There are some other threads on this subject but none that quite get the message across. It’s about the selling of BoP dungeon items on the new classic anniversary servers, where the same GDKP ban from SoD is in effect.
Full transparency: I have boosted people and sold the Blackstone Ring from Princess in Maraudon. I’ve only just been made aware that somehow this might fall under the definition of GDKP, and I’m not going to do it anymore until there is some more clarity. I haven’t just said that to escape punishment, if any action is taken then so be it, just listen to what I’ve got to say.
Section 1 - What is GDKP, and why was it banned in SoD?
GDKP, at least in it’s traditional definition, refers to the sale of high-value raid items. Usually 70-80% of the raid group is composed of highly geared and experienced players who can easily pull the weight of a few missing people. When you join a raid as a ‘buyer’, you will be able to bid on any items that drop (in competition against other buyers, and sometimes even against boosters). In some cases, items might attract a minimum ‘reserve’ price which is intentionally designed to stop somebody getting a best-in-slot piece of gear for its vendor value.
The prices for these high-value raid items are usually astronomical due to two main factors: the bidding and the scarcity. Bidding against another player for an item that you both want will obviously result in you paying a higher price than if it was just a single person. In addition, if you don’t get it there and then, you’ll have to wait a week for the ID to reset just for the chance to get it again. This is a toxic combination that can see prices easily go into the thousands of gold - - clearly incentivizing players with little time to farm into buying their gold from an RMT site.
GDKP was banned in SoD because, as stated by Blizzard:
GDKP erodes traditional guild and social structures that are in many cases the basis of our most fond memories of early versions of World of Warcraft. It’s also undeniable that GDKP contributes to and drives a lot of illicit activity, such as real-money trading (RMT) and botting, as it creates a demand for in-game gold that would not otherwise exist. GDKP can create an “arms race” effect that encourages participating players to purchase gold to be able to compete for the best items.
Section 2 - Why I don’t think selling dungeon gear should be considered GDKP
The main reason is that the term ‘GDKP’ has a very specific definition and is not at all applicable in the context where you are soloing the dungeon with a single buyer. There is no bidding, there is no competition, and the price is fair and agreed in advance.
Without these boost runs, there would be thousands of warriors/rogues/hunters queueing for princess runs, all competing against each other, while at the same time there is absolutely zero demand for a caster or healer to join due to lack of equivalent gear upgrades. This would lead to unquestionable frustration and perhaps even some players quitting the game after spending days farming it, losing a few rolls and maybe even getting ninja’d by somebody who switched on Master Looter at the last second.
This is entirely different to a raiding scenario where any class and role has an equal incentive to join.
I do believe there should be an upper limit on the amount of money that should be traded for these sorts of items. Exactly what threshold of gold should be allowed is difficult to define due to the fluctuating ‘value’ of gold due to inflation and other economical pressures over time. It can be useful to think of gold not as gold itself, but as the equivalent of a consistently-purchased item (such as a flask), or the amount of time you’d need to invest to farm it, or the amount of real-world currency you’d need to pay if you were going to engage in RMT.
Paying 40 gold for a Blackstone Ring is not going to incentivize anybody to RMT. You can get that sort of money by farming for an hour or doing a single Stratholme run. There are much bigger problems which are not tackled by this ‘GDKP ban’, such as XP boosting services.
I also don’t agree with the statement that it erodes social structures - - I’ve made actual friends from selling these runs that I wouldn’t otherwise have encountered. There’s the cameraderie and inevitable joking when you go 15 runs without seeing your item, which ‘supposedly’ has a 25% drop rate. I’ve had people follow me and start dancing in the boss room because ‘its a ritual dance that will improve the RNG’, and I’ve had somebody befriend a plant (which they called Steve) because they spent so long stood next to it waiting for the item that just didn’t want to drop. What would definitely erode social structures is having to run a dungeon over and over again, continuously losing the roll to strangers who are occasionally toxic and in exactly the same situation as you.
Section 3 - If selling BoP dungeon gear is considered GDKP, then…
First and foremost - Blizzard should immediately publish new communications specifying that the sale of ‘all instanced BoP items’ is bannable. Half of the community don’t even understand what a GDKP is, and a lot of people (like myself) would never consider a dungeon boost to fall under the definition of GDKP. There are a heck of a lot of people currently doing this sort of stuff because they think it’s perfectly fine, and they would immediately stop if they were aware of this definition. I, like many others, have never played SoD, and have never taken the time to do much research.
This would also outlaw the sale of XP boosting services where the loot is not reserved and taken by the booster. If you get boosted in Mara and loot anything that’s not BoE, you should be banned according to the current definition. By the way, XP boosting services are immensely more expensive and contribute more to real-money trading than the sale of a single low-value dungeon item. My guaranteed Blackstone Ring boosts at a price of 40g would only buy you 2 or 3 runs of a Mara XP farm. There’s a lot more people buying XP boosts than rings, and there is a lot more continuous demand. But XP runs aren’t restricted at all.
I would also like further clarity on whether this should also extend to the sale of non-instanced BoP items? For example, if I helped a level 30 warrior complete their Cyclonian quest in exchange for 5 gold, that does not fall under Blizzard’s current definition of GDKP and is perfectly allowable. But it’s effectively the same thing, other than the fact that the extremely powerful item is not obtained via a dungeon or raid?
Section 4 - What my proposal is
I believe the definition of GDKP should be tied to:
- Raids
- World bosses
- Instances which have a lockout/ID that lasts longer than a day
- Scenarios where players are required to bid against each other
- Extremely low drop rate / high value items (e.g. SGC) - if it is feasible to maintain such a list, or set a limit on the amount of money which is permitted to change hands. If Blizzard has detection logic for this sort of thing, which they state that they do, surely it wouldn’t be too difficult to set a threshold which only triggers if a particular amount of money is traded within a specified time window.
In summary: I believe the current state of the ‘GDKP ban’ is harming the community, not actually solving any issues relating to botting/RMT, and the exact wording is also unclear to regular law-abiding players. The latter of which is the most pressing issue.