Non Bound, tradable Gear

ArchivedUser

I read a post that said AoC will not have bound gear and trading between players will be allowed.  

My only experience with MMOs has come from WoW and BDO, and neither allowed the best gear to be traded between players...

If the post I read is indeed true, my question is... Would this change be good for the game?  

I understand how it my help with gearing alts... But other than that, it is difficult for me to see how it would help the game or its economy.

ArchivedUser

You must remember that this game is based on 4 pillars and that one of them is the economy. @GMSteven has said that players who control the economy will exert a greater influence on the world than those that PvP. Crafted gear will be on par with in slot gear and therefore it is logical to expect those guys who can craft top tier items to be able to sell them. Being a non-combat player could be a full-time role in Ashes.

It's true that Intrepid are not following the trend with this but that is quite common in their vision of how Verra will work. It's one of the endearing qualities of Intrepid is that they are keen to break the mold.

 I cannot objectively state at this point whether it would be good or bad for the game. I can see strengths and weaknesses to both pathways but once Alpha 0 kicks in and true testing starts, we'll get to see first hand what Intrepid are planning and it will be the responsibility of all who participate to hold Intrepid accountable for their decisions and help them to improve such mechanics as and when they become an issue/problem.  

ArchivedUser

Good points, and I agree...  Thank you for the reply.

ArchivedUser

Many mmos in the past had similar NON bop/soulbound systems. The problem starts when you have duping exploits due to bugs and set boss loot drops for overpowered gear that is BiS. When this happens it wrecks an in-game economy due to inflation and over-saturation mechanics. Gold and loot become pointless when both become obtainable with very little effort. So your playerbase revolts and in most cases leaves for more challenging pastures.
The problem with WOW(have played) and BDO(haven't played) from what I know from experience or have read is that they have turned into loot pinata experiences. You know exactly what each boss is going to drop, loot is individual, and the challenge has been removed in almost all cases through their anonymous LFR systems. Loot has to be BoP/Soulbound in most cases to keep the economy from totally collapsing. This is why when something truly shiny that is BoE drops in those economies it makes tons of money.
Intrepid has the challenge of going back to the way things were. But doing so they have to monitor things closely and remove troublesome items and close duplication exploits when discovered immediately. Neverwinter had a dupe exploit involving a rare cat mount early on, they ignored it for a time, it destroyed the economy almost over night, and then they selectively deleted some of the illicit goods, but allowed others who had cashed in to profit and keep their currency. People fled in droves. They acknowledged their mistake, gave everyone a shiny cloak cosmetic skin called "The CATastrophe" and tried to move on. It didn't work so well and took them a long time to recover.
If IS can avoid such pitfalls and react quickly to problems on the economy side due to issues then the loot system should work nicely. If it isn't monitored closely, loopholes will be exploited, people will feel their effort devalued, and will move onto the next shiny laser pointer waving a spot on the wall.