you take 100 zen, you buy 10 pres wards. low bid on AH is 94000 AD minus 10% tax is a return of 84600 or 846 Ad per zen as opposed to 500. That is how the ZAX gets circumvented. Normally you only get 650 or so but the event has people buying blueprints instead.
I'm aware of how it's done. I was waiting for one person to explain why they think it's done.
If there was no backlog, selling Zen items instead of using Zax would not give you any profit because of AH cut. If buying an item using ZAX+ Zen shop is cheaper than, AH, people will most likely do so. Unless they have to wait Oghma knows how long for their Zen, which happens now.
No. It's not self explanatory. You seem to be operating on the assumption that this is a buyer's market. That is not the case. The number of people that want to purchase zen with AD will always outnumber the people that want to sell zen. The backlog is here to stay.
Cancel all ZEN orders, return the AD to the original accounts, then check the top AD accounts to fins out how they got so much AD.
Except the ZAX is capped at 12.5 million AD worth of orders at a time (25K zen at 500 apiece). Anyone exploiting would probably be using mule accounts into which they've deposited only as much AD as they can use to buy the max, which isn't much AD at all. Hell, I hit that cap a couple of weeks ago when I could still get zen orders filled, and my AD was all 100% legitimately earned.
Also, dumping all that AD back into the economy isn't going to solve anything - the AD is still floating around and will get reposted. The ZAX needs to be cleared, the AD needs to be gone.
I'm aware of how it's done. I was waiting for one person to explain why they think it's done.
Why? Do you really not get that the artificial locking of a fixed ZEN/AD exchange ratio is the root cause? Why would I buy blueprints with Zen and sell them at an 1100:1 AD exchange rate instead of waiting for 10 days to be paid 500:1 on the exchange? Really, you have to ask why?
Why? Do you really not get that the artificial locking of a fixed ZEN/AD exchange ratio is the root cause? Why would I buy blueprints with Zen and sell them at an 1100:1 AD exchange rate instead of waiting for 10 days to be paid 500:1 on the exchange? Really, you have to ask why?
There's no wait to be paid for Zen right now. There's so many people wanting to buy the orders are filled instantly - but, you're right, at 500 per zen instead of 1100.
0
jennyavarielMember, Neverwinter Knight of the Feywild UsersPosts: 167
Except the ZAX is capped at 12.5 million AD worth of orders at a time (25K zen at 500 apiece). Anyone exploiting would probably be using mule accounts into which they've deposited only as much AD as they can use to buy the max, which isn't much AD at all. Hell, I hit that cap a couple of weeks ago when I could still get zen orders filled, and my AD was all 100% legitimately earned.
Also, dumping all that AD back into the economy isn't going to solve anything - the AD is still floating around and will get reposted. The ZAX needs to be cleared, the AD needs to be gone.
So... PWE should just 'clear' the ZAX? You mean by just giving people Zen for AD? Flat out? Giving the exploiters ( including the recently reported, but surely long running Astral Rift exploiters ) Zen?
I feel that the ZAX should be *closed* period. That would stop exploiters to some degree. Let them sit on their AD, and just... sit there. You have 12.5 million AD? Wonderful. Buy yourself some single use pets or something. You still don't deserve Zen. You didn't pay for it with actual dollars. You most likely exploited it, or 'worked the AH' which should be considered the same thing.
0
flambridgeMember, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 191Arc User
There's no wait to be paid for Zen right now. There's so many people wanting to buy the orders are filled instantly - but, you're right, at 500 per zen instead of 1100.
I think it has something to "market control".
But my area is another, I am not an economist, could be wrong.
I think it has something to "market control".
But my area is another, I am not an economist, could be wrong.
Yes, I think that's what you would call it. It's certainly foolish, at this point, for anyone to sell Zen for AD on the exchange instead of taking the minimal time required to find people who want zen-items and are ready, willing, and waiting to pay double...and more...the 500:1 exchange rate. It's so foolish, in fact, that there's a ten day wait for people with AD hoping more of those fools wander by.
It's mostly new players, I suspect, who come into the game and immediately want some AD who plunk Zen into the exchange for an AD grubstake. Takes about one day to figure out that while that particular game is rigged, there are easy ways to get a fairer return for your Zen investment in the game.
So... PWE should just 'clear' the ZAX? You mean by just giving people Zen for AD? Flat out? Giving the exploiters ( including the recently reported, but surely long running Astral Rift exploiters ) Zen?
