Both Diablo 3 Auction Houses are shutting down. Details below.
Originally Posted by Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
(When we initially designed and implemented the auction houses, the driving goal was to provide a convenient and secure system for trades. But as we've mentioned on different occasions, it became increasingly clear that despite the benefits of the AH system and the fact that many players around the world use it, it ultimately undermines Diablo's core game play: kill monsters to get cool loot. With that in mind, we want to let everyone know that we've decided to remove the gold and real-money auction house system from Diablo III.
We feel that this move along with the Loot 2.0 system being developed concurrently with Reaper of Souls™ will result in a much more rewarding game experience for our players.
We're working out the details of how the auction house system will be shut down, but we wanted to share the news as soon as we made the decision in order to give everyone as much advance notice as possible. Please note that the shutdown will occur on March 18, 2014. We will keep everyone informed as we work through this process.
Josh Mosqueira and I wanted to provide everyone with a little more information behind this decision, so please have a look at the video, and stay tuned to this site for further updates in the months ahead.
We feel that this move along with the Loot 2.0 system being developed concurrently with Reaper of Souls™ will result in a much more rewarding game experience for our players.
We're working out the details of how the auction house system will be shut down, but we wanted to share the news as soon as we made the decision in order to give everyone as much advance notice as possible. Please note that the shutdown will occur on March 18, 2014. We will keep everyone informed as we work through this process.
Josh Mosqueira and I wanted to provide everyone with a little more information behind this decision, so please have a look at the video, and stay tuned to this site for further updates in the months ahead.
Auction House Shutting Down FAQ
Originally Posted by Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
(Q. Why is the auction house system being removed from Diablo III?
The gold and real-money auction houses have provided a convenient and secure system for trading, but it's also become increasingly clear that despite the benefits they provide, they ultimately undermine Diablo’s core gameplay. A big part of Diablo is the thrill of battling demons and finding epic loot. While buying epic loot in the auction houses might be more convenient, it doesn't feel anywhere near as heroic as plowing through a pack of fearsome-looking monsters and having them drop that one awesome item that seems like it was made for your character.
Q. Will this change affect both the gold and real-money auction house?
Yes. We will be shutting down both the gold and the real-money auction houses.
Q. When will the gold and real-money auction houses be removed from the game?
The gold and real-money auction houses will be shut down on Tuesday, March 18, 2014.
Q. Are the gold and real-money auction houses shutting down at the same time?
Yes. The gold and real-money auction houses will be shut down at the same time.
Q. Are the gold and real-money auction houses being removed for all gameplay regions?
Yes. The gold and real-money auction houses are being removed for all gameplay regions.
Q. Why aren’t the auction houses being removed sooner?
Since the gold and real-money auction houses receive a regular amount of daily activity, we wanted to inform everyone of this upcoming change as soon as we made the decision and give as much advance notice as soon as possible. Also, removing the auction houses from the game is no small endeavor, and there are many technical and gameplay-related questions we still need to answer before this change is implemented.
Q. Are there any plans to add the gold and real-money auction houses back into the game in the future?
No. We have no plans at this time to add either the gold or real-money auction house back into the game after they are removed.
Q. How will the removal of the gold and real-money auction houses work from a technical perspective (for example: What will happen to posted auctions, items or currency in the Completed tab, Battle.net Balance, etc.)?
We’re still working out all the details regarding how the auction houses will be shut down. We know these details are important, and we want to ensure that this transition goes as smoothly for everyone. We will be keeping everyone informed as we work through this process.
Q. How will I be able to trade with other players once the gold and real-money auction houses are shut down?
Once the gold and real-money auction houses have been shut down, players will still be able to trade with one another using the in-game Trade Window.
Q. How will the removal of the gold and real-money auction house affects changes planned for itemization in Reaper of Souls, specifically “Loot 2.0”?
One of the main goals behind Loot 2.0, which is being developed concurrently with Reaper of Souls, is to make playing the game the most rewarding path to getting items. That goal has not changed with this decision, and in fact was one of the big inspirations behind the removal of the auction houses. We’re still moving forward with all the changes previously revealed as part of Loot 2.0, but we’re also looking at additional improvements we can make that will help ensure that the loot hunt and trading experience in Diablo III is as satisfying as possible.
