For those who may not know, hot zones change every day at 8pm EST (5pm PDT) so there’s actually a possibility of two a day depending on when you do them. Yesterday for the better part of the day MM (Mistmyr Manor) in Loping Plains was the hot zone. After 8pm it changed to Ravenscale Repository (the hardest of the three instances).
I was on my 78 (at the time) swashbuckler, and thanks to the shadowknight I’ve been gaming with for seven years now, managed to find myself in a group for the hot zone, along with a dirge, mystic, necromancer, and warlock. The zone was fairly easy, I’ve actually never cleared it before yesterday but there’s two ways to do this.
Number one, move through the zone and kill all of the named one at a time – this gives you achievements for each of the named. However, it is not the only way to do the zone. The other way is to pull the zone so that you leave all of the named up – and then when you defeat the final boss, the loot chests to all of those named spawn in a room behind him. This method means you do NOT gain the achievement for killing each of the named, but we thought perhaps we’d have a better chance at a master chest if 4-5 chests all spawned at once rather then individually.
We ran the script, and carefully avoided all of the named until the end. It was great experience for me who had never been there before, lots of discovery in the rooms, and when we beat the final mob – a fabled chest dropped. I figured it was the lockbox that holds a number of rewards (mostly dps geared) and I was right.
Now. In this box is also a bard only charm that happens to be the best bard charm in the game aside from avatar loot. That’s right, it’s the battle drums that bards pay up to 500p (as I saw yesterday) for. The dirge in our group offered to purchase the loot – if no one wanted any of the rewards (or wanted to sell their share pretty much) but I decided to roll on the loot. I typically have absolutely horrible luck, but such was not the case yesterday, and I ended up winning the lockbox. The dirge was really mad, he had lost a roll on the box previously too. The earring on the right is a significant upgrade for my swashbuckler, especially since she is not a raid character and has to gain her upgrades where she can. Now, the little bit of an issue comes into play with the fact that she was not yet level 80 when she rolled on this. In my opinion, your level does not matter as long as you’re contributing to the group. I was parsing 1.5-1.8k at my level which is quite low – keeping in mind that I’m wearing level 72 mastercrafted gear as well as weapons, and I was level 78 so everything was very orange to me. That’s not too horrible of a parse. Once I hit 80 and have more skills available to me as well as my set gear it should take a significant leap.
Would it have been the ‘proper’ thing for me to do to decline for this dirge? If it were a close friend I may have considered it, but I think the results were fair. We both rolled and the dice just happened to be in my favour. Should I feel bad that I won? I wouldn’t normally, loot is loot after all. The dirge then proceeded to exclaim his woes on the 70-79 channel about losing to me, which didn’t make me feel any better about the situation. The group reminded him that MM would be the hot zone again eventually, and that you can also purchase the battle drums from an NPC in the moors as of the next game update. Instead he wanted to focus on the fact that he lost the roll to me.
What do you do when you’re faced with these sorts of situations? I know a lot of people out there have stories about loot and who wins and who it goes to. I don’t feel that I was out of line on my roll, it was a huge upgrade and a nice piece for any scout (there were also some pants, not quite as nice, a charm, another earring etc) and I would have understood if any of them had rolled. Now if the inquisitor had of rolled wanting this piece for their DPS set I may have been a little more peeved, and yes, it has happened before. The day ended with me questing in Moors for the last 20% I needed, and the swashbuckler hit level 79. One more to go and this will be my 10th level 80 character (and hopefully it for a little while, but with the expansion not releasing until February who knows). It’s very neat for me to be playing a pure DPS class, something I’ve never done before. All of my characters are either support or healers.
Hopefully I can reach level 80 today, and then it’s time to start on my epic!
Happy gaming, no matter where it finds you.
@Kendricke since the group was organized by my significant other (the shadowknight tank), and I even asked if it was ok to bring the 78 swashbuckler, and he insisted I did, specifically for that piece of loot, I don’t actually feel too badly about it. If the other group mates didn’t want to run the zone with me, they could have left the group before we started, the warlock also rolled on the loot and lost the roll (it was MM not RR btw). It wasn’t someones primary, either.They were also an alt. How many alts (all of my characters are alts, I have no mains) I have vs. someone else when I’m contributing to a group isn’t relevant to whether or not I roll on a piece of upgrade gear on that character. I was there, I partook, on that specific character. I’m not about to decline in a group simply because it’s an alt.
@RickC how do you judge whether or not I contributed? Yes, the group would have succeeded without me. We would have succeeded without any one of the people within the group except for the raid geared MT, the shadowknight. I contributed dps (which is my role) just as much as three other dps classes within the group. Just because I was a lower level doesn’t mean I didn’t help.
I lose plenty of rolls to other people, all of the time. It happens, I just don’t post about it because honestly it doesn’t matter. I’ve lost on the drums while playing my troubador, I’ve lost on bits from palace to inquisitors (which is why I mentioned that as an example) and in the end – who cares. It will either drop again or it won’t, but it’s not the end of the world. I’ve declined a huge number of times in favour to someone else – but this one time – I actually wanted the item, and I won. I’m happy about it, and no, I don’t feel badly that I won a random roll in a group I participated in against a dirge and a warlock.
