Professional Farmers

[Gort]

I probably agree with the rest of the Numbered Points, but I've always wondered about the effect on the economy.

Gold farmers should introduce both gold AND items into the economy, thus leaving it pretty much as before.  Consider Noob Ebayer.  Noob buys a bunch of gold (from farming company) and then SPENDS a bunch of gold on items that gold farmers have found.  This gold is then sold (for real world money) to Othernoob Ebayer -- and so on.

This misses the crucial element of money SUPPLY. The biggest influx of gold produced by the farmer is that dropped by NPCs. Simple example:

NPC X - spawns in Tyr's Hand, remains untouched for 3 hours then drops 12s.

NPC Y - spawns in Tyr's Hand, dies within 2 minutes and each respawn for the next 3 hours, dropping 12s each time.

X's death brings 12s into the economy.

Y's (repeated) deaths bring 90 x 12s into the economy, or 1080s = 108g.

Difference is 107g 88s over the course of those 3 hours.

Now obviously the respawn rate in Tyr's Hand has been changed, the above was artificial number to illustrate a point. The constant farming of high cash value NPCs was pushing the gold supply to insane levels and continues, albeit at a slightly abated pace. Sales on the AH etc may circulate the money but each NPC killed brings fresh cash into circulation and the relative value of items calculated against the overall supply (known as M0 in the UK treasury for example) is pushed down, resulting in the trend Kandrathe identified so eloquently.