Mass Media on Gold Farming 60
The International Herald Tribune, of all places, has an in-depth look at gold farming in China. From the article: "The people working in this clandestine locale are called 'gold farmers,' for every day, in 12-hour shifts, they are killing monsters and harvesting 'gold coins' and other virtual goods they can then sell to other online gamers. From Seoul to San Francisco, gamers who lack the hours or patience to work their way up to the higher levels of gamedom are hiring young Chinese to play the early rounds for them."
Re:An Analogy... (Score:3, Informative)
My experience has been that the BoE blues that are world drops pale in comparison to the BoP instance drops. In order to get a BoP drop, you have to be in the instance, present whenever it drops. This counts for instances from Stratholme to MC to BWL.
Though the "lower" instances like Strat and Scholo don't require a whole lot of skill, the items you get from them aren't all that spectacular, when compared to an instance that requires a commitment of time and playing skill, like MC, BWL, ZG, and AQ.