Monday, October 01, 2007

My Gear Philosophy

One activity that I find very interesting is the making of gear lists. You see people making lists of their ideal gear, and then running instances over and over until they get the exact gear that they want.

This is something that I don't do. Mostly because Lady Chance and I have an understanding: if I want an item, it will not drop.

The only items that I have ever really wanted was the paladin Tier 2, Judgement Armor. I was in a guild that cleared Blackwing Lair. Yet I entered TBC with only one of the eight pieces (the gloves, I believe). I never got my helm to drop from Onyxia. I lost the roll for the legs to a paladin wearing a necklace from Scarlet Monastery.

So I follow a different philosophy: If you do stuff, loot will drop. Do a variety of instances, and upgrade whenever possible. Even if the item is not the "ideal" item for that slot, take it if it is better than your current gear. Spend your DKP freely, and do not hoard it for the perfect item. As long as you keep doing instances, things will work out. Work on all your sets at the same time. If you are Holy, and a good Ret piece drops, spend DKP on it.

Of course, show some courtesy to your fellow players. If something is off-set for you, and main-set for someone else, let them have it.

As long as you keep doing stuff, loot will come. I don't think it's worthwhile to worry about what the "absolute" best piece of gear for the slot.

About the only exception to this philosophy is crafted gear. It's worthwhile to look over the crafted gear in the game, and see if there are any pieces there worth working towards. But this is because crafted gear is not random.

So that's my philosophy. Don't sweat the "ideal" drops, and continuously upgrade. Eventually you'll end up with decent gear.

8 comments:

  1. I collect loot the same way. I keep in mind what particular stats I especially need and roll on those if they drop. I look at what particular slots in my armor or weapons could use the most improvement, and I roll on upgrades. Every once in a while I will spam a certain instance if I know a one piece would make a particularly huge difference. But for the most part I just run instances for challenge and fun with guildies and friends and make a judgment call on drops based on who is there with me, and what I need. If a drop comes that would most help a person’s primary role, they get a roll. If nobody wants it for that, then secondary roles can roll for it to save from melting it.

    - Jason

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  2. "Mostly because Lady Chance and I have an understanding: if I want an item, it will not drop."

    - I think the correct version of that understanding (which is valid for 99% of the players) is this:

    - Change for item to drop *and* you winning the roll/DKP is inversely proportional to how much you want it!

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  3. I think you should collect gear and improve it as you go along till you get better gear.

    However there is nothing wrong with making a wish list or a gear goal list as something to aim for yet keep improving it along the way if something also comes along.

    The wish list is just a goal as something to know or keep in mind what your aiming for. If you know that its your goal to try and collect a piece of gear, then you are aware of it. When and if it ever drops you can try to roll and get it if possible and remember that you do need it and not pass on it or miss it. Nothing wrong with making a list just as there is nothing wrong with setting a real life goal. If you never set a goal its more difficult to hit it if you never had one in the first place. But yes in the interm you should do with what you collect and keep improving it.

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  4. @galoheart: The problem of a "wish list" is that you get to expect that to actually drop and you get mad at other players when *they* get it and not you! The advantage of a more random/casual loot approach is that you don't get as frustrated when something nice drops and you don't get it!

    WoW is (should be?) all about having fun, and if you can cut on one thing that increases your frustration (those tens or hundreds of runs without item X or item Y dropping), then you'll have a more pleasant experience!

    It works for the OP and seems to work for me too! I too used to have a "wish list", but most of those things would be years away, seing that I'm an altaholic and I don't/can't afford the commitment to raiding...

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  5. Or the alternatives, such as...
    - PvP
    - Farm mats for crafted items
    - Grind for rep items
    - Grind gold to purchase items off the AH

    Of course, that is influenced where you are in the game, your class, and whether you prefer to run instances / raid, PvP, quest, or grind.

    Possibly the biggest change introduced by TBC, IMO, is that Arena PvP gear rewards rival endgame raid drops - so there are truly multiple paths in gear progression.

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  6. "Mostly because Lady Chance and I have an understanding: if I want an item, it will not drop."

    I raided Karazhan for 6 months before ever seeing a Shard of the Virtuous drop. I know exactly how you feel.

    I do personally make a wish list of the gear I would like. Since my guild's raid are very scheduled (e.x. tonight we are doing these bosses) I do like to look before hand at the loot tables and see what there is that I could use. The great thing about a DKP or EPGP system is that there are very few hard feelings if someone else gets the item you wanted. It just means either you've been getting a lot of loot lately or the other person has been raiding a lot.

    My really old GM (who I never liked very much) did have a good saying though: "If you raid you will eventually get everything you need." It seems true too.

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  7. I make a gear list so that I know the instances I -should- be haunting. Both for drops and for the rep.

    It's more guided than "what do you want to do tonight?" and allowing random chance to pick my loot tables.

    If I've looked over my gear list.. and I have 2-3 alternatives for each slot.. then if I see that Dungeon X has 3 potential drops that I want.. and Dungeon Y has 7.. I'll push for us to do Dungeon Y and hope for luck to be with me.

    I guess I haven't been doing this long enough to be bitter if I miss the roll.

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  8. I have a gear wish list - the things I can buy or earn or make once I've earned enough rep. For everything else, I have the stats at which I'm aiming, and pick based on getting closer. Oh, and I keep older stuff where I dropped a bit in one stat for a larger kick in another stat - I've learned the NEXT piece may go better for my overall goal with the previous piece.

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