How dead is Standard mode?

It's not dead. Every time I pop in there for a stash clean out, people whisper me to buy while I'm organising tabs. I'm a casual player, maybe 20-30 challenges per league and I often skip 2-3 leagues but I don't have issues moving stuff. It also appears that there is a healthy new player base of those who crop up in standard always looking for leveling uniques as well.

The corpse lay prone on the concrete pad where it fell, unmoving, for 4 days.

Within hours, flies had begun swarming, birds hopped down to scout, a rat occasionally veered close.

On the fifth day, it began to roll to one side as the abdomen, filling with gas, became taut as a drum and pushed the body.

On the sixth day, the gas found or made an exit, alerting a multifarious and innumerable army of claimants: flies, borers, beetles, wasps, and even the namesake Claim Ants converged on the ripening carcass. Pools of leaching flesh collected in the hollows and shimmered with casuals.

On the seventh day, a necromancer whiffed the air outside the 4:45 Michigan Ave. commuter el. She reached up and pulled the cord. Although she wasn't supposed to get off for another dozen stops, this was an offer just too good to pass up.

Her nose led her to the roof of a midrise on the northern skirts of Hyde Park. She traced an arc with her eyes from the 12th floor balcony of an adjacent, taller tenement tower where the drunk had leaned over too far and ended up at her feet.

Throwing some scours around underneath the corpse to absorb the ooze, she began raising him. "Klaatu barata necro...klaatu barata necro..." Finally the corpse rolled from side to side, pushed itself up on one arm, groaned a cold, stinking groan, and stood up.

It began to shuffle forwards, but then its pants fell down around its ankles and it faceplanted with a wet *THOCK* back onto the roof shingles.

Think fast! She pulled a spare belt out of her knapsack, an ugly but serviceable bricked HH, and whipped it around the zombie's waist, hoisted up his stained Adidas trackpants around his bony pelvis, and looped it through the drawstring holes. Around his neck went a lanyard with a Replica CTA pass. To keep his head from lolling and leaking, she put a coat hanger in the back of his shirt and plopped a Cubs cap on the top.

Back onto the train with the both of them. They were headed for Standard 820, where it had been so long since anyone actually needed trials, that the channel was better known as "Dz Nuttzz" and had been remodeled into a pool hall and old folks' home. Entry was forbidden to all but the most profligate item flexers.

Steeering her new acquisition up the brownstone steps, she doffed her legacy Baron and tapped smartly at the window with her legacy Shapers Touch and Guatelitzi's Vermillion Ring.

Dakkon's friendly, azurite-stained face greeted her through the grimy windowpane. Spamurai and Allshitready leaned intently over a billairds table, shooting eternal orbs into corner pockets and calling each other scrubs and lightweights. RBG had his finger in the air, ready to share yet another wisdom from inside his jock strap. Skanka lounged in the kitchen, phasing in and out of focus with catlike nonchalance. A big blue tiger sprawled in front of the TV while hordes of zombies played in the kiddie pool out back.

"Go have a bath, I needa check with TFT on something," she said, shooing the new zombie into the cabana and heading into the kitchen for a slice of leftover Giordano's deepdish.

"

esostaks wrote:

I started playing Standard two weeks ago for the first time and was pleasantly surprised that the trade was far from dead as some people claim.

I was able to buy all the needed starter gear for my character and it never took me more than 3 whispers per piece - pretty much the same as in the regular league.

Prices seem a bit higher compared to the challenge leagues, but you should already have some currency from challenge leagues unless you started with the Standard right away.

Thats where problems is. You were BUYING things. Yes, its very easy to buy things in Standard. But selling "low gear" is close to impossible.

"

BearCares wrote:

Too many broken items in Standard for me. Either you have them or you don't. If you don't have them then what's the point of being in standard? And if you do? What's the point in looking for more items? It's a conundrum.

bro, the powercreep in league is higher than in standard most of the time. Synthesis items were in league before being standard feature. the last few leagues like harvest, it outclassed std mirror items for a time.

"

Aynix wrote:

Yes, its very easy to buy things in Standard. But selling "low gear" is close to impossible.

Just plain not true...I get plenty of whispers for shit gear or crafting fixer-uppers ranging from 2 alteration to 5 ex. And yes, I'll come out of a map to sell a new kid a 3 alt Karui ward because NOBODY else is on, or answering, or listing shit.

It sells! And it's really not that big a deal to let them know if you can't come out right away/in a heist or a delve, if they can't wait 2 minutes then you've lost like a handful of low currency in sales - but IME standard levelers tend to wait for you since volume of sales and listings is lower.

Being patient and knowing when to call something a total loss and vendor it/scatter it to the winds takes time. Shit that sits at below a chaos for months - byebye.

But you're going to move things like good starter bows, enduring mana flasks of pretty much any level, AG supplies, shitty tree jewels with life and attributes, 30 speed shoes, bellies, goldrims, etc.

One thing I can say for sure. People on std are FAR more polite than leagues. Scammers and bad manners kids love leagues so they tend to play more there.

And if there is a league we can call dead it is sadly hardcore perm... Std is very active, sure is not like the first or second week of a league but to be honest for me is not fun the rush so I prefer the std more stable economy.

"

crunkatog wrote:

"

Aynix wrote:

Yes, its very easy to buy things in Standard. But selling "low gear" is close to impossible.

Just plain not true...I get plenty of whispers for shit gear or crafting fixer-uppers ranging from 2 alteration to 5 ex. And yes, I'll come out of a map to sell a new kid a 3 alt Karui ward because NOBODY else is on, or answering, or listing shit.

You know why? Because prices in Standard are higher. If you merge stuff from league to Standard most of things you are selling is underpriced. Thats why you get whispers.

"

Aynix wrote:

You know why? Because prices in Standard are higher. If you merge stuff from league to Standard most of things you are selling is underpriced. Thats why you get whispers.

It just prove that there is a demand in std but people are not dumb enough to buy from std flippers. Most overprices items in std are because there is a monopoly and people are screwing others by raising the prices in the top poe trade listings. Selling lower than the top 10 std flippers is not a bad thing.

"

lolozori wrote:

"

Aynix wrote:

You know why? Because prices in Standard are higher. If you merge stuff from league to Standard most of things you are selling is underpriced. Thats why you get whispers.

It just prove that there is a demand in std but people are not dumb enough to buy from std flippers. Most overprices items in std are because there is a monopoly and people are screwing others by raising the prices in the top poe trade listings. Selling lower than the top 10 std flippers is not a bad thing.

^^^ yeap preety much this. If stuff sells than there is a demand and trade is alive.

Yeah, your stuff is bought by those "flippers" who make prices higher. That doesnt prove trade is alive.