I do agree with you chino.

I do NOT however agree that it is a scam like people are insisting. I do think that yes, something does need to be done to improve it so people would actually want to buy those items. Side quests should be in ever game, give the player something to focus on except for trying to get the biggest army. Sure conquering NPC's is good for resources, but after the same thing day in and day out it can be boring. Sure the quests give you a goal to reach, but thats what you want to achieve anyway...