Ways to Remove High-end Items from the Game (To Curb Item Inflation)

Why don't you take new content and currency exchange into account? Also what about crafting, mod rerolling and other functions of currency items?. Aren't they going to ensure the ratio will be kept? In fact they are used to prevent inflation from happening.

BTW I know that BoE removes high-end items from the economy but it's not real purpose of it as I explained before.

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permaximum wrote:

BoE and BoP is just a cheap solution in classic RPGs to ensure all the content have to be played and limit player trading skills to collect good items. It's not about removing high-end items from the market to lock their values.

Please explain what "limit player trading skills to collect good items" means.

Also, when you say "BoE and BoP is just a cheap solution in classic RPGs to ensure all the content have to be played" are you saying that all the content wouldn't get played if there were no BoE items?

I'm not trying to be bossy here, I just want to understand those points.

Also, since its a fact that BoE gear does take items out of the market this means that at least one of the main purposes of BoE gear is to remove items from the market.

Here are two mechanics that are separate but do two completely different things.
I just want it to be clear that I know GGG wants to implement Mechanic A. I'm not arguing that they implement Mechanic B, I just want to make it clear what it is. I believe other mechanics could be better suited for this game, possibly.

Game Mechanic A

Think about this, lets say that a really good item drops. As a player, of course, one wold love to have that item and use it all they want. Then when they find a new and better item, trade their previous one. However, in my view, you're getting two things almost always with this mechanic - wealth and power. So, you always grow in wealth and power no matter what. Obviously, as a player that's what we all want.

To me this only helps to inflate the economy further. Maybe that's fine, I certainly won't complain.

Game Mechanic B

But, now lets say BoE items are introduced for only high end items. At this point the player is given a choice. He could use that good item and gain power, or you could trade that item and gain wealth.

It's obvious that most would prefer game mechanic A because we like to get the most benefit possible. But mechanic A clearly causes double-inflation for the player, and gives them no hard choices. Mechanic B clearly stabilizes the economy by removing items from it while giving the player a difficult choice.

But, no matter how many ways I explain BoE items, the one thing I want to be absolutely clear on is that I believe there are other more fun ways to deflate items from the economy. If it's even necessary.

I think the important question has to be answered first: how long high-end characters are supposed to be played?

Answer 1. Long. Then the high-lvl items will inflate, devs will work to entertain high-lvls a max and we get WoW-type situation. BoE is the only solution. BoP is insane in a game with random item generation. (in WoW you can plan to get certain item by farming heroics/ICC or whatfuckingever it is substituted by now). Non-bind items experienced tremendous inflation (e.g. Primordial Saronite).

Answer 2. Short. Trained to 99. Killed Hell Baal/Uber bosess/done this/done that/killed Crawmerax. Then characted pushes an alt in any league (if the leagues will be popular). Here I dont see any need to artificially curb inflation.

@Silver

It looks you agreed that there are systems will prevent inflation from happening. You didn't write about them in your long post :)

As for BoE thing;

If you can't get the best gear via trading what are you going to do? You have to play the necessary content right? Yes that's the main purpose. "Limiting player trading skills to collect good items" mean all the content has to be played.

If there aren't BoE items there is no need for players to play all the content to get best loot as long as they know trading.

Removing high-end items from economy is not even a minor purpose of it. So-called Inflation huh? What kind of inflation is this that breaks the game? Because of the reasons I've explained before there won't be inflation either.

Today's Blizzard's design philosophy should stay away from PoE.

Some misunderstanding here.

BoE=on equip, so you still can get the item from the other guy who found it. BoP = on pick-up, so to use you have to find it.

If you want to force players to explore content themselves, introduce BoP, if you want just to exclude item re-use BoE will do the trick.

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Lichalfred wrote:

Some misunderstanding here.

BoE=on equip, so you still can get the item from the other guy who found it. BoP = on pick-up, so to use you have to find it.

If you want to force players to explore content themselves, introduce BoP, if you want just to exclude item re-use BoE will do the trick.

I know what BoE and BoP mean. But players generally equip great items no matter what.

I personally do not like BoE or BoP items. It is perhaps fine when such items do not have random mods, for example a unique item that only has a single value for each mod. However, items in PoE are going to have variation of mods, even between similar items. It's funner to trade those and have high and low versions of the same equipment on the market.

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resira wrote:

I personally do not like BoE or BoP items. It is perhaps fine when such items do not have random mods, for example a unique item that only has a single value for each mod. However, items in PoE are going to have variation of mods, even between similar items. It's funner to trade those and have high and low versions of the same equipment on the market.

Completely agreed. BoE and BoP have no chance to fit into randomized environment without sacrificing something in the game.

Interesting/evil take on this:

Part one - "Bind on equip" becomes a random item mod - some significant percentage of all magical/rare/etc. items have it, regardless of level. More significantly, "bind on equip" means the item cannot be removed without the use of a moderately uncommon (but able to drop at any level) currency item.

Part two - unidentified items can be manually equipped, [and once equipped either are immediately identified, or become identified after a few kills].

Edit: after discussion with Resira, really all you need for this is allowing items to be equipped without identifying them. The part in brackets is unnecessary.

Overall intended effect: adding an optional gambler's aspect to magical gear. If you don't want to wait for that wisdom scroll to drop, you can pick up that rare sword and start swinging right away - you just might not be able to put it down for a while (and, of course, since you didn't identify it before wielding it, it might not have the mods you want).

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Skivverus wrote:

Interesting/evil take on this:

Part one - "Bind on equip" becomes a random item mod - some significant percentage of all magical/rare/etc. items have it, regardless of level. More significantly, "bind on equip" means the item cannot be removed without the use of a moderately uncommon (but able to drop at any level) currency item.

Part two - unidentified items can be manually equipped, and once equipped either are immediately identified, or become identified after a few kills.

Overall intended effect: adding an optional gambler's aspect to magical gear. If you don't want to wait for that wisdom scroll to drop, you can pick up that rare sword and start swinging right away - you just might not be able to put it down for a while (and, of course, since you didn't identify it before wielding it, it might not have the mods you want).

I like the idea of transforming the BoE mod into a different negative mod, but items becoming identified after equipping them doesn't really make sense and would also drastically reduce the price of scrolls of wisdom.