I Question the success of the RMAH without PvP

[Azzure]

Just wondering how everyone feels about this topic.

I personally think PvP is the biggest incentive to make your character really powerful. And making your character really powerful involves trading. Which in Diablo 3, is the RMAH.

Without PvP being available at ship, do you guys feel that the RMAH use will be diminished as a result? Or do you think the incentive that PvE provides is enough for many people to fork out $$ to make their character kill monsters faster?

[ADJMan]

I think that there will be enough people that will not mind purchasing items for themselves for PvE since they have no interest in PvP. That means there should be enough that the players who are not interested in purchasing could sell some items and have some cash in their account. This creates a circle where people not interested in purchasing post some items, people interested in purchasing buy said items, and then later repost said item to recoup costs when they don't need it, and the people who were not interested in purchasing before may buy it because they have that money just sitting in their account.

While not having PvP at launch is most likely going to reduce the number of people interested in buying, it is not going to be 100% of the people who want to trade money for better gear for their characters. IMO the RMAH will still be viable and then ramp up once PvP is available.

[WhiteGiant]

are you kidding me ? stuff like this http://us.blizzard.com/store/details.xml?id=1100000942 sells like crazy and they dont even have an impact on your strength.

Besides I think that it will take like 2-3 months for the AH to get saturated anyway ... i mean we are all starting from scratch. i dont think that pre inferno items will sell for much anyway.

that being said i dont think that the sale of Items will suffer. If anything ; it will postpone sales until the pvp is ready.

[snowcatcher]

Just wondering how everyone feels about this topic.

I personally think PvP is the biggest incentive to make your character really powerful. And making your character really powerful involves trading. Which in Diablo 3, is the RMAH.

Without PvP being available at ship, do you guys feel that the RMAH use will be diminished as a result? Or do you think the incentive that PvE provides is enough for many people to fork out $$ to make their character kill monsters faster?

I cannot take it anymore, Azzure and everyone else crying for pvp, wtf guys its not like diablo 3 will deprive you from pvp, its just delayed few months (2-3 at most) from the game's release date.
That means you got few months to actually master the game and lvl up characters till the arenas kick off. I rlly don't understand ppl complaining about no pvp at launch...

[WhiteGiant]

maybe that is because you are too much of a bootlicker to aknowledge that this is a serious blunder ?

dont get me wrong iam not much of a pvp fan - maybe d3 pvp is really good and it will make me a huge pvp fan.
i also rather get the pve game earlier than waiting for pvp.

but maybe blizzard should less **** tease us with features that wont make it into the game and rather WORK on the game ?

i dont go to a resturant to order a complete meal ; just to get told ; " sorry dude we are out of spinach ; we mail it to you tomorrow ; here is the rest of your meal."

[snowcatcher]

maybe that is because you are too much of a bootlicker to aknowledge that this is a serious blunder ?

dont get me wrong iam not much of a pvp fan - maybe d3 pvp is really good and it will make a huge pvp fan.
i also rather get the pve game earlier than waiting for pvp.

but maybe blizzard should less **** tease us with features that wont make it into the game and rather WORK on the game ?

i dont go to a resturant to order a complete meal ; just to get told ; " sorry dude we are out of spinach ; we mail it to you tomorrow ; here is the rest of your meal."

What is the problem idiot, the pvp will be delayed just 2-3 months at max, so you have all the time you need to adjust to all 5 characters and see what fits you best...

Not that it's worht answering but...
Another solution for you: How about you don't buy the game until pvp is released ?

[WhiteGiant]

What is the problem idiot, the pvp will be delayed just 2-3 months at max, so you have all the time you need to adjust to all 5 characters and see what fits you best...

oh nice so you offer me to do something totally different instead of doing what i want to do ; now that is constructive and totally not defending a idiotic unreasonable cause.

hey you know what dont buy the game on release ; you can theory craft with the calculator on the official page and see what fits you best and play diablo 2 while pretending its diablo 3, that should be a substitute for diablo3 which is even better than diablo 3 itself.

[snowcatcher]

oh nice so you offer me to do something totally different instead of doing what i want to do ; now that is constructive and totally not defending a idiotic unreasonable cause.

hey you know what dont buy the game on release ; you can theory craft with he calculator on the official page and see what fits you best and play diablo 2 while pretending its diablo 3, that should be a substitute for diablo3 which is even better than diablo 3 itself.

