Has the Auction House Ruined Diablo III?

Chris Gravelle writes: I’m trying so hard not to be a cynic here, but it seems to me that Diablo and Diablo II fed loot to players at such a rapid rate that it was just silly. Diablo III seems to be trying to keep you from getting a constant string of loot going. Then I realized that I had made and spent about 30 dollars on the RMAH. Of that, Blizzard made a dollar off each transaction plus 15% and whatever else.

I really hate to go down this path. I completely understand that this is a cynical view that sounds like a guy whining about a change he doesn’t like. But it is much more than that. It is about the practices that a company puts in place that affect both their reputation and the integrity of the product.

[PaladinXII]

I haven't gotten to Inferno yet, but this patch seems... suspect.

[BrutallyBlunt]

If they intended to make finding loot more difficult to persuade gamers to go to the auction house instead that is very shady. When you start having real money involved nothing but bad stuff is bound to happen. On top of that having the game force you to be online means playing solo just isn't the same as the games used to be. Not when you have an auction house and are forced to update your game that limits your loot.

[Hufandpuf]

is everything in the auction house in the actual game that can be unlocked?

[Bereaver]

Everything in the AH was found by players and put up for auction.

The problem is..... there is no bind on equip/account items except the herding staff.

And those who argue "but bind on equip isn't for Diablo, never has and never should be". Didn't remember that Auction houses weren't for Diablo either. It was just introduced in the 3rd iteration.

[ostgar]

Everything is able to be found in the game - but the latest patch makes it harder than it was pre-patch to find it. Loot is very difficult to find through traditional Diablo style farming.

[KingNintendoFanboy]

I think the real money auction house is stupid. I'm never going to spend a penny there.

[Vivalajmax]

This whole thing seems like a huge gamble, I'm very curious to see what happens when I reach Inferno as well.

[Timmer]

The new patch and RMAH hasn't fixed a damn thing.

I've spent every last bit of gold, and even a few actual dollars, trying to get good gear for my DH. I've got ~500 to all resists, do ~24-25k DPS (nowhere near the amount necessary, apparently), and 50k HP. Yet as soon as I enter Act II of Inferno, I get my shit absolutely rocked.

Blizzard isn't releasing patches to make the game easier to beat, they're simply toning down the difficulty a tad, while making it even more impossible to find reasonable gear without spending your hard earned cash.

I won't buy anything over $20, which absolutely should be the limit on ALL RMAH purchases (those who spend $250+ are absolutely crazy in this economy), and I've only bought 3 items for a grand total of $20.

I understand the game is entirely gear based, but when you supposedly "raise" the upper-level item drop rate, but it's worthless when, as a DH, I constantly find gear worse than what I had in Hell, or even Nightmare.

[Chucky2003]

hmm,so let me understand,you bay 60$ or more(depending on the country) for the game,if you get the digital version you only get a demo for 72 hours,they locked content from the game just to make you to spend real money for that content,and people still both this rip-off game,and the you wonder why they are doing this

[annus]

1) It costs the same as any other game in price.
2) The demo is literally a demo, the digital BOUGHT version doesn't have a lock... it's the whole game.
3) What content did they lock? You CAN get the gear by playing the game, it's just time consuming so you have the option to buy gear with gold/dollars if you want.

Everything on the auction house is obtained by PLAYERS, it isn't Blizzard selling them.

But hey, I guess bullshit facts are always a good way to hate on a game you have no idea about.

[yeahokchief]

lol

[2v1]

2 words edgeworld

[kasser]

You know whats bothering me with the AH? You need to leave the game whenever you want to check it. They should implement a way to check it within the city hub of each chapter.

[nix]

feel so good.. didn't pick up this game.

[BuckyBarnes]

I play all the time, never spending money on the rmah, its dumb. I will buy things on the regular ah for gold. If it gets too dumb at Inferno, I will stop playing. Hell Difficulty right now isnt bad.

[ostgar]

@Annus - There is actually a lock on digital purchases that can last up to 72 hours, not for demos - but for the full game. The issue isn't that content is locked - it's all there - it's just slow to show and they are deciding how the loot should roll out. It's much slower than it was a week ago. And he has an idea about what he is talking about - so careful with the blasting of him when you are missing a few points yourself.

[StrawberryDiesel420]

This game is some real BS and I hope this isn't the future for gaming in general. I heard a recent patch came out for this game making it harder to acquire the gear that's more rare in game forcing players to essentially use the Auction House to get it which, if true, is a scam. Players paid 60+ for this game and have to buy gear that's available already in the game? The developer felt the need to make it near impossible to find gear that's needed for the later difficulties so players have to spend more money, PC fanboys are really delusional if they think this is ok, and I know they are out there, I see the comments defending this game all the time. Meanwhile, in reality, it's an online only game that forces players to spend extra money to play, that's pathetic.

[MRMagoo123]

You know what they should add to the next patch a very decreased drop rate on quivers and witch doctor off hands its all i ever seem to get when blue items drop, im a barbarian i dont want quivers. I get the idea the loot drops crap you dont want to force the use of the AH imo.

[ostgar]

I will say, after some non-auction house - Hardcore last night the game is still fun. It just suffers a bit and finding upgrades is going to be tough as we progress to later difficulties.