Submitted by Michael on 2013-03-07 13:43:31

Vanity Options and Other Exciting Diablo 3 Gold Sinks Coming Soon

The Diablo 3 team is looking to increase the utility of gold by adding more appealing gold sinks such as more crafting recipes sold at the vendors. Vanity items are also being mulled, such as character costumes and other avatar customization options, that could convince the player base to continue earning and spending gold currency.

Gold as a valuable commodity
Developers feel that right now Diablo 3 Gold is seen strictly as an auction house currency, but they want to diversify its use and inflate its value among players.

“We frequently discuss the Diablo economy, as we want players to feel that gold is a valuable commodity, useful in ways beyond just the auction house,” said Diablo 3 game designer Travis Day in a new itemization developer journal. “Ultimately, we want to provide players with things that they are excited to spend their hard-earned gold on.”

The most recent patches have made it easier than ever for players to accumulate millions of gold, and some who have had their fill of auction house items already do not know what to do with their ever-rising gold stacks. Some fans have proposed tax mechanics to be implemented to deal with the excess gold in the market, but Day said “we don't want out of control inflation, but we also don’t think that taxing players is the proper approach.”

New vanity options
Day said crafting recipes for Marquise gems and Archon armor which were introduced in January are just the start of a campaign to expand the available gold sinks in Diablo 3. Soon, players can look forward to buying more vanity options.

“We want to explore include providing players with vanity options or potential ways to differentiate themselves from their friends or other characters (i.e. character customization options in terms of gear). We are also exploring ways to make crafting more exciting by adding not just more ways to make appealing items, but also introducing ways to modify existing items,” said Day.

Fan reactions
Fan reactions on the official feedback thread have been fairly positive, noting that Blizzard has been listening more to their player base with these changes.

But some have also pointed out that the vanity options and other additional gold sinks might be still be months or even a year away from going live. Blizzard seems more concerned – at least for the next Patch 1.0.8 – with adjusting mob density and quality-of-life improvements to multi-crafting and auction house comparisons.

Gold seller impact
Blizzard’s promise to create more exciting gold sinks is good news for Diablo 3 gold sellers. More gold sinks multiplies the need to accumulate gold, and grind-averse players will have more reasons to buy it. Current customers will also be compelled to stock up more frequently as they spend gold on a lot more items, gear, upgrades and customization services. The roll-out of the new gold sinks though could take some time, and so will the positive impact on demand.

Submitted by Michael on 2013-02-24 19:17:02

Diablo 3 Gold Market to Expand to PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4
Diablo 3 will be coming to the PlayStation 3 (PS3) as well as the console platform’s newly unveiled next-gen successor, PlayStation 4 (PS4). This is expected to trigger fresh demand for Diablo 3 gold as potentially millions of new players flock to the action rpg.

PS3 and PS4 versions
In a press release over the weekend, Blizzard Entertainment said that both the PS3 and PS4 versions will be based on the core PC game and will carry all its defining features, including Paragon levels, the Infernal Machine event, Monster Power, and Brawling, among others.

The Diablo 3 developer also assured console fans that the PC game will be optimized for both consoles. “This version is also being tailored with customized controls, a new user interface, and a dynamic camera perspective to provide an awesome Diablo 3 experience for PlayStation gamers,” said Blizzard.

The PS3 and PS4 versions will also be able to support single-player and multiplayer modes.

“Players will be able to wage war against the Burning Hells on their own in single-player games as well as team up and destroy countless demons with their fellow Nephalem in multiplayer games. For multiplayer, players will have the option to choose between four-player online (complete with matchmaking) and four-player local co-op modes for their couch-based warfare,” said Blizzard.

Demo playable version and release date rumors
Blizzard said it will debut the PS3 version during PAX East, which is scheduled on March 22-24 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. Attendees will be allowed to play test the PS3 version using handheld controllers.

There has been no final release date set for either console version, although with the PS3 version already having a playable form, fans are speculating a release by the second half of 2013.

Capturing console player base
Blizzard Entertainment is hoping to capture a chunk of PlayStation 3’s console player base. As of November 4, 2012 there were more than 70 million PlayStation 3 units sold. Attracting just a fraction of this huge market can boost Diablo 3 sales way past its current 12 million copies sold mark.

