My Thoughts on Fair Lotting Rules

I’ve been somewhat not following the recent drama over lotting rules with my former shell. It is a bit amusing to watch, but not be a part of.

So I thought I’d post some thoughts on some of the different lotting rules I’ve seen and give some pros and cons of each (assuming there are any). I’ve been doing end-game for a while and have seen some really bazaar rules.

Lotting Rule #1 –

Leaders dictate who gets what drops. (This rule requires no Points)

Do I really need to say what is wrong here? If you are a friend of the leader, or the leader yourself, this can work out very well for you at the expense of the general membership.

However, having a leader be able to over-ride lotting rules is not always bad. Giving Byakko’s Haidate or the Kote to a newer Ninja who tanks everything for the shell, over a Black Mage who’s 4th job is monk is not always bad.

Normally though, this lotting rules give most items to the leader and his/her friends, leaving the rest of the people to fight over the scraps. It may work in older shells where everyone knows each other well, or to complete a salvage set instead of having 3 people with 1 part each.

Lotting Rule #2 –

Everyone chooses a single item to lot before entry. (This rule requires no Points)

If greed were not an issue, this might work. But, it severely punishes those who lot poorly. I’ve seen 2 members lot the same jobs (both joined at the same time), one had 3 complete sets of AF, the other had a total of 5 pieces.

Lotting Rule #3 –

Job Priority. (This rule requires no Points)

Job A gets Item 1 first, then job B, etc. This works only for very new groups as some items are needed to get started. After that, this should be thrown away, otherwise, you just have people leveling a certain job in order to get an item (BAD!).

Lotting Rule #4 –

Null Points, or Zero Sum Points. (This rule does require Points)

You only get points when someone spends them. Points spent are then distributed to all present. So if someone buys an item for 5 points, and there are 15 people there, everyone gets 1/3rd of a point. At all times, the sum of points for all members is 0.

The main advantage here is that new members start at 0, which is right in the middle of the group, instead of at the very bottom. It becomes easier for a new member to get items faster, but may punish medium length members more than it should (they have been in the group long enough to spend points, but not long enough to get all they want), while old members will always be sitting on a large number of positive points.

This is one of the more popular rules for every game except for FF.

Lotting Rule #5 –

Points with set cost for items. (Oh look, it requires points)

All items have a pre-set point cost, whomever has the most points get the item if/when it falls. The cost is deducted from their total, and they cannot go too far into the negative.

This type of system can quickly lead to point escalation, where older members accumulate so many points that it is nearly impossible for a new member to catch up. If items do not fall frequently enough, it can quickly get to a situation where the old members get everything, and it takes new members a significant amount of time to get into a position to lot things.

Lotting Rule #6 –

Points with set cost for items, but allowing escalation. (Oh look, it requires points)

Like #5, but now if a member really wants something, they can put down double, triple, etc points to get the item. A new member can challenge an old member’s dominance by being willing to bid more for the item, but an old member can always outbid if they really want it.

Lotting Rule #7 –

Point bidding for every item. (Requires Points)

Members can bid as many points as they would like, highest bid gets item.

A variant on #6.

Lotting Rule #8 –

Choose which items you most want, and get a multiplyer, but when you get that item, you lose a percentage. (Requires Points)

This is one of my favorites personally, and it one of the more creative ones (also used for my Limbus shell). When you join, you pick 5 items from Proto-Omega or Ultima that you want, list them 1 through 5. You get a raw points of (6 – Ranking) x Number of Points. This number is then compared to others, person present with most points gets that item. When you get your item though, you lose (6 – Ranking) x 10% x Number of Points. So your #1 item will cost you 50% of your points, but you get a 5 x multiplyer on it.

Old members cannot dominate the lotting long, and sitting on your points doesn’t buy you anything, as the more you have, the more you lose when your item falls. It works well.

But it has some flaws. It would be difficult to apply this scenario to something like Sky drops, where there are tons of items for many jobs. This rule is also an administrative headache. Otherwise, I love it, and it works wonderfully for Limbus.

Lotting Rule #9 –

All items have a list. (No Points Required)

You create a waiting list for each item. When it falls, whomever is at the top of the list gets the item.

This encourages people to only show up when they want something, or are close to the top of the list. But it is very clear how many of each item you have to see before you will get it.

Lotting Rule #10 –

Memory Less. (No Points Required)

Ability to lot is based on last X number of runs with a logical cap. For example, your ability to lot is based on the last 5 runs, then your desire to obtain the item. Two people have the same order for items, but one has been to 5 and the other to 4 of the last 5. Person who has been to all 5 gets the item.

I don’t like this one, but its really because something doesn’t sit well. It would suck that an old member who has been to all but 1 run loses out to a new member who has only been to 5 runs for an item. Not sure if this actually would happen or not, but since it could, I don’t like it.

Lotting Rule #11 –

Reset Points to Zero on Obtaining an Item. (Points Required)

Your points will reset to 0 when you get an item you want, person with most points gets the item if/when it falls. Very straight forward, and it can work. Probably works best with friends who know each other well and do not want to screw each other out of items.

A variant on this is a point cap, where you get capped at 20, or 30, or whatever points, and lose them all when you get an item. I am not a fan of this system, so I don’t really know how it would work in practice.

Final Thoughts

There is no such thing as a perfect lotting system. A good lotting system allows the following

Allows old members who have not received a lot of drops to get them

Allows new members who have proven themselves to get items

Has a cost on items that takes longer than the current run to earn

Encourages participation

Works to counter point inflation

Gives people an idea how long they have to wait to see the item

Discourages sitting on a ton of points

Other things to consider

If your drop rates are low, you may need to raise the cost per item

Likewise, if drop rates are high, you may need to lower the cost per item, or many things will go free lot

Know your group, and modify the rules to fit the group, not the group to fit the rules

Changes to the points totals need to be auditable — if it is just a forum post, you need to be careful who can change it

Whenever a new activity is added, there is always a debate over whether a new set of points should be created or not. If yes, then people who have a lot of points can dominate lotting in the new activity, if no, then you add yet another set of points to remember and keep track of.

It is a real balancing act to create a good set of lotting rules that everyone can be happy with.

Anyone think differently? Many people have different systems that work well for them, but may work poorly for others.

Points are always a sore topic, and are often the source of a lot of hard feelings.

-pyra