I feel that the ZAX should be *closed* period. That would stop exploiters to some degree. Let them sit on their AD, and just... sit there. You have 12.5 million AD? Wonderful. Buy yourself some single use pets or something. You still don't deserve Zen. You didn't pay for it with actual dollars. You most likely exploited it, or 'worked the AH' which should be considered the same thing.
Way to jump to conclusions.
No, I don't think Zen should just be handed out to everyone who has outstanding orders on the ZAX, but at the same time, I'm unsure how to clear it in a good way, especially since exploiters have a history of getting away with it in this game. The ZAX was one of the reasons I loved this game when it first came out - you didn't HAVE to give PWE money. You could get Zen from someone else who was willing to give them their money. And I think that should still be allowed. I don't really have a good solution, other than tracking down everyone who was exploiting and deleting their ill-gotten AD, but that would be a massive job.
And 'working the AH' is not exploiting. It's basic supply and demand. If selling things on the AH for a price people are willing to pay is exploiting, then practically everyone here is guilty of it.
0
jennyavarielMember, Neverwinter Knight of the Feywild UsersPosts: 167
edited August 2014
The people who were selling Iron Ore / Pine Wood / Wool Scraps / etc. for 1000+ AD each were clearly exploiting *other players*. Which is the same thing as exploiting a bug to get AD that you didn't actually work for.
The people who were selling Iron Ore / Pine Wood / Wool Scraps / etc. for 1000+ AD each were clearly exploiting *other players*. Which is the same thing as exploiting a bug to get AD that you didn't actually work for.
No, no it's not. If people were willing to pay those kinds of ridiculous prices, they are well within their rights to charge them. It's how a free market works. Those items were in very high demand and in a limited supply. That's how it works.
The people who were selling Iron Ore / Pine Wood / Wool Scraps / etc. for 1000+ AD each were clearly exploiting *other players*. Which is the same thing as exploiting a bug to get AD that you didn't actually work for.
No they were not. Jenny, really, stop it. A bunch of AD-rich players wanted to buy their way into progressing in the event, and people who had what they wanted to buy profited from that. That's not exploiting, that's the market at work.
No, no it's not. If people were willing to pay those kinds of ridiculous prices, they are well within their rights to charge them. It's how a free market works. Those items were in very high demand and in a limited supply. That's how it works.
Beat me to it by seconds, curse you and your speedy fingers!
The people who were selling Iron Ore / Pine Wood / Wool Scraps / etc. for 1000+ AD each were clearly exploiting *other players*. Which is the same thing as exploiting a bug to get AD that you didn't actually work for.
I made thousands of AD selling those items. I 'worked' for them by doing crafting tasks. Other players bought those items willingly.No one forced them to spend their AD. How is that remotely similar to exploiting a bug?
It isn't. Period.
Point taken, by overcharged I meant if the ZAX was working without the artificial limit, the price of Zen would have risen and people would have bought it or not bought it accordingly, but it would not have risen to 1100 in 24 hours, though it might. Best thought I have is remove the ZAX CAP and make all ZEN STORE items not actionable, but fully tradable. This would eliminate some of the exploitation by focusing it all in one location, rather then across the AH. The other option is an AH Cap. Make is so no item may be posted with a buy out of higher then say 100% higher then the lowest one posted. If you choose not to have a buy out, you can bid what you want, but if you choose a buy out, then limit them. That puts a minimum of 24 hour wait for these 10 Mil AD exchanges that happen by posting a SIMPLE PELT for 10 Mill buy out which are almost always ZEN SELLERS.
The problem with that solution is the really deep-pocketed person who, for grins (yes they exist..I play EvE, trust me), loads a high-priced item on the AH for 1 AD. And keeps doing it until they break the market.
Actually I think that would stimulate the AH, since the people who bought those items cheap would end up being able to run more of the content and put more into the AH.
The problem with that solution is the really deep-pocketed person who, for grins (yes they exist..I play EvE, trust me), loads a high-priced item on the AH for 1 AD. And keeps doing it until they break the market.
Been saying this here on forums for many months now, but i always was banged in the head, for saying the truth, yes a few people control the entire economy. Sadly the developers don't want to take any major step towards ending this. While for us normal players, with a normal budget the game gets out of reach, have 2 new chars and 1 slot open for warlock, but it gives me head aches all the time, how to catch up to older players, without making myself bankrupt, prices are insane now!
