Loot Policy
From RikiWiki
Hell has three gates: lust, anger, and greed. -Bhagavad Gita
Objects close to the eye shut out much larger objects on the horizon; and splendors born only of the earth eclipse the stars. So a man sometimes covers up the entire disc of eternity with a dollar, and quenches transcendent glories with a little shining dust. -Edwin H. Chapin
Listen all you people, come gather round
I gotta get me a game plan, gotta shake you to the ground
Just give me what I know is mine,
People do you hear me, just give me the sign,
It ain't much I'm asking, if you want the truth
Here's to the future for the dreams of youth,
I want it all, I want it all, I want it all, and I want it now,
I want it all, I want it all, I want it all, and I want it now
-I Want It All, Queen
Contents |
Introduction
Loot is the single largest source of potential conflict known to MMOkind. Loot leads to drama, drama leads to forum posts, forum posts lead to suffering! The dark side of the MMO are they. In recognition of this grim reality, and in order that we may prevent the loss of our friends to the dark side, the slack-masters of MiM have reluctantly "worked" to put together a clear, fair, cohesive, and equitable loot policy.
At least... we think we have. This is not an easy task (and we're not exactly known for our amibition), so there will inevitably be times when something falls out of the scope of what we have thought up. Please keep a calm and rational frame of mind at all times, and remember... it's just a game :).
Glossary
If you're really new to Warcraft, or if you just haven't done much PvE or dungeon crawls, then the terms of the trade may be foreign to you. So here's the lowdown on loot lingo.
- Ninja Looter
- This term applies to someone who deliberately misleads a group about their looting intentions or deliberately does not follow the group's looting policies. Usually they manifest by "ninja'ing" (stealing) a nice/rare drop and then leaving the group outright, though they will also sometimes steal and then "play dumb" in hopes of getting away with it. It can also apply to anyone who does not follow reasonable etiquette regarding world loot, such as stealing a chest from someone who is clearly working to clear the mobs around it. Good manners, common sense, and a basic respect of others should be more than sufficient to avoid ever being seen in this light.
- Item Level (ilvl)
- The ilvl of an item is the inherent "goodness" of the item. The ilvl of an item determines how many stat points Blizzard allocated to the item when they created it. The ilvl of an item is not the required level to equip it. It is based on a pretty complex forumla, but it's safe to say that the higher the instance in which it dropped, the higher the ilvl of the item. Blackwing Lair, for example, has items with higher ilvls (and are thus better) than items from Molten Core, because BWL is a much more difficult instance.
- World-Drop
- A world drop is an item that has a slim (<1%) chance to drop from any mob in the game, regardless of location. The ilvl of the item will be roughly around the level of the mob it dropped from.
- Boss- or Mob-Drop
- An item that will only drop off a specific creature, based on a static chance set in their loot table.
- Uncommon (green)
- These items are actually pretty common, and there are almost no green items that anyone would care all that much about once you hit level 60. The ilvl of a green item tends to roughly match the level at which you can equip it.
- Rare (blue)
- These items are usually coveted by people newly reaching level 60, and certain blue items may even be considered some of the best items available. Note that the color does not, in fact, have anything directly to do with the quality of the item. However, blue items tend to have ilvl's up to 10 higher than the level required to equip it, so compared to equippable greens they will, of course, be better.
- Epic (purple)
- These items are widely coveted by all end-game players and typically only drop from raid instances. There are a few world-drop epics as well. As with blues, the color itself is more indicative of how likely it is that someone will own one of these, as opposed to its actual worth. However, the ilvl's of purple items tend to be about 15 higher than the level required to equip it.
- Legendary (orange)
- These items are truly unique, and only a few people on a given realm will ever own one. They represent a huge investment on the part of a lot of people. The ilvls of orange items tend to be about 20 higher than the required equip level.
- Bind-on-Equip (BoE)
- These items will bind to a player once the item is first used or equipped. Until that time, they can be traded to other players or sold on the auction house. After equipping or using the item, however, they can no longer be traded to others.
- Bind-on-Pickup (BoP)
- These items bind immediately to the person who loots them off the corpse or container. They cannot be traded to other players or equipped or used by anyone else once they are looted.
- Master Loot
- This is a loot setting used in a party/raid where only the master looter can loot uncommon or better items from a corpse. They can assign the loot to anyone in the party or raid who was present for the kill.
- Group Loot
- This is a loot setting used in a party/raid where a window pops up for all members prompting a need or greed roll on uncommon or better items.
- Item Rot
- An item is said to rot when no one in the raid wants it at all. It will likely be disenchanted as a result.
Dungeons (5, 10 & 20 Man Instances)
Loot rules in all end-game dungeons (and UBRS) are relatively standard, and should be familiar to most long-time players.
- Looting should be set to group loot.
- All BoE items should be greed rolled (the coin button). If the item is actually an upgrade that you will equip on the character you are playing at the time, you may roll need (the dice button). If you plan on doing this, it is standard practice to say so in raid/party chat first- otherwise you may be marked as a ninja looter. If you want it for any other reason, you should privately contact the person who wins the greed roll.
- Pass on all BoP items. Discuss who will need roll for the item, if anyone. These people should then roll (using /random) for the item. If no one needs the item, then it may be greed rolled (also using /random). If no one wants it at all, it should be greed rolled for vendor trash, or given to a disenchanter and then the shard should be greed rolled.
- If the group agrees before hand, you may instead use the standard need/greed rolling for BoP items as well as BoE items. However, if it has not been explicitly discussed, you should assume "all pass" on BoP.
Exceptions
- Corruptor's Scourgestones that drop during Stratholme or Scholomance runs should be rolled need by everyone in the group. Once you win a scourgestone, pass on further scourgestones until everyone else gets one, then repeat.
