The Korthite Collapse: What do we do next?

Recently we’ve seen one of the largest collapses in value we’ve seen in WoW for a while, with Korthite Crystal prices decreasing by a factor of 5 on many realms. So why did this happen, and what will it mean?

Supply and demand

As always with these things we return to our old friends supply and demand. Generally speaking when something changes this rapidly in price it means at least one of these things have changed significantly. In this case, it’s a combination. Korthite crystals are only used for rank 5 and 6 legendaries, and most players are at the very least done with their first one. I’m even done with my second one, and it’s unlikely I will be farming Soul Cinders for more in the immediate future.

Players generally will not care much about their second and third legendary, and will certainly not care enough to pay 100k+ gold for it, as the benefit is marginal.

Supply has increased

Blizzard hotfixed Korthite Crystals at some point, increasing the drop rate by a significant margin from the various activities of Korthia. This was likely the catalyzing effect which started the collapse in prices, and then once the price started going down players quickly piled in to sell theirs before the price collapsed completely. This lead to an extremely fast spiral down.

Looking ahead

Boviously rank 5 and 6 prices have collapsed. What this means is that the relative value of constantly reposting rank 5 and 6 legendaries has gone down significantly. We should expect to see quite a few people leave the market, and look for other things to do with their time. We should also expect players to turn their gold onto other markets. Cosmetics are now much more relevant as we head into the lull waiting for 9.1.5.

Rank 4 could see increased competition

Rank 4s will not really be impacted by this. They could see some increased competition as players focus more on them. With the smaller price differential between rank 4 and 6 they represent a better usage of time again, and reposting rank 4s is now probably roughly the same amount of time spent per gold in profit. Rank 4 demand is also likely going to remain stronger than rank 6 demand as trying new things on alts or new specs for a cheaper cost is going to be more common.

What about 9.1.5

With 9.1.5 relaxing covenant restrictions I expect a lot of players will come back to the game and also consider leveling classes they have not yet leveled. With offspecs easier to play we should see significantly increased demand, particularly for rank 4 as more players will want to test the full power of their character with the optimal soulbinds!

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