But I need that for my alt!

Mingka of Dath'Remar shares her story of genuinely needing an item that dropped on a Sunken Temple run, the Robes of Insight, only to have it snatched away by greed. The hunter in the group rolled need on the item as well, with the excuse that his alt/friend/guildmate/girlfriend needs it also. The bottom line question: who is allowed to roll on an item that drops while grouped? The debate continues, but people are very united in the answer that items should always go to players who were present for the drop and need the item as a direct upgrade. What happens if nobody directly needs the item is still a question.

I personally think that loot should be discussed if a clear upgrade situation is not present. Many people have alts, and would like to outfit those characters. But All of us have mains that require funding and gear/enchant/gem upgrades to progress further.

I don't blame Mingka for her frustration. The greed that many players have in the game hurts everyone. In fact, if the item had been a BOE blue, this might not have happened, but the fact that it was a purple epic turns everyone greedy. This is one of the reasons I dislike running pickup groups - that the item that drops may not go to the player in the group who could benefit the most from it. Guild and friend groups are much more willing to be sure the items go to good homes. When a BOE pattern drops, we find out who in the guild needs it before we disperse it for greed, and sometimes we'll even split the profits from the sale in some cases. The only time I've ever taken loot for my alt was in Molten Core, when the tier 1 BOE loot was not an upgrade for anyone attending and I wanted to spend a little DKP.

Long story short, group with people you trust.

This post reminded me of another forum topic regarding the real meaning of "I need this for my alt," which sparked many humorous responses, like:

"I need this for my alt: my auction house alt."
"I'm a ninja, boot me before anything YOU need drops."

There were also many replies to the "I need this for my alt" quote:

"If you need this for your alt, then get his @$$ down here."
"Too bad your alt isn't here."
"That's what GREED ROLL is for!"
"Don't care"

What stories do you have to share about needing and greeding in World of Warcraft?

[Thanks, Sasha.]