21 Mar 2007 at 23:04 - 24
Note to everyone worried about the price of ectos: Dedicated farmers have multiple accounts on different servers. The easiest way to get around the favor system costs about $20 once, and then you can farm UW pretty much anytime you like. Opening access won't affect how common ectos are, but only how rare they are perceived to be. If the economy "crashes" then it is because it was artificially inflated to begin with, people BELIEVE that ectos are incredibly rare.
And yes, this open weekend will probably bring prices down. Now because there are going to suddenly be millions of ectos flooding the market, but because making them more easily accesible destroys the illusion of them being ultra-rare. When the weekend is over, and everyone who tried out UW for the first time realizes that it can be farmed, the prices will go down. And they'll probably STAY low, after that, similar to what happened with amber/jade, similar to what's already happening with rubies/sapphires: the demand is steadily decreasing even as farming continues unabated.
The economy is a moot point. Farming of UW and FoW goes on every day. I don't claim to know how many "europe" accounts are run by people not in europe, but I know I have a monk and a necro working through on the Europe servers to farm with them, whenever I choose. And I know I'm not the only one who has done this.
ANet should just open UW/FoW to all parts of the world. Completely get rid of the bad decision to link PvE and PvP in any way. If PvP characters had to actually play PvE to unlock skills, get weapons and armor, and reach the arenas, then it would make sense for Pvp players to affect the PvE world. This was the original design, and it was scrapped in favor of PvP only characters and Balthazar faction. only favor remains, a remnant of those times that really adds no "fun" to the game, only adds aggravation and fuels the ongoing animosity between PvE and PvP.