Usefullness of trading factions. Or uselessness rather...

[Denelo]

Roleplay of trading factions is fun. All the times I log on my Shire I have fun of doing stuff in a good company - regardless of profits. Suddenly, I can trade for money as well - and faction name works for your reputation sometimes. Had you ever heard of trading for the sake of roleplay events? It also happens and is done by factions. Well, on a side note, I think that you take a wrong approach to factions in general here.

You know what the problem here is? Problem is that we're forced to trade. If I didn't have to trade to play my other characters, I might actually trade purely for the roleplay of it. By the time I have enough money to roleplay my main characters, however, I'm just tired of trading and want to do something else. Trading is grinding, pure and simple, and factionalization makes it harder/slower, not easier/faster. If trading was not the primary means of grinding (why do we need grinding to roleplay, anyways?), then people would see it as a roleplaying opportunity, and would focus more on the roleplaying aspect (emphasized by the factions, usually) than the moneymaking aspect (emphasized by indies, usually).