First: Get your grammar right, then we can talk.
Second: Don't like the game as it is ? Don't buy it.
Third: You are the one that started disrespecting first, calling me bootlicker, so i figured i am talking to a kid...

[WhiteGiant]

well if you speak my native language as well I am speaking yours we'll talk again ; besides i dont care wether you approve of me or not;
i also dont care if you get offended if i call you bootlicker if its obviously true. and even if it was not true i would'nt care if it offended you.

Second: you brought up absolutely nothing that legitimates Blizzard's failure to deliver the product they tease us with.

your premisse is " YOU CAN DO TONS OF THINGS EVEN WITHOUT PVP" and "dont buy the the game if you don't like it" ; let's recap : you completely avoid my points ; and defend blizzard by saying that its awesome anyway , and that i could do something else to pass this time. and if this still does not suit me i could still decide not to buy the game. thats at least as dumb as saying "The best way of practicing safer sex is not to have sex at all". Well that being said i think that you meet all criteria for a bootlicker / fanboy; feel free to refute my statement.

you also don't gain any credibility by dubbing me child because i disrespect you ; frankly you have not brought up anything that deserves respect.

please tell me an argument for Pro "postponing PVP" except for the fact that the alternative would be even worse (+1-3 months til release) due to Blizzards **** teasing and inability to pursue something remotely resembling a sketchual.

[snowcatcher]

frankly you have not brought up anything that deserves respect.



No i did not, nor i am asking for it, although averagely educated person should know to show respect in any given situation, it's just a thing you are born with. You either have it or you don't mr.Whitegiant.
Save yourself from embarrassment and stop posting but then again, if your IQ is as high as your grammar skills, go ahead spam on...

[snowcatcher]

To the op: I don't know how pvp works in specifics but what is the point of pvp if you dont have your character maxed ? Don't you think you should hit lvl 60 at least, not to mention gearing up with infernal uniques if you really want to make a stand in the arena ?
I think it's not that bad after all, play PvE for 1-2 months, gear up, lvlup, then show off in arena...

[WhiteGiant]

No i did not, nor i am am I asking for it, although averagely (thats not even an adverb) educated person should know to show respect in any given situation, it's just a thing you are born with. You either have it or you don't mr.Whitegiant.
Save yourself from embarrassment and stop posting but then again, if your IQ is as high as your grammar skills, go ahead spam on...

If you sit in a glass house.... ( and that in your native tongue lol )


also no I dont think that i have to show respect at any given situation to anyone if given situation is to deal with witless "know-it-alls" who think that their fanboyism can be weighed in gold as an factual argument.

*slowclap* Ad-hominem ; now that improves your credibility. go on maybe you still have some "yo momma"-jokes up your sleeves.

and you still avoid my points completely - instead you curse me ; whats wrong have you not found a Pro "postpone PVP" argument yet ?

[snowcatcher]

Ok, lets talk about that "postpone pvp" argument you ask for.
Asking for a legit reason to postpone pvp means that you think everything is ok with it and it's ready to go on release date. Again acting green and childish, how can you possibly know what is and what isn't wrong with pvp ? Even if you were blizzard employee working in development and testing diablo 3 department you cannot say for sure weather or not pvp is ready, you think Jay is the only one making this big decisions ? No, its whole team of testers and programmers, and if they decide it's not ready then it isn't.
Lets throw in a couple of possible reasons:
They want to make special arenas for PvP only, permanent stun on certain characters is a problem (barbarian seismic slam runed, stun for 1.5 sec, if you put runed bash with 12 fury generation per hit you can stun lock a target) wizard's wormhole teleport version is also sick for PvP(no cd on teleport) and i am sure this is only a teardrop in the sea of problems they got in PvP balancing.

