Rolling need for your companion

As a healer I watch them die.....and when they ask "where are the heals?"

I say "ask your companion....."

I get that it's frustrating to lose a roll on something you really want. It's the nature of an MMO.

This game can't have the same ideologies applied to it for looting that other MMOs currently do. The existence of companions, fully-gearable pets whose presence is assumed in the difficulty curve design for the 1-50 content, shifts things considerably. They're part of your character, a part without which you'd have a lot more difficulty.

If all you're going to do is group content from 1-50, then it isn't an issue.

It isn't an issue at 50th level when the paradigm of the game shifts, though you still require use of your companions during the daily solo quests.

You, the player, were in the Flashpoint or Operation, and you the player assisted in downing the boss. You have a right to stake a claim to any loot a boss drops as a result. You don't require other players' permission or approval to roll as you feel appropriate on a given piece of loot.

Courtesy likely demands that you ask first, but it's just that: it's a courtesy, not an imperative. There's no social contract in effect unless you personally agree to it.

Of course the naysayers, who mostly just want to improve their own personal chances of a given piece of loot going to them as much as possible, are going to pull out scenarios saying this approach will encourage people to roll Need on everything just to vendor it for a few credits, or other such arguments. They aren't incorrect. The presence of companions in this game mandates a much more sensible approach of Roll/Pass for non-class-specific gear; Need Before Greed just doesn't work in this paradigm.

Run the instance again. The item will drop again. You have the same chance as everyone else who rolls. Nothing can be more fair.

Sad part is that its not working like that. Poeple will just nod and keep Needing everything.

Use your brain for a sec and think about it! You cant seriously believe poeple will follow the "rules" you set before running the instance.

Im tired of all the nonsense.

This is why we need LFD with proper loot restrictions.

Seems simple enough to me...

Was your companion ACTIVE in the group? You should be able to role however you like for their upgrades.

If not... you're rolling for someone who didn't actively participate in the group and are therefore being a douche-bag.

You are correct on 1 aspect. This can't use the same thinking that other MMOs have used. Therefore, it makes more sense to change the way we loot drops to account for it. The need/greed system that we are familiar with is a feature for a "non-companion" game. Companions add a new variable, so our loot rules should ALSO add a new variable to account for it.

The concept of a tiered claim system that would, for example, put "Companion" above "Greed" but below "Need" seems logical, except for the same potential for abuse. People will stop choosing "Greed" altogether, and "Companion" becomes the new Greed. Even making it automatically bound doesn't deter the behavior. If they weren't actually going to upgrade their companion with the item, they'd have just vendored it anyway.

I say assume the worst, which is everyone is going to vendor it, and make it Roll/Pass. If you want it, you want it, no "priority abuse" as people claim here. You roll for what you want, you pass on what you don't, no one can complain.

I agree this is a dirt bag move in "theory". However, equipping your companion is almost as important as equipping yourself. The way need/greed is implemented, the guy should have rolled greed because that pistol should go to a PC first. BUT, it is all but impossible to know what another class needs if you haven't played that class, so what I think needs to happen, since everyone has a "pet" in this game, is that they should have three tiers to the need/greed system

Player, Companion, Greed

Player would be need as is implemented, (as a bonus, bioware could check to make sure said player can actually use the item and that it is an upgrade in stats.)

Companion would be need or greed depending on the circumstances. If no one clicked player, then companion would get bumped to Need, but if one person rolled player, it would get demoted to greed.

Greed is Greed

This would allow me to say hey, I'd really like this, and I can use it as opposed to selling it, but it isn't for me directly. If one of you guys can use it directly, great, you get the need bump, but if you all roll greed, then I get priority as if I rolled need and I don't have to actually know what you all need in advance.

there should be a 'need for companion' button... maybe they should rename 'greed' to that :P

Exactly once everyone is level 50 and have all there companions there will barely be any loot they couldn't roll on for there companion. So the new greed would be a companion roll. Effentively making a companion roll a greed roll and making a greed roll option obsolete. An easier solution would be to simply black out the need option if the player cannot equip the item on there character, *cough* same as WoW *cough*