Getting your loot priorities straight
by Adam Holisky 
Jan 25th 2008 at 8:00PM
Many, many guilds have broken up over this. I've nearly been in a few myself. Back in the days of pre-bc, the first major loot drama came in Molten Core over the Hunter's ability Tranquil Shot. While now a days there are not really any single items that makes people fight tooth and nail over, there are a few bosses that drop some important equipment that might only be killed a few times.
In particular, Vashj and Kael'Thas. Some guilds only do these fights the absolute minimum number of times necessary to get all their guild mates attuned to Mount Hyjal. When this happens there will be a very limited number of drops of the Tier 5 Helm and Tier 5 Chest. Facing such small chances for key equipment, what lucky classes get the equipment? Should it be the warriors, protecting all things squishy from death? Do the priests need the helm and chest to finally make the raid stop blaming them for ever wipe? Or would the rogues benefit the most, giving them that extra stab-stab-stab, pow-pow-pow?
Often times guilds talk about this internally for weeks on end. My guild over on Anvilmar is throwing around the subject right now, and while we are all respectful and friendly with each other, there are definitely some difference of opinions.
Whats your opinion? Should limited loot be distributed on a special basis, or should it just be handed out with every-day loot rules?
Filed under: Items, Virtual selves, Guilds, Raiding, Alts
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Sevenfold Jan 25th 2008 9:28PM
What would be the point in having a complex, carefully tweaked and revised loot system used to distribute your drops if, in the end when the important loot drops, you go "Oh yeah, except this thing and that thing. You can't spend the points you've worked to earn on those things."
If that's your preferred method of handling loot distrobution then fine, but make it consistent.
Dabura Jan 26th 2008 5:14AM
Agreed consistency is the key to any successful loot system. I remember a guild I was in, it had recently received a new GM. This was a while back and we were still farming Gruul, and we had just downed him and the Shiled dropped and so did the warrior/priest/druid legs. Ok so this is where it gets interesting: The MT was married in-game to the GM, so obviously she should suggest things to him and she asked him if she could have both items, and she had less DKP than the OT for the night, who we all knew was a much better tank and then the GM just gives the shield to the MT and then we're all like WTF?! I suspect he was about to give the MT the legs aswell, but we all threatened to /gquit if he did. After this shit like it kept happening, so I DID /gquit and soon thereafter I quit wow.
Sterling Jan 25th 2008 9:30PM
My guild is going through a lower-tiered version of this dilemma: Dismissing Gruul's Lair (one-shot for the core raiders) early in the week for failing SSC attempts since both the main tank and guild leader got the gear they need from Gruul and HKM. Instead of doing an easy 1 hour-ish run to get more people geared to do better jobs killing bosses in SSC and TK, they feel that the guild needs to progress further into T5 and Gruul is only T4, but complain later that healers aren't healing enough and dps isn't dpsing enough. It's a sad, vicious circle. Lately, almost as a punishment, Gruul's Lair is skipped in hopes of finally getting Leo down.
Heleth Jan 25th 2008 9:33PM
Hell we have illidan on farm and people still want to run gruul just for DSTs
donoteatmikezila Jan 25th 2008 10:21PM
Personally I like the simple loot system of "the people that can benefit from this all /roll" You win, you win; you lose, you lose.
Sure it can lead to cold streaks, where you don't get any loot, but it also prevents permanent cold streaks, where the cockbag who doesn't have a job or school gets astronomical DKP bank and just takes every item he wants.
DKP is a horrible loot system unless there's something special in place to prevent people without lives from just taking everything from people who have to work.
A few guilds I've been in have used weekly DKP. Everyone has 500 DKP, they can spend it however they want, on any item they can use (no we didn't let Mages roll on Perdition's Blade), however much of your 500 you want. But, there is no way to gain more DKP, for any reason, ever. You get your 500 for the week, and that's it. DKP reset every week during weekly downtime. It worked really well.
donoteatmikezila Jan 25th 2008 10:22PM
Also, in before the "without lives" shitstorm.
tcgiant Jan 26th 2008 3:20AM
We actually use a /roll system in our guild, too. It's worked out pretty well, though the fact that it's a pretty tightly-knit group of guildmates and friends who do the raiding means that there's a lot less chance of grief and drama when something doesn't go your way.
