AHH, history revisited.
One would think, with all of the upgrades to the PvP system, HCS could see that the MP is already being manipulated by whomever, to the point where it is becoming impossible for lower level players to earn enough to convert to FSP for character upgrades.
Yes, we have all sorts of ways to hide our gold, some safer than others. Let's look at ways to hide gold~
1) Send it off to a higher level mate or ally to hold until you are finished hunting. (Hopefully they don't get hit while they are holding it.)
2) Invest in potions on the AH, bidding on long term bids so they don't end before you are finished hunting, thus returning a lost bid back to you before you are finished hunting (Of course, you would need to be wary of AH PvP trolls looking for just such events.)
3) Sell it on the MP for a very high price. (Hope it sells quickly, before someone spots you with the Helper)
4) Post a long term auction of a very garbagy item on the AH, send your gold to a friend or mate to bid on it in ever increasing increments, then when the auction is over, you have your deposits available for you to deposit your gold. (Of course, you would need to be wary of AH PvP trolls looking for just such events "Hey, Oblivion's auction is about to expire, and it has a 2 million bid on it").
5) Bank what you can when you can, then find a PvPer in your range and send them the rest, after all, that is all they want, is your gold. (They aren't in it for the thrill of PvPing, or for making you feel like a loser.)
The major thing here, is without the advent of lower MP prices, or better control over the MP, those "hiding" places do us no good in obtaining the necessary FSP for character upgrades. That goes both ways. No character upgrades, no leveling, no gold gain by "levelers", no gold for "PvPers" to take. If players can't level, then there is nothing to gain from leveling. Where does this lead to? Well, it could lead to "levelers" quitting the game (again, no one for gold thieves to hit) or it could lead to "levelers" turning to PvP (to many gold thieves, not enough leveling, not enough gold to thieve). Now, since HCS gets it's income from donators to the game, then that would mean the only donators would be PvPers, as the levelers have either quit (can't upgrade their characters, not enough gold to buy FSP), or levelers have turned to PvP. Then, what purpose is there to PvP. You would just be attacking each other and taking each other's gold, so then you would be padding the MP to get rid of it quickly also so you can keep yourselves in the equipment style you would like to have. Either way you look at it, if a player can't keep their gold safe enough to be able to afford FSP, then the game dies.
I know what happens on the MP, I have watched it repeatedly. I also know why it is so high. Players are afraid their gold will be stolen, therefore they keep putting it on the board higher and higher to get rid of it quickly. The same is happening on the AH, players are bidding higher and higher, to keep their gold safe.
1) Give players a safe space, where they can have their gold, and be able to do something with it,
or
2) Control the MP better. Otherwise, this game will be gone for sure. There aren't enough high level players, to keep the balance in the game.
For those complaining about not having enough PvP targets at your level, then I suggest 1 of 2 things: 1) Get deleveled to the level where all the PvPers are, or 2) Get the lower level PvPers to level up. Then, you would have sufficient targets to PvP.
FYI, we used to have a very good way to keep our gold safe, but PvPers felt bank to bank transfer was being abused by gold hoarders, so therefore, HCS did away with it.