Implementing the EPGP system for loot distribution
With the upcoming opening of WoD raiding content we will be in need of a solid system for loot distribution among our raiders. We will start by clearing Normal raids where loot will be set to personal. However, the personal loot option will not be available in Heroic raids and onwards. For this reason we will use a loot council approach to item distribution and the EPGP system for keeping track of the overall involvement of players in our raids while also tracking the loot players received. We will need all raiders to download the EPGP (dkp reloaded) addon which can be found here. The system will be started on Wednesday 3rd of December (our first raid)!
What is EPGP?
"The EPGP loot system, nicknamed “dkp reloaded,” is a mature, established loot system that has been in active use by many guilds for a number of years. Sometimes known for being somewhat “mathy,” EPGP tries to provide a fair, transparent, configurable, deterministic, and reasonable loot distribution system. EPGP is somewhat more complicated than most loot systems, but thanks to addons that simplify calculations and management, both the master looter and all members of a guild will find EPGP to be a fluid and effective loot system."
How does it work?
EPGP stands for Effort Points/ Gear Points.
Effort Points (EP) are a measurement of the player's raid attendance and work put into guild progress. You will gain EP by participating in guild raids.
Extra EP will be awarded for being on time for raids, for staying till the end of a raid and for first time boss kills during raid progression. If you are late, leave early you will not receive the extra EP awarded for these occasions. EP penalties will be put in place for not showing up for a raid you are signed and accepted for.
Gear Points (GP) are a measurement of how much loot players receive. Every time you are awarded an item you will gain a certain amount of GP.
Priority (PR) is the ratio between EP and GP (PR=EP/GP) and it reflects the order in which players should be awarded loot. The more effort you put in the more gear you receive over time.
So the EPGP system will automatically gather raid attendance and dedication in the form of EP. At the same time it will hold a record of the player's loot history in the form of GP.
Decay is used for two main reasons: to prevent and deter players from hoarding PR and secondly to give dedicated newcomers a chance at getting loot.
At the start of every raid week there will be a decay in everyone's EP and GP by fixed at 10%. This means that EP will climb quickly at first, but then eventually it will slope off towards a more natural cap. GP on the other hand will in time slope towards a low defined GP as it accumulates only when loot is rewarded rather than every raid. Because of this players should feel encouraged to actively call on upgrades and not hoard points. We want people to attempt to upgrade all gear slots opposed from disregarding every upgrade, running around in subpar gear and not spending any points just because they want that one item they have their mind fixed on. Hoarding is bad for you and bad for the guild and would only result in an overall larger loss due to the decay percentage.
We will also make use of the loot council function of the addon so that tough loot calls can be discussed and voted on by our loot council (insert members). Raiders will be able to view their EP, GP and PR by simply typing /epgp in game while having the EPGP (dkp reloaded) addon installed.
When an item drops
The system will kick in as the loot master attempts to loot an item. A window will pop prompting you to make your decision. You will have the following options: Major upgrade, minor upgrade, offspec and pass. At the same time you can type in a note for the master looter to see. After all calls have been made the loot master and loot council will decide and accordingly distribute the loot.
We are aiming to be as fair as possible when distributing loot and for this we will base our loot decisions on a number of factors:
- Loot priority (PR) is the ratio between EP and GP indicator of your raid attendance and effort while at the same time considering your loot history. This is how the system keeps track of everything and consequently it plays an important role in loot decisions.
- Attendance reflects dedication to the guild and is a very important factor.
- Currently equipped item will be considered. We aim to develop and progress as a team and to do so we need to award items to the people who need them most. This does not mean under any circumstance that we will attribute loot to undedicated, low attendance players that are not as involved in guild progression as others. We will look at currently equipped item when making the tougher calls.
For example: Player1 and Player2 call for the same item. Player 1 hasslightly higher PR than Player 2 but the item is by far a better upgrade for Player2. The loot council decides in favor of Player2 as the raid team would also benefit more from this decision.
For more information regarding this system check this link and also the developer's description. Keep in mind that some these guides have been written some time in the past and item levels and other values may not be the ones we will be working with. Still the basic principles are the same.
Also feel free to address any related questions to me(Erinome) or to our officer crew.
