Looting -- The official thread for discussing the loot system. Updated 18th March, 2013.

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Glossary:

FFA - The current game function where each bit of loot can be picked up by anyone.
Instanced - A proposed game function where each bit of loot is parcelled out and can only be seen and picked up by individuals.
Timed - The current game function where rares, uniques, and commodities can be seen by everyone, but each is randomly locked to a specific player for about one second.
GREENS - Players who lean toward increasing in ways in which FFA loot is moderated, or even instancing it entirely.
REDS - Players who lean toward limiting the ways in which FFA loot is moderated, or even unrestricting it entirely.

TIPS:
1) If someone is acting like a jerk, message a moderator or Support. I will be very aggressive about requesting moderation of this thread.
2) Don't be a jerk.
3) Try to be constructive; that means trying to elaborate on another person's point rather than trying to negate it.
4) Making a "slippery slope" argument is not constructive.
5) Assuming the motivations behind another person's point is not constructive.

SUMMARY:
In the past, the developers have stated that they wish to have the game feel "cut throat", and would prefer if loot was entirely unmoderated. Recent updates note they feel content with the current compromise of short timers limiting accessibility. Some players find this compromise unsatisfactory.

RED Side Arguments:
+ FFA loot is part and parcel of what makes Path of Exile the ARPG we deserve; Nintendo Hard and Grimdark rather than the rainbowpony hugpile other ARPGs of late have turned out to be. There are other games out there "for" GREENs, please check your casual priviledge.

GREEN Side Arguments:
+ FFA loot is not essential to making a game Nintendo Hard and Grimdark. All the other stuff does that. Your rights end where my feelings begin.

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SMRD wrote:

1) pace. when good items fall people will loot quickly.
2) gives you a reason to make friends. when you travel with friends the usually won't try and grab something that fell with your name on it unless you walk away from it.
3) easy to share. I’m a bow users and a bow falls with someone elses name on it, they can just leave it there for me to take since they don't use bows. or sometimes people will say they are looking for certain items, we can let them loot those items without effort.
4) it fits the theme/style of the game. you are an exile... sure, people DON'T really roleplay, but it really does fit the game well.
5) if you have loot “rules” that everyone agreed upon, you have the option of breaking those rules at will when nobody is looking - temptation will always be there.
6) in ladder races sometimes the top players are all in the same group, and competing for rank and loot, but still need to help each other.
7) drama. seriously. Hey! he stole my boots right before I could get them! I hope he dies. anything worth talking about in the game is good for the game even bad things.
8) excitement. you see more items fall then in instanced loot systems, and you see what others got.
9) added difficulty for large groups. less overall loot and difficulty in seeing who took what means that ninja looting is easier etc. harder to keep track of anything.
10) danger. when people are competing it is added danger to loot while fighting - more than once I have seen greedy players will run up to grab something and die.
11) immersion. you can see what people type in chat, you can see how they fight, and you also can see what they loot/pick up. you can tell plenty about a player from these things, and to do so you need to pay close attention to loot while fighting. - you feel more “in” the game with them by sharing all elements.

There are probably several more I’m forgetting, but here are just a few things that would be lost in an instanced system.

in an instanced system:
a) you don't need to make any friends, and nobody has a reason to friend you - the general public is almost the same.
b) you can play while watching tv and only using one hand when all you do is click on monsters
c) you can't see what anyone else got - so even if they just picked up a perfect item for your character you can't make them an offer or try and beg for it. etc.
d) to share loot you have to pick it up and drop or open a trade window in town.
e) no difference between large groups or solo - just advantages of following powerful players.
f) if someone in your party is a jerk there is nothing you can do to retaliate.
g) its not realistic that some items are invisible to all but one player. - minor thing, but what if monsters were instanced too?
h) no advantage to being in front and killing everything then to be in the back following and just looting.

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you can play while watching tv and only using one hand when all you do is click on monsters

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Dinin wrote:

Also labeling people Green/Red is a bad idea, just go with "for loot options" and "no loot options."

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moikpei wrote:

I have a draft started, the problem is when I get to the argument summaries, I'm having a hard time phrasing them neutrally. Like, this is who far I got:

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Glossary:

FFA - The current game function where each bit of loot can be picked up by anyone.
Instanced - A proposed game function where each bit of loot is parcelled out and can only be seen and picked up by individuals.
Timed - The current game function where rares, uniques, and commodities can be seen by everyone, but each is randomly locked to a specific player for about one second.
GREENS - Players who lean toward increasing in ways in which FFA loot is moderated, or even instancing it entirely.
REDS - Players who lean toward limiting the ways in which FFA loot is moderated, or even unrestricting it entirely.

TIPS:
1) If someone is acting like a jerk, message a moderator or Support. I will be very aggressive about requesting moderation of this thread.
2) Don't be a jerk.
3) Try to be constructive; that means trying to elaborate on another person's point rather than trying to negate it.
4) Making a "slippery slope" argument is not constructive.
5) Assuming the motivations behind another person's point is not constructive.

SUMMARY:
In the past, the developers have stated that they wish to have the game feel "cut throat", and would prefer if loot was entirely unmoderated. Recent updates note they feel content with the current compromise of short timers limiting accessibility. Some players find this compromise unsatisfactory.

RED Side Arguments:
+ FFA loot is part and parcel of what makes Path of Exile the ARPG we deserve; Nintendo Hard and Grimdark rather than the rainbowpony hugpile other ARPGs of late have turned out to be. There are other games out there "for" GREENs, please check your casual priviledge.

GREEN Side Arguments:
+ FFA loot is not essential to making a game Nintendo Hard and Grimdark. All the other stuff does that. Your rights end where my feelings begin.