So before you come here and rage, take a step back and think for a second, blizzard isn't made of 9 year olds that just don't want to release a game coz they had a bad day.

p.s. Both of you grammar corrections of my previous post are futile and misplaced.
According to Oxford English Dictionary:

Average

Derivatives

averagely
adverb

averageness
noun

[snowcatcher]

To OP:
It will definitely impact the rmah no doubt about it, but to what extent, i think a trivial one. Since PvP players will only look for the perfect version of certain items i doubt any of the PvE players will be able to obtain perfect infernal uniques as fast as 1-2 months period. So just when the PvP is about to hit, the rmah will start offering some really good (infernal only drop) items that players willing to spend $ will have the opportunity to buy em...

[WhiteGiant]

Ok, lets talk about that "postpone pvp" argument you ask for.
Asking for a legit reason to postpone pvp means that you think everything is ok with it and it's ready to go on release date.

No actually that is what you say ; that i say.



Again acting green and childish,

so you accuse me of being all green and childish ; based on an opinion you made up for me ? oh ; the irony ...



how can you possibly know what is and what isn't wrong with pvp ? Even if you were blizzard employee working in development and testing diablo 3 department you cannot say for sure weather or not pvp is ready, you think Jay is the only one making this big decisions ? No, its whole team of testers and programmers, and if they decide it's not ready then it isn't.
Lets throw in a couple of possible reasons:

right i dont know whats going on ; neither do you - fact of the matter is ; they tease an aweful lot with their would / could be features ; and they have nothing to show for it. they go back and forth on fundamental decisions progressing half a step at the time. back in
september 2011 they even have gone so far as to say they aim at a release in 2011. well Q1 of 2012 is almost over so what did happen ? where did the time go ? why do they bull**** us with those ludicrous prediction time upon time ?



They want to make special arenas for PvP only, permanent stun on certain characters is a problem (barbarian seismic slam runed, stun for 1.5 sec, if you put runed bash with 12 fury generation per hit you can stun lock a target) wizard's wormhole teleport version is also sick for PvP(no cd on teleport) and i am sure this is only a teardrop in the sea of problems they got in PvP balancing.


oh really ? what has become of :
"We are never going to allow, at least over my dead body, to pvp game, wag the tail on game balance."
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...2S_fJwA#t=553s (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=_E452S_fJwA#t=553s)
and why not balance stuff post release ?



So before you come here and rage, take a step back and think for a second, blizzard isn't made of 9 year olds that just don't want to release a game coz they had a bad day.

oh again ad-hominem ; but I am afraid you wasted alot of breath for such shallow statements and accusations. so before you come here and rage, take a step back and think for a second, if you trully have arguments or if you are just spouting opinions wrapped crap.

[snowcatcher]

I am afraid you wasted alot of breath

Indeed i have, i guess this is my last direct reply to a little brat that comes on this forums now and then and spits out his mind :D

[WhiteGiant]

well I suppose you must feel pretty good about yourself acting all entitled and all mature calling others stupid childish brats etc. yet you still owe me an argument which legitimates "postponing PVP" ; i'll give you a hint " you are a retarded childish brat " is no argument for Pro "postponing PVP" even if you express it grammatically and politically correct.

[snowcatcher]

You either get it or you don't man, that's the only rule in this world :D
And i never called you stupid or any other vulgar offensive term, I just showed you the difference between judging like a sir, and raging like yourself :D

[ElBozo]

Just wondering how everyone feels about this topic.

I personally think PvP is the biggest incentive to make your character really powerful. And making your character really powerful involves trading. Which in Diablo 3, is the RMAH.

Without PvP being available at ship, do you guys feel that the RMAH use will be diminished as a result? Or do you think the incentive that PvE provides is enough for many people to fork out $$ to make their character kill monsters faster?

Let me use the awesome knowledge i gathered when i studied managment (not being sarcastic).

I think... With everyone doing only PvE content there will be massive supply, and little demand. With time, players will struggle to sell their merchendise and items will start to devalue slowly till the solid anouncement of PvP patch date. When it happens, players who are interested in PvP and are not interested in doing Inferno content, will buy gear like crazy. With the release of PvP, market will begin to saturate, because all people interested in pvp will have their gearsets acquired already by that point (either by buying them of RMAH or by grinding Inferno).

With time, a large portion of playerbase will stop playing simply being fed up with the current content patch - having all classes at lvl 60, with gear, achievs and all fun they wanted from pvp. The cycle of items devalueing right until next patch announcement will continue till the next expansion comes out.

