In many MMORPGs including World of Warcraft, the question of who should get the loot has always plagued guild leaders. In some cases, the perception of unfair loot distribution has caused many guilds to fall apart and disband in a single night. Although it may be tempting to use the default need or greed loot system in WoW, it's much better to use a custom looting system such as DKP or even the much maligned loot council.
DKP was developed by guilds playing in EverQuest. It is popular because it's simple and impartial. With DKP, points are earned for various activities that help with a WoW guild's raid progression. Points are bid in an auction system which allows the highest bidder to buy loot in exchange for previously earned points. Under this system, the guild master has no role in loot distribution except for points bookkeeping, which is often done by a guild web hosting company.
Earning and Spending Points in MMORPGs
Points are earned by guild members for certain tasks that relate to raiding. Designed properly, DKP encourages behaviors that help the guild with raid progression. Most guilds give points for most of the following activities:
- Arriving to the raid on-time
- Attendance at a raid (or stand-by for a raid as a substitute)
- Staying until the end of the raid
- Killing a boss
- Bonus points for killing a boss for the first time
- Miscellaneous activities (eg. WoW gold donations to the guild, farming for potions, repair bot, etc.)
Systems for spending DKP vary. Most use a bidding system to distribute loot. The player with the highest bid gets a deduction of points spent in exchange for the loot. Overall progression is met by having players bid only when a piece of loot is a true upgrade that is worth bidding on. If a weekly point decay or point tax system is used, point hoarding ceases to be an issue which will cause players to bid regularly and upgrade often.
Advantages of DKP over Loot Councils
Many people prefer DKP over having a loot council due to impartiality. Many guilds have been destroyed from just one incident of favoritism. With DKP, the process of loot distribution is completely done by math. The person who bids the most points wins regardless of any favoritism that may exist within the guild and its leadership.
Another advantage is the existence of many online DKP management systems that help the World of Warcraft guild master save time on the bookkeeping. In many cases, these DKP hosting companies are just part of a complete package of a guild website from a guild web hosting company that allows for creating raid schedules, raid signups, and message boards. The existence of these guild hosting systems outweighs the time consuming loot council, which allows guild leaders to concentrate on raiding rather than spend a half hour discussing who should get which loot.
Disadvantages of DKP for New Guild Members
The biggest disadvantage is inflation or otherwise known as the DKP gap. What happens is that some veteran players can hoard points, and make it impossible for newer guild members to get the best loot when it drops. In order to combat this problem, many guilds put in a point decay system, or simply wipe out all points when the guild progresses to a new raid instance to discourage point hoarding. Other guilds put in an earnings cap to combat this problem.
Although no loot system is perfect, DKP or a modified version allows a WoW raiding guild master to distribute loot fairly without favoritism or excessive work. As long as The lack of drama regarding loot should be more than enough reason for the guild master to consider some form of DKP.
