Where has the gold gone ?

[-Perception-]

I guess Boney's point is that it currently is extremely difficult and tedious for all the new players to get some decent gear.
An average round of normal mode takes about 45 minutes and earns you an average of about 2.000 gold, loot included. (Presuming you make it rather far.)
Hard mode earns you about 25k, roughly estimated, yet takes a lot longer per round.

Now to compare, 1 Phoenix Feather costs 1.000.000 gold, thats about 500 rounds of normal mode. To me that sounds pretty disheartening..