Wednesday, September 5, 2012

How will gold affect the Diablo 3 economy

By James Vega


Among the many things that distinguish Diablo 3 from Diablo 2 is the close relationship between the two economies that are an integral part of the game. As any diehard fan would know that the game features two types of economies; one that is governed by gold and the other that is based on different items that the players might need during the course of the game. The gold-based economy is primarily for getting services and items from the NPCs.

Unlike Diablo 3, however, its predecessor did not show any real connection between the two economies. Instead, in Diablo 2, both economies had functions that ran parallel to each other - a feature, which even the game developer Blizzard admitted was pointless and of no particular use. As a result, gold became less important as the players reached higher levels of the game since it was readily available in abundance. Thus, no matter how much gold a high-level character would possess, it would never be sufficient to acquire services or items at that stage of the game.

Artisans must act as gold sinks and provide much needed balance in the economy of Diablo 3. Because of salvaging some of items that you are going to find in the Warfield, you are going to find that you are going to lose these items. It is difficult to sell more gold in this game. The sell value of items that you have found has been lowered considerably. The principle is to ensure that you earn less gold than you earn. It is just like the law of demand and supply in rational markets.

The economy is designed to be resilient and flexible, developers having learnt their lesson in the last installment. The team that has been putting together this game is concerned with the issue of gold being a strong game resource. Monsters are not going to be dropping big piles of gold. Most items sell for less than in other installments. Also players can breakdown unwanted items with the salvage cube.

Runes have been done away with in this installment of the game. On the other hand, the inventory is also much larger as it has undergone several permutations. You are also going to find out that potions have been greatly lessened. They can only be used in emergencies in this version of the game. Players also must learn to survive with health globes and hit leeches. All players see every item that is dropped. This is not just a revision. It is an overhaul and it has brought in a completely new game.

Gold has a special significance in the Diablo game series as the virtual currency in the world of Sanctuary. In order to make it easy to carry out transactions through gold, it is melted and shaped as small gold slugs. Under jurisdiction of the kingdom by whose command they were created, these gold units receive a formal stamp that elevates them to the level of being considered the official currency. Each of these units is considered to be of equal value, no matter what its size or shape is.

Another major reason for Diablo 2 gold to become useless towards higher levels was the absence of inflation. In Diablo 3, Blizzard has kept inflation as an important element and a reason for players to understand the gold they possess. By doing that, they have also introduced an element of reality into the game, players are compelled to keep the rising costs in mind before they spend on a certain item.

If a character gets killed in multi-player settings, it ends up losing a certain portion of its total gold accumulated. On the other hand, if a character loses its life in a single player game, it will not affect its gold collection. In fact, if the character has 500 pieces of gold per level as stash, it will not be liable to pay any penalty for dying.




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