WoW Rookie: Sharding etiquette
by Lisa Poisso 
Aug 19th 2009 at 1:00PM
New around here? WoW Rookie points WoW's newest players to the basics of a good start in the World of Warcraft. Send us a note to suggest a WoW Rookie topic, and be sure to visit the WoW Rookie Guide for links to all our tips, tricks and how-to's.UPDATE: Most groups use the automatic Disenchant option available in the loot roll box as of Patch 3.3.
This week, we're going to help you understand a practice that varies wildly from group to group, server to server and even expansion to expansion. "In the past few months, I've run into a situation with people who are (or who I think are) new players who happen to be 80," reader Sarabande writes to WoW Rookie. "To them, the idea of DEing BoP items for shards is completely alien (and to at least one, he just rolled greed on everything 'just to see if he could get it')."
Should your group roll for unwanted or unneeded drops when an enchanter is on hand to disenchant them? What's accepted in one situation might be scorned in another. Because there's no single way to handle the situation, it's important for new players to be aware of the options. It's also important to understand the reasons why players feel so strongly one way or another about this issue. Because there's no single "correct" method, the savvy player respects the group consensus.
Disenchanting is the process of breaking down (yes, we mean "destroying") armor or weapons of uncommon (green), rare (blue) or epic (purple) quality into magical elements (crystals, shards, essences and dusts), which can then be used to enchant other gear. Also known as DEing and sharding, disenchanting is the primary means of "gathering" or "creating" materials for enchanting (an important point that explains why enchanters sometimes get touchy about their "rights" to loot drops for sharding.)
When a drop is not an upgrade ("need") for any given player, it's considered a "greed" roll. If there's an enchanter in the group, he or she may volunteer to DE the unneeded loot. The value of the enchanting component often outstrips the value of the original drop, either to a vendor or through the Auction House. This is especially true for unused BoP items, which always end up getting sold to a vendor.
At this point, we'd like to direct your attention to a recent Insider Trader column, Who keeps the shards?. Go on, click on over and read it, then come back. We'll wait right here.
Got a little better handle on the matter? Hang on, class, we have one more assigned reading for today: Are disenchanters getting robbed by rolls?
"Up until recently, all I had to do was say 'Do you want me to DE?' and it was understood and accepted that we would roll for shards at the end -- at least for those who did not get a BoP upgrade," writes Sarabande. "But lately, just asking that is not sufficient."
The WoW Rookie solution: Speak up and lock down a looting procedure before your group gets under way. "How are we handling shards, guys? Can anyone here DE?" keeps it above-board, friendly and clear.
Points to consider:
- Is everyone in the group willing to let the enchanter keep any loot that's not Needed?
- If you have an enchanter willing to shard drops for randoming, will you roll and distribute shards at the end of the run or after every drop?
- Will you be sharding all un-Needed drops or only BoPs?
- What if someone leaves early?
- Is there an enchanter in the group who still need mats for leveling or buying high-end Enchanting recipes (some require shards for purchase)?
- If your group decides to shard and distribute, press Pass (the "X" at the top right-hand corner of the loot roll box) on any drops you're not rolling Need for.
- Don't be a jerk about "outing" enchanters who prefer to take their chances with a Greed roll and DE their own wins afterwards. They've undoubtedly lived through their share of DEing controversies. Put the Armory down, boy, and give them their peace.
- If your group has decided to distribute shards at the end of a run, don't forget to stick around!
WoW Rookie walks you through all sort of new-player concerns, from game lingo for the beginner to joining your first guild as a mid-level player and on to what to do when you finally hit level 80. Visit the WoW Rookie Guide for links to all our tips, tricks and how-to's.Filed under: Enchanting, Items, Tips, WoW Social Conventions, Features, WoW Rookie, Making money
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Nieker Aug 19th 2009 1:03PM
with the new patch, and the ability of trading for 2 hours, all my groups just greed and at the end the someone with enchanting will DE it(and if you like receive a small tip)
Aedus Aug 19th 2009 1:11PM
^ This.
souvlaki Aug 19th 2009 1:31PM
I use this method too. It's easier for everyone, and there are no wrong 'needs' from the enchanter.
