Today, Diablo 3 is considered a great success, and many players still enjoy playing it. Some of the features are so good that they have already made their way into Diablo 4 or, according to fans, should definitely come. However, one of them is now being controversially discussed: the auction house. Veterans warn, for good reason, against this desire.
What is this feature?
- The auction house in Diablo 3 allowed players to easily buy and sell items, initially for gold or real money, later only for gold.
- The idea is quite simple; even other ARPGs use the system. In Last Epoch, for example, the auction house is tied to a faction and is only open to players of that faction.
- In Diablo 4, there is trading between players, but no auction house like that. One user would like to see it, but Blizzard has removed the feature for good reasons.
The auction house was that bad: The goal of the auction house in Diablo 3 was to give players quick and easy access to items and to combat frustration when their “God Roll” didn’t drop again.
Trading has been happening since Diablo 2 anyway, albeit through external sites. Diablo 3 aimed to keep trading in-game to make it safer and more controlled—and make some money in the process. This created numerous problems:
- It was too easy to get good items—this was planned, but seen as an “acceptable risk,” as the head of Diablo 3, Jay Wilson, stated in an interview (via purediablo).
- Eventually, trading got out of hand, so much so that some items were sold for three times the gold cap. The reason for this included bots and exploiters.
- In the end, all of this led to players losing interest in the game. Instead of earning items, they bought them, used them once, and then stopped playing.
The feature caused so much negativity within just 2 months that Diablo 3 was basically constantly under criticism.
Blizzard ultimately pulled the emergency brake and first removed the real money auction house, shortly thereafter completely eliminated the feature before the release of Reaper of Souls.
Diablo 4 will also soon see its first expansion, Vessel of Hatred:
“You’re removing the dopamine”
In one of the larger threads on Reddit, a player is now demanding an auction house in Diablo 4 and receives support from hundreds of users. Players see the feature as a way to participate in trading without social interaction.
The game’s economy is already broken, so they might as well introduce an auction house. However, there is at least one very clear warning from a veteran:
Are you sure? Really think about what you wish for and what impact it has. An in-game auction house would change the way you play. You would get 99% of your upgrades from the auction house; every second character would be equipped there. It would become the standard way of gearing up.
GSEBVet on Reddit
This would remove the fundamental part of the game, battling through dungeons and experiencing joy from a drop. Exactly this is currently what occupies players the most: The loot is so good that everyone wants to share their dopamine with others.
The idea may sound good at first, but it is the first step towards the game’s downfall. Not only would everyone just buy instead of looting, but it would also increase the demand for real money for gold and correspondingly more botters.
Blizzard has already had bad experiences with exactly this problem with Diablo. Bots and exploits already led to the destruction of the game’s economy in Diablo 2. The result is a legendary ring today: What exactly is the “Stone of Jordan” and why is it so important for Diablo?
