DKP Guide

What the Heck is DKP?

This is a fairly common question for players either new to MMO's or new to end game raids in MMO's. DKP is a loot system that was invented long ago (in the video game time frame) as a way to decide who should get what loot in a dungeons. The acronym DKP stands for Dragon Kill Points. A simple definition of DKP would be:
DKP (Dragon Kill Points) - A complex tracking system used by guilds in MMO's to distribute loot to players, based on the players contribution to the guild's raiding efforts.

A more complex and in depth definition of DKP and a bit about its history can be found in the definition from eqdkp.com:

DKP, short for Dragon Kill Points, is a concept originally created by Thott of Afterlife. These points are awarded to each guild member as they attend a guild raid. The current DKP of each member reflects his or her priority for loot. When a member "wins" an item, they lose a DKP amount that reflects the value of that item.

DKP allows for an unbiased comparison between guild members when decisions about loot are to be made based on attendance and recent items that have been awarded.

The Afterlife guild is still alive and well and can be found here: http://www.afterlifeguild.org/
How Does DKP work?

DKP can be complicated and has several different variations. Before getting into the exact details of the variations and different ways DKP is implemented you should have a firm grasp of the basic concept. The basic concept is that you are awarded points for participating in Raids with your guild. These points are then tracked by someone in the guild and used to help determine who gets future loot. In general the player with the most available points will get the item that they want.
How do I earn DKP points?

No matter which system of DKP is used there are usually several ways to earn points. The ones used in your guild are up to the guild. Some guilds use all methods to award points while others only use the loot drops to determine points. There is no right or wrong way, as long as it is consistent. Below is a list of the primary methods of earning DKP points. There are many more and they will be added as an appendix at a later date.

Loot Drops - This is by far the most common method to award points to players is for the actual loot that drops on the raid. This requires either a chart of point values for all possible drops in a zone or the use of open points bidding for the item. Points charts in WoW are normally allocated in increments of 40 so that any item that drops can be easily divided by the number of players in the raid. With a point chart system each player would get a fraction of the points that were allocated to the item, whether they got the item or not.

Loot Drop Points Example:

The raiding group "The Ten Ton Hammer's" kill Ragnaros in the Molten Core. He drops 3 epic items that have a points rating. The items are worth 120,120 and 80 points.

* Boomjack and Messiah each bid and receive one of the 120 point items, while Ratboy receives the 80 point item. The other 37 people in the raid receive nothing
* A total of 320 points were dropped by Ragnaros
* Each of the 40 players in the raid gains 8 DKP for future use.
* Ratboy loses 72 DKP (80 points spent - 8 points earned)
* Boomjack and Messiah each lose 112 DKP (120 points spent - 8 points earned)

Boss Kills - Some guilds award points based on the boss that is defeated. This can be based on the difficulty of the boss, potential drops from the boss, or difficulty getting a group for the boss. This is used many times for bosses that people do not like fighting, has poor drops or are bored with. Many times this is a bonus to the loot drop points that guilds use to encourage players to attend for all bosses.

Instance Bonus - Sometimes used to encourage players to stay to complete entire raids. Many guilds will track when players join the raid and if they stay until completion. Some guilds offer bonuses to those that stay until the end, while other guilds chose to not award their loot or boss kill points until the end of the raid and then only to those still in attendance. Either way works out to roughly the same thing.

Time Bonus - This is very often used by guilds when learning new instances or bosses. There are few other ways to earn points if you are not killing bosses or receiving loot, so this encourages guild members to attend and help learn the new instances or bosses. It is generally a preset point amount per hour equal to to normal DKP awards if fighting bosses.
What are these Variations of DKP that you mention?

There are two main types of DKP, they are standard DKP and zero-based DKP.

Standard DKP - Is a straight forward system where everyone earns points and you can only spend the points that you have. You may never spend more than you have and no one is ever below zero points.

Zero-Sum DKP - In a zero-sum DKP system the guild DKP records always end with a zero total point balance. The person that is interested in an item may voice interest no matter their points balance. The player with the highest points balance receives the item and goes down that amount of points even if they were at a negative number or it will take them to a negative value.

Zero-sum takes some time to get used to and is more complicated but many feel it is a fairer system and allows people to get items they need even if they do not have points, instead of disenchanting them.

