Forgetting to hit the "Need" button
by Allison Robert 
Apr 24th 2009 at 1:00PM
Kalon at ThinkTank touches on a subject near and dear to my heart -- missing out on loot upgrades because you forget what you're supposed to want. While on an Ulduar-10 run, he passed on the Kologarn drop Mark of the Unyielding, which is close to being the best-in-slot neck for bear tanks, for one good reason (the other tank raids more than he does at the moment) and one bad one (he couldn't remember just how good the piece really is). Particularly galling, he notes, is that he recently wrote an excellent guide to tanking upgrades in Ulduar in which Mark of the Unyielding was singled out for especial commentary. Ouch.For myself, I don't think anything quite approaches the sheer agony of having accidentally passed on Idol of Worship from Grand Widow Faerlina just because I wasn't paying attention at the time. I don't do much cat DPS, but losing the best-in-slot idol directly affecting the attack (Rip) that contributes the largest share of feral DPS is...again with the ouch. I still ask myself what was so amazingly enthralling about tanking Maexxna trash that night that I could have zoned out to that degree, and -- naturally! -- the idol never dropped again. While I guess it's possible that there are players out there who are practically perfect in every way and have never missed a drop, I have the sneaking suspicion that most of us still find a reason to kick ourselves.
Filed under: Items, Analysis / Opinion
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
greymonkey Apr 24th 2009 1:09PM
So an addon that you could enter the items ID's for your top 1-3 drops per slot, that could check the items when looting based on which raid/boss you were on would be amazing. That would save the various notes I have.
Punjab Apr 24th 2009 1:16PM
Alternatively, alt-tab to a notepad document.
Blake Apr 24th 2009 1:52PM
/agree - I use Excel, but it's the same idea. Do your homework ahead of time and you'll be set. I take it over the top a bit by entering all possible upgrades into a spreadsheet with stats that I can use to compare item against item. I can also use the spreadsheet to output drops that occur only in Ulduar 10 or Ulduar 25 or drops by boss so I always know going into a fight what could possibly drop that would be an upgrade.
Moral of the story: Do your homework and you won't have any reason to qq after the fact.
Blake Apr 24th 2009 2:02PM
Just remembered I posted about my spreadsheet. The download link is obviously outdated, and the gear is only for mages, but yeah, it's a fun spreadsheet to use and has been expanded since the posting.
Spreadsheet Blog Post
Blake Apr 24th 2009 2:03PM
Epic Post Fail
http://blog.wowtid.com/2008/12/my-upgrades-spreadsheet.html
Lornicide Apr 24th 2009 1:15PM
I always check my Atlas Loot before any raid. If I don't have time before the raid start, I check during lulls on trash mobs.
Also, I think that Atlas Loot has a wish list section in which you can save the items you want the most.
oddworld Apr 24th 2009 1:17PM
i definitely missed rolling need when the mammoth dropped from archavon when I was in a pug. I had no idea it was as rare as it is.
Mane Apr 24th 2009 1:18PM
And the moral of this QQ article, know your wish list and lay off tryptophan.
FFTARoxorz05 Apr 24th 2009 1:20PM
So everyone doesn't know loot tables front and back these days? Good to know.
SK Apr 24th 2009 1:27PM
Conversely, panic rolls on stuff you think you need but don't?
Once, I looked at loot, didn't notice anything I wanted, and started making my way to the next boss. Then, rolling came up for an item and a friend whispered me "Oooh, are you going to roll on that?" and glancing at the item I saw some stat upgrades I sent my roll request to the loot master in panic (we have a 15-second loot request rule to make loot go quickly). After I did I took a closer look at the item. Sure, it would have been an upgrade for me at one point, but not anymore... No one rolled against me and before I could say "Wait, shard it" it was in my bags. I wasted some nice DKP on that!
evankimori Apr 24th 2009 1:33PM
The worst is when you miss to roll on something and someone ends up with it accidentally and then if you want to beg a GM to transfer it across. You come across a benevolent GM at times who's willing to help you out if both of you can corroborate the story is true with proof.
crayzeigh Apr 24th 2009 1:28PM
I am more likely to do the opposite than this.
I am also more likely to run with guildies so if it is an upgrade that really matters (The Key to the Focusing Iris from 25man) I'm more than happy to put in a ticket indicating that I accidentally needed the item and it should have gone to them, the next highest roll.
crayzeigh Apr 24th 2009 1:29PM
That being said... we're also more likely to be master looting for just this sort of thing =/
seanfury Apr 24th 2009 1:29PM
I always take my time when seeing a piece of loot I might want, because I've done some pretty stupid stuff in the past (when I was a lowbie and nub). Rolling on mail because I didn't see it said "mail" or taking something for a tank when I'm a rogue, etc.
Sapphire Apr 24th 2009 1:33PM
The AtlasLoot wish list is an easy solution for this problem. I spent a half an hour or so tabbing between Rawr, Firefox, and Wow, built my wish list, and stopped worrying about it. Before a boss kill, I pop up my wish list, check what (if anything) the boss drops that I need, and I'm good to go! Now I just need to update the list for Ulduar...
Jack Apr 24th 2009 1:34PM
It always amazes me to hear about a Guild run that doesn't use Loot Master. Or really even a PUG.
Prudelas Apr 24th 2009 6:25PM
Exactly. I don't think I've ever been in a raid that wasn't set to Loot Master.
pilage Apr 24th 2009 1:36PM
yeah i passed one of the better DPS maces the other day in 25man naxx because it was the best tanking weapon for dk tanks. only to have the tank get upset a week later at the guild and then /gquiting. I passed because i wanted to be nice and help the guild out, only to have the weapon leave the guild in a week.
Cyno01 Apr 24th 2009 1:44PM
I have it easy as a Rogue, I just have shadowpanthers list up on my other monitor. Its not always 100%, but its pretty close. Unfortunately some things that i've passed on and watched get DEd in the past, are now better than what ive got since the patch (i'm looking at you Grim Toll).
B. Brown Apr 24th 2009 1:46PM
I did this frequently when I first started the game. So manyFang blues out of Wailing Caverns I missed because I didn't want be a 'ninja'. ...Never mind the group I went with, all got their stuff and stuff they couldn't even use.