What do you think of random loot?

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Random loot has existed in games pretty much since the first game that featured some sort of loot, and for good reason. It's not exactly a conceptual leap to assume that Ingvar the Plunderer from World of Warcraft might have a powerful axe, seeing as he swings an axe around to great effect while you fight him. And of course, when you get a random drop, you feel a rush of reward. That's discounting, of course, the many times that you don't win the roll for the drop, or the drop simply doesn't happen to be among the loot dropped for that particular run. Anyone who has done the same content time and again in hopes of a drop that hasn't come will no doubt gladly relay horror stories.

At the best of times, random rewards make you feel like you managed to break the system and get an advantage. At the worst of times, random rewards make you feel like they've robbed you of something for no good reason. It's a topic that gets brought up every so often, and it merits another go: How do you feel about random loot? Do you think it's a good system? A bad system that's a necessary evil? Or do you prefer a system akin to Guild Wars', in which most rewards are purchased or crafted rather than dropped?

TH

For me I like very hard crafting recipes, that once you have them you can craft your gear. Random loot is good and all, but bad luck can keep you behind your friends for a long time, especially in raids, where there is about 12 different pieces that can drop at the minimum.

Hard crafting awards, like MxO where our top crafters had all the recipes, and Fallen Earth, was far more valued for teamwork and group play, than just random, lucky, awards.

Luck should have something I guess, after all it keeps players playing, but it should determine the outcome of your character imo, and that's sadly the way the big MMOs work these days.

TH

Agreed on all points.

Although I am not much of a crafter, the MxO system seemed pretty good, and it eventually became a very rewarding process as you could perpetually recreate most of your favorite gear once you had the recipe.

Also the way that you could randomly aquire the basic materials needed (npc loot drops) , was a great idea imo.
It greatly promoted social intercation as almost everyone had a healthy stash and thus was keen to share, even among different guild members.

A balance of both luck and crafting for aquiring most of the items has its merits, but imo, the best items in the game (elite/epic) should be aquired via top tier crafting mostly, that way crafters can get the respect they deserve and more players will be willing to become one.

Luck can play a factor on how rare the raw materials for above said elite gear are, but the gear itself should be left to the skill of a good crafter.