In the meanwhile, lower level legendaries/rares will increase in value, due to consecutive waves of new D3 players (waiting out for pvp perhaps?). I think those might be the biggest hit acutally. If D3 is popular, there will be new players coming and coming, so it would be smart to use your level 60 to grind lower level content in MF gear and get some gear to sell.

*phew*

Hope that makes any sense.

EDIT: Completely forgot about one thing. Items that level your artisans will be veeeeery popular at the begining, especially the higher tier ones. As far as reagents go, popularity of those will depend whether we'll have different brackets in PvP. The sure bets would be Hell level reagents (for inferno preparation) and Inferno reagents (for top end content/top end pvp gear). Lower level reagents (norm+night) will have popularity upsurges similar to lower level gear.

[snowcatcher]

Let me use the awesome knowledge i gathered when i studied managment (not being sarcastic).

I think... With everyone doing only PvE content there will be massive supply, and little demand. With time, players will struggle to sell their merchendise and items will start to devalue slowly till the solid anouncement of PvP patch date. When it happens, players who are interested in PvP and are not interested in doing Inferno content, will buy gear like crazy. With the release of PvP, market will begin to saturate, because all people interested in pvp will have their gearsets acquired already by that point (either by buying them of RMAH or by grinding Inferno).

With time, a large portion of playerbase will stop playing simply being fed up with the current content patch - having all classes at lvl 60, with gear, achievs and all fun they wanted from pvp. The cycle of items devalueing right until next patch announcement will continue till the next expansion comes out.

In the meanwhile, lower level legendaries/rares will increase in value, due to consecutive waves of new D3 players (waiting out for pvp perhaps?). I think those might be the biggest hit acutally. If D3 is popular, there will be new players coming and coming, so it would be smart to use your level 60 to grind lower level content in MF gear and get some gear to sell.

*phew*

Hope that makes any sense.

Indeed you have a point here, although i would argue the first part of this post. True, there will be massive over saturation on the rmah at first, placing item for sale is free, so everyone will place anything that their class doesn't need. I am interested in end game items (inferno only), this cookies wont come in that great quantity since inferno will be extremely hard and will probably require good teamwork.
The non-inferno items will probably stay on the rmah and never sell as PvP players will only be interested in extremely good (if not perfect) versions of certain items. Imo only pro inferno teams ( yes i am talking more then 1 player in a party ) will be able to make any real profit from the rmah, coz farming inferno wont be doable for everyone...

Even a bigger threat for the rmah will be the 5 characters for each account. With the current respec system, there is no need for additional characters from the same type. So after 5-6 months after you have em all maxed out to 60 i rlly don't think the rmah will continue to flourish.
Blizzard needs constant events, new items, online quests or w/e that comes to mind in order to keep raising the boundaries of characters and items strength, so that people will constantly have new things to trade/look for in the rmah.
You might argue here that the new players that will keep joining the D3 universe will probably be a good thing for the rmah/ah but lets face it, that number will be nothing compared to the number of players that will get diablo 3 in the release week.

[ElBozo]

Triple Post, lag :|

[ElBozo]

Double Post, the original version is below + few more lines.

[snowcatcher]

By the time PvP is released we might have a big selection of Inferno items/reagents. And we'll have to see just how Inferno is difficult... With the amount of people attempting to do Inferno, it's hard to tell how long it will take the floodgates holding Inferno loot/reagents to open.



Well from the "You will die, we promise" video you can't tell much but the guys said we needed about an hour to wipe just a single boss + mobs. Ok lets say they exaggerated, best case scenario is what, 10-15 mins ? Inferno will be really hard if at least 20% is true from what we were shown till now, and i don't know many people that are willing to spend so much time and devotion on a game, it can get extremely frustrating later, which means inferno will only be viable for farm for really good teams only (I dont even consider soloing, not until i get inferno uniques at least).

[ElBozo]

Indeed you have a point here, although i would argue the first part of this post. True, there will be massive over saturation on the rmah at first, placing item for sale is free, so everyone will place anything that their class doesn't need. I am interested in end game items (inferno only), this cookies wont come in that great quantity since inferno will be extremely hard and will probably require good teamwork.