The gold and real-money auction houses have provided a convenient and secure system for trading, but it's also become increasingly clear that despite the benefits they provide, they ultimately undermine Diablo’s core gameplay. A big part of Diablo is the thrill of battling demons and finding epic loot. While buying epic loot in the auction houses might be more convenient, it doesn't feel anywhere near as heroic as plowing through a pack of fearsome-looking monsters and having them drop that one awesome item that seems like it was made for your character.
Q. Will this change affect both the gold and real-money auction house?
Yes. We will be shutting down both the gold and the real-money auction houses.
Q. When will the gold and real-money auction houses be removed from the game?
The gold and real-money auction houses will be shut down on Tuesday, March 18, 2014.
Q. Are the gold and real-money auction houses shutting down at the same time?
Yes. The gold and real-money auction houses will be shut down at the same time.
Q. Are the gold and real-money auction houses being removed for all gameplay regions?
Yes. The gold and real-money auction houses are being removed for all gameplay regions.
Q. Why aren’t the auction houses being removed sooner?
Since the gold and real-money auction houses receive a regular amount of daily activity, we wanted to inform everyone of this upcoming change as soon as we made the decision and give as much advance notice as soon as possible. Also, removing the auction houses from the game is no small endeavor, and there are many technical and gameplay-related questions we still need to answer before this change is implemented.
Q. Are there any plans to add the gold and real-money auction houses back into the game in the future?
No. We have no plans at this time to add either the gold or real-money auction house back into the game after they are removed.
Q. How will the removal of the gold and real-money auction houses work from a technical perspective (for example: What will happen to posted auctions, items or currency in the Completed tab, Battle.net Balance, etc.)?
We’re still working out all the details regarding how the auction houses will be shut down. We know these details are important, and we want to ensure that this transition goes as smoothly for everyone. We will be keeping everyone informed as we work through this process.
Q. How will I be able to trade with other players once the gold and real-money auction houses are shut down?
Once the gold and real-money auction houses have been shut down, players will still be able to trade with one another using the in-game Trade Window.
Q. How will the removal of the gold and real-money auction house affects changes planned for itemization in Reaper of Souls, specifically “Loot 2.0”?
One of the main goals behind Loot 2.0, which is being developed concurrently with Reaper of Souls, is to make playing the game the most rewarding path to getting items. That goal has not changed with this decision, and in fact was one of the big inspirations behind the removal of the auction houses. We’re still moving forward with all the changes previously revealed as part of Loot 2.0, but we’re also looking at additional improvements we can make that will help ensure that the loot hunt and trading experience in Diablo III is as satisfying as possible.
I don't use them. Problem is, a lot of people do. There will be scams in trade and on third-party sites, credit card numbers stolen, in short hell will break loose. Moreover, Blizzard will have to spend (like in the good old days) money on lawsuits against the said sites. From every economical point of view, it's a lose-lose situation.
Sure, but if you have a secure environment provided, it looks much more attractive compared to some Chinese website.
Truth be told, I'm going to miss the GAH. I only really used it to plug gaps in my gear (and, not going to lie, find a pile of -levelreq gear for my alts), but Loot2.0 should take care of that nicely.
Not sure I want to know how this is going to affect the bot situation... constant streams of gold-site spammers dropping in and out of public games doesn't sound that great to me. Hopefully Blizzard has/will have some good tools for spotting that crap quickly.
We shall see.
Also, well done all the gloaters in this thread. Your bravery shall be... well... forgotten within days, I'm sure. But still, kudos.
Now if only they used their AH money to hire a good script writing team I'd be as happy as can be. For now though, it will be nice for once to not be punished for playing the game the right way! I had my doubts about RoS before, but if the AH is out of the equation, then I'm really looking forward to how crazy they are going to go with all the new loot and other features. AH affected so many aspects of the game that I can only begin to imagine what the game is going to be like when it's gone.
And dare I say, now that there is no real money involved in the game, offline mode might make a surprise return? Get rid of that ridiculously annoying yellow/red bar on the side of my HUD and play lag-free. It's starting to feel like the good old days already.
Throw up your 100% totally legit BotD or Enigma. Yeah, those runes were just dropping like candy for totally self found folks.
Celebrate good times indeed.
Im tempted to start fresh in the expansion, just disenchant and vendor all my gear, delete the heroes and start all over with the crusader.
