Fighting over loot

Raids fighting over loot seems to be inevitable. Most guilds have some sort of loot distribution system, using points (DKP) or some other form of rotation list. And that usually works well for all class specific items, like the tier 1 sets from Molten Core. Where the fighting starts is when an item drops that can be used by several classes.

Now you can handle inter-class items with DKP as well. But there is a definitive possibility that somebody wants to have an item which is useable, but not all that great for his class, and would help another class more. A prime example is the proverbial "hunter weapon", a hunter being awarded a melee weapon, which would have found better use if wielded by some melee class. So most raid groups have a master looter declaring what classes can bid for this or that item. And somebody with more DKP, but playing a sub-optimal class for that item, might well lose out.

The problem is that this is a slippery slope. There are items that are obviously unsuited to this or that class. But other items are just marginally better for one class than for the other. And as soon as somebody has to actually make a decision which class is allowed to have a specific item, somebody will certainly disagree with that decision, and the fighting starts.

Some arguments used in disputing who gets what loot are just incompatible. A typical argument is that an item should go to some character for whom it is the biggest upgrade, thus making the whole of the guild stronger. Unfortunately that doesn't mix well with a DKP system, because the basic principle of a DKP system is that whoever raids most, gets the most epics, thus any additional epic he finds is a lesser upgrade for him than for somebody who rarely raids.

Another typical argument used in loot fights is "that class gets another, better, item of the same type elsewhere". For example my Alliance guild has a "priests can't get the Will of Arlokk staff, because they get Benediction" rule. Unfortunately "getting Benediction" isn't that easy and automatic. You need an item from the last but one boss in Molten Core, Majordomo Executus, and the item only drops half of the time. As you can only kill Majordomo once a week, and every priest in your guild probably wants that item too, you could be waiting months before you are even just getting the first quest piece. And then you still need to farm level 60 elite demons, which are impossible to solo for a priest, for the next piece, which has just a 0.6% drops chance. And then you still need to master a rather hard event quest to finally get the staff. In my opinion the argument about some hypothetical item elsewhere should never influence the loot discussion of the item on hand. There is *always* a better item, you just might to have to kill Kel'Thuzad for it. ;)

As if loot distribution wasn't already complicated enough, it gets even harder when people decide to spec their characters in an unusual way. What items should a shadow priest be allowed to get? Does he get lower priority on priest set items, because they usually just give bonuses to healing? Does he get items which increase spell damage, in spite of the warlocks and mages wanting those too? As much care as Blizzard took to make the three talent trees of every class viable, the class set items often don't support all three talent specializations. And if you have to rely on inter-class items, you're probably getting into a lot of loot fights.