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

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flab wrote:

I get the feeling GGG and some players feel ninjaing loot should and could somehow be a legitimate, integral aspect of gameplay and would like it universally enforced because of this.

It does add a more social or competitive aspect, but trying to enforce it seems futile to me and would probably even end up hurting the game.

I probably wouldn't play anything but FFA loot and there definitely are limits and issues to resolve with having options for FFA and instanced loot, but I don't feel people wanting instanced loot should be denied the option.

I feel that if anything changes, it will need to be an absolute change. The fact that these debates go on for so long with very little dev, or even mod intervention shows how beaten this topic is as a whole.

I also hope that, whatever they decide they don't try the meet in the middle option. It will split the player base, and eventually turn this game into much more of a solo game.

aka D3 style which no one seemed to enjoy.

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Jackel6672 wrote:

D3 has full instanced loot, and in my time playing that I rarely saw people partying because it wasn't necessary to get the loot you wanted. D2 is a prime example of a game that full on looting was what made the game exciting. D2 also had the type of trading system this game has, just with runes instead of orbs.

D3 made some stupid mistakes with multiplayer. It actually felt punishing to play with more people, especially in public. Because in public a lot of times you would find people below your skill level and when I was playing that meant that the game was much harder for you at that point than it would be to play it solo. The problems apparently haven't changed much, you can go look at their forums right now and see people asking "Why can't we play monster power in coop?". D3 has too many other issues to try to compare it to this game. I loved the loot system in D3 but hated it in about every other aspect.

Whenever D2 guys post in here they usually say "No I played solo for items and when I played multiplayer it was just for exp". D2 is dominated by pick it bots now. At what point did most people find the loot system exciting? Sounds like D2 had the same problem this game has. People play solo to not have to fight over the drops.

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Jackel6672 wrote:

That is the gamer of today, and I hope that the devs make the right decision to not alienate its base clientele and change the looting system, unless it is to remove the timers.

How would some different looting options alienate its base clientele?

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Jackel6672 wrote:

This game was designed to be played at a fast pace, where helping that teammate out might cost you a drop. Everyone else deals with it, due to a large portion of people playing this game not even posting on the forums.

Does people dealing with it mean that the game wouldn't benefit by more options? I bugs me to think that people are "dealing with" a fairly big aspect of the game. I would like to see the majority of the player base really enjoying all of its systems and not dealing with them. Many times I have seen someone post one time that they want the loot system changed and then not post again. Their opinion is just as valid and important as they people who post many times on the subject.

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Jackel6672 wrote:

If not, these topics need to stop. Its been beaten to death and nothing new ever comes out of them.

I also think the topic should stop but I recognize that it won't. The best case scenerio is that the devs decide one way or another and then when the topic pops up again it can be killed off the answer "This issue is done and decided".

This issue is done and decided.

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Lachdanan wrote:

This issue is done and decided.

Either prove that your a dev or post a link to a dev saying that.....

Not yet decided.

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Lachdanan wrote:

This issue is done and decided.

proof please?

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iamstryker wrote:

Whenever D2 guys post in here they usually say "No I played solo for items and when I played multiplayer it was just for exp". D2 is dominated by pick it bots now. At what point did most people find the loot system exciting? Sounds like D2 had the same problem this game has. People play solo to not have to fight over the drops.

A hack (security issue) for another game has no bearing on this discussion unless you have evidence of the same thing happening here.

And when did people find the D2 loot system exciting? Oh, some time between 2000 and 2012, when it sold millions of copies and provided inspiration for GGG to create PoE. Did everyone like it? No. Did millions of people play the game anyway? Yes.

I just don't see what the problem is: more players in-game = more loot, faster killing speed, and more safety. The trade-off is that everyone gets a shot at the loot since you all shared in the effort, so you pick up what you can and shrug off what you miss. Sometimes the best item will drop right next to you, sometimes it's all the way across the screen...it's not that big of a deal. There will always be more items.

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Aixius wrote:

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iamstryker wrote:

Whenever D2 guys post in here they usually say "No I played solo for items and when I played multiplayer it was just for exp". D2 is dominated by pick it bots now. At what point did most people find the loot system exciting? Sounds like D2 had the same problem this game has. People play solo to not have to fight over the drops.

A hack (security issue) for another game has no bearing on this discussion unless you have evidence of the same thing happening here.

And when did people find the D2 loot system exciting? Oh, some time between 2000 and 2012, when it sold millions of copies and provided inspiration for GGG to create PoE. Did everyone like it? No. Did millions of people play the game anyway? Yes.

I just don't see what the problem is: more players in-game = more loot, faster killing speed, and more safety. The trade-off is that everyone gets a shot at the loot since you all shared in the effort, so you pick up what you can and shrug off what you miss. Sometimes the best item will drop right next to you, sometimes it's all the way across the screen...it's not that big of a deal. There will always be more items.

for you this seems nice. but for some of us its not. that is the problem. we are all different and play different. we just dont want to be forced into a certain way. we want options

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wrathmar wrote:

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Aixius wrote:

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TheSwampDog wrote:

I see the whole pro-FFA argument as a group of PvP'ers who want to force non-PvPers into their way of playing. I think they have a genuine concern that if competition isn't forced onto others, some players won't do it.

I'm pro-FFA and I have never cared for PVP at all. I just happened to play D2 for years and know that it never stopped me from having fun, from making friends, or from getting items.

I know from playing D3 that instanced loot does NOT provide the same experience, mostly leading to players feeling like they're in their own little world instead of a shared one. IMO this is because the loot experience is a major part of the ARPG genre, and when players don't share that element it severely detracts from the overall multiplayer experience.

Sure, players can occasionally link an item in chat and show something they got, but it isn't the same as everyone in the game having a shot at obtaining it. When all players are aware of all drops players can express interest in items that other party members have picked up, opening the door for generosity/selfishness/trading/etc., and the more that players are encouraged to interact with each other the better. With assigned loot you just get a cumbersome and pace-slowing system of linking items in chat on the off chance that the other player likes the stats.

I agree with you 100%; but it's more anti-instanced than a pro-FFA post.

I also like the timer system but I feel it needs to be tweaked a bit to make more players comfortable with playing co-op.

I knew someone would try and key in on that, but it's both: anti-instanced and pro-FFA. I believe that players should have a shot at all the items that drop. I definitely do not want to see items that I can't pick up, and the timer system encroaches on that a bit, but I understand why it is there and think it is done in a fair way.

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Aixius wrote:

A hack (security issue) for another game has no bearing on this discussion unless you have evidence of the same thing happening here.

Actually its brought up in these threads regularly as another reason FFA looting will have issues in this game. I brought it up previously because FFA turned to crap in D2.

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Aixius wrote:

And when did people find the D2 loot system exciting? Oh, some time between 2000 and 2012, when it sold millions of copies and provided inspiration for GGG to create PoE. Did everyone like it? No. Did millions of people play the game anyway? Yes.

D2 selling a lot is not proof that everyone loved FFA. I liked D2 a lot and never liked FFA. IMO POE should be innovative and better than D2, not stick with a system that people "just accepted" but did not really like that much.

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Aixius wrote:

I just don't see what the problem is: more players in-game = more loot, faster killing speed, and more safety. The trade-off is that everyone gets a shot at the loot since you all shared in the effort, so you pick up what you can and shrug off what you miss. Sometimes the best item will drop right next to you, sometimes it's all the way across the screen...it's not that big of a deal. There will always be more items.

I respect your view point. I still think more people can enjoy the system to a much higher degree than it is right now.

Pro FFA'ers, riddle me this...WHY ARE THERE NO FUCKING PUBLIC PARTIES?