As far as D3 is concerned, good riddance to both aunction houses. Beside trading with friends and people immediately in your coop game, trading was never a thing in Diablo. Centering the whole item game around an AH to begin with was a recipe for failure. The chances of rolling high rank affixes are too low, the crafting system suffers, the crafting system cost too much, the gem require insane amount of gems and tomes and gold, and so on. You "traders" should find another game, go play EVE Online, all it is is a trading game with a robust economy, they have economists working on the game.
Now maybe the game could go offline, and you could go back to 3rd party sites like idiots, or use a hack like intelligent and decent people do. But if you feed 3rd party sites, don't come back crying about it.
THEY ARE GOING TO EXPLODE WITH ACTIVITY!
Think of the web traffic they are going to get once this change happens? Ad revenue is going to shoot through the roof.
Blizzard just let the website owners make a lot more money.
Also, what the fuck do I do with my bnet balance that I can't even use in the blizzard store or to pay for WoW gametime? I don't want to lose an extra 15% by converting it to gold and trying to cash out the gold to paypal if it even sells while everyone else is trying to cash out too.
Sure, playing the game, great! But there's legendaries, and rare items for a reason. Diablo has always been about gear, but its always also mostly been a cooperative game with a market. I feel like there should be an easier way to trade, and please just open up all acts so we can manuever through the game IN a game, and not have to exit to lobby every time.
There's no problem with 3rd party sites, trading through forums (official trade forum, D2JSP, DFans trade section), trade channel, or occasional trading with friends.
The problem was that "in your face" mentality that the AH was literally easier to enter than a new game (1 click vs 2 clicks). Imagine all the new game-breaking items of Loot 2.0; there's no point if you can just buy everything in a split second.
Of course you can get all of this through other trading channels. But it's spread everywhere - some will use public trade channels, some will use 3rd party scam sites, some will use the official forum, some D2JSP, ... and so on. Items will be everywhere, there won't be one central source for distributing everything anymore.
Furthermore, people will stop to put up everything. Right now, people even put up items that yield 3000 gold (I bought a really nice amulet for my friend's monk for just 3279 gold last night, simply winning the bid as only bidder). With the additional hassle and the required time investment, all items below a certain threshold will just disappear, which in turn will slow down item dissemination. There will even be people salvaging really good items because they don't care. I played D2 for 10+ years and never traded publicly, I probably threw loads of items at Gheed that were worth many PGs or even high runes, but I didn't care, and I still don't.
In the end, we will go back to something similar as in D2: many people are so annoyed by the D3 AH experience that they will go back to D2 self-found (incl. trading with friends). Many will miss the AH and create a new, unofficial AH (eventually, one popular website will become the new AH, and it might very well be D2JSP, unless they make some huge mistakes). Some might occasionally trade since they have tasted what it's like now; so the trading community will be bigger than it was back in D2, but not as big as it is now.
So what? If people are so greedy and impatient that they can't be content with the fact that they won't get everything they ever want (be it in game or IRL) then by all means, go buy stuff on third party sites for money and risk being scammed. But such behaviour should never have been supported in the first place and it's the right move for the health of the game. I don't care that some bloke will be chewing on add revenue money and another idiot will get scammed out of all his cash, each deserves what they get from that exchange. Meanwhile me and I dare say most of the people who play D3 will be enjoying a better, improved game where it is ok to have something that is ridiculously overpowered and wacky simply because you no longer need to care about what the price of the thing will be on the AH and whether it will invalidate all the purchases people have made. It will be development in favour of the enjoyment of the game and not development restricted by some virtual economy that shouldn't have existed in the first place.
IMO, the only reason PC users didn't have access to an off-line mode was almost entirely because of the auction houses to prevent hackers from abusing the system for profit. Now that the auction houses are being removed, could the possibility of an off-line mode for PC users come about?
Unfortunately, I don't expect that to happen because an off-line mode does leave the battle.net game vulnerable to malicious that not having an off-line mode currently helps protect. Still though, it'd be much like D2 and security measures have been improved upon by leaps and bounds. I sincerely hope Blizzard considers an off-line mode for PC users assuming they can protect their online game's integrity, which Blizzard should be able to handle with no issues.
edit: I should have read more of the thread, apparently this has already been discussed. whoops, my bad