Sharing loot fairly: Need/Greed, soft reserve, DKP and loot council

01 / OVERVIEW

Who decides who gets the loot?

These models describe agreed group rules, not four matching buttons in the Forever client. Actual distribution must work within the available loot and trading functions. Examples and assessments are editorial; they are not fixed server prices or compulsory guild rules.

Four models at a glance
System	Decision	Main strength	Typical drawback
Need / Greed / Pass	Priority + chance	Low overhead	Unlucky streaks
Soft reserve / SR	Prior choice + roll	Specific wishes	Contested reserves
DKP – Dragon Kill Points	Internal points	Participation over time	Balances & administration
Loot council	Known criteria	Shared goals	Trust in decision-makers

02 / LOOT

Need / Greed / Pass

In the basic model, Need rolls outrank Greed rolls. The highest roll within the same category wins; passing gives up the claim. Need indicates an equipment need, while Greed can indicate interest in sale value. The buttons and restrictions offered by a game version are a separate matter.[1]

Example

A healing ring drops. Anna rolls Need 12, Ben Need 47 and Cem Greed 99. Ben wins: Need outranks Greed even though Cem rolled higher. If everyone selects Greed, the highest Greed roll wins.

Advantages

Easy to explain, little administration and equal roll chances within a priority category. Useful for short dungeon groups and straightforward sessions.

Drawbacks

Luck does not balance out each evening. One player may win several items while another gets nothing for a long time. Disagreement over who genuinely needs an item causes conflict.

Agree beforehand

Agree beforehand whether main spec takes priority over off spec (MS > OS), how recipes and tradable items are treated, and how ties are resolved. A social MS/OS agreement is not automatically enforced by a roll button.

03 / LOOT

Soft reserve / SR

Before the raid, each player declares an agreed number of desired items. In the model used here, reservers have priority; multiple reservers roll against one another. Unreserved loot follows the remaining group rules. Reserve counts, duplicates and class restrictions can vary.[3]

Example

Lena and Jonas reserve the same staff. It drops; Lena rolls 61 and Jonas 82, so Jonas wins. A non-reserver rolling 94 does not outrank them. If the staff never drops, the reservation alone does not entitle anyone to a replacement item.

Advantages

Goals and competition can be visible in advance. Players without a long guild history can participate. The group can plan around desired loot.

Drawbacks

Popular items remain contested; a reserve guarantees neither a drop nor a win. Late changes and unclear exceptions can undermine the planning.

Agree beforehand

Lock the list before the first pull, specify reserves per player and category, and define unreserved loot and duplicate drops. A soft reserve gives priority under the agreed process; a hard reserve assigns exclusive entitlement in advance.

04 / LOOT

DKP – Dragon Kill Points

The group awards internal points for agreed contributions such as attendance or bosses. Items cost points, using fixed prices or bidding depending on the model. Variants may use decay, caps or starting balances; none is mandatory. DKP here is internal accounting, not gold currency.[4]

Example

Mira has 60 DKP and Noah 50. Under a bidding model, Mira bids 35 and Noah 30 for an item. Mira wins and has 25 DKP left; Noah keeps his 50. Both may earn new points next raid night under the agreed rules.

Advantages

Repeated participation matters across multiple sessions. Visible balances make decisions traceable, and players can save for desired items.

Drawbacks

New members can fall behind established balances. Hoarding can delay useful upgrades. Maintenance, corrections and disputes over awards take time.

Agree beforehand

Publish earning rules, bid format, costs, tie-breaking, standby credit, absence rules and any decay beforehand. A correction log prevents unexplained balance changes.

05 / LOOT

Loot council

A named panel evaluates candidates under known criteria. It may consider upgrade size, role needs and previous loot. Votes and decisions can be recorded; no point balance is required. The group defines the criteria, not the system’s name.[5]

Example

A trinket is a large upgrade for one healer and a small upgrade for another. Applying its published criteria, a three-person council votes 2–1 for the first healer and records the reason. Another group could decide differently under clearly stated role priorities.

Advantages

The group can address specific bottlenecks and shared progression. Members without saved points can still receive important upgrades.

Drawbacks

Subjective weighting can create distrust or real favouritism. Preparation and explanations take time. A council without reviewable criteria can feel arbitrary.

Agree beforehand

Name the members and criteria, handle conflicts of interest, exclude self-voting on personal claims, and record decisions with reasons. Define procedures for ties and appeals.

06 / CHOOSING

Which model fits your group?

Our recommendation depends on organization and trust rather than a universal ranking:

A short dungeon session: Need/Greed with clear main-role expectations often requires the least administration.
A pickup raid with changing players: Soft reserves establish visible goals without weeks of point balances.
A regular raid with a stable roster: DKP can make long-term participation count transparently.
An established guild with shared progression goals: A loot council can fit when criteria, oversight and trust are in place.

Hybrid rules are possible, such as soft reserves for selected wishes and Need/Greed for the rest. No system is automatically fair: clear rules applied consistently matter more than the name.

TOOL / DE + EN

Your loot-rule generator

Choose your group’s agreements and copy the finished rules. The text updates with every change. Values are suggestions for your group; agree the rules together before the first pull.

Entries stay in this browser tab and are not saved. Reloading discards changes. You can choose the text language independently of the page language.

07 / READY TO COPY

Loot rules to edit and copy

Choose a template, replace the square-bracket fields and agree the text with your group before the first pull. These are our examples, not Blizzard-mandated rules. Established guilds have two alternative models: DKP or loot council.

Edit directly in the text boxes. Changes last until the page reloads. You can select and copy the text manually even without a copy button.

