GNoMES - GPS System

F.A.Q

+	One loot item per lock? That doesn't sound very much, and what if there's more loot than players?
That's raids I'm afraid. Generally they don't contain enough loot for everyone to walk away with nice loot. Making sure that everyone gets a maximum of one item per raid lock ensures that everyone has the highest possible chance of getting an item. It's a rule the Gnomes have lived by for a long time, and it's served us well. Of course, if we're lucky enough to encounter a raid where there's loot coming out of our ears, then once everyone has got something everyone is eligible to receive loot again.
+	It still sounds a bit harsh to me... what if nobody else wants the loot?
If you've already won an item, then something else drops which you'd like, then the 'one item per lock' rule stops you from taking it. However, if all of the other players present don't want it, or indeed if it's class-specific and only you can use it, then of course you can take it. Again, this is a rule that we've used for a long time, so no change here.
+	1 point per boss? So you think Thorog is as easy as Fruz, huh?
Of course some bosses are easier than others, but who decides? Each class will probably give a different opinion, depending on their role in the fight. Besides, the points only act as a mechanism for putting people in to a list that represents the time and effort they've spent in a particular raid. Giving a different amount of points to different bosses will only mean that the gap in points between a successful group and a less successful group will be artificially increased.
+	It says 'mains take priority'... what if I want my alt to take priority?
As a kinship, we want to make sure that main characters are equipped as well as they can be to increase our chances of taking on the toughest challenges that we've become so good at :) Giving priority to mains achieves this. It also removes the frustration that is felt by a new raider who takes their main in to an established group of alts and never manages to get what they need. In reality, we all want to equip our mains first, so we'll generally be seeing runs that are made up of all mains anyway. As time goes on the alt runs tend to kick in once people have got their mains fully equipped. In the event that a player is actually asked to switch to an alt for the good of the success of the raid, then the points earned on that alt will be awarded to the character they actually signed up with if they want to(i.e. as if they had never been asked to switch).
+	Why can't I keep passing on items I don't have so that I can then take the loot from the last boss?
Mainly because the last item required to complete the set won't even be reached for a while. It takes time to learn a raid. If everyone passed on the early items nothing would get picked up. Also, if you manage to acquire the last item first, then potentially the earlier items could be collected very quickly, leaving a temptation to withdraw from the raid much earlier than you would normally have done. Of course we all want the sets as quickly as possible, but this shouldn't be to the detriment of the rest of the kin. This system is designed to try to smooth out the rate of acquiring loot, so that in theory, people who raid roughly as much as each other will gain their loot at roughly the same rate.
+	How does the price of loot items get set?
Ideally, the price of loot will be set so that the cost of an item will equal the maximum amount of points possible to be earned in a single run. Of course, we don't know exactly how many items will drop, so this won't always be the case exactly.
+	Will the price of loot ever change?
Only if it is considered to have been incorrectly set in the first place. If the price is set correctly in the first place, then there shouldn't be a need for it to change again.
+	Nobody has been in to the new raids yet... how will they afford items on the first run?
The first time anybody signs up for a raid under this new system, they will automatically be given enough points to buy 1 item. This doesn't give anyone any advantages as everyone will get given these points.
+	I'm at the top of the list, but someone below me got the loot! How can this be?
There are a number of reasons this could happen... perhaps you're on an alt and there are mains in the group who also needed the item. Perhaps you already have the item, or simply didn't want it. Maybe the item was class specific. Maybe you'd already won an item during that raid lock.
+	It says my points are safe. Who's keeping track of all this?
Bones (me, hello!) has created a system which automatically calculates people's position on the loot list, based on their status as main or alt, and based on the total number of points that have ever been earned in each raid and the number that have been spent. The data will be regularly updated on this site for everyone to see. If anyone is bored enough to want to know anything about the actual application, it's just an excel 2007 spreadsheet with a couple of macros and a number of formulae. You'll see screenshots of it here and there so you should get a good idea of how the system is being administered. The only margin for error is me telling the system how many points you earned and spent each week, but the results will always be visible on this site, so you'll soon know ;)
+	I've got a big mortgage, credit cards... I can handle debt. So why can't I go in to negative points?
