if they changed the current system. Zos is not some kind of white knight that puts standards before profit. The b2p conversion makes this very clear.

Like I said. I like the current system. But people would be wise to not reference old statements as future facts.

That statement is from one of the Nick Konkle interviews on ESOTR, I believe. I remember it being focused on the here and now at the time and giving no solid commitment for the future. Regardless even out of context and paraphrased that does not translate into: "We're always going to be a subscription based game and never switch business models.". They've never said anything of the sort and I'm tired of people saying they did.

I think guild traders are as close as we're ever going to get to any form of auction houses. The fractured economy system has saved this game's economy too many times for ZOS to ever consider it a good idea to implement even regional auction houses, IMO.

Audigy · March 2015

We need public trade posts in this game, the guild stores are not accessible for everyone. It does not need to be global, locally is totally fine, but it must be accessible for everyone.

SteveCampsOut · March 2015

I could care less about an auction house, but I would prefer it if every guild had access to public sales.

Psychobunni · March 2015

fromtesonlineb16_ESO wrote: »

Right now I'm looking to level enchanting and am buying 'whites' to help speed it up. Until this game provides me ONE PLACE where I can see everything that's for sale in the game it's a FAIL!

I'm having to teleport all over Tamriel and it's beyond crass.

So no, until there's a central place to buy from the demands for an 'AH' will continue until and unless ZOS begin to block/delete such posts.

Pretty much this. No matter how "old" it gets to some people, or how many great addons to help search/price/etc players come up with...as long as we have to check dozens of stores in multiple cities/maps.....and players know other games have a much more simple, less time consuming solution....players will continue to ask for said solution.

Majic · March 2015

Major Tradeoffs

If ZOS went with a global auction house, it would almost certainly render the guild trader system obsolete. There are also some rather significant effects a global auction house would have on the game overall, especially with respect to gold farming schemes and the like.

I'm personally a fan of global auction houses (ala Guild Wars 2, for example), and was skeptical of the ESO guild trading system when I first started playing, but over time I've come to appreciate what it brings to the table.

No, it's definitely not as convenient, and some players may find the need to join a good trade guild to sell their wares to be off-putting, but a distributed system like the one in place does more closely resemble the sorts of mechanics we could expect in a far-flung medieval society, for good or ill.

Besides, if you're willing to do a little legwork and shop around, you can often find some pretty sweet deals that wouldn't last five seconds on a global auction house.

My advice: Buy cheap, sell dear.

c0rp · March 2015

I can answer this for you. No, ZoS is not considering a global AH. The debate is now ended.

c0rp · March 2015

I can answer this for you. No, ZoS is not considering a global AH. The debate is now ended.

The guild store bids themselves remove millions, upon millions of gold from the game every week. The game needs a gold sink like that. That is just one single advantage of the current system. I don't feel like wasting any more of my time on the matter though.

ItsGlaive · March 2015

c0rp wrote: »

I can answer this for you. No, ZoS is not considering a global AH. The debate is now ended.

Thanks. No offence, but I don't think this will carry the same weight for the pro-AH lobby

It would be nice if they came out and commented, instead of letting the same tired debate play out on the forums week after week.

LtCrunch · March 2015

Xabien wrote: »

c0rp wrote: »

I can answer this for you. No, ZoS is not considering a global AH. The debate is now ended.

Thanks. No offence, but I don't think this will carry the same weight for the pro-AH lobby

It would be nice if they came out and commented, instead of letting the same tired debate play out on the forums week after week.

They have, many times. The pro-AH people refuse to accept it.

Hellkiteacus · March 2015

Looks like OP was losing ground on a more active thread and tried to slyly create his own. Not to mention that it's obviously self serving that trade guild leaders would fight against rendering their guilds useless.

No more trade guilds would end the best locations being cornered by a few and allow for more / true dedication to real guilds.

wraith808 · March 2015

They've already said they want to consolidate talks about an Auction House in one thread several times. And another is made.

Pallmor · March 2015

While I can see the points of both sides of this issue, I'm generally in favor of an AH--if for no other reason than it would save me the hassle of having to deal with multiple trade guilds.

That said, I don't think anything ZOS says on the topic is really going to put it to rest. They have such a long history of reversing course on promises. So I don't think it would stop the debate even if they did make a definitive statement.