Dungeon group

Need/Greed with declared main roles and no reserves.

Editable template · Dungeon group

Soft-reserve raid

One wish per player; only reservers roll when it is contested.

Editable template · Soft-reserve raid

LOOT RULES – SOFT RESERVE [RAID]
Leader: [NAME] | Time: [DATE/TIME]
Final reserve list: [LINK/LOCATION]

1. One soft reserve per player on an item usable for their declared main role. No duplicate reserves by one person and no hard reserves.
2. Lock the list before the first pull and make it visible to everyone. Afterwards, changes are limited to explained error corrections or the replacement rule in point 7.
3. Present reservers have priority on reserved loot. If several remain, each eligible player makes one /roll 1–100; only ties are rerolled.
4. Winning one reserved copy fulfils that reserve. Further copies go to outstanding reserves; after those are fulfilled, use the unreserved-loot rule.
5. Unreserved loot: main spec > off spec > selling/disenchanting. One /roll 1–100 decides within the highest occupied priority. No +1 rule or win cap.
6. Recipes: own relevant profession before resale. Mounts and other non-role special loot: equal /roll 1–100 for everyone eligible. No gold bids or sold reserves.
7. Replacements do not inherit another player's reserve. Before joining, a replacement may choose a suitable item not yet reserved; previous awards stay unchanged. Leaving forfeits claims on later drops.
8. The leader records awards and moderates disputes before the next award. Client binding and trading restrictions still apply.

Everyone confirms before participating. A soft reserve guarantees neither a drop nor a win.

Established guild: DKP

A complete example using fixed costs; point awards and prices can be edited.

Editable template · Established guild: DKP

GUILD LOOT RULES – DKP [GUILD]
Effective: [DATE] | Responsible: [NAME]
Point and loot log: [LINK/LOCATION]

1. We use internal DKP, not gold bids. Every new raid member starts with 20 DKP.
2. Earn 5 DKP per full hour of raid participation; no extra boss or punctuality bonuses. Registered standby earns the same while reachable and ready to join immediately. No points for absent periods.
3. Main spec before off spec. Among main-spec applicants, the highest balance before the award wins; ties use /roll 1–100. Fixed cost: 20 DKP, deducted from the winner only.
4. Applicants with less than 20 DKP cannot win in the main-spec round. If no affordable main-spec claim exists: free /roll 1–100 for off spec, then other personal use. Otherwise disenchant for the guild bank where possible.
5. Recipes go free to agreed guild crafters. Mounts and non-role special loot use a free roll among eligible players. No unannounced exceptions.
6. No negative balances, decay or cap in this model. Declare role changes before the raid. New members, replacements and standby follow the same loot rules.
7. Publish every point entry and loot award. Explain corrections; no hidden edits. Send appeals within 24 hours of publication to [CONTACT].
8. Changes apply from the next announced date, never retroactively. Internal points and reserves are not sold. Technical distribution restrictions still apply.

Established guild: loot council

An alternative to the DKP template: a panel with published criteria and no self-voting.

Editable template · Established guild: loot council

GUILD LOOT RULES – LOOT COUNCIL [GUILD]
Effective: [DATE] | Council: [NAMES]
Independent substitute: [NAME] | Log: [LINK/LOCATION]

1. No DKP balances or gold bids. Declare your main role before the raid and state interest as main spec, off spec or pass.
2. Consider main-spec claims first, then off-spec claims. Within each round, assess in this order: a documented role bottleneck for our shared raid goal, upgrade size, and loot already received in the current raid phase. Friendship and rank are not criteria.
3. Applicants state their current item and need. Each eligible council member has one vote; the highest number of valid votes wins.
4. Members claiming the item cannot vote; the independent substitute takes their place. If no independent council member remains, or candidates tie, use an equal /roll 1–100 among those candidates.
5. New members and replacements are assessed under the same criteria. Officers receive no automatic priority.
6. Recipes go to previously named guild crafters. Mounts and non-role special loot use an equal roll among all eligible players. With no personal claim, disenchant for the guild bank where possible.
7. Publish the winner, vote and a short explanation. Appeals go to [CONTACT] within 24 hours of publication and are reviewed by an uninvolved member. Do not invent criteria retroactively.
8. Everyone confirms before participating. Announce changes before the next raid. Game binding and trading restrictions still apply.

08 / AGREEMENT

Seven questions before the first boss

Which main role counts, and how is off-spec interest handled?
How are reserves, recipes, tradable loot and special items handled?
What happens on a tie or when another copy drops?
Can one person win multiple items, and is there a +1 rule?
How are replacements, standby players, role changes and early departures treated?
Who keeps records, can correct errors and resolves disputes?
Where are the rules recorded, and when are they locked for the session?

In many groups, “+1” means a loot win is counted in later decisions. Whether this only breaks ties or restricts further rolls must be stated explicitly; the shorthand alone is insufficient.

09 / GDKP

DKP is different from GDKP

The DKP described here uses internally earned points. GDKP instead uses gold bids for loot and distributes the proceeds. A soft reserve is not a purchase either: it declares interest under group rules. Selling points or reserves for gold changes the model described here.

Blizzard’s support policy explicitly prohibits GDKP in Forever. These alternatives require no gold bidding for loot; their names do not override game rules or technical distribution limits.[6]

Read the full explanation of GDKP, gold trading and Blizzard’s reasons for the ban ↗

10 / SOURCES

Sources and scope

Historical Blizzard explanations and research provide context for Need/Greed; exact client rules have changed between versions. Developer documentation illustrates variations in reserves, point management and council voting. It does not establish that a particular addon works in Forever. Examples, tradeoffs and recommendations are our own explanations.

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