Pzychotix Jan 26th 2008 4:25AM
/roll works great....
Until the random douchebag that no one cares about comes on for a single raid and grabs the one piece you've wanted for months.
Trust me, it'll happen.
Dabura Jan 26th 2008 5:17AM
No DKP is much fairer, since those that put the most effort in the most out. I would hate it if someone in my guild who's very inactive suddenly gets in 1 raid and something drops me and him both want and we use a roll system, he wins, but since he very rarely raids how will it benefit the guilld you fool?
Tridus Jan 26th 2008 6:06AM
Unless you're running your raid schedule on that one guy's schedule (in which case you have 25 people with no lives who can apparently raid all the time), that doesn't happen.
If you go to a raid once every two weeks, why should you get loot at the same rate as someone who goes to every single raid? Thats silly.
All DKP does is says "your chance at loot is directly proportional to how often you show up."
Roll's don't do that. Rolling produces the following:
- Someone who shows up once, wins an item people were farming for months, then is never seen again.
- Someone who is unlucky and rolls poorly for weeks.
- Someone who rolls on stuff they wouldn't actually spend DKP on, simply because rolls are free.
theRaptor Jan 26th 2008 7:38AM
People who put in more work, especially on progression, should get more rewards then the casuals that come along to farm. Especially in these days where you don't farm the same instances for months once you break the easy bosses in SSC/TK. I have two major pieces of gear left in Kara, and some minor cloak/ring upgrades, I expect our semi-loot council/roll system to give me preference over casuals.
Epiny Jan 25th 2008 10:52PM
If you are that worried about people with no life getting hordes of DKP over you join a guild with your play time. I know everyone plays this game for personal enjoyment but some of the selfish I see amazes me.
You can play more than me so I don't want a loot system that favors you.
Well you don't play as much as me so I don't want a loot system that favors you.
Join a REAL raiding guild and earn DKP for your epics, or join a casual guild and /random for you epics. I /random.
energyvortex Jan 25th 2008 10:56PM
Rogues? Cloth?
Pfft- any Rogue who whines about being included on the rolls to get that stuff should be booted from the guild if you ask me.
That's pure caster crap. Cloth Healer junk. So in other words - Priest only IMO.
onetrueping Jan 26th 2008 1:08PM
Apparently you weren't paying attention. It's not about "cloth," it's about tokens for tier gear, which can benefit multiple classes... frequently unrelated in gear types.
Primary Jan 26th 2008 12:29AM
Loot systems will vary from guild to guild because guild cultures and focus vary from guild to guild. A pure raiding guild is more likely to have a full-fledged 'system' whereas a more casual guild may find that sticking to a /random type system works best for them. Often the loot system adopted by the guild tells a lot about its values and purpose.
Elamo Jan 26th 2008 12:38AM
DST is the only item I know people fight over. Our loot system was /roll. I won. And a rogue gquit.
lawl.
Dabura Jan 26th 2008 7:50AM
What is DST?
Khanmora Jan 26th 2008 11:31AM
Dragonspine Trophy. We have a roll system but the raid leaders can override rolls if they know someone is in there only to help the guild and on the off chance that the one item they need might drop. Generally people are really good and will pass it to the person that needs it most and we don't have to override anything.
ladyshiva Jan 26th 2008 3:26AM
My guild recently set up a loot priority system. The way it works is that each raider who has been in the guild for x amount of times gets to pick out 3 priority items in order of most wanted. If your priority item drops and no one else has it on their priority list, or they have it ranked lower, you get the item without a roll. It keeps that whole "raiding for one item and never ever getting it" crap from happening, but also keeps people with too much dkp from cleaning up on everything.
klink-o Jan 26th 2008 4:35AM
My guild has a fairly organized system. It's based on rolls with roll bonuses that work sorta like DKP. Rarely an item will get defaulted to someone if the officers feel it will help progression, typically a tank.