Cabal Online is not an exception. In fact, the developers implemented an official trade system to facilitate safe transactions, as well as encourage player interaction. Besides that, what is particularly interesting is that the game allows players to open a “personal shop”. By clicking on the “personal shop” button, the player temporarily relinquishes his role as a fearsome warrior and becomes a humble butler or maid with sellable goods on display for the rest of the community to buy from. In contrast, older MUDs had poor trade infrastructure and players had to operate on trust when dealing with their potential clients by dropping items on the floor simultaneously for a mutual exchange. No matter how much the developer tries to deter or restrict trade activities, a community-driven secondary economy will always be an integral component of MMO.
Setting up a shop is easy!
Online shopping never felt so good!
The intricate balance of the economy is difficult to achieve because it is highly susceptible to players’ demand which changes according to updates introduced by the developer. Gold farmers aggravate the situation as they initiate R.M.T (real money trading) as an alternative to obtain virtual currency and items. Players who legally sell their virtual items for virtual currency have to re-evaluate their prices in an attempt to adapt to changes in the economy due to gold farming. Cabal Online is the epitome of the phenomenon. For example, if 10 million gold is sold for a mere S$1 on gold farming websites, is the player willing to sell his rare items at say, 1 million gold, which equates it to having a disappointing real-life worth of S$0.10? In such cases, players have no choice but to drive their prices high in a bid to achieve the optimal real-life worth. Gold farming causes virtual currency to lose power and is made to react to real-life changes, instead of sustaining a stable virtual economy where real-life changes do not have such a strong influence.
Holy Batman! 3.5 billion gold!? Pal, I only earn 2-3 million gold every hour...
An ailing economy spells the impending doom which would befall upon the game. Cabal Online is a challenging MMO because it has rapid escalating levels of difficulty and survivability can only be ensured by upgrading one’s gear frequently. 2 years ago when I was an active player, the ridiculous fluctuations in the economy made it impossible for me to progress further in the game as I could not afford to buy the gear which I needed. The most efficient way to gold farm would be to use hacks and cheats such as botting which does the dirty work without the player even laying a finger to do anything. Before I quit the game, the servers were filled with botters and the MMO experience dipped an all-time low as I knew I was playing alongside mindless automations, instead of genuine people whom I could have interacted with. After 2 years of absence, it was of no surprise that the game masters have increased their security checks to deter botting. Besides the mandatory password, players need to have a personal PIN which triggers after keying in the password, as well as verification images popping up every now and then which boots the player out of the server if he cannot answer it correctly or in time.
It's so tempting to buy gold off the Internet. I don't have the patience to grind...
Hmmm, should I or should I not?
Do MMOs require some form of an authoritative force e.g. game master to take control of the economy in order to reduce undesirable inflation and fluctuations? Should gold farmers be eradicated from MMOs, or do they serve some purpose or benefit to the gaming community?