People who ninja for their companions

None so far that I know of, or has made any difference what-so-ever to my play on this game or any other game, and I've been playing online since early '80s.

I believe you but I am simply asking you a hypothetical.

So its impossible for you to think about other options that other players face?

Its a simple scenario question. Easy to put yourself into that scenario.

But whatever...just trying to provoke some thought.

By your reasoning, we should not even have the system, which is exactly what I'm trying to get at. The system only serves to gives those who want to be selfish an opportunity to do so.

I refrained from answering because I dislike hypothetical.

But anyways;

If I was playing a tank and I had a healer companion, I'd probably opt to gear myself first. If something drops that is going to increase the healing from my companion, the of course, I am going to 'need' on it.

I hope that answers the question

its not about importance. You (in my opinion) are on the less popular side of a very polarizing issue. I think it would be best for everyone if intentions were made clear before groups begin. Because I think everyone agrees that needing on items for your own player character's stat and armor type is fine, I think it should be on the people intending to need on anything else to make their intentions known.

This exactly.

After you have been level 50 for 2-3 weeks and have cleared EV and KP a few times, trust me, the low level gear distribution pettiness will become moot as you strive to counter boredom with every possible trick you can pull out of your hat.

Thanks for playing along.

So basically all things being equal you would gear yourself first, and companion second.

I am not trying to pigeonhole you...I honestly could not care less other than liking to see both sides, but just trying to point out why many people feel putting companions on equal footing with mains is slightly frowned upon....but I am sure you already know this anyway.

^^^^ This.

He's going to say "what consensus? The people I play with need for companions!", but this kind of thing has been going on in MMOs for 10 years and most people respect others enough to pass on items that they can not use on their PC when it's an upgrade for the other person. It's just the way it is. There are always players that need whatever they want regardless of the group they're playing with, but these people often do get fussed out for doing it. Why do they get fussed out? Well, because they're going against the consensus. When most people pass or greed when it's an upgrade for someone else, yet you need on other players PC upgrades, people will get upset. And honestly, the main reason is that the person needing for companions had an unfair advantage. Because he doesn't state his intent, people that do follow the consensus (again, most people) end up passing on this person's class loot and then losing on their own class loot because this person needs and wins that too.

If you're going to go against the obvious consensus, speak up with your intent before looting if you don't want to be fussed at. Otherwise, it really is your own fault.

Why should I seek your approval of something I earned?