Diablo 3 players getting the majority of their gear from AH is "a problem", says Blizzard

Blizzard has said the fact that most Diablo 3 players get their gear from Auction House has become "an issue."

Speaking on the Diablo 3 forums via an "Ask a Dev" session, senior game designer Andrew Chambers said the team wants players to feel as if they "own" their gear, not that they are "renting" it.

This is another reason the team has made the new crafted items bound on account.

"We don’t really like that, for most players, all of your current gear is very likely to be something you’ve found on the Auction House," he said. "This can create a situation where it doesn't feel like you "own" the gear you’ve obtained; instead, it feels like you are renting it."

"Making the new crafted items account bound was done for one very distinct reason: to give players more incentives to play the game rather than the Auction House," added designer Travis Day. "Something we discuss frequently is how the Auction House has impacted the game and how we can refocus players away from farming the Auction House and onto farming monsters.

"Demonic Essence was made account bound to encourage players who wish to create the new items to play the game instead of simply going to the Auction House and buying all the mats necessary to mass produce the items.

"For that same reason we wanted the product of the recipes to be account bound as well. We want players to not only find or produce their own items more often but also diminish the impact the Auction House has on the game, and we felt like this was a good opportunity to take our first steps in that direction."

The latest patch, 1.03, was rolled out today.

Thanks, PCgamesN.

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