The real honest man is honest from conviction of what is right, not from policy.
Robert E. Lee
I only believe in statistics that I doctored myself.
Winston Churchill
The human race is a herd. Here we are, unique, eternal aspects of consciousness with an infinity of potential, and we have allowed ourselves to become an unthinking, unquestioning blob of conformity and uniformity. A herd. Once we concede to the herd mentality, we can be controlled and directed by a tiny few. And we are.
David Icke
0
jennyavarielMember, Neverwinter Knight of the Feywild UsersPosts: 167
Been saying this here on forums for many months now, but i always was banged in the head, for saying the truth, yes a few people control the entire economy. Sadly the developers don't want to take any major step towards ending this. While for us normal players, with a normal budget the game gets out of reach, have 2 new chars and 1 slot open for warlock, but it gives me head aches all the time, how to catch up to older players, without making myself bankrupt, prices are insane now!
You can't really catch up, till you put in the time. You can always play for a year, and farm the endgame content yourself. Farm enchants every day while doing the dailies, and keep buying the 7 day celestial pack, for a chance at a coal ward. 52 chances / year to get a coal ward, you know. After a year, you'll almost certainly have a full set of T2.5 gear, some good enchants. You won't have all rank 10 and perfect enchants, but you'll have gear that's good enough to keep doing whatever new content comes down the road.
You can either spend a few thousand dollars ( or exploit ) to get AD to buy perfects / rank 10s.
I do play a lot and earn most of my gear and AD through game play, except my mounts and so, but with currently broken chests and loots from dungeons, my new chars can't be equipped, only by buying and that takes a huge amount on AD, that a normal player can hardly keep up with, just look at a Radiant Rank 7 enchant, it's price is sky high, going up nearly every day and just see, how many "players" hold the economy in their hands, very few. They can play with prices like they want! Things should be kept under strict watch and control!
Manipulated prices by a few can't be equaled by playing a lot!:rolleyes: And if every toon on my account gets only blue HAMSTER from dungeons now as a loot, how shall i make AD? Answer just buy buying zen through ARC, so yet again this has nothing to do with in-game time!
The real honest man is honest from conviction of what is right, not from policy.
Robert E. Lee
I only believe in statistics that I doctored myself.
Winston Churchill
The human race is a herd. Here we are, unique, eternal aspects of consciousness with an infinity of potential, and we have allowed ourselves to become an unthinking, unquestioning blob of conformity and uniformity. A herd. Once we concede to the herd mentality, we can be controlled and directed by a tiny few. And we are.
David Icke
I do play a lot and earn most of my gear and AD through game play, except my mounts and so, but with currently broken chests and loots from dungeons, my new chars can't be equipped, only by buying and that takes a huge amount on AD, that a normal player can hardly keep up with, just look at a Radiant Rank 7 enchant, it's price is sky high, going up nearly every day and just see, how many "players" hold the economy in their hands, very few. They can play with prices like they want! Things should be kept under strict watch and control!
Manipulated prices by a few can't be equaled by playing a lot!:rolleyes: And if every toon on my account gets only blue HAMSTER from dungeons now as a loot, how shall i make AD? Answer just buy buying zen through ARC, so yet again this has nothing to do with in-game time!
Do enchantments still drop? Are marks available in the WB? Do wards come out of 7 day chests? The answer to all of the above is yes. It'll take you a while but you can put in time and never use the ah for enchants. As for the DD chest, yes that is inexcusable however you can equip yourself with t2 random purples and clear all content, just not as fast as someone with a good set.
0
jennyavarielMember, Neverwinter Knight of the Feywild UsersPosts: 167
edited August 2014
^^ This. Every 7 days you can have a chance at a free coalescent ward. Not saying you're going to get it very often, but the chance is there. Over the course of a year, that's 52 chances.
It's hard to think about needing 3 million+ AD, to purchase a single purple grade horse. Or 1 million+ for a nice purple grade companion.
But, neither of those is really *required* to play the game. They're conveniences, and they're nice to have, but they're not *required*. If you can, join a guild that runs the epic dungeons. That will help you to get your purple 60 gear. Getting to 10k+ may take some time, but it can be done, without spending for Zen.
Keep an eye out for those weekly posts with 'hidden code inserted in' messages. They'll enter you into a drawing for something. I think it's for a green pet from a prior event.