Zero-Sum DKP Example:

The following group is in a DKP rated instance with the starting totals shown:
Name

DKP
Messiah (Mage)
15
Ratboy (Hunter)
5
Boomjack (Druid)
0
Ralphedel (Warrior)
-5
Ethec (Priest)
-15
Total

0

After killing the first boss a caster staff drops that was assigned a value of 10 points. Messiah, Boomjack and Ethec all want it. Messiah has the highest current DKP so is awarded the staff, which costs him 10 points. Each member of the party is then also awarded 2 points for the drop (10 points / 5 players), which leaves us with the following.
Name

DKP
Ratboy (Hunter)
7
Messiah (Mage)
7
Boomjack (Druid)
2
Ralphedel (Warrior)
-3
Ethec (Priest)
-13
Total

0

The next boss drops 2 items, an Axe worth 15 points and a casters ring worth 10 points. Both Ratboy and Ralphedel are interested in the axe, but Ratboy has the most points so gets it. Ethec is the only caster than wants the ring (Messiah and Boomjack already have it) . Ratboy spends 15 points and Ethec spends 10 (driving himself further into the hole, but still getting items!). Also 25 points were dropped so each player earns 5. The chart would now look like this:
Name

DKP
Messiah (Mage)
12
Boomjack (Druid)
7
Ralphedel (Warrior)
2
Ratboy (Hunter)
-3
Ethec (Priest)
-18
Total

0



Zero-sum DKP was originally designed to resolve the issues around item rot. What is item rot you ask? It was what happened to items that nobody could afford due to lack of points, or was not willing to spend all their points knowing they would be near zero and not be able to get anything else after.

An example of this would be that a Boss drops an uber sword of fire. It is worth 120 points, but nobody that wants it has 120 points. Without zero sum it would not be given out and would "rot" on the corpse. The saying, "Grats Rot" was common in EQ for this reason.

What about the bidding systems I have heard of?

Many guilds either do not like pre made points charts or want a more free flowing system. In these systems any time an item is dropped players are allowed a chance to bid on the item. This allows players that do not have the most points to still potentially get the item that they want if they are willing to spend more points.

Even though one player may have a 100 DKP and another only 80, under this system if the person with 80 was willing to give up 75 of their points and the person with 100 was only willing to spend 70, then the person with 80 would get the item. Under a fixes system the item might have only cost 40 points, but the player with 80 would never stand a chance to get it, or it may have been worth 120 points and neither could have gotten it.

All of the DKP charts are then updated based on the points spend on the item. When using a bidding system, numbers can get complicated on a DKP chart as many players with have fractions of a point. Some guilds drop all fractions at the end of a raid, while others keep them or round up to the nearest number.

Lastly most guilds that allow bidding have a minimum points values assigned to items. It may be on a per item basis or a simple 10 point min on all armor and 15 point min on all weapons.
Why do we need DKP?

DKP is in place to over time make things fair for all players in a raiding guild. It has several goals that most games do not address in their loot system. If a system was built in game to address the perceived loot issues then DKP would probably not be needed. The issues it tries to address and the general goals of the system are as follows.

DKP Goals

* Effort equals reward. A long time player should have a better chance to get an item they want than a first time raider.
* Must be fair and unbiased for all players
* Strengthen those that will further help the guild. To do this you must reward players that participate and help the guild over time become stronger, thereby helping the guild become stronger .
* To promote participation in raids. Even if the raid does not have an item that you need, you will gain points that can be used in future raids to et items you need.
* Be an easy system to manage

Is DKP Fair?

This is an opinion question rather than a yes or no question. There are two sides to the argument. Both have some valid points and are worth looking at.

Yes, it is fair - Without a DKP system or some loot distribution system it is entirely possible that a player could run Molten Core for a year and never get an item. This could happen if every item was randomed and you were unlucky on the random rolls. This means you may put 52 weeks of effort in for zero reward. With a DKP system, you would be guaranteed to get something as over time you would become the highest on the list and eligible for the gear you wanted.

No, it isn't fair - On the flip side, attending additional raids does not up the percentage chance that the item you want drops, its always random. Additionally if it is known that you are only attending and saving points for item X and you have the highest DKP, it decreases the chance that others that want that item will attend the raid. This is because as long as you have the highest DKP total they have no chance to get the item.

Like I said both have their points. In the long term though I (and most guilds) find it is better to reward the players that have put in serious time to learning and playing through raids with the guild. Without a DKP system it is entirely possible that a player joins a raid guild, runs a few raids, gets all the items they need / want and then leave the guild. By using an effort reward system it promotes staying with a guild over time and helping the guild as a whole.