Apart from the fact that negative points would be an added complication, the whole concept of the points system is that the loot you get is in proportion to the amount of time you spend in the raid. You can't borrow points from other people, and you can't borrow them from the system. If you don't have enough points to buy an item, and absolutely nobody else in the raid wants it, then you're lucky and you can have the item for whatever few points you do actually have.
+	I've earned a load of points in the Rift and there's just nothing left that I want. Why can't I spend them in Helegrod?
If that's the case, the system has served you very well if you've managed to get everything you needed from a particular raid :) You can't transfer your points because not everyone who does Helegrod does the Rift too, and this would give you an unfair advantage over them.
+	My main is completely decked out in everything this raid has to offer. Surely I can buy my alt a few goodies?
Sorry, but you can't transfer points between alts and mains, friends, grandmothers, etc. Points have to be spent on the character you earned them on. The only exception to this rule is when the raid leader specifically asks someone to switch to an alt for the good of the raid.
+	There's people with loads more points than me... what's the point of me joining the raid?
The first thing to realise is that this is quite probably a good thing. The only way it should be possible for someone to have a lot of points is if they've had nothing to spend them, and the only reason that should happen is because they already have the items. In other words, just because you're near the bottom of the list, you could well find that the people above you already have the items you want, which will mean that they will become available to you by default, regardless of how many points you have.
+	What was actually wrong with the old system anyway?
One of the main disadvantages of the old system was that it often gave rise to situations where people had tried for many, many months to get a particular item, and never actually succeeded. They came in time and time again, saw members of their group get the item, watched newcomers join and also get the item, but never managed to get it for themselves. This is one of the main problems associated with not having a fixed group of players until everyone has the entire set. Experience has taught us that getting a truly fixed group of players is virtually impossible (people get bored, stop playing, etc). This new system means there is no need for a group to be fixed (although a regular steady group is still ideal) - your time in all groups contribute to your points, so there is no impact of people leaving and joining raid groups, at least as far as loot is concerned. The old system also gave no recognition to the amount of times people had raided before - every raid was a fresh start for everyone. The new system does indeed recognise time spent, as well as the amount of loot received... if you don't receive loot on a particular run, you still get the satisfaction of knowing that as a result of being there, you're that much closer to getting it next time.
+	I can rarely join a raid group for various reasons.. surely I'm going to lose out?
Clearly, if you go raiding less than other people, you're not going to get your loot as quickly as they are. That's always been the case, and always will be. The new system will not make you more unlikely to get loot items. You may find you have less points than regular raiders, but chances are they will already have the items you want anyway. You may even find that you have more points than the regular raiders, as they will be spending their points far more often than you are!
+	It all sounds so complicated. I can't be bothered to read and understand all this...
Well, you've made it this far! Seriously though, the system is actually incredibly simple, and all the hard work is being done for you. It's one of those things that is just complicated to explain, but actually very simple in practice. There's no substitute for actually trying the system and getting used to it. All you need to know is that all your efforts are being recorded for you, and nobody is going to forget when it's your turn to receive an item. The loot priority order will be available to everyone before the raid begins.
+	So, our loot is effectively being handled by a computer. Where's the human element?
This whole change has been brought about by your opinions in the poll, discussions with members, discussions amongst officers, and after squeezing all of that information in to a blender, this is what came out. If people continue participating in raids in the same way that the kin is used to (i.e. semi-fixed groups) then really people shouldn't see a great deal of difference in amount of loot they receive. At the same time, those who go week-in, week-out helping out other groups, etc will know that when that shiny one-in-a-thousand item drops, they'll have a better chance of getting it (after all, they've earned it, and probably haven't taken any other items for a long time, in order to have made it to the top of the list). At the end of the day though, although I've tried to automate the system as much as possible, we are the Gnomes, and common sense, decency, comradeship and respect for our fellow kinnies will prevail.