Diablo III's Auction House Has Now Officially Shut Down

[Steven Bogos]

Diablo III's Auction House Has Now Officially Shut Down

Players have until June 24 to collect their completed auctions out of Diablo III's Auction House tab.

Last year, Blizzard said it would shut down Diablo III's Auction Houses by April, 2014 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/127881-Diablo-III-Auction-House-Closing-Down]. Today, true to its word, both the gold and real money auction houses have come to a close. All auctions that were open at the time have been cancelled, leaving players until June 24 to collect their completed auctions from the game's Auction House tab. If they fail to collect the items by this date, they will disappear forever.

The Auction House was controversial right from the game's launch. Many players questioned it's necessity, and lamented being caught in the "trap" of having to "play the AH" for hours on end to find gear upgrades. Blizzard initially vehemently defended [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/127572-Diablo-IIIs-Auction-House-And-Always-Online-Arent-Going-Anywhere] the system, saying players needed a "safe place to trade items," but eventually changed its tune as the Loot 2.0 patch neared completion.

"When we initially designed and implemented the auction houses, the driving goal was to provide a convenient and secure system for trades. But as we've mentioned on different occasions, it became increasingly clear that despite the benefits of the AH system and the fact that many players around the world use it, it ultimately undermines Diablo's core game play: kill monsters to get cool loot," Diablo III Production Director John Hight said when the shutdown was announced.

Now that Loot 2.0 is here, bringing with it "smart loot" and bind-on-account legendaries, the Auction House has been rendered completely unnecessary. It's certainly a lot more fun slaying demons and finding an upgrade, rather than desperately trying to snipe auctions to buy one.

Permalink

 

[dmonkoff]

Better late than never I guess?

 

[Mausthemighty]

This was a great decision. I never was fond of the auction house. You were almost required to go on there to get better gear because they were not drpping in the game. In two years time and 200+ hours into the game I only found three legendary items. Since the last patch was implemented I got 15 legendaries. It's more fun killing demons if you get rewarded with great loot.

 

[ExtraDebit]

Too little too late.

In addition, playing blizzard games now is a real hassle, especially if you need to travel for work like I do. The locked my account because I tried to access it from a hotel IP. Tried to unlock it, took picture of the disc, game box and cd-key and send it to them and no words. Tried their website to unlock the account with the cdkey and it doesn't work.

Sad thing is: their games are so bad [for me] right now that I didn't bother trying after that. Guess I'll be skipping the new expansion for sc2.

 

[Ferisar]

Too little too late.

In addition, playing blizzard games now is a real hassle, especially if you need to travel for work like I do. The locked my account because I tried to access it from a hotel IP. Tried to unlock it, took picture of the disc, game box and cd-key and send it to them and no words. Tried their website to unlock the account with the cdkey and it doesn't work.

Sad thing is: their games are so bad [for me] right now that I didn't bother trying after that. Guess I'll be skipping the new expansion for sc2.

Now see this is where Blizz made the mistake.. D2 and games like it are more useful as games you can fire up on your lap top to kill time where you might not have an internet connection handy. Trust me, that's a big thing. and what with more and more ISP's trying to push data capped packages.. this entire 'always on' DRM crap is gonna bite them hard. If I wanted to play an always on loot grind.. I'd play WoW!

There's a real difference between an ARPG centered around loot and an MMO centered around progression. Loot's in both, but it's relevant in the first one because people want shiny gear. It's relevant in the second one because people need shiny gear to progress in their respective raid scenario. The whole draw of an ARPG like Diablo is RNG loot systems while the main draw for WoW is semi-RNG-based progression in raid tiers. It's much like a plate and a bowl not being the same just because they're both made to hold food.

I can't really address the always online concern because it's just not an issue to me, but I will say that my experience with the costumer service has never been bad. I got hacked once, called them, got it resolved in like 15 minutes. It's really not worth submitting major lock-out related problems via the ticketing system, it's just not made to handle specifics (I assume because of staffing).

OT:
Saw this, actually had a conversation in-game with randos that ended up being pretty intelligible (until the end anyway). I fully support it, although I'm still a bit weary of a game that likes loot so much without any way to trade it. Hopefully they'll keep working on other potential outcomes.

 

[rasputin0009]

This was a great decision. I never was fond of the auction house. You were almost required to go on there to get better gear because they were not drpping in the game. In two years time and 200+ hours into the game I only found three legendary items. Since the last patch was implemented I got 15 legendaries. It's more fun killing demons if you get rewarded with great loot.