I think it will be the same case as it used to be with BoE raid Epics in WoW - Sold for Boatloads by the first few who managed to do the content, then devaluing after week or two - especially there's no time based restrictions in D3... as far as we know.


The non-inferno items will probably stay on the rmah and never sell as PvP players will only be interested in extremely good (if not perfect) versions of certain items. Imo only pro inferno teams ( yes i am talking more then 1 player in a party ) will be able to make any real profit from the rmah, coz farming inferno wont be doable for everyone...

By the time PvP is released we might have a big selection of Inferno items/reagents. And we'll have to see just how Inferno is difficult... With the amount of people attempting to do Inferno, it's hard to tell how long it will take the floodgates holding Inferno loot/reagents to open.


Even a bigger threat for the rmah will be the 5 characters for each account. With the current respec system, there is no need for additional characters from the same type. So after 5-6 months after you have em all maxed out to 60 i rlly don't think the rmah will continue to flourish.

Yup. There is a big possibility of this happening.


Blizzard needs constant events, new items, online quests or w/e that comes to mind in order to keep raising the boundaries of characters and items strength, so that people will constantly have new things to trade/look for in the rmah.

Indeed. And i think they'll need a more frequent schedule of new content patches in order to keep players playing and selling. Not to mention that doing the same story mode 4 times in a row doesn't help keeping players intrest alive, especially when waiting for PvP.


You might argue here that the new players that will keep joining the D3 universe will probably be a good thing for the rmah/ah but lets face it, that number will be nothing compared to the number of players that will get diablo 3 in the release week.

That is true. Still, for some time there might be a gold vein in the shape of new players who are too busy to grind for their stuff. A good revenue stream when noone is interested in buying top end items.

Which reminds me, we actually haven't considered that players might hold off selling low priced items just to score few worth a heftier sum.

[snowcatcher]

I think it will be the same case as it used to be with BoE raid Epics in WoW - Sold for Boatloads by the first few who managed to do the content, then devaluing after week or two.

I never actually played WoW.
How much are we actually talking here, 100-150$ max for elite items ?

edit: read post above yours in case you missed it...

[ElBozo]

I never actually played WoW.
How much are we actually talking here, 100-150$ max for elite items ?

edit: read post above yours...
Oh, well... Hmm... How to put things into perspective... Since items in WoW didn't have much of money value. So... if i recall correctly, those items in the first few weeks of new raid content, reached prices of 15k gold. How would it translate in RMAH values... hmmmm.... hmmm... sorry i'm thinking.... i'm thinking something around 100$ price range, +/- 15$. Of course there were instances of players buying items with money (paying a guild to "carry" them through content and give them drops they wanted). Our guild didn't sell anything like that and i know nobody who bought them in such way... but that's going on a tangent.

100$ price range, +/- 15$.


Well from the "You will die, we promise" video you can't tell much but the guys said we needed about an hour to wipe just a single boss + mobs. Ok lets say they exaggerated, best case scenario is what, 10-15 mins ? Inferno will be really hard if at least 20% is true from what we were shown till now, and i don't know many people that are willing to spend so much time and devotion on a game, it can get extremely frustrating later, which means inferno will only be viable for farm for really good teams only (I dont even consider soloing, not until i get inferno uniques at least).
Of course, a well lead team will run circles around single players/public groups. We'll just have to see if "You will die" will live up to it's promise... It might, but i doubt there will be hours of wiping. Players are resourceful beasties. Actually i think there might be quite a lot of Hell grind in order to maximize chances of successful runs in inferno (which result in increased Hell level goods sold). Only time will tell...

[BZK]

This no PvP annoucement is actually a very bad news for the markets in the game, RMAH and gold.
They put on the battlenet items database some time ago set items for different levels/difficulty before removing them quickly 1 or 2 days later. I assume the PvP part of the game have some lvl restrictions to put people against same level characters. let's say 1-10, 11-20, 21-30... 51-59 and 60.

http://i.imgur.com/hJ7xH.png
If I recall correctly Born+Cain are level 30, Captain Crimson+Aughild are 40, Guardian+Asheara are 50 and Demon+Sage are level 60 and Hallowed is a actually just a shield + main-hand level 60 set. 30 set uses normal material, 40 nightmare, 50 hell and 60 inferno.

