Value Added to MMO Items

In real life, people engage in production to make goods and provide services. In doing so, they hope to add value of the finished product above what it cost them in materials, labour and capital. Normally, this is what actually does happen, however in MMOs (massively multiplayer online [roleplaying games]), especially those whose skills are difficult to learn, items actually decrease in value as they are processed.

Like their real-life counterparts, items usually are assets, that is, they provide economic benefits to whoever is in possession of it. As part of production of a real-life asset, any combination of materials, labour and capital may be used in an effort to add value to it. This is usually what happens with an ingame asset as well.

As is the case both in real life and ingame, as a person/character repeatedly makes the same good or provides the same service, they learn more about how to do so. As part of an asset's total value (which includes its value as part of a finished product), there is value placed on its ability to facilitate such learning. When the materials/items are finally processed, such benefits are consumed and the total value somewhat falls.

MMOs model such a learning process as earning experience in various skills. Players often make a goal of training such skills. In such a case, a raw or intermediate material is highly valued in its ability to allow the character to gain experience. This may offset the value added by production, which is more likely the more difficult learning the skill is, causing the value of the processed good/service to be less than the sum of its inputs'.

As a comparative example, skills are much more difficult to master in RuneScape than in World of Warcraft. In RuneScape, the attainment of maximum level is often designated as a long-term goal, while in World of Warcraft, maximum level is attained much more easily and the focus is on providing the consumables and gear required for endgame content. As a result, RuneScape players often need to resort to gathering skills to earn money and finished goods are commonly treated as waste, while prices of World of Warcraft items more closely resemble the pattern resulting from value-adding as in real life.