Same. It made the game 10 times more fun. Playing Auction House: The Game got so boring.

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

Good for you, Blizzard.

Now fix the game's other major problem.

Whats the other problem?

 

[toms]

Good for you, Blizzard.

Now fix the game's other major problem.

Whats the other problem?

Always online, I'd wager.

 

[-Dragmire-]

Good for you, Blizzard.

Now fix the game's other major problem.

Whats the other problem?

My guess is that they're referring to the online requirement for single player.

 

[antidonkey]

Guess I should log in to see what I might still have lingering out there. Guess I'll need to patch first. I can't help but feel they're trying to sucker me into the expansion pack.

 

[Atmos Duality]

There's a real difference between an ARPG centered around loot and an MMO centered around progression. Loot's in both, but it's relevant in the first one because people want shiny gear. It's relevant in the second one because people need shiny gear to progress in their respective raid scenario. The whole draw of an ARPG like Diablo is RNG loot systems while the main draw for WoW is semi-RNG-based progression in raid tiers. It's much like a plate and a bowl not being the same just because they're both made to hold food.

That's a rather good post on the matter, actually.
Well done.

And that illustrates one of my biggest problems with D3 in its design; Blizzard wanted to exploit the D2 playerbase's seemingly mad addiction to grinding for random numbers as hard as they could. And inadvertently destroyed the entire appeal of the game in the process.

"Random" progression works best when it's used as an initial-value scenario (Roguelikes exemplify this and what follows). Where the player has ENOUGH control over their destiny that they aren't just gambling, but are making calculated decisions based on the random elements they encounter; weighing what they need now vs later.

I've played through D2 countless times, and most of those times I played through it was not with the sole intent of maxing my numbers or prepping for PvP*, but to try a new build and see how far it could get before hitting the inevitable immunity ceiling.
(*D2's PVP was a sad joke taken far too seriously; along with WoW, I actually blame it for the disgusting state D3 launched in)

But Blizzard took "Random" in a different direction with D3; the Skinner Box direction. Random Reward.
It's like MMO progression, but so much worse because in D3 your gear determines 99% of your character and unlike WoW there are no "bootstrap" sets of gear at a given tier that will let you get by.

By Inferno, characters are 100% at the mercy of the RNG. Either the player grinds for that next step up in numbers, hits up the AH, or stops playing because there's nothing else they can do. It's the Worst of Both Worlds scenario; tedious MMO like progression, but with a loot game's random element amping it up to the max.

At least in D2, you could play through Nightmare on any given build with some difficulty relying solely on skill damage and store bought items. Hell, a few builds can solo the entire game without much twink at all. (Summoner Necros, Hammerdins, Bonemancers, Berserkers, Mage-Zons, Trapsins)

Though D2 Hell mode immunities can still fuck right off.

I can't really address the always online concern because it's just not an issue to me, but I will say that my experience with the costumer service has never been bad. I got hacked once, called them, got it resolved in like 15 minutes. It's really not worth submitting major lock-out related problems via the ticketing system, it's just not made to handle specifics (I assume because of staffing).

I can, and will.

I terminated my Bnet 2.0 account since:
1) Bnet 2.0 hates my home connection. It was lagging and dropping CONSTANTLY and it's not like I cannot play games on it.
(though lately, it's been pissing me off more; I think it's time to replace the router.)
Since every Blizzard game requires Bnet 2.0, this is a major point of failure. It rendered Starcraft 2 online matches practically unplayable and virtual LANs impossible due to net bottlenecking (even on good cable connections at my friends').

2) Blizzard let my account get hacked one too many times. And before you or anyone else, tries to pull the "Well, stop looking at porn/scams/durr hurr IR so fun-E" line, I'm a computer security specialist by trade. It's my bloody JOB to fix and prevent this shit, including the social engineering aspect.

The failure could have only come on their end, and sure enough it was. A cursory search on the net will reveal many incidents of Blizzard's shit getting broken into. Contrary to what some folks say, Blizzard isn't infallible, and they made themselves a HUGE target with this Bnet business. It was inevitably going to happen.
(and Blizzard is by no means the only major gaming company to get hacked; it's happened to bigger, like Sony. The lesson is to never assume Big and Rich = Secure)

3) The second time it was hacked was right on the heels of a fresh format and install (read: I didn't even have Starcraft 2 installed, so even if a keylogger or root somehow hooked into my system, it couldn't get my credentials in the first place) but that isn't point.

The point here, is that Blizzard customer service gave me the runaround for the better part of a week before I just got fed up and terminated the account for good. Since Bnet 2.0 rules everything in their games, obviously I haven't done business with Blizzard since, and I never plan to again.