Royal Aug 19th 2009 2:15PM
I couldn't agree more!
I use this system when we run... it is essentially rolling for the crystals beforehand.
Any other system has too many problems like what happens when someone leaves early etc.
Plus it finally gives the Enchanter some kick backs (a voluntery tip) if they didn't win an item. I always felt that the other ways were too unfair for Enchanters. While I understood the reasoning and with the previous game mechanics it needed to be done that way, still things didn't seem fair. Being able to trade and tip for DEs really is more fair and solves a lot of problems.
zenmastermets Aug 19th 2009 2:40PM
Thumbs up.
I've been thinking about this. Everyone needs or greeds, and I'll DE for you at the end, if you wish.
Everybody Aug 19th 2009 2:55PM
The *only* potential problem with this is the situation where one person wins 2-3 of the rolls while someone else wins none. I prefer the system where everyone rolls at the end and "top X get shards." Granted, both methods are "fair," but the second one is much less likely to leave a bad taste in the mouth.
This is for BoPs, of course.
Bullseyed Aug 19th 2009 3:48PM
Vanessa Sellers has quite a pair in that picture up top.
rosencratz Aug 20th 2009 5:21AM
The only time I've been in a group when I wasn't instictively expected to de all unwanted BoP's and /roll at the end was when there was another enchanter in the group. I guess I don't pug half as much as I could though, guildees for the win.
It was how things were done 4 years ago and it still makes sense now. With the new trading of bop items I can see how times might change but it still seems quicker the old fashioned way.
Zeplar Aug 19th 2009 1:07PM
As the epics get easier to get (and crystals become cheaper) I find myself allowed to keep the Abysses more and more often. I typically leave HToC with 3 or 4 crystals.
At the start of Wrath, leveling enchanting was tougher, groups actually Needed items, and it was uphill both ways to the instance portal, I gave myself the first Dream Shard and the group rolled off for the remaining shards and crystal.
Bullseyed Aug 19th 2009 3:31PM
There is never a time when unneeded items should be rolled for instead of DE'd. That is like saying sometimes skinners shouldn't be allowed to skin corpses or miners shouldn't be allowed to tap nodes while going through the instance.
It is funny too because players will demand a share of the shards... when is the last time you saw a miner or skinner passing out ore or leather? All DE materials should be property of the enchanter.
Skrotus Aug 19th 2009 3:46PM
@Bullseyed
Being an enchanter doesn't mean you're entitled to all the loot in the instance just because it isn't needed. Others will allow you to take items to DE on the condition that they get a share, otherwise you can just roll with everyone else. I'd rather 8g from vendoring a blue than nothing.
Bullseyed Aug 19th 2009 3:50PM
Agreed. Miners, skinners, herbalists, and engineers should be rolling on their own crafting materials as well.
Skrotus Aug 19th 2009 4:58PM
Enchanting is not like other professions in that rather than gathering it's materials from nodes or particular mob corpses, it requires destroying magic items. These items are available to anyone, unlike herbs/ore/leather which can only be gathered by certain professions. A good way to get magic items is to run instances where you can roll with everyone else for them (they drop off like every boss!). Or alternatively in place of rolling with everyone else, you might like to offer to DE everything that isn't needed so the people in your group can have enchanting materials instead of the magic items they would have otherwise had.
Your profession involves destroying items of value, people aren't just going to let you take them without something in return. They couldn't have mined that saronite node anyway. Do you understand the difference?
