Why is the loot system so bad?

[Weathermore]

It's the epitome of random...it's master looter meets free for all...it's palm meets face, if you're thrown from your car into a palm tree in a fiery crash.

90 seconds to distribute loot at the end of a dungeon, and if it's your first time there you are blind to what item's actually dropped. So you have to use a database to figure out what actually dropped (hope you're running the game in windowed mode), then hope the person who received the item is competent and speedy enough to pass the item to you before the instance kicks you out.

Especially with the different language dependency between players (which I don't mind), the game needs an easy click to loot interface, and chat enabled tool tips for items, so that we can actually get an item from the dungeon we just spent so long clearing.

[Jinko]

Agreed, they are adding need before greed in 2.0.

[Taika]

This is definitely something that should be discussed. I'm not very familiar with systems other MMO games are using, but I did find the FFXI one convenient. So please excuse me for using the FFXI system as an example, and feel free to comment its faults or introduce loot systems from other games.

FFXI had a common loot pool for the whole party (/alliance of parties/event group) so all players taking part in fights were able to see and examine the items dropped by monsters or received from chests. I find separate loot pools for each player a huge downside for the current XIV system. It's a big hassle trying to find out which items dropped and to whom in a short time, and since you can't view the items without having them on our personal loot pool, you have to visit a third party site to see their stats before being able to decide if you would like to have it or not or who should have it.

In FFXI party members (/alliance members/event participants) were able to pass or "cast lots" on items in the common loot pool. That was basically a /random from 0 to 999 (just like the current random in FFXIV). The highest lot number would win the lot and get the item after everyone in the party had either lotted or passed the item. I wish we would be able to cast lots on items in FFXIV aswell. Currently it's possible to /random and give the item to the player with the highest number, but that's just an unnecessary step.

In addition, it would make lot distribution for end game events a lot smoother, if you would let party leader decide which items goes to which party/alliance member (the same way we can currently give items from our personal loot pool to other party members).

Please give us 1) a common loot pool for the party (or alliance), 2) a "cast lots" system and 3) some kind of a master looter (party leader gets to decide which item goes to which party member) system!

[Jinko]

I'll explain the Wow loot system for Taika.

It's kind of similar to the loot pool and /random in that the item drops is put in a suspended loot pool, a pop up box appears on the screen with the words (need) (greed) and (pass) the players chooses one of those and it rolls a random number.

People who need the item get higher priority to greed players and obviously people who pass don't get a chance.

Later they added upon the system so that people who didn't have a class that could use the item couldn't need an item, obviously if you couldn't use an item you don't need it. (this could be adapter to XIV in that if your class level doesn't match the items or exceed it you wouldn't be allowed to need it)

Players can still greed the item as normal and if nobody needs the item the person with the highest roll would get the item.

The other system mainly used in WoW is loot master in which the party leader decides where the loot goes, kind of similar to what we have now, this is generally only used for large scale raid events, where players roll for the dropped item.

Both systems are very similar to what FF11 has, one uses a UI to roll for the item and the other uses a command to determine who gets the loot.

Yoshi-p has hinted that a revised version of need before greed will be added in 2.0, I can only hope it looks at a players level to determine if they can need the item. (someone with a lvl 1 MRD shouldn't be walking away with lvl 50 Ifrit axe IMO, unless of course nobody else wants it)

[Weathermore]

This is an issue that needs to be patched before 2.0, not something that should be "hinted" at. Like you said, it's ridiculous when there are two lancers (for example) and the blue polearm goes to a white mage who can't speak english, and leaves before the loot can be settled.

New system needs implementation so we can test it out and give opinion before the 2.0 launch.

[Jinko]

I agree, I doubt it would take much work to add a pop window when loot drops.

[Taika]

Thank you, Jinko, for explaining the system!

It's kind of similar to the loot pool and /random in that the item drops is put in a suspended loot pool, a pop up box appears on the screen with the words (need) (greed) and (pass) the players chooses one of those and it rolls a random number.

So you can loot on all the items? And choose "need" for all those items, if you have the classes and levels they require? So, in theory, one person could get all items from the loot pool?

In any case, this doesn't sound like a bad system for pickup groups, at least. But I do hope we'll get a master loot system of some kind for linkshell groups with their own loot point systems.

[Jinko]

In theory yes they could as long as the roll the highest number.

It goes like:-
Player one rolls need for 78
Player two rolls greed for 98
Player three rolls Need for 4

In this case player one wins because he had the highest need roll.

I agree that there needs to be a master loot as well.

[Neptune]

Why IS the loot system so bad?