The Economy of WoW

[Occhidiangela]

No.  You said - "I would expect that the standard economy in an on line RPG is, by the nature of the game, inflationary.  What appears to be under discussion here is the matter of degree."

As I have said you can have an economy that isnt inflationary(or at least the inflation is so low as to be ignored) and other game have already proved this.
We are argueing about inflation here, but not simply about degree.

Many MMORPs over a year old dont even have a functioning market for low level items. Mainly because the people who want to buy newbie gear cant pay enough to make selling worth a high levels time. But fortunetly most MMORPs have generous old timers who will help strugleing newbies.

You can only have a active play economy for the level at which most players can earn cash and find items for. But for those end game players, it is possible to have a working economy.
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I understand your point. I suggest that the balance between "fun-playability" and "how perfectly balanced the economy is" is a matter of subjective game balance. Each development team has a different intuitive feel for its game. (Remember the discussions on that score in re PvP DII?) Not everyone considers the game economy's balance of key importance, though many devoted players do.

Thanks for you insight.

Occhi