Diablo 4 has a bustling economy that revolves around salvaging and selling items to non-playable characters. It also lets players trade some items, but there are restrictions.
Common, Magic, and Rare items are tradeable, as are Gold, Gems, Potions, and Elixirs. Anything else, including Enchanted, Legendary and Unique items, as well as materials and quest items, is untradeable. This is indicated by ‘account bound’ items.
Because of this, some players might be wondering whether it has an auction house, similar to the one in Diablo 3. It’s something players liked the idea of in theory because of how well it worked in other titles like World of Warcraft, and adds an extra element beyond the usual salvaging and selling process.
Is there an auction house in Diablo 4?
No, there isn’t an auction house in Diablo 4. Blizzard decided not to add one because the auction house in Diablo 3, which had two versions—one that used in-game money and one that used real money—was met with widespread criticism and was eventually discontinued.
The problem was it made items too easy to obtain, which undermined the loot system that is the cornerstone of the series. It was also criticized for adding a pay-to-win element. The devs learned a lesson from that and decided to omit it in Diablo 4.
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While that might be disappointing to players who liked the option of having an auction house, it does mean that every Legendary and Unique item a player finds is more valuable than it would have been with one. I was lucky enough to find a Harlequin Crest, and it’s my absolute favorite item. I love knowing how valuable it is because it cannot be bought or traded.
