Raid Spots & Loot

Basic Summary

The DKP website (www.addiction-guild.com/kdkp) displays currently active raiders, their attendance percentage for the last 12 raids, their attendance bracket (red/orange/yellow), and their current DKP amount. The list is automatically sorted in the order of priority, those higher on the list will get items over those lower.

All items have a fixed cost, based on slot (i.e. big items like chests and helms cost more than bracers and belts, etc). Each tier per expansion the prices will double. They are currently:

  • 80dkp: Head, Legs, Chest, Two-Handers
  • 60dkp: Shoulder, Hands, Feet, Waist, Trinket
  • 40dkp: Wrist, Neck, Finger, Back, One-Handers

(Note: Thunderforged items are considered the same as the base item for purposes of loot).

When an item drops, the master looter will link it in raid chat. Those interested in the item whisper the master looter indicating that they want it. If the item is for an offspec, mention that as well.

The winner is determined as follows:

  1. Higher attendance brackets have priority.
  2. If multiple people in the same bracket want the item, the person with the highest DKP is the winner.
  3. In the rare event of a tie, the tied players /roll.
  4. Items that nobody wants are disenchanted.

Players can request an item for free when nobody is willing to pay DKP. This can only happen if you have already purchased an item with DKP of the same slot and item level.

How to Succeed at DKP

If you don’t particularly care about all the nuances of the system keep the following things in mind and you can ignore all the details:

  1. Keep your attendance above 75% by showing up to raids on time and staying until the raid ends.
  2. (Optional) Make a list of all the items you want at the beginning of each tier.
  3. If a main spec item you want drops and you have not already bought an item for that slot from this tier, buy that item for DKP.
  4. Avoid paying DKP for multiple items in the same slot and tier by patiently waiting until nobody else wants them.
  5. If you have extra time: run Raid Finder for offspec gear, do dailies and/or heroics to max out Valor Points and buy as many items that way as possible.

Attendance

All new players start with 0% attendance, and go up from there. This means that it will take a new player roughly two weeks of perfect attendance to hit 50%, and roughly four weeks to get to 100%.

The actual percentage is not important; the focus is on attendance "brackets". There are three brackets:

  • Top (red): Above 75%
  • Middle (orange): Between 74.99% and 50%
  • Bottom (yellow): Below 50%

Attendance is updated at the end of each raid. Attendance is displayed as a percentage, and represents a player's attendance for the last twelve raids (generally four weeks of raiding). This is a rolling system, meaning that when a new raid is entered the oldest is "forgotten".

Attendance is calculated as follows:

Each official raid night, a player can earn up to four points, corresponding roughly to how much of the raid they were online for. Being on time, staying until the raid has officially ended, and not taking excessive AFKs is required to earn the full four points on a given night. The attendance percentage is then simply the player's total attendance points over the past twelve raids; divided by the total potential points from the last twelve raids. Note that on "progress" nights (where we fight a new boss) these values are doubled, i.e. eight points per night instead of four.

Being on time is extremely important. Raid invites start at 7:00 PM EST, and attendance is officially recorded at 7:30 PM. To be considered on time you must be in the raid at 7:30. Note that people online at 7:00 for the first wave of invites will generally have a higher chance of getting a raid spot, while those joining closer to 7:30 may find that the raid is already full and groups set.

Higher brackets have priority for raid spots except in extreme cases where we need a very specific raid composition. If we have more than 25 people online you may be asked to sit on standby. Being on standby for the raid grants full dkp and attendance, provided you are able to come in upon being contacted. It does not matter what you do while on standby, and you do not have to stay in the raid group. You must however be contactable and ready for a summon within two minutes of request. This could be through Vent, a whisper (alt or main), text, or call.

When in a raid, do NOT leave the instance to gem/enchant a newly-received piece of gear. Doing so holds up the whole raid. If you absolutely must gem and enchant an item the minute you get it, carry enchanting mats and gems so you can do it without leaving the instance. Most raids will have a 5 minute break at some point - it is okay to leave the instance during this break and do whatever you need. In general, if you hold up a raid for any reason, expect to lose attendance.

DKP

DKP is subtracted immediately when an item is bought. DKP is gained at the end of each raid week (before Tuesday's raid). The amount gained by each player varies and is based on the total spent that week by the guild as a whole.

