As it stands now, one or two territories have a stranglehold on auction house trade (usually Windsward and Everfall). The companies that control these make exponentially more profits than all the other company-controlled territories combined. On our server the company controlling Windsward and Everfall actually had to create new dummy companies to bank their profits.
This trade stranglehold, combined with the lag in Wars that rewards gearscore rather skill, means that by the time all bugs are fixed and lag eliminated (if this actually happens), the companies that have been able to control Windsward and Everfall since launch will have an insurmountable advantage. They will be so far ahead in wealth and gear (being able to buy all their members top gear) that it’s going to be impossible to catch them. When the new content comes out, and the gearscore cap is raised, they have the banked funds and gear to clear it immediately, gaining the advantage to hold the best territories. Rinse, repeat.
In the absence of drastic changes to the game (like eliminating company or faction control of cities), the easiest way to level the playing field would be to switch to a universal auction house. Instead of there being one in each city, there would be one auction house accessible from anywhere, with goods bought and sold from anywhere. This would mean territories like Windsward and Everfall would cease being de facto capitals, and give other cities a chance. It would create a decentralized economy with certain cities specializing in different types of production based on the resources near them (mining circuits, harvest centers etc.). There would be no need to congregate in Windsward or Everfall to sell what you make because you could do it from anywhere. Companies could then adjust taxes and fees in order to lure more residents to their cities. It would make for a much more dynamic game.
The alternative to this is not necessarily dead servers, but one faction servers, which will eliminate wars and open world PvP. Now perhaps that is an unstated goal of development, to move entirely to a cross-faction PvP model like Outpost Rush. But if Amazon wishes to preserve their competitive, three faction design, then the Universal Auction House is a solution.