Meaning that for any PvPers that like to get twink for a certain PvP level there was really good gear options and so the auctions have multiple target. And you could farm any difficulty and still make something that someone may want if you have access to the plans or know someone with the plans.

I'm afraid that if they take too much time to get the PvP content up and running the only option to offer something that will be demanded in the auctions will be to farm Hell or inferno and offer material and items for level 60 characters.
I hope they add the PvP asap so the PvP centric player will find their favorite format '1-10', '41-51' and this will make the auctions have a broader target public and multiple ways to provide something valuable to answer the players demand.

[Wizz]

i definately do not agree at all. your 100% wrong ;]. i think that having pvp implemented in a patch post release... first big patch post release no doubt is still enough incentive to gear to help pvm and proceed to max level gearing up for inferno and bAM LOOK heres the patch for pvp. it shouldnt have but little effect on the RMAH if any at all. just my 2 cents but i can see how u think it may ramp up rmah use when pvp becomes available. but the pvm incentive is great enough to make it not really matter at all! and im sure blizzard made this decision wieghing the finances n stuff like many other things cut from the game before release. guess we just gotta wait and see...:wink:

[FizzyBubbly]

I actually have a different opinion about the pvp delay than most. I think it is wonderful !!! Why? Because from day one we will be able to plan for this market changing event. When pvp finally comes there will be a wave of increased demand as people look for the best items they can get their hands on for pvp. With this demand will also come with a supply shortage as people play pvp they spend less time out in the world collecting items.

So... Big wave of demand followed by supply shortage in relation to demand. The people ready to fill that supply gap will be paid very well.

Also I can see 99% perfect uniques selling for $300+ if the item is found to be the "best" it whatever category. Especially at the time pvp comes around.

[galzohar]

I think it's pretty obvious the RMAH will get used plenty without PvP. PvP will just make it get used some more.

[BohemianStalker]

I think it's pretty obvious the RMAH will get used plenty without PvP. PvP will just make it get used some more.


People talking out of thin air yet again.

[FaultyYogurt]

I actually have a different opinion about the pvp delay than most. I think it is wonderful !!! Why? Because from day one we will be able to plan for this market changing event. When pvp finally comes there will be a wave of increased demand as people look for the best items they can get their hands on for pvp. With this demand will also come with a supply shortage as people play pvp they spend less time out in the world collecting items.

So... Big wave of demand followed by supply shortage in relation to demand. The people ready to fill that supply gap will be paid very well.

Also I can see 99% perfect uniques selling for $300+ if the item is found to be the "best" it whatever category. Especially at the time pvp comes around.Bingo.
I expect a lot of our early market conversations will be about which items are significantly undervalued on the AH'es based on their PvP potential.

Being able to accurately predict those items, however, may be difficult.

[galzohar]

People talking out of thin air yet again.
If you look at other games, you'll see how much RM trading has nothing to do with PvP. Sure, some does, but a lot does not. For example, many people who couldn't care less about PvP buy gold from gold selling sites in WoW.

People will want to be the best of the best (at least some will), whether it is at PvP or PvE. Having PvP will just create more of those kinds of people, but at least some (if not many) would exist regardless.

[Concupisco Quaestus]

In my own personal experience people spending money in games rarely has much to do with PvP, yes some PvP'ers buy gear so they can skip past game play and jump right into high end PvP and what-not but over the years I'd hazard a guess that 90% of the customers I have dealt with directly had really minimal involvement in PvP, a lot of my business actually comes from people like guild leaders and other community organizers who need to "fund" their lower end players, the other biggest portion of people I've dealt with are just average players that neither PvP nor participate in much end-game content, they're just happy in their own little corner of their chosen MMO world doing their thing and they just want some extra spending money.

When I was selling credits in Star Wars Galaxies I tried to keep a very low profile because I was also a recognizable figure in the community on multiple different servers so I had to be careful but being a long-term player of that game most of the people I sold to had been people I had never even heard of in the game, that might not sound like a big deal until you consider that towards the end Star Wars Galaxies servers had extremely low populations and everyone knew everyone, it was like the "small town" of the MMO world, sure some of the big names in PvP used to buy their stuff and use throwaway characters to try and hide their identity but even that didn't work very well because quite a few times within minutes of buying their credits from me they would be spending them in my vendor shop on items... Point being that even in a small population game on a small population server most of my customers had been nobody overly special, it was just some random player who wanted to buy things he couldn't afford and didn't feel like spending 6 months to "earn" the hard way.