Gnosh Aug 19th 2009 1:08PM
Back before the new loot sharing, my groups (PUG naxx 10/25) would /roll at the start and take down the numbers. Then, as we progressed, shards would be passed out round-robin from highest to lowest number, immediately after the boss. That way, if someone had to leave early, they didn't get screwed if we forgot to pass out. It also prevented, say, a ninja enchanter hightailing it with 20 Abyss Crystals.
vazhkatsi Aug 19th 2009 2:58PM
i love it when a group decides to disband suddenly without asking about shards. really, if you don't care about them, i'm not giving them to you
HHUK Aug 19th 2009 1:09PM
I'll volunteer to DE if the people are nice and talkative, if not then I'm quiet and DE anything I win with a greed roll. Sometimes I offer right at the end, having everybody win their own stuff fairly through rolling in the first place can really stop any kind of drama. God bless the new loot trading system.
It does pay to be nice though, I've had some well geared players just donate BoP items to me to d/e as they're already well off money-wise.
Dharmabhum Aug 19th 2009 2:24PM
this is really where i come from as well. dream shards aren't worth much these days, and since i've already got my enchanting maxed out (and three stacks of dream shards in my bags) i will just say at the the start "I can DE if you want" and just greed roll everything. that sets the pace for the run, and i'll DE anything that I get greeded or otherwise. unfortunately, that leaves some funniness at the end when the one purple drops from heroics. most people don't usually need the upgraded purple but everyone greeds anyhow because "zomg its purpel epix". if i ended up with two or more dream shards or one abyss crystal, i'll say something like "roll if you need a shard" or "whisper me if you need a shard" and it ends up not mattering much because a) i've got plenty so i don't mind giving them out as everyone "proper and due loot" from the run, and b) because most people don't care enough to roll on dream shards anyhow, and if they do, i'll gladly give them one or two.
abyss crystals are a little different. at the start of 3.2 and reg TotC farming, I DE'ed everything and everyone got a crystal at the end. a week into it though, i realised that the market was saturated and it wasn't worth worrying about anyway. i also stopped running the 5 man Trial a few days after its release anyhow (thanks for making it interesting for a few days though blizz).
Deshnel Aug 19th 2009 1:20PM
I'm a resto druid and enchanter. With regular TOC being such a farmable event, I get invited more to shard than to heal. It takes about 20 minutes from boss kill to boss kill and two hours of farming it will net a group about six abyss crystals each.
I find the best sharding practice to simply run with a regular group. BUT if you have to pug something I find it best to offer to shard and offer to roll for shards at the end. The best advice here is to simply discuss it with the group for two minutes before. I've had people who really needed dust and have asked the group if they could take the greens and have me DE it. Most of the time people are pretty cool about it.
If I had to standardize the sharding process I would say to find out if there is an enchanter. If there is, then enchanter greeds everything, and you only Need if it is an upgrade to a main or off set. Unless you have a new 80 running, you won't have to many "Needs" in the group. At the end, depending on what the enchanter has, the enchanter sets the roll peramiters. ie.. Last nights TOC farm netted three stacks of six abyss crystals, and two stacks of five. Three people Needed gear. That left two of us getting a 6 Stack, and the three than needed gear rolling for the other 6 Stack and the last two getting a 5 Stack. It was the farest option I could come up with and everyone went home happy.
Barkeater Aug 19th 2009 1:18PM
Since the last patch I have stopped the group shard bot practice on PUGS. My server was everyone pass, but is now moving to everyone greed, Need if you Need. I just tell people if they want a shard, trade me the blues you won on the run and I will shard for you. Funny thing is that before I would just trade them to people who won roll and never got a tip, now people actually tip for the service! lol this a weird game....
busuan Aug 19th 2009 1:22PM
I didn't know what Need and Greed meant when I started WoW.
Heck, I didn't even understand the concept 'Bind on Pickup' for a while.
So I am always more tolerant to other people's loot behavior, because in reality, I always have some extra shards/crystals laying around for no good use and when I really want more, they are easy to get through professions or AH.