Monday, February 27, 2012

Inflation Or Deflation In MoP

   What will happen in MoP with the economy? I have had this on my mind for quite some time and i finally got down to making a post in which i would actually like to ask you, the readers to comment and share your point of views. 

Case 1: Inflation

   This is what usually happens with WoW on every expansion releases. Cold had a post about making gold from the inflation up on his blog, and he was actually on the mark. But to break it down to bare basics and it would be very simple. Prices will soar high, the currency in circulation would go up exponentially but at the same time the worth of the gold would go way down.

   What this would mean is that we end up with a economy where it will be normal to pay for a lets say for instance a gem, to pay up to 5k gold. As it is now  it might sound insane, but if everything goes as it has been in the past that might be the grim case. 

   If this happens then i am afraid Blizzard will break their own game's economy, and the player group that Blizzard will be aiming for the most ( the new players ) will have a negative experience as they will hardly be able to afford anything.

   So if Blizzard decides to go on with this strategy and we see inflation, then it would be wise to try and invest our gold into trade goods that we can sell down the road. Best example for these investments would be things that are used to craft exotic things Titansteel ( for the Mechano-Hog ), raw gems, even epic ones as they will become the twink gems for the Cata tier, as well as enchanting materials. The thing is that if you decide to get into liquidating your gold you will have to wait a while until the supply dries up and the prices start going up.

Case 2: Deflation

      This is actually what i think, and hope that it will happen, deflation. Let me explain as to why i think so.

   There was a talk previously about the item level shrinking of items in Cata. For all of you that didn't read about that, it is basically a shrinking in the item level and stats of items from TBC to Cata, and that would be done so we don't end up with abilities hitting for 500k damage, and health to go up in the million range.

   As this was a option that Blizzard favored, there is another aspect of it that is going to follow, and that is the prices. With lower item levels their vendor price will be lower as well, and also with the lower item level of items the quest gold would be lower as well. 

   So if this is the case, then we will see a decrease in the flow of gold into the economy and in return see the prices of items go down to a more manageable level. So just like Blizzard is trying to get away from the 500k damage hits and Millions HP, i am sure they are trying to move away from the case where their gold becomes nearly worthless and we see the same thing that happen to Diablo 2 where the only worth in the economy in time was trading 1 item for another as gold was worthless.

   So if this is the route that we see Blizzard takes, then the best thing would be to have liquid gold as it will be worth much more.

   So what do you folks think will happen? Will we see a case of inflation, or a case of deflation or something else. I would like to hear your opinions as well, to either agree or disagree with me, and how are you going to approach the release of MoP .  

So, like always, keep an eye out for good opportunities out there.

2 comments:

  1. Bags and mats for bags will continue to have value. Netherweave, Frostweave, Mammoth and Trappers bags still sell well from previous expansions. The mats for those may become even more limited due to the acceleration of leveling through those areas so it won't hurt to have those mats.

    I know people that have continuing success selling LK/BC gems, so its likely that Cata gems will also continue to sell but I'm not sure I'd be sitting on huge inventories of Ore or uncuts. I'd bet that some gems that are selling cheaply now may actually be priced higher in MOP once people start learning new cuts and prospecting new ores.

    Its most probable that the Transmog market will be further fueled by all the new toons that get rolled in MOP. People will want old familiar looks so it wont hurt to stock up on cant miss weapons, shields and armor for sale after the new expansion hits. The problem is that these items dont stack well and chew up storage. Focus on accumulating the high end stuff.

    It will be interesting to see what the new items will be and there will be a huge learning curve amongst these blogs to identify the profitable niches, but that's part of the fun of a new expansion! Cant wait for MOP and what Vile will suggest for us to build our gold hordes!

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  2. Just as an FYI, it's hoards, not hordes.

    I'd be curious to see some data on just how much quest gold and vendoring items contributes to the overall economy. I'm afraid that even though there would be less money influx that way, the overall amount of gold in each server's economy would be too vast to cause any real deflation.

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