DKP is zero sum. When a player buys an item, they immediately lose DKP equal to its price and that amount is redistributed to everyone in the raid. The potential amount gained is the same for everyone, and is scaled by each individual's attendance for that week.

For instance, say a total of 300 DKP was spent in a given week and there were 30 people that attended raids. Each player would receive up to 10 points. Those with less than perfect attendance for the week are penalized. For example, someone who was there for 2 of the 3 days would get 6.66.

Note that due to the attendance brackets, it is common for someone with lower DKP and higher attendance bracket to win an item over someone who has more DKP but is in a lower bracket. Note also that guild ranks do not matter when it comes to loot, only attendance and DKP. It is possible for Trial to get an item over a Raider (and even an Officer) if they are in a higher bracket and/or have more DKP.

It is possible to go negative in DKP, there are no penalties for this and people in the negatives can keep bidding on items. The drawback is that people in the deep negatives will be last in line for highly desirable items that are wanted by many people (weapons, trinkets, tier tokens, etc.).

If a person stops raiding, their attendance will naturally decay. When it reaches 0% they are removed from the system. If they return at a later date, they will restart at 0% attendance, and zero DKP, if they left with positive DKP. If they had negative DKP when they left their DKP is restored to its negative value.

Offspec/Free Gear

Since we are aiming to get people geared as fast as possible, main specs will have priority over offspecs. This also means that classes/specs that an item was "intended for" will likely have priority.

Disclaimer: Blizzard is known for strange itemization from time to time, so this will be determined on a case-by-case basis. In general, it is pretty clear what class/spec items are intended for, so it should rarely be a problem.

Players have the OPTION of taking an offspec item for zero DKP, but ONLY if they have already PURCHASED an item with DKP of the same item level for that slot. Those choosing to use this option become the lowest in priority - players who opt to buy the item with DKP will have priority, regardless of bracket or DKP total. Note that this is an OPTION. People can easily use DKP to buy gear for multiple specs, the player's actual main/offspec doesn't matter.

For instance, Twillside is a shaman with main spec DPS and offspec healing. A pair of healing pants drop (he has not bought any pants this tier yet). He could pay DKP to buy these pants, and later on get the DPS pants for free when nobody else wants them.

Items that come in multiples (rings, trinkets, 1h weapons, possibly tier tokens, etc.) will require the corresponding amount be bought before the free rule kicks in. For example, since rings come in 2s, the first and second ring would have to be bought with DKP, then starting with the third the free option can be used. Tokens used to purchase tier gear (assuming they correspond to slots like they have been lately) are free if an item of that slot was already bought. If they bring back ICC/TOC style tokens (where there is just a single token type for all 5 slots) or something else, this rule may be adjusted.

Due to the many ways that offspecs can be interpreted and the various situations that can arise, the master looter and/or raid leader will have the final say in how this free loot is awarded. In general, all items can be bought with DKP by players, and this is recommended in cases where the item is highly desirable. Once an item enters free territory, fairness of distribution is not guaranteed.

Legendaries

Due to their nature, legendary items are not awarded through the DKP system but rather by officer decision. In general, these items will go to those people who have high lifetime attendance, are extremely consistent, and play their class well. In other words, those who can make the most use of them and are least likely to quit raiding.

This applies to all members of Raider rank and above, and is not limited to say just officers - although very often the officers tend to have the previously mentioned qualities. Be warned that being awarded a legendary carries a commitment: by accepting a legendary you agree to raid consistently and continue raiding for as long as the item is relevant (generally the end of the current expansion). Not showing up to raids, quitting, transferring, changing classes, etc. while having a legendary is seen as an extremely negative thing by both the officers and fellow raiders.

Despite not being distributed within the DKP system, legendaries will often cost the recipient some amount of DKP, determined on a case-by-case basis. Expect to pay at least the cost for that slot in that particular tier, perhaps more since legendaries are often the best-in-slot item across several tiers.

Mounts and Other Cosmetic Items

Mounts and other things that have no effect on player performance are treated in a special way. If such an item drops, there will be a random roll to determine the winner. Only the people in the top attendance bracket will be eligible to roll. The winner will then be charged DKP (most likely 2x the most expensive slot).

This approach is to prevent people from passing on upgrades and hoarding DKP for items that do not in any way result in guild progression.