In Loot Council We Trust or The Loot, The Loot, The Loot is on Fire!

The term "Loot Council" is usually enough to scare any would-be raider.

Often times, the basic function that it's meant to serve is degraded and abused so much that its meaning dilutes itself into an abyss of nothingness; raiders then question the inherency of its resolve, and ultimately are left unsatisfied. Many guilds have become extinct over its basic practice.

That was never my intent for Sated.

For the longest time, my own jaded opinion of the "Loot Council" kept me at a distance. I wanted a fair system, but something that didn't require hours of calculation like DKP. I wanted a system that allowed everyone that helped take down a boss, a chance at 25 man gear. After careful consideration we adopted a simple method that we thought would be effective, and distribute loot evenly across all of our raiders, strengthening our 25 core: A very simple, highest roll, one item won per night...

Somewhere over the course of a few months, this system went awry.

The hopes we had for gear to be dispersed evenly, grew thin. Week after week, the same players seemed to win rolls, leaving their colleagues wanting. I, myself, as GM, after months of 25 raiding had failed to win any rolls or procure any gear from our raids. I tried to suck it up--after all, my dps was still consistently good, and I knew that it benefited the core somewhat. But then there were others that were in the same boat.
If you've ever been there, you know how frustrating it can become. I watched as friends all geared up, then geared up their alts, all the while being stuck in a constant state of, "what the fuck."

After one particular night in Ice Crown, my Officers came to me in search of a solution. They too could see that loot ditribution had been poor (and I think a few of them had felt sorry for me too). And after some heavy contemplation, and a defining of terms, they came to a reprieve. Sated would attempt a Loot Council system that was fair, but rewarded those players that were deserving and consistent to our raids.

Rules for Consideration:
1. Keep Loot Class-Specific (leather to leather, plate to plate)
2. Length of Time Since Last Upgrade
3. Appropriate Replacement (does this person have a 232 or higher version? Are they really trying?)
4. Attendance, Effectiveness, Overall Participation

Since that time the Officers have been able to put gear in the hands of players that they believe are deserving--and ultimately it seems to be working. We still keep a running log of how gear is distributed and to whom; we're actually seeing it dispersed across the board.

Our intentions lie within the preparedness of our raid to take down 25-man ICC bosses. So far the system seems to be working well...but only time will tell. I'll keep you all posted.