The game can be free, even as far as Icewind Dale, if you're willing to get there slowly. And, really, what's the rush?
Rusty Hearts lasted for 3 years. And, I don't believe it made money like this one does. So, you've got a couple of years ( probably ) to adventure in the Realms. Relax and enjoy it.
^^ This. Every 7 days you can have a chance at a free coalescent ward. Not saying you're going to get it very often, but the chance is there. Over the course of a year, that's 52 chances.
So, since they nerfed the Coal Ward drops to next to nothingness, you might expect to get 2 -4 Coal wards in a years time????
I think I have 14 char slots, but the drop rate is so bad I can't even bring myself to login to them all for the daily prayers.
0
ghoulz66Member, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 3,748Arc User
So, since they nerfed the Coal Ward drops to next to nothingness, you might expect to get 2 -4 Coal wards in a years time????
I think I have 14 char slots, but the drop rate is so bad I can't even bring myself to login to them all for the daily prayers.
So, since they nerfed the Coal Ward drops to next to nothingness, you might expect to get 2 -4 Coal wards in a years time????
I think I have 14 char slots, but the drop rate is so bad I can't even bring myself to login to them all for the daily prayers.
If you'd been invoking all of your characters, you'd have coal wards. I have 20 characters I invoke and I get about one a week. At 14 characters, you could be getting about two or three a month.
So i got 5 toons now, play the game for over 10 months (had mostly 2 char, the others are freshlings), let's sum it up: Rank 5 enchants don't drop, juts the 2 silver in quest line during leveling up to 60 and now in Icewind Dale, but over rank 4s mostly nothing. Now tell me guys, which party excepts players in PVE or PVP, with rank 4 enchants. C'mon!
Building a rank 7 or even better with wards is for ... now, since the huge prices for enchants and a 1% chance needs a coalescent ward!
I had never a coalescent ward on any of my toons, normal wards are rare too to drop, mostly get a few peridot!
Can't make 20 chars, because sometimes i have to work and can't give myself to dozens of toons and i don't exploit, like many, by using dozens of accounts, i keep my toons on one account.
As i said, but you haven't read carefully, that i can't equip myself with random purple either, because all i get is a closed chest or just some crappy blue!
And as much as a paying customer can be, who gets nothing back, i'm relaxed!
And last, but not least remember not everybody is so lucky like you guys before me, if i got half a bit of wards, like you did, i too wouldn't complain, but NOTHING!!! and it's account wide at me!
The real honest man is honest from conviction of what is right, not from policy.
Robert E. Lee
I only believe in statistics that I doctored myself.
Winston Churchill
The human race is a herd. Here we are, unique, eternal aspects of consciousness with an infinity of potential, and we have allowed ourselves to become an unthinking, unquestioning blob of conformity and uniformity. A herd. Once we concede to the herd mentality, we can be controlled and directed by a tiny few. And we are.
David Icke
As i said, but you haven't read carefully, that i can't equip myself with random purple either, because all i get is a closed chest or just some crappy blue!
And as much as a paying customer can be, who gets nothing back, i'm relaxed!
And last, but not least remember not everybody is so lucky like you guys before me, if i got half a bit of wards, like you did, i too wouldn't complain, but NOTHING!!! and it's account wide at me!
The chest bug does seem to be hitting some people hard. But, try the lower level dungons. They drop random purples from some of the bosses. Not the chest. Forget the chest. It's the bosses that drop the random purples on the 5700 / 6800 dungons. It's not 'super' gear. But it's better than lvl 60 blues. Get a full set of that, with some rank 5 enchants ( which you can usually buy for <10k AD each on the AH. That is 'good enough' to then make some runs at the tougher content.
If you run with a guild / friends, anyway. The 'lfg CW 15k GS+' messages will always be by and for the rich who are speed running the content, and then selling the drops for more than most can afford. Run the lower stuff till you get 10k GS, and then get some friends to run the harder content with.
This game *can be* free, unless you want to run Epic CN / MC / VT ( and the upcoming LM ). To run those, you're going to want excellent enchants, and a well thought out set of companions.
Comments
No. It's not self explanatory. You seem to be operating on the assumption that this is a buyer's market. That is not the case. The number of people that want to purchase zen with AD will always outnumber the people that want to sell zen. The backlog is here to stay.
