I would have agreed with you 5 years ago, now it's simply a value statement in which Blizzard couldn't give a fuck to fix. I don't buy gold, but when it takes 10 hours of in-game time to earn the same amount that I could buy by working a half hour at my day job, I would be lying if I said I were not tempted. I may not do it, but I completely understand why people do. Has nothing to do with skill.
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u/cult_of_memes 6d ago
Reframing the statement for analysis:
Gold farming yourself to afford consumables is core to player skill and character development.
I think this wording is effectively equivalent to OPs wording in the context of the end game. And I'm not sure it's universally true.