Loot in MMORPGs is nice. However, it’s not so nice when everyone else thinks they deserve it more – that causes disputes in World of Warcraft.
You always want to improve your character in World of Warcraft. This is only possible through better loot. However, especially in “random groups” or “PUGs”, this seems to increasingly lead to frustration. Instead of being happy that others get something, many are upset and feel entitled to receive the respective loot themselves. This is leading to insults more frequently.
What’s happening in WoW? Anyone who is currently playing with strangers and receiving loot has probably experienced this. There are numerous requests to give up an item – and if one doesn’t want to, some people get directly offended. In the WoW subreddit, the player “NoThisIsABadIdea” summarizes his experiences:
I don’t know what’s going on, but it feels like there’s been a massive increase of people who believe they are entitled to the loot that I won.
That I receive 3 to 5 whisper messages after acquiring each loot asking “NEED???” is one thing. But in 50% of the cases, when I say I want to keep an item, I get insulted or receive whiny explanations about why the other person deserves the item more. My Death Knight has a 606 weapon through the crafting system. Last night I won a two-handed axe at the Silk Glade that I want to upgrade with an emblem. I received 3 whisper messages and when I told another Death Knight that I want to keep it, he said, “But you have a crafted one? Okay, all good. You’ll be reported.” Excuse me?
I can’t remember it ever being this bad. What happened, who are these people?
More than 3,000 upvotes in a few hours show that the problem is widespread in the community. In the comments, many other players report that they have also noticed this change in behavior more frequently in the last expansions – especially when randomly grouped with others:
“A Paladin completely flipped out yesterday when I got a trinket that according to his view belongs to him. Block such people and keep playing, just let them be miserable fools.” – NocturnalEmission1
Where does the problem come from? The problem is indirectly a result of a change that has been around for many years. When loot drops within a group and someone receives it, it is still possible to trade those items within the group. If a character doesn’t need something, the item can be passed on, thus making other players happy.
However, this “option to pass on” has increasingly turned into an “expectation of receiving” for some in recent years.
Especially in connection with linked realms, this leads some people to a “I don’t care” attitude, as one might never see each other again. This is also described by chill1375:
I miss the days when you only played with people from your server, and if someone acted like a jerk, everyone knew who that was, and they were never taken again. When cross-realms were opened, everything went downhill because now you can be super-toxic, as there is a good chance you will never see them again or that no one will even remember.
What can be done about it? Ultimately, in World of Warcraft, the only solution to particularly pushy people is the usual: put the character on the ignore list and preferably not engage with them further. If you are insulted, it’s best to report the respective characters and not engage further.
However, some in the community also have slightly sadistic traits, like ChasingPotatoes17. As soon as he is confronted harshly, he strikes back:
“Be an enchanter. Keep some old epic items that you don’t need anymore in your bag. Disenchant them in such moments and watch how people react. It never gets old.”
Of course, we wouldn’t advise doing that, even though it’s tempting. Stay friendly and factual, only roll need on items you really want to use – and be nice to your fellow players, even if they don’t want to give you loot. There is plenty of loot in WoW for everyone, even if some see it differently.