So from that day forward I made a new, simple, policy: If a company doesn't trust me with the game I paid for, I don't trust them with my money or information.

If that means missing out on games that otherwise look good, so be it; it just isn't worth the hassle anymore.

 

[Epic_Bubble]

I like how they release this patch now instead of say 6 months ago when they first announced this patch and Diablo expansion.

Still not going to buy the expansion cause Diablo 3 bores me, the skills bore me , the Items bore me, and the story was dribble.

And its still online even though its console counterparts aren't so yeah a waste of my time.

 

[Eric the Orange]

I like how they release this patch now instead of say 6 months ago when they first announced this patch and Diablo expansion.

Still not going to buy the expansion cause Diablo 3 bores me, the skills bore me , the Items bore me, and the story was dribble.

And its still online even though its console counterparts aren't so yeah a waste of my time.

but you seem content to waste your time reading a post about a game you claim not to care about.

 

[Ferisar]

That's a rather good post on the matter, actually.
Well done.

And that illustrates one of my biggest problems with D3 in its design; Blizzard wanted to exploit the D2 playerbase's seemingly mad addiction to grinding for random numbers as hard as they could. And inadvertently destroyed the entire appeal of the game in the process.

"Random" progression works best when it's used as an initial-value scenario (Roguelikes exemplify this and what follows). Where the player has ENOUGH control over their destiny that they aren't just gambling, but are making calculated decisions based on the random elements they encounter; weighing what they need now vs later.

I've played through D2 countless times, and most of those times I played through it was not with the sole intent of maxing my numbers or prepping for PvP*, but to try a new build and see how far it could get before hitting the inevitable immunity ceiling.
(*D2's PVP was a sad joke taken far too seriously; along with WoW, I actually blame it for the disgusting state D3 launched in)

But Blizzard took "Random" in a different direction with D3; the Skinner Box direction. Random Reward.
It's like MMO progression, but so much worse because in D3 your gear determines 99% of your character and unlike WoW there are no "bootstrap" sets of gear at a given tier that will let you get by.

By Inferno, characters are 100% at the mercy of the RNG. Either the player grinds for that next step up in numbers, hits up the AH, or stops playing because there's nothing else they can do. It's the Worst of Both Worlds scenario; tedious MMO like progression, but with a loot game's random element amping it up to the max.

At least in D2, you could play through Nightmare on any given build with some difficulty relying solely on skill damage and store bought items. Hell, a few builds can solo the entire game without much twink at all. (Summoner Necros, Hammerdins, Bonemancers, Berserkers, Mage-Zons, Trapsins)

Though D2 Hell mode immunities can still fuck right off.

The outcome of the loot system Diablo 3 initially went with was largely a response to the AH existing at all. The idea was, even if loot was 99% stacked against you, you would "obviously" use the auction house to make up the difference, since the amount of players would cause there to be plenty of availability. Problem is, everyone understood what was a good item and what was shit so the AH just served to intensify the problem by not only being a barrier of progression, but within itself having gold barriers that determined what gear you could even try getting. Meanwhile, Inferno itself was also incredibly hard, which meant that the only gear which rated as "good" would only drop past act 3.
I think that, essentially, Blizzard read it wrong when they decided to put in a measure to prevent bots and third-party sellers in the form of the AH, because it just slowly pulled the rest of the game into acknowledging it. The only real good that came out of it is that gold had actual worth in the game, but even that just inflated horrendously.

Most of the problems with gear are gone now, sans a bug here or there. My biggest concern is, still, them having a real trading system in the game, because we just went from one extreme of the total inability to self-sustain characters to the complete cut-off from others outside of playing with them. They also gave RNGesus a buff, but I'm yet to see what that means long-term. So far so good, I suppose, since you can sustainably gear yourself and have some control over stats in crafting and finding gear. Either way, too early to make a call.

I can't properly respond to the latter half of the post because it's sadly a case-by-case problem. I sympathize with all qualms related to security, but there just haven't been that many (if there have been any) for me. My hacking incident was a looooong time ago.

 

[Atmos Duality]

The outcome of the loot system Diablo 3 initially went with was largely a response to the AH existing at all. The idea was, even if loot was 99% stacked against you, you would "obviously" use the auction house to make up the difference, since the amount of players would cause there to be plenty of availability. Problem is, everyone understood what was a good item and what was shit so the AH just served to intensify the problem by not only being a barrier of progression, but within itself having gold barriers that determined what gear you could even try getting. Meanwhile, Inferno itself was also incredibly hard, which meant that the only gear which rated as "good" would only drop past act 3.

