If there’s an economy to abuse, people are going to find a way to abuse it. Whether you’re on Earth or Azeroth, it seems this always proves true.
Recently, there was a massive boosting organization, fittingly named Gallywix after the leader of the greedy goblin race in World of Warcraft. This organization traded in quite a few things, but as sizeable as it was, their impact on the in-game economy of trading items and currency was notable.
This led to a decent bit of price-fixing and controlling, sometimes tanking the prices of important items and sometimes heavily swelling them. Many players complained about the impact the organization had on the economy, while others were just as happy to reap any benefits they could.
However, it seems that Gallywix overstepped, and Blizzard has practically dismantled the group after sizeable waves of bans.
Primarily, the punishable offense was that Gallywix was taking part in trading in-game gold for real currency, a bannable offense under the name of RMT – Real Money Trading. This is not only punishable by WoW’s standards but in some states and territories, even illegal depending on the method in which it was carried out.
As a result, there was a massive ban wave of Gallywix contributors and organizers, many of which have been permanent bans. Furthermore, those that participated in the activities with Gallywix have been subject to punishment as well.
Interestingly enough, given that the Gallywix organization was such a sizeable contributor and controller of the economy, many players have felt the aftershocks of the ban waves. With the market now reeling, prizes are unlocked and heavily fluctuating, heavily impacting many that utilize the auction house.
This has extended not only from the auction house but to other services that were provided. Many players that were utilizing Gallywix for carries and power leveling are no longer able to do such, making it so that others have filled the vacuum.
With so much instability, it’s an interesting time on an objective level to take a look and see how massive the impact truly was. However, players that no longer are able to sell what they wanted to sell to afford a token and another month’s playtime likely aren’t quite as interested.
Either way, it likely won’t take too much longer for the economy to correct itself within the affected areas. Once the prices and services rendered are normalized once more, as well as the ban waves ceasing, players will likely enjoy peace once again.
