currency-systems
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World of Warcraft aims to restructure currencies in Warlords of Draenor
World of Warcraft has been running for a decade, and that means a lot of changes have taken place over the years. One of those changes was the addition of the special currencies like Justice and Valor points, designed to ensure that bad luck on raiding loot drops doesn't lock people out of getting upgrades. But according to lead encounter designer Ion Hazzikostas, this system may well be on the chopping block when Warlords of Draenor comes around. Hazzikostas explains that the bonus roll system can be expanded and refined to ensure that players wind up with appropriate loot from encounters, replacing the current currency system altogether. The developers are also hoping to simplify the game's PvP currencies, giving players fewer things to keep track of while providing a more organic system of rewards. While nothing has been finalized yet, it's a fair bet that by the time the expansion comes out, you'll have fewer currencies to track on your character sheet.
Star Trek Online opens up testing for the dilithium exchange
The economy of free-to-play games can be a tricky business. Usually, they're managed by keeping a strict distinction between in-game currency and purchased currency, but Star Trek Online is taking a slightly different approach. The upcoming overarching currency dilithium can be traded for Cryptic Points via the new dilithium exchange service, which has just gone live on the Tribble server for players to test. But the trade isn't a straight one, instead working on an auction-type system. The newest Path to F2P blog outlines the means for players to use the exchange system, which works both ways -- players can look to buy dilithium or Cryptic Points and are able to browse the overall market and see what other players are offering or asking. It's not quite as simple as being able to swipe your credit card and then grab some in-game money, but it's certainly blurring the lines between real currency and game money.