Raids (10 Man Instances)
- Loot will be set to Group Loot except on boss encounters where it will be set to Master Looter.
- All BoE items should be greed rolled (the coin button). If the item is actually an upgrade that you will equip on the character you are playing at the time, you may roll need (the dice button). If you plan on doing this, it is standard practice to say so in raid/party chat first- otherwise you may be marked as a ninja looter. If you want it for any other reason, you should privately contact the person who wins the greed roll.
- Pass on all BoP items that drop from trash mobs. Discuss who will need roll for the item, if anyone. These people should then roll (using /random) for the item. If no one needs the item, then it may be greed rolled (also using /random). If no one wants it at all, it should be greed rolled for vendor trash, or given to a disenchanter and then the shard should be greed rolled.
- For BoP items that drop from bosses, we will use a need before greed rolling system. Each raid member should only win one epic item per raid. Of course, if you are the only person interested in an item, you will still receive it even if you had won something previously.
Raids (25 & 40 Man Instances)
For the end-game raids (Molten Core, Onyxia, Gruul's Lair, etc.) a more complex looting system is used. Looting is set to group loot for all trash mobs, and to master loot for all boss encounters. In these instances, loot falls into one of six categories, each of which is handled differently.
Trash Loot
Trash loot is typically BoE green items that drop off random trash in the instance. These items should be need rolled by all members of the raid. Rolling need prevents anyone from missing an opportunity at the item because they rolled greed. If you do in fact feel that you need the item, you should whipser the winner of the item.
Reputation Items
Items that are used to gain faction reputation are considered reputation items, and they should be need rolled by all members of the raid. It is suggested that you be considerate and pass once you have won several of these on a run so that others have a chance to get some, but this is not an actual rule. Some items that we consider reputation items are:
- Colored Hakkari Bijou (ZG)
- Zulian, Razzashi, and Hakkari Coins (ZG)
- Sandfury, Skullsplitter, and Bloodscalp Coins (ZG)
- Gurubashi, Vilebranch, and Witherbark Coins (ZG)
- Sunfury Signet, Arcane Tomes
- Mark of Sageras, Fel Armament
Quest Items
Several items are used in quest turn-ins, primarily from ZG and AQ20, that eventually lead to very nice quest rewards (typically epic armor, rings, necklaces, trinkets, weapons, and enchants). These quest items are often (but not always) restricted to certain classes. These items are most frequently master looted, and then everyone in the raid (or everyone who qualifies, for class restricted items) and does not already have the item does a straight roll (/random). These items qualify as quest items:
- Primal Hakkari Widget (ZG)
- Primal Hakkari Idol (ZG)
- Punctured Voodoo Doll (ZG)
- Qiraji Gizmo Ring and Drape (AQ)
- Qiraji Bindings of Widget and Hilt (AQ)
- Material Scarab (AQ) - Banked so those who have the above quest items can complete them when they have the necessary rep
Crafting Items
Certain ingredients that are needed for craftable items are sent to the guild bank, regardless of who actually picks them up. This is in order to help our guild create the equipment needed to progress further in end-game content. If for any reason a need/greed popup comes up for any of these items, you should pass and let one of the guild representatives loot the item. The current list of crafting items is:
- Souldarite
- Bloodvine
- Large or Small Obsidian Shard
- Lava Core
- Fiery Core
- Core Leather
- Sulfuron Ingot
- Enchanting components (dust, shards, etc.) from disenchanted items
Rare and Epic Items
All rare and epic loot that is not specifically mentioned in one of the other categories is distributed using the loot system. This includes any rare and epic items that drop from trash mobs (that is, loot that drops from a trash mob is not necessarily trash loot), and also includes BoE items and class specific items, such as tier armor drops.
The 25-man and 40-man raids are more technical in nature and require a larger committment from the raid members, so we award points in a couple different ways which in turn is used to determine the players' raid position. These points are called "Dragon Kill Points" or "Raid Points." This DKP system is outlined in this wiki.
Legendary and Other Items
If something in a 20-Man drops that doesn't fall into any of the categories above (including legendary items) it will be distributed based on a loot council formed by the officers of MiM. The loot council decision may simply be to add the item to one of our pre-existing categories, or it may decide to allocate the item on a case-by-case basis that is deemed most beneficial to furthering the goals of the guild. More specific, long-standing rules may be established for specific items in this case.
For the 25-man and 40-Man instances, most items will have a DKP value associated with it.
DKP Overview
DKP stands for "Dragon Kill Points" and was orginally created in 1999 for the EverQuest game. The system was designed to award points to players who were present for the only raid content in that game- to kill "Lord Nagafen" and "Lady Vox" which were both dragons. Because not everyone could get the loot that dropped from them, players earned points for assisting in the kill so they could be awarded when their loot dropped from the dragons. The system has since been modified and used for many more MMORPGs. There are many variations on the system now, and MiM has set their own rules to apply DKP to 25-Man & 40-Man Raids.
DKP is simple in concept, the difficulties arise in the details of the system and the administration of said details. The general rule is that there is one list, and your position on the list is determined by your current balance of points from highest to lowest. Points are earned by attending raids and killing bosses. When an item drops, whoever is highest on the list that wants the item will be awarded the item. They then spend their points to "buy" that item. Their point balance is updated, and the raid continues on.
Everyone who raids with Mediocrity in Motion will have a point balance that will be maintained by the Mediocracy. Players who were participating with us prior to the start of this system were awarded points based upon their positions on the SK Lists. New players who join us will begin with a point balance of zero. The DKP balances and current standings is maintained by the Mediocracy on the website.
For deatails on how you earn points and the item point values, go to our DKP wiki entry.
