Trade System Issues in PoE 2 Exploits and Manipulation

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BrewskiesBrew#0748 wrote:

Trade System Issues in PoE 2 Exploits and Manipulation

Issue Summary:
The current trade forum in Path of Exile 2 appears to use the same active search functionality as in PoE 1.

While this system was problematic in the first game, its reimplementation in PoE 2 has further exacerbated issues in the in-game economy. Specifically:

Unfair Advantages to Bots and Third-Party Tools:

Players using database search scanners or automated tools can buy desirable items faster than average players using the trade system manually.

These bots dominate the market, making fair and timely trades nearly impossible for legitimate players.

Economy Destabilization:

Bots and flippers exploit the trade forum, artificially inflating or manipulating prices.

This creates a cycle where the economy becomes hostile to casual and legitimate players, forcing them to engage with third-party sites to compete.

Incentive for Real-Money Trading (RMT):

The inefficiency and imbalance of the in-game trade system drive players to third-party platforms for cash transactions.

This undermines the integrity of the game and promotes a pay-to-win environment, which contradicts the core philosophy of fair gameplay.

Trade Forum Instability:

The trade forum crashes frequently, often on an hourly basis or more, as if the server is being overloaded or DDoS’ed by excessive actions.

These crashes appear to be caused by third-party sites and bots aggressively manipulating the database with active searches.

As a result, players spend more time refreshing pages than trying to buy or trade items, further diminishing the user experience.

Impact on Gameplay:

Players lose trust in the trade system as they feel outpaced by those exploiting automation.

The market disparity reduces accessibility to important gear, crafting materials, and other resources, particularly for newer or less-experienced players.

Frequent forum crashes disrupt trade entirely, leaving players frustrated and unable to participate in the economy.

The reliance on third-party sites creates an ecosystem that profits from unethical practices, harming the game’s reputation.

Recommendations:

Anti-Bot Measures:

Implement stronger detection and prevention systems to identify and ban bots that abuse the trade system.

Fairer Trade Mechanics:

Introduce cooldowns or limits on rapid item transactions to curb flipping and botting.

Add features that prioritize fair trades, such as randomizing listing visibility or requiring user confirmations.

Improve In-Game Trading Tools:

Build a user-friendly, secure trading platform integrated into the game to reduce reliance on third-party tools and sites.

Include features like price comparison and trend analysis, giving legitimate players more competitive tools.

Stabilize the Trade Forum:

Optimize the forum infrastructure to handle high activity levels without frequent crashes.

Investigate and mitigate potential abuses or overloads caused by third-party tools and excessive search queries.

Transparent Communication:

Clearly communicate to the community the steps being taken to address trade system abuses and forum instability.

Regularly update players on anti-bot measures, trading system improvements, and changes to the trading economy.

Conclusion:
The current trade system in PoE 2 is creating an uneven playing field, alienating the legitimate player base, and driving them toward unethical third-party markets.
The frequent crashes of the trade forum further amplify the frustration, making trading an unreliable and frustrating experience.
Addressing these issues promptly is crucial to restoring trust and fairness in the in-game economy.
A rework of the system, alongside enhanced anti-bot enforcement and forum stability improvements, is necessary to protect the integrity of the game and its community.

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BrewskiesBrew#0748 wrote:

Thanks all for the support. Hopefully the developers change this system for poe2.

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BrewskiesBrew#0748 wrote:

some just never answer, or are always AFK, like their is 1 person for 50 computers they are managing, this is so uncool to have this system in a new poe 2.

Bad Devs