A new skillset, much like crafting or gardening, that allows for a safe and monitored free trading of currently non-tradeable, non-auctionable items.
A new area or kiosk for wizards to sell and buy gear. Since each building in Old Town is already labeled hat, robe, boots, wands, etc. I envision a kiosk being added to each of them where players can buy/sell the specific gear they’re looking for. Just like in the pet kiosk where players can search for certain talents, players can do the same thing here in the new merchant kiosks. A buyer can search by boss drop, school, or stats (or maybe all three?). Then they can search through the purchase prices for something they can afford/willing to spend, which can be reagents, treasure cards, gold, jewels, seeds, or other gear. In order for players to not abuse this system and create ridiculous purchase pricing I propose that merchanting (that’s not a word, is it?) become a skillset like crafting or gardening. Players will have to go through trials and tribulations in order to become high-level merchants. Level 10 merchants can sell level 10 and under gear, level 20 merchants can sell level 20 and under gear, and so on and so forth. Since what I have above is basically a free-for-all market with level restrictions, I believe that there should be pricing caps for specific items as well as a price change restriction for merchants. For example, listing a piece of Waterworks gear for 10 Amber is ridiculous. But listing Waterworks gear for 1 piece of Amber or 1 Deer Knight TC or a rare level 50 jewel might be more reasonable. High level gear can be scaled accordingly, with a Vanguard hat or Ring reasonably going for 2 Pigsie TC or 3 Amber a piece (or more). Players will be able to give constant feedback as to whether a pricing cap is reasonable or should be increased. If a merchant lists a Vanguard Helmet for 3 Amber and it sells within three minutes, they shouldn’t be allowed to list their next Vanguard Helmet for 5 Amber. Players should be required to honor their original pricing for at least 14 days. This pricing lock will make unfair trade between individual players more difficult. Players who are consistent in their pricing and don’t change it every 14 days on the dot should be entitled to bonuses, badges, or having their gear listed on the top of the kiosk search. Maybe they can have a star next to their name in the kiosk showing that they are at the top of the merchant class, or will be permitted a discount or occasional free piece of gear as a result of their commitment to excellence. In order to further mitigate the possibility of abuse of the system, I propose that a restriction similar to the hatching kiosk be implemented. A player can only purchase a certain amount of gear for every 10-12 hour period (a level 100+ player ought only be able to purchase two pieces of gear a day or less). This way, players are not able to monopolize a certain resource or gear piece, turn around, and sell it for a preposterous amount of money. Just like with the pet kiosk, this timer cannot be reset, but can be minimized by purchasing a membership.
Since this is a family-friendly game I am not in support of a full free-for-all individualized trading system which can open the door to abuse of the system, but I do believe that mitigating trading through a third party system with restrictions and pricing caps may be able to bridge the gap between serious players and kids while still keeping it PG
