Aion Loot Etiquette

Nice loot from a hard boss fight is a nice reward but there is only so much loot to go around. There are no need/greed interface buttons for rolls on loot in Aion, which have become fairly standard in a lot of modern MMOs. If you have never played a MMO that does not incorporate the need/greed buttons into the interface or if it was so long ago that you forgot the way it is done, here is a quick primer. This is mostly helpful for a pick up group (PUG) but it also good if your guild group does not want to give extra loot to guild members and would prefer to auction it for their own greedy nefarious purposes .

First off, there are ways to divvy loot aside from the need before greed system, such as round robin. However, the need before greed system is generally what is accepted as the easiest and most logical loot etiquette in modern MMOs. You could always just take everything you can and vanish away like the loot ninja you are but etiquette is what is going to get you invited back to groups and not blacklisted from joining groups in the future. Aion has a lot of group content so you will want to avoid this sort of reputation if you want to experience this content.

One way to implement the need before greed system in Aion is to greed roll on everything that is tradeable and if someone needs it as an upgrade then they can just ask for it in chat and the winner can trade it to them. This is generally a bad system when leveling because unless something drops repeatedly in the same group, or the group does not have either mages or scouts, someone is most likely going to need the item. People can also get carried away and confirm looting a no-trade item that then just gets sold to a vendor.

The most accepted method is to only roll on items that are an upgrade for you. If everyone passes on the item then all the group members type "/roll 100" without the quotes and the high roller gets the loot from the mob corpse. It doesn't have to be complicated but people can make it that way.

If there are no cloth wearers, for example, then, as long as it is established before hand, the group might always roll on cloth. This can still be a sketchy system, though. Using the cloth example, there will be cloth items that will still be an upgrade to a healer who wants the cloth for the improved magic boost just for PvE groups where the physical defense of chain does not usually matter.

Another rule a group may make is to roll on items that have previously dropped and it was established that no one needed it the last time around. This can save time but it also means everyone has to remember what dropped and no one needed, which is usually easy but can be much more difficult for a group that is slightly higher level than the area it is in and a large part of the loot is not an upgrade.

In short, it is best to establish the looting structure before you head out with a new group. The easiest way to do this is suggest the looting structure as a question, such as, "Are we rolling only on upgrades and /roll 100 the rest?" If you are making the rules then just keep it simple.

Everyone likes loot and that means no one likes a loot ninja. Most importantly though is to have fun! It is fun to get loot but don't let a ninjaed piece of gear ruin your evening. Just steer clear of known ninjas in the future and warn your friends and guild about them.