Except the ZAX is capped at 12.5 million AD worth of orders at a time (25K zen at 500 apiece). Anyone exploiting would probably be using mule accounts into which they've deposited only as much AD as they can use to buy the max, which isn't much AD at all. Hell, I hit that cap a couple of weeks ago when I could still get zen orders filled, and my AD was all 100% legitimately earned.
Also, dumping all that AD back into the economy isn't going to solve anything - the AD is still floating around and will get reposted. The ZAX needs to be cleared, the AD needs to be gone.
Why? Do you really not get that the artificial locking of a fixed ZEN/AD exchange ratio is the root cause? Why would I buy blueprints with Zen and sell them at an 1100:1 AD exchange rate instead of waiting for 10 days to be paid 500:1 on the exchange? Really, you have to ask why?
There's no wait to be paid for Zen right now. There's so many people wanting to buy the orders are filled instantly - but, you're right, at 500 per zen instead of 1100.
So... PWE should just 'clear' the ZAX? You mean by just giving people Zen for AD? Flat out? Giving the exploiters ( including the recently reported, but surely long running Astral Rift exploiters ) Zen?
I feel that the ZAX should be *closed* period. That would stop exploiters to some degree. Let them sit on their AD, and just... sit there. You have 12.5 million AD? Wonderful. Buy yourself some single use pets or something. You still don't deserve Zen. You didn't pay for it with actual dollars. You most likely exploited it, or 'worked the AH' which should be considered the same thing.
I think it has something to "market control".
But my area is another, I am not an economist, could be wrong.
Yes, I think that's what you would call it. It's certainly foolish, at this point, for anyone to sell Zen for AD on the exchange instead of taking the minimal time required to find people who want zen-items and are ready, willing, and waiting to pay double...and more...the 500:1 exchange rate. It's so foolish, in fact, that there's a ten day wait for people with AD hoping more of those fools wander by.
It's mostly new players, I suspect, who come into the game and immediately want some AD who plunk Zen into the exchange for an AD grubstake. Takes about one day to figure out that while that particular game is rigged, there are easy ways to get a fairer return for your Zen investment in the game.
Way to jump to conclusions.
No, I don't think Zen should just be handed out to everyone who has outstanding orders on the ZAX, but at the same time, I'm unsure how to clear it in a good way, especially since exploiters have a history of getting away with it in this game. The ZAX was one of the reasons I loved this game when it first came out - you didn't HAVE to give PWE money. You could get Zen from someone else who was willing to give them their money. And I think that should still be allowed. I don't really have a good solution, other than tracking down everyone who was exploiting and deleting their ill-gotten AD, but that would be a massive job.
And 'working the AH' is not exploiting. It's basic supply and demand. If selling things on the AH for a price people are willing to pay is exploiting, then practically everyone here is guilty of it.
No, no it's not. If people were willing to pay those kinds of ridiculous prices, they are well within their rights to charge them. It's how a free market works. Those items were in very high demand and in a limited supply. That's how it works.
No they were not. Jenny, really, stop it. A bunch of AD-rich players wanted to buy their way into progressing in the event, and people who had what they wanted to buy profited from that. That's not exploiting, that's the market at work.
Beat me to it by seconds, curse you and your speedy fingers!
I made thousands of AD selling those items. I 'worked' for them by doing crafting tasks. Other players bought those items willingly.No one forced them to spend their AD. How is that remotely similar to exploiting a bug?
It isn't. Period.
D&D Home Page - What Class Are You? - Build A Character - D&D Compendium
The problem with that solution is the really deep-pocketed person who, for grins (yes they exist..I play EvE, trust me), loads a high-priced item on the AH for 1 AD. And keeps doing it until they break the market.
Been saying this here on forums for many months now, but i always was banged in the head, for saying the truth, yes a few people control the entire economy. Sadly the developers don't want to take any major step towards ending this. While for us normal players, with a normal budget the game gets out of reach, have 2 new chars and 1 slot open for warlock, but it gives me head aches all the time, how to catch up to older players, without making myself bankrupt, prices are insane now!
Robert E. Lee
I only believe in statistics that I doctored myself.
Winston Churchill
The human race is a herd. Here we are, unique, eternal aspects of consciousness with an infinity of potential, and we have allowed ourselves to become an unthinking, unquestioning blob of conformity and uniformity. A herd. Once we concede to the herd mentality, we can be controlled and directed by a tiny few. And we are.
