If you have been playing on PC EU server this past month, you may have noticed the prices for most refining and alchemy materials have substantially increased, as in 12k tempering alloys, 8k dreugh wax, 5k rosins, 600g/columbine... Maybe it's because I'm bored and waiting for my degree courses to start, maybe it's because I'm depressed that a poor scrub like me can't afford to upgrade vDSA weapons, or maybe it's scientific curiosity, but I'm genuinely wondering: what the hell?
Why did the prices increase so much? What the invisible hand of the PC EU eso market? In layman's terms, who is responsible for that inflation?
Or did all the intensive farmers quit the game in an organised yet unpredictable fashion? Did the farming bots become sentient and rebelled against their masters, thus screwing their farming routes? While I get that the prices for these goods usually increase with the release of new DLCs aka new armors to upgrade etc. why haven't they dropped down? And what about alchemy mats? Their price isn't correlated with the release of new content. We were in August. If anything, the game should be more populated than at any other given period, implying more farmers. And yet, there's a shortage.
Unless it's not a shortage, and somebody is buying every single reasonably priced good to resell at higher value. Then give me a scapegoat! Somebody to blame for my epic quality weapons and the general state of the eso economy. I'm triggered everytime I glance at my characters; instead of seeing bright, golden staves and swords, glinting and gleaming like elusive sunlight rays on a beautiful summer afternoon, I see purple and outright tear-worthy gear, only reminiscent of the most depressing color of the rainbow and Barney the Dinosaur, which scares me even more than clowns do.
Here are some MM screenshots to illustrate my point. Pay no attention to the cow behind the curtain.