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The Daily Grind: What do you think of random loot?
Random loot has existed in games pretty much since the first game that featured some sort of loot, and for good reason. It's not exactly a conceptual leap to assume that Ingvar the Plunderer from World of Warcraft might have a powerful axe, seeing as he swings an axe around to great effect while you fight him. And of course, when you get a random drop, you feel a rush of reward. That's discounting, of course, the many times that you don't win the roll for the drop, or the drop simply doesn't happen to be among the loot dropped for that particular run. Anyone who has done the same content time and again in hopes of a drop that hasn't come will no doubt gladly relay horror stories. At the best of times, random rewards make you feel like you managed to break the system and get an advantage. At the worst of times, random rewards make you feel like they've robbed you of something for no good reason. It's a topic that gets brought up every so often, and it merits another go: How do you feel about random loot? Do you think it's a good system? A bad system that's a necessary evil? Or do you prefer a system akin to Guild Wars', in which most rewards are purchased or crafted rather than dropped? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Are loot drops really random?
If you've been to a few raids, there's no question that you've heard some interesting theories about loot distribution. The drops are determined by the precise time (to the second!) that the first player zones into the instance. Or perhaps the drops are determined by the class of the group leader. Or maybe by the first letter of the group leader's name. Does the current phase of the moon have something to do with it? Perhaps it's a little of all these things!Trust me, I've heard every theory that's tried to make sense of what Blizzard constantly assures us are completely random loot drops. However, EU forum-goer Rooted came across a post by Blizzard employee Issuntril which stated:There are many other variables which effect which items are going to drop. I'm afraid this is information not intended for the community however, and is not something I can comment further on.Other variables, you say? So... loot isn't random? The conspiracy theorists were right all along?!