People WAY over-emphasize the motives for why someone will or will not use the RMAH, it really isn't any more complicated than "me want!", whether it's a cool looking item, an item that someone "needs" to do a certain end-game tasks or just something the person wants for no other reason than they want it the motive behind making an RMT purchase is as simple as wanting something they can't afford... It's no different than why people spend money in the real world, I mean how many guys spend money suping up their cars with 10,000$ engines only so it will sound good when they drive to work in the morning? Or those guys that buy skirt kits in cities with horrible roads only to crack it a week later? This idea that the RMAH will only succeed if there is a rational explanation for it to do so is a little silly when you consider how irrational we are as a species, people want to spend money, whether it's for some trinket in a game or another piece of junk at Walmart spending money makes us feel good, it's the whole reason our culture revolves around the spending of money and why the West is in the situation we're in... The RMAH will succeed for one simple reason... It's culturally impossible for it to fail... I know many would argue against that point but so long as people suffer from an inferiority complex when they have less than the next guy there will always be a motivation to "buy"... In game or in real life makes no difference, psychology is psychology... But that's just my 10 cents.

[ElBozo]

It's no different than why people spend money in the real world, I mean how many guys spend money suping up their cars with 10,000$ engines only so it will sound good when they drive to work in the morning? Or those guys that buy skirt kits in cities with horrible roads only to crack it a week later?
Or guys who buy 4000$ guitars just to play Smoke on the Water... Ohhh my butthole is clenched with envy!

Jokes aside, you are right. People will buy items for completely vapid reasons too. Not to mention impulse purchases and pure laziness... But, it doesn't refute my prediction, cause it still can apply to hardcore gamers! (not to be confused with those who play hardcore)

[semakka]

Just wondering how everyone feels about this topic.

I personally think PvP is the biggest incentive to make your character really powerful. And making your character really powerful involves trading. Which in Diablo 3, is the RMAH.

Without PvP being available at ship, do you guys feel that the RMAH use will be diminished as a result? Or do you think the incentive that PvE provides is enough for many people to fork out $$ to make their character kill monsters faster?

Yep.Not only i feel that the RMAH use will be diminished due to PvP not being available from day 1.But...how much diminished would it be?I believe that, once the RMAH will settle down (5-6 weeks or maybe 8 - 8 weeks being my worst estimate), with a steady volume of transactions and value, the PvP will push up the RMAH with about 20% (30% is my best estimate), both in numbers and value of transactions.

So, in other words, i see the RMAH without PvP being diminished with 20-30% in terms of RMT's value.However, we don't know yet HOW PvP will be implemented.If only lvl 60 arenas, the PvP will improve RMAH with the above estimates.If lvl 30, 40, 50 and 60 arenas will be implemented, i see the RMAH RMT's volume and transactions rise up to 40-45%.

This, however, will not mean a rise in prices with same percentage (30% or 45%), but merely increase the volume of sales, making more sellers (more **** sold) and buyers (**** have same value as before) happy.And make Blizzard ALOT mroe happier :D.

[Enlil]

Just wondering how everyone feels about this topic.

I personally think PvP is the biggest incentive to make your character really powerful. And making your character really powerful involves trading. Which in Diablo 3, is the RMAH.

Without PvP being available at ship, do you guys feel that the RMAH use will be diminished as a result? Or do you think the incentive that PvE provides is enough for many people to fork out $$ to make their character kill monsters faster?

PVP will have a HUGE impact on the RMAH.
Picture the Scene: Some noob gets his arse handed to him, over and over again due to his foes having far better gear.
Won't be long before he gets sick of losing to RMAH users and buys that epic sword for $50 so he's the one pwning the scrubs.

I can just imagine the trash talk in the pvp chat.

player 1 in bought gear: u ez scrub
player 2 using found gear: pay 2 win noob

PVP'ers are very competitive and if they have to "pay to win" they will.
I don't think anyone will win in the arena without bought gear.