Yup!
They took the worst parts of D2 (Hell mode's absurd artificial difficulty and RNG mercy) and emphasized those over, well, everything else. The only thing I will say in D3's defense (ONLY THING) is that the loot-grinder genre was far more novel back when D1 and D2 were new. In Diablo's long looooong break between entries, the genre mutated into more interesting games and more interesting directions.
(Borderlands springs to mind)

"Same old shit" wasn't going to cut it, and that assumes the bulk of their fanbase still had the time to grind for hundreds of hours. (read: some do, but more and more of us "core gamers" don't. Eventually life catches up and takes your free time away, and that's only going to get worse as the economy continues to list like a breached ship)

I think that, essentially, Blizzard read it wrong when they decided to put in a measure to prevent bots and third-party sellers in the form of the AH, because it just slowly pulled the rest of the game into acknowledging it. The only real good that came out of it is that gold had actual worth in the game, but even that just inflated horrendously.

Agreed, and this brings up a good point:
Blizzard managed to slow the effect of scam sites (not stop, slow) by becoming the biggest game in town.
Pity they only had to gut everything that made D1 & D2 great from D3 in order to accomplish it.

In fact, by making the game Always Online, Blizzard made the scam-site problem WORSE because scammers and hackers had more incentive than ever to ply their trade.

After all, what use does an offline/LAN D2 player have for "Item/Gold Sites"?
What use does a hacker have for offline items? None!

D3 didn't have to be like this; Hell, it technically isn't for some. *glares the console version of D3*

(Nice double standard there Blizzard. Only give the console gamers exactly what the Diablo fans wanted. Why couldn't you provide that to the PC gamers again? Oh right, because the lead design was a flaming butthurt asshole who left the project after rightly getting grilled for his stupid decisions.

That, and it would only serve to illuminate how Bnet 2 is at best nothing more than a digital hen house.
Don't want the animals to start thinking; might hurt that easy golden egg production.)

I don't think they should have even bothered trying to "save us" from scam sites.
Scam sites only work on stupid people; and you can't fix stupid, only treat its symptoms.
Unfortunately, that treatment left everyone feeling the side effects.

I can't properly respond to the latter half of the post because it's sadly a case-by-case problem. I sympathize with all qualms related to security, but there just haven't been that many (if there have been any) for me. My hacking incident was a looooong time ago.

That's fair enough, and I appreciate you taking the higher road here, and not treading down the oft-beaten path of "Well, it doesn't bother me, so it obviously isn't a problem at all."

 

[otakon17]

Good for you, Blizzard.

Now fix the game's other major problem.

Whats the other problem?

You know what it is dammit, don't play coy. The always online, which they stated MANY times was because of the Real Money Auction House. Also, damn fitting I think and surprised no one else did it:


Now all they need to do is get rid of the awful stupid pointless meandering tee-totaling totally unnecessary always online and I will actually BUY IT! Because the console versions PROVED they don't need always online and I enjoyed what I got on them but I'd really like to get the PC version since my consoles died on me and I don't have the dosh to dole out duplicates for usage.

 

[rembrandtqeinstein]

Good start, now implement offline single player (like consoles will have) and I'll buy it.

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

Good for you, Blizzard.

Now fix the game's other major problem.

Whats the other problem?

You know what it is dammit, don't play coy. The always online, which they stated MANY times was because of the Real Money Auction House. Also, damn fitting I think and surprised no one else did it:


Now all they need to do is get rid of the awful stupid pointless meandering tee-totaling totally unnecessary always online and I will actually BUY IT! Because the console versions PROVED they don't need always online and I enjoyed what I got on them but I'd really like to get the PC version since my consoles died on me and I don't have the dosh to dole out duplicates for usage.

Oh yeah I forgot that was a thing for some people. Thats how little it bothers me when I play, how little of an inconvenience it is to me. No offense to you or anyone else, I realize yes they could do that. It'd cost them some dev time to convert it and maybe they'd get more users, maybe not.
Beyond that, it isn't a hassle for me to login to play, since I play with friends and family a lot.
BTW I wasn't playing coy, its just that it didn't ever bother me at all that the game was always online (except the bugs of the early stages of its life).
I do realize it sucks for people who don't have good online service and get dropped or like to play offline, and yeah it should have the option to do so.
I am also of the mind that eventually things will be mostly online and necessitate always on connectivity and some people are going to be left behind. Progress sucks for some people.