David Icke
You can't really catch up, till you put in the time. You can always play for a year, and farm the endgame content yourself. Farm enchants every day while doing the dailies, and keep buying the 7 day celestial pack, for a chance at a coal ward. 52 chances / year to get a coal ward, you know. After a year, you'll almost certainly have a full set of T2.5 gear, some good enchants. You won't have all rank 10 and perfect enchants, but you'll have gear that's good enough to keep doing whatever new content comes down the road.
You can either spend a few thousand dollars ( or exploit ) to get AD to buy perfects / rank 10s.
Or you can put in the time to get them for free.
Your call.
Manipulated prices by a few can't be equaled by playing a lot!:rolleyes: And if every toon on my account gets only blue HAMSTER from dungeons now as a loot, how shall i make AD? Answer just buy buying zen through ARC, so yet again this has nothing to do with in-game time!
Robert E. Lee
I only believe in statistics that I doctored myself.
Winston Churchill
The human race is a herd. Here we are, unique, eternal aspects of consciousness with an infinity of potential, and we have allowed ourselves to become an unthinking, unquestioning blob of conformity and uniformity. A herd. Once we concede to the herd mentality, we can be controlled and directed by a tiny few. And we are.
David Icke
It's hard to think about needing 3 million+ AD, to purchase a single purple grade horse. Or 1 million+ for a nice purple grade companion.
But, neither of those is really *required* to play the game. They're conveniences, and they're nice to have, but they're not *required*. If you can, join a guild that runs the epic dungeons. That will help you to get your purple 60 gear. Getting to 10k+ may take some time, but it can be done, without spending for Zen.
Keep an eye out for those weekly posts with 'hidden code inserted in' messages. They'll enter you into a drawing for something. I think it's for a green pet from a prior event.
The game can be free, even as far as Icewind Dale, if you're willing to get there slowly. And, really, what's the rush?
Rusty Hearts lasted for 3 years. And, I don't believe it made money like this one does. So, you've got a couple of years ( probably ) to adventure in the Realms. Relax and enjoy it.
So, since they nerfed the Coal Ward drops to next to nothingness, you might expect to get 2 -4 Coal wards in a years time????
I think I have 14 char slots, but the drop rate is so bad I can't even bring myself to login to them all for the daily prayers.
I got 6 coals since Late may.
If you'd been invoking all of your characters, you'd have coal wards. I have 20 characters I invoke and I get about one a week. At 14 characters, you could be getting about two or three a month.
Fox Stevenson - Sandblast
Oh Wonder - Without You
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
- Dylan Thomas
Building a rank 7 or even better with wards is for ... now, since the huge prices for enchants and a 1% chance needs a coalescent ward!
I had never a coalescent ward on any of my toons, normal wards are rare too to drop, mostly get a few peridot!
Can't make 20 chars, because sometimes i have to work and can't give myself to dozens of toons and i don't exploit, like many, by using dozens of accounts, i keep my toons on one account.
As i said, but you haven't read carefully, that i can't equip myself with random purple either, because all i get is a closed chest or just some crappy blue!
And as much as a paying customer can be, who gets nothing back, i'm relaxed!
And last, but not least remember not everybody is so lucky like you guys before me, if i got half a bit of wards, like you did, i too wouldn't complain, but NOTHING!!! and it's account wide at me!
Robert E. Lee
I only believe in statistics that I doctored myself.
Winston Churchill
The human race is a herd. Here we are, unique, eternal aspects of consciousness with an infinity of potential, and we have allowed ourselves to become an unthinking, unquestioning blob of conformity and uniformity. A herd. Once we concede to the herd mentality, we can be controlled and directed by a tiny few. And we are.
David Icke
The chest bug does seem to be hitting some people hard. But, try the lower level dungons. They drop random purples from some of the bosses. Not the chest. Forget the chest. It's the bosses that drop the random purples on the 5700 / 6800 dungons. It's not 'super' gear. But it's better than lvl 60 blues. Get a full set of that, with some rank 5 enchants ( which you can usually buy for <10k AD each on the AH. That is 'good enough' to then make some runs at the tougher content.
If you run with a guild / friends, anyway. The 'lfg CW 15k GS+' messages will always be by and for the rich who are speed running the content, and then selling the drops for more than most can afford. Run the lower stuff till you get 10k GS, and then get some friends to run the harder content with.
This game *can be* free, unless you want to run Epic CN / MC / VT ( and the upcoming LM ). To run those, you're going to want excellent enchants, and a well thought out set of companions.
Good luck out there.