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3 things the Black Market Auction House needs to succeed
The Black Market Auction House seems to be a controversial topic. Some players love the idea, while some players utterly detest the idea with every ounce of their being. Regardless, the theory behind the Black Market Auction House is a solid one. Removing gold from the WoW economy is something that is desperately needed in the days of Auction House kings, in order to balance everything out. If the Black Market Auction House works, it'll even out player gold to a reasonable level, keeping items on the regular Auction House at reasonable prices. And for those who spent the tremendous amount of time it takes to amass their fortunes, it means that they finally have something to spend their reward on, something tangible and -- let's face it -- something pretty cool. In expansions past, we've only had one or two really major gold sinks to speak of, whether crafted mounts, or really useful mounts purchased from a vendor. Once those mounts were purchased or crafted, there was a vast sea of nothing for people to spend that gold on. But the potential for abuse runs pretty high with this thing. And as I pondered the potential side effects of the Black Market Auction House, I realized there are certain things that really need to be in place to make it work effectively.
Is the thought of the Black Market Auction House bugging you?
Ever since the Black Market Auction House was mentioned, people wondered what the heck would be in it. We were told it would sell rare items, but what we weren't told was the extent of those rare items. It's not just level 90 recipes and things along those lines; it's also rare mounts and items that have been removed from game. This includes the elusive tier 3 that was lost presumably for all time when Naxxramas was changed from a 40-man raid to a 10- and 25-man raid and moved from the Eastern Plaguelands up to Northrend. As shown in the screenshot above, this also includes the Ashes of Al'ar, a rare mount drop from Kael'thas Sunstrider in Tempest Keep. And that seems to be a hot topic for a lot of players right now, particularly players who already have the mount and obtained it the old-fashioned way. It's an even bigger topic among those who don't necessarily have gigantic piles of gold stashed away, because it's obvious the prices on these items are going to be incredibly high. Some have said that Blizzard is catering to the 1% of players who have stockpiled mass amounts of gold. Well, that's not it at all, really. And the Black Market Auction House is something that we've needed for a very, very long time here.
Mists of Pandaria: Black Market Auction House offers rare and removed items
According to reports by MMO-Champion, the Black Market Auction House is now live on beta realms. Attempts to confirm this by chatting with Madam Goya just kicked back a UI error at me, but there seem to be plenty of people stopping by to check her out. Madam Goya makes her home at the Tavern of the Mists in the Veiled Stair, north of the Valley of the Four Winds. She's not alone, as Wrathion is still quietly hanging out in the tavern as well. So what's available at the Black Market? A little bit of everything, including rare mounts like the Ashes of Al'ar, pictured above. Also included are pets that require a grind to obtain such as the Sen'jin Fetish, previously available only from grinding out Argent Tournament reputation, and high-level crafting recipes, although we don't have a lot of information on what those recipes are exactly. However, perhaps the most interesting note to glean from this is that the Black Market Auction House appears to be carrying the original tier 3 sets that were removed from the game when Naxxramas was moved to Northrend and changed from a 40-man raid to a 10- and 25-man raid in Wrath of the Lich King. Obviously, this means that those looking to transmogrify into these rare tier sets can now pay to do so -- provided they've got the gold to fling around.
Festival horse vendor removed from Lord of the Rings Online
Did your goals for Lord of the Rings Online's Spring Festival include getting yourself a spiffy horse? Well, you're going to have to wait just a little while in order to get your hands on one. How long? We don't know yet. What we do know is that the vendor has been removed entirely, thus preventing players from even gazing longingly at the listing in the menu. As Sapience explained on the forums, the issue wasn't really the vendor so much as the horse itself. To wit: the way the game is handling mounts is being changed. As a result, they need to change the item, remove the item from the vendor's list, or remove the vendor entirely until the issue is resolved. However, the former two changes require a patch, and the issue is kind of small for an entire patch -- not to mention that it's the sort of fix more easily rolled into a larger patch. While it's bad news for Lord of the Rings Online players, it's at least nice to get a quick and clear explanation on why the vendor got yanked. [ via A Casual Stroll to Mordor ]
The Daily Grind: What part has stayed the same?
MMOs change. A lot, in fact. There are always new updates or new developments, always something that's being improved or altered, added or removed, whatever. But even with all of that, there are certain things that don't change after all. If you've been with your current favorite game for a couple months or several years, there are usually fixed aspects that weather the changes and can server as comforting touchstones. Sometimes it's that certain classes always have the same role, sometimes it's the way the game plays, sometimes it's even just the look of a very familiar area. Whatever it is, there are constants that don't move even as the rest of the game does. We ask you today: what part of your preferred MMO has stayed the same for you? What feels like a bedrock portion of the game, something that you'd miss immeasurably if it was removed or altered? No matter how silly or serious, there are things we use as fixed points of commonality, so what serves that purpose in your game of choice?