This kind of person is what /ignore was designed for. There is a person with shall I say a “reputation” for trouble making and doo doo stirring on our server who slammed into my tanking ability in channels after a not very successful instance. Needless to say it is now really funny watching people on channel constantly telling him to shut up and I cant see what he has said. Most amusing
We actually have a long standing tradition in our guild that you can only win loot you’re able to immediately equip. We wrote that tradition into our raid rules as well, specifically because we’ve had to deal with this issue in the past.
I realize it may not be the answer you want to hear, but personally I’d have sided with the dirge in your situation – I wouldn’t have felt it right that a lower level character was winning loot he or she could not immediately equip. However, if the group rules allowed you to roll, that’s just the way it is. Personally, I probably wouldn’t have grouped with a level 78 through Ravenscale anyway so I suppose the point would have been moot in my case.
As much as you feel you were right and fair on this, keep in mind that you were on your 10th alt and that dirge was probably someone’s primary. I think this is the sort of situation that will end up reflecting more on you than on the dirge. I can’t begin to tell you how frustrated I might be if a group I joined felt up to bringing along someone’s lower level shaman alt that ended up winning the rolling pin over my Templar. I wouldn’t go to 70-79 chat, but I can guarantee that the shaman’s name would be repeated in guildchat.
Within my own guild, we tend to avoid rolling on gear that a primary could use when we’re on one of our secondaries. Maybe we’re different like that, but at least within my guild, this sort of thing would be seen as a rather large faux pas by a significant number of our members. However, as you said, you didn’t know the guy so I suppose all’s fair in love and pick up groups.
If you both could use it and rolled need on it and he lost the roll…oh frakking well. Sounds like he was a sore loser and you should /friend him (or /ignore) and add a note so you know hes an asshole…what i do lol
Don’t feel guilty. You will use it when you’re of level, and it was a fair roll. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve lost fair rolls to some other person in a group when I was “best” for the item, but they *could* use it also. So they rolled and I got “shafted” but… it’s just a game. I can always eventually get the item later on a new run, ya know?
You should have politely deferred the award to the dirge. You yourself said it was the best attainable bard charm item in the game. You’re still wearing level 72 stuff. As much as you might think you contributed to the group, you actually werent in that particular zone. They could’ve completed it just the same were you not there. Now, OOA, Scion, Deep Forge, sure you could have helped a little. But your friend, the Shadowknight brought you along for the AA and the exp. No other group in their right mind would’ve taken you there when trying to fill out a group.
You have more levels to get and zones to do that can easily fill out your earring slot. Its one of the easiest slots to fill out in the game. And for your pettiness “omg, my weak swash can get a fabled item”), you upset the dirge and he had every right to be upset in group.
How about in you never ending quest for a shield from OOA you happen to lose out on it to a level 75 who was just along for the ride in your group. You’d be perfectly ok with it I’m sure, right.
And what difference did it make that the dirge was not a friend? That right there tells me you know what you did was wrong. What happened to common courtesy? The dirge even offered to pay but no, “I got to get my 10th toon which I really don’t devote that much time to this one item that will take the parse to 1.6-1.9k!!” Speaking as a person who many times has said she hates people who look at the parse, who post it in group chat and who talk about it in channels and while trying to find the make up of the group, why do you care about this one item so your bad parse can get slightly less bad?
Reverse the situation. You the dirge and some non-friend of yours comes in and loot whores everything you had your eye on including shinys, and then finally the drums. You’d be so fine with just rolling the dice and well, it was in the other person favor. Que sera sera. Of course he focused on losing the roll to you because technically you didn’t do anything wrong, you know in the spirit of gamesmanship and courtesy, you were very much in the wrong.
I have zero affiliation to the dirge but tales like this rub me the wrong way and if you would be offended also if the roles were reversed, the next thing you’ll do is file a petition and get that reward to the dirge. I guarantee that within the next 5 trips your swashbuckler makes to a TSO instance, they will get an earring on the same scale as the one you just got. It may take 2-3 months depending on how often you play your 10th alt, but it will happen. The dirge? Not so lucky to find a replacement for those drums anytime soon.
Tenth level 80! My goodness you’re a master alt-person! I’m a one trick pony myself and have no trouble getting a max level character in every game I play. Getting a second one, however, is something I’ve never yet achieved.
Basically, as far as the loot goes, if it was something you could use I don’t see the problem. If you followed the rules as outlined by the group he should just accept the loss and move on.
Ah the ole channel slam….so lame. Grats to you for loot, and yeah if you’re in the group you get to roll on loot end of story!
Bah Star,
My opinion only,
1. Loot goes to the actually group members first.
2. I no one in the groups needs, then you can ask about ALTS.
3. If nada….. Then you can try to “auction” it for some cash for the group.
About that player who was mad at you….. Tough luck for him and Grtz to you my friend. Athough it was not nice for him to SLAM in you the channel chat :(