Reinvigorating the Diablo 3 Gold market
Diablo 3 gold sellers are naturally excited at the prospect of new customers purchasing their farmed virtual currency. Opening up the game to the vast console market might be able to arrest the declining prices and demand for Diablo 3 gold.

Last November, Examiner.com’s Simeon Cortezano also observed that Diablo 3 players have not been as active as when the game launched. Xfire statistics show Diablo 3 logged hours is hovering at 9,324 hours per day compared to the 130,000 hours per day recorded back in the release month of May 2012.

Uncertainties remain
Diablo 3 gold sellers though should be mindful of a few risks that could stymie the market’s resurgence.

First, there is a possibility that the PC and console games will have separate servers. Diablo 3 gold sellers which operate mainly on the PC will not be able to sell their virtual currency stock to the console fans. Second, console players might not familiar with the idea of purchasing virtual currency as PC players. Gold buying is a phenomenon more marketed on the PC, and gold sellers might have a harder time marketing their products to the console crowd.

Submitted by Michael on 2013-01-21 02:26:23

Blizzard Combats Diablo 3 Gold Inflation in Patch 1.0.7

Could the addition of new sinks be the answer to the current flood of Diablo 3 gold currency?

That’s the hope of Diablo 3 fans after Blizzard introduced in the public test realm (PTR) a new tier of account-bound Marquise gems which will each cost millions of gems to make and re-socket, as well as an expensive new Archon Armor recipe.

Marquise Gems
In the latest PTR Patch 1.0.7 notes released in January 15, Blizzard said a Marquise gem will require 20 million gold, 3 Radiant Star Gems and 1 Demonic Essence. Marquise gems will provide a unique stat based depending on which item it is socketed.

Marquise Emerald
• Weapon: Increased Critical Hit Damage by 110%
• Helm: +33% Extra Gold from Monsters
• Armor: +62 Dexterity

Marquise Topaz
• Weapon: Melee attackers take 2200 per hit
• Helm: 33% Better chance of finding magical items
• Armor: +62 Intelligence

Marquise Amethyst
• Weapon: Each Hit adds +700 Life
• Helm: +19% Life
• Armor: +62 Vitality

Marquise Ruby
• Weapon: +150 Minimum and +150 Maximum Damage
• Helm: Increases Bonus Experience by 33%
• Armor: +62 Strength

Unsocketing Marquise gems will also cost 5 million gold. The steep gold costs associated with Marquise gems could and the fact that they can only be created at the Jeweler paired has encouraged fans that Blizzard is getting serious with combating gold inflation.

Archon Armor Recipe
In the same January 15 PTR patch notes, Blizzard also said that a new chest equipment Archon Armor recipe will be sold by Squire the Peddler for 1.5 million gold each. It will be iLevel 63, have 6 affixes, account-bound, and will have four variants “each guaranteeing a fixed core stat which will have the highest range available in the game.”

With the steep Diablo 3 gold costs associated with the new Marquise gems and the Archon Armor recipe, fans expect Blizzard to finally make a dent in the fast-rising inflation.

“There really needs to be a bigger gold sink out there,” said Diablo 3 forums user Tyrant in a fan thread worrying about Diablo 3 hyperinflation. “For a number of new players seeing items worth over 500 million is just crazy.”

“If you had read the patch notes you'd see they are doing just that with the new gems and BoA crafts,” replied user Shiroro.

Some fans have started to complain though that the costs are too high.

“Does anyone else seem to think that [the costs] are a bit high,” said forums user Ezcompany who believes that Marquise gems tantamount to a big tax.

“It is a tad high I think but they are making an attempt to drive the cost of gold back up. The only way to do it I'd to have a lot of gold sinks. Unfortunately it needs to happen, but they could probably come up with something better than 5 million to unsocket,” replied forums user Soeurdelune.

Blizzard themselves have said that these gold costs are subject to change and might be tweaked before making it into the final version of Patch 1.0.7, so the costs will likely be tempered given enough fan resistance.