One of my friends in Final Fantasy XIV is engaged in a perpetual trade war with another player who tries to drive her out of the markets by buying all of her stuff and reselling it. We do not know how in the world he continues to acquire the gil for same. For that matter, I can’t understand what he’s getting out of it; I barely understand what she’s getting out of it, since she already has plenty of gil. (Stockpiling to help others when needed, I suppose.)
I’ve never been sufficiently into the economy of any game to dive that deep into a trade war with someone, but in some games like EVE Online it’s almost half of the gameplay. And even in games that reward the mere mention of crafting with a swift punch to the ribcage, people find a way to engage in epic battles of gouging and price fixing. So what about you, readers? Have you ever engaged in an MMO price war? Have you bought and resold in an attempt to corner a market? Or have you never even considered such a thing until now?
Every morning, the Massively Overpowered writers team up with mascot Mo to ask MMORPG players pointed questions about the massively multiplayer online roleplaying genre. Grab a mug of your preferred beverage and take a stab at answering the question posed in today’s Daily Grind!
