Economy part 3

The third economy question is this:
Do you need an economy? If so, Closed or open? (Closed has no inflation; has market forces; economy-driven play. However, v hard to balance, v prone to bugs, not likely to be accepted, and too easy to gouge. Players ALWAYS break closed economies. Open economies ALWAYS go out of hand with inflation. Tying to a realworld economy to fix value means your economy is subject to RL currency variation [qv $US currently], and your world is seen to be "unfair" by poor players if you sell anything other than cosmetics and intangibles: (DVW p266): "pay very close attention to the likes of Achaea to see how to do it - it requires very careful balancing and attracts a certain breed of player.")

Yes I think an economy is a vital part of an MMO.  I think closed will be very unwise to implement, and I do realize that there will be inflation.  Please keep in mind that one of my goals is to keep players relatively balanced, meaning that a completely broke beginner with only the standard gear will still stand a chance against someone equiped with the best the game has to offer.  Carried weapons will not be able to kill a player in one shot, and armor will only increase the players health by 100 no matter what it is made out of.  The differences will come in the amount of pack space used, which when a player is trying to collect rare materials will make a big difference.  I will also be sure to keep a balance with vehicular weapons and turrets, which will be more powerful than carried weapons.  It is my goal that freezing a player will be a difficult task, and if a player engages a target they will most likely take damage in return.  This will make it so people are not able to camp bases and go forever in enemy territory unless they have a very well organized and well equipped group, which eventually will be overrun.  I have mentioned in previous posts that with winning conditions everything will reset, which while I'm sure that will upset many players it will be necessary for faction balance and will keep the game fresh.  I'm sure there will be many strategies for collecting resources as quickly as possible after a reset will emerge.