Has the ban on GDKP runs in World of Warcraft Classic really made a difference? The developers share their thoughts on this.
Currently, the Season of Discovery is running in World of Warcraft Classic. The developers are not only bringing new content that has never before existed in the classic version of the game, but they are also implementing new guidelines. The ban on GDKP runs was quite controversial but was supposed to help restrict illegal gold buying.
Now, the developers have spoken about their initial impressions of the regulation and see many positive influences.
Where does the information come from? The magazine Dexerto spoke with Senior Game Producer Josh Greenfield and Lead Software Engineer Nora Valetta, both responsible for the Season of Discovery. Many topics were discussed, particularly the enforcement of the GDKP ban.
What is GDKP actually? “GDKP” refers to a system by which loot is distributed in raids or dungeons. Instead of simply rolling on an item and letting chance decide, interested parties bid gold on the item. The bidder with the highest offer receives the item. After the raid, the gold collected is then distributed among all members of the group. Wealthy players receive items while all others get gold.
What was said? Greenfield describes himself as “cautiously optimistic.” While it’s still too early to have truly substantiated data and thus draw long-term conclusions, the first impression was quite positive.
My first observation while playing is that I notice significantly less advertising [on the realms]. This has given us the opportunity to take stronger action against such things. Not only the gold selling, but also botting.
Essentially, GDKP is not only a way loot is distributed, but also a method of “laundering” gold. Large amounts of illegal gold change hands through these purchases and thereby become quasi-legal. This also makes it increasingly difficult to trace the path of gold.
GDKP is an excellent method for laundering money and an excellent method for obscuring the path of gold. Without this kind of shield, it makes it much easier for us to clean up other things and to be a bit more resilient in other aspects of the economy.
The developers have also noticed that there was indeed loud criticism at the beginning regarding the abolishment of the system. Many considered GDKP a solid method for distributing loot. Many participated in these raids in order to earn legal gold – regardless of its original source.
At the very beginning, there was a huge outcry in the community about the decision when it took effect. Now, I no longer see it as such a hot topic. It’s almost as if people said to themselves: “Okay, GDKP is banned in the Season of Discovery. I guess that’s life.” And then they just moved on. We [now] do not see any more major outcry from people who were dissatisfied about it.
However, the developers also realize that this is only a snapshot. After all, the long-term consequences are still not really foreseeable, although the trend seems to be positive.
I think it’s clear that it is still too early to draw a conclusion here. So far, it looks like the change is positive. What I say is of course purely anecdotal and has not yet been backed up by data.
Whether the change can actually have a long-term, noticeable effect on the game – and thus perhaps also serves as a precedent for other WoW versions – remains to be seen.
That the ban on GDKP runs can only be part of solving the problem is also currently demonstrated by another circumstance. Because Stormwind is flooded with bots – there are more of them than real characters.
