Loot Policy

Philosophy

We get gear to raid, not the other way around. For us, gear facilitates seeing the end-game content. We want our raids to be well-equipped and capable so that they can conquer the content and see it all.

To make the strongest raids possible, gear should be put to use in a way that maximizes its utility for the guild as a whole. That means gear going to main characters serving in their main role, that attend raids regularly, but without locking out newer raiders.

We recognize that some highly motivated individuals will maintain a second role for raiding. If they are willing to put in the time and money to keep their alternate gear in prime condition, and demonstrate the skill to execute it, then we will give them priority on gear over simple "greed".

With that in mind, we created the following rules.

Prioritization

This will seem a little complex at first, but it makes sense and we have put our heads together to work this out so we can make consistently good decisions.

Note: we define priority in terms of role (Tank, Caster/Ranged DPS, Melee DPS, Healer), not a specific Talent spec.

1. "Main" - Gear that is appropriate for your Main's class and primary role, e.g., a Tank wanting a Tank weapon. This is the only gear for which you pay DKP.
2. "Respec reel" - Gear that is appropriate for your Main's respec reel role (assuming you have one), e.g., a Tank that is on the Melee DPS reel that wants a melee DPS piece of armor.
3. "Sidegrade" - Gear that could be useful for better itemization or a spec change for your Main's class and primary role, and for which you already have higher item level items that would normally cost you DKP for every slot it can occupy.
4. "Off Main" - Gear that is not appropriate for your Main's class and primary role, but is still an upgrade for your primary role, e.g. a Hunter wanting Leather or a Rogue wanting a Tanking sword (presumably, they have a very crappy weapon).
5. [Alternate characters, applying the same 1-3 priorities above among competing alts.]
6. "Greed" - Gear that a Main could use for an alternate role (NOT their primary role) but is not on a respec reel for that role, e.g. a Tank that is NOT on the melee DPS respec reel that wants a melee DPS piece of gear*
7. "Looks" or "RP" - Gear solely for looks or Role-Playing purposes. We prefer if people don't take gear for this that can be useful to them. We also ask people to not invoke this frequently.

* - NOTE: you CANNOT declare greed on an item that is useful for your main *role*, whether or not anyone else wants it, unless it is redundant. For example, a piece of gear is "main" for caster DPS and healing but you already have the piece for your main role and you want another for your alternate spec (different gems, enchants, etc.).

The basic idea is that the gear is distributed so that it has a positive impact on our overall ability to raid and progress.

Why does the Respec Reel take priority over Off Main?

It's simple. Off class armor becomes a "throwaway" piece that will be useful to the player and the raid for much less longer. Also, off class armor is often not ideally itemized for other classes. So, it's a subpar choice in more than one way.

Respec Reel roles are much more likely to put that gear to use and we actively put our Respec Reel to use.

Max Item Level Exceptions

For items at the maximum level for the content, there are sometimes gaps in gear for a given class or role and there may be no maximum Item Level (IL) item for a given slot for a given role. In such cases, we may expand the role of the item, especially if it is best in slot.

For example, in 3.0 WotLK there was no clear IL 226 Caster DPS mace; the only choice was the Torch of Holy Fire, which was deemed by most to be more of a Healer item. However, it was good for mace-using Caster DPS characters by virtue of the fact that they had no other IL 226 option. In that case, we allowed casters to compete for that item as though it was role and class appropriate. If you identify such a situation for your role, please bring it up with the officers ASAP, so that we can communicate the expectation to the guild *before* the item drops in a raid.

Dungeon Loot Rules

For Dungeons, we use a very simple system. In light of the new loot distribution mechanisms introduced in patch 3.3, Greed is no longer a safe choice for items because Disenchant (DE) has the same priority in the automated system. In order to develop good habits for when we are in PUGs, we are forced to adopt a more PUG-friendly approach. Always err on the side of generosity.

• BoP: Need on everything that you need for main or off-spec gear; otherwise Greed, DE, or pass.
• BoEs that are blue" (Rare): Need if you need them or if you are in an all guildie run and you want to pop them into the guild bank; otherwise Greed, DE, or pass.
• BoEs that are "green" (Uncommon): Greed, DE, or pass unless you need them and will use them.
• Orbs: Just roll Need unless you don't want one; if someone did not understand that and rolled Greed when they wanted it, just have them roll and compare it to the automatic Need rolls and hand it off to them if they roll higher.

Please explain the loot system in advance if there are any non-guildies or new guildies in the group. We try to avoid Master Looter as a choice, as it can seem a little Draconian to strangers and if someone does swipe loot, then we know to be wary of them in the future.

We do not ninja loot. We err on the side of generosity. The item will drop again. No one piece of gear is worth sacrificing your integrity or the guild's reputation.

10-man Raid Loot Rules

For 10-man raids, we use a very casual, simple system. Basically, we have individual loot reels where everyone gets a chance to get one piece from a given type of gear before anyone gets a second piece, and so on. In effect, there are three dynamic reels:

• Main gear
• Alternate role gear
• Tier gear

So, if a Warrior Tank picked up a Tanking item, he would lose priority to all Tanks on future Tanking items, until everyone received one. He could still get gear if the others passed, of course.

If that same Warrior Tank picked up a DPS item (assuming all DPS passed), then he would lose priority to all Tanks and Healers that likewise would compete for the same DPS items, until they all received one.

If that same Warrior Tank had already received a (non-Tier) Tanking piece and a (non-Tier) DPS piece when a Tier token dropped, they could still compete with full priority for it, provided they needed the Tier piece for their main role. If he needed it for DPS, then he would need to wait/hope for everyone to pass on getting one for their main role gear before competing for it. Again, he would lose priority on future Tier tokens, until everyone that shared that token with him had received one; he could still get the token if the others passed, of course.

25-man Raid Loot Rules