The Rare Drop Timeout

I recently had an Ecto stolen from me in the Undreworld by *a dubious 55*. As soon as one dropped she led an Aatxe right on top of me. Instead of raising me she danced around until my drop timed out... This is the response I got from Anet:

Subject
timing out on drops

Discussion Thread
Response (GM Abularkin) 02/22/2006 06:06 PM
Hello,

Thank you for contacting Guild Wars Support. While we would like for all players to be nice to each other and have a certain amount of camaraderie, this is not always possible. When a rare item drops, it is assigned to a certain character for a short time. Once that time has elapsed, that item is open to anyone to pick up. This is working as intended. It is not a violation to pick up an item once the "Assigned" time has elapsed.

If you feel you have some ideas in which this loot system could be improved, we encourage you to consider posting your suggestions on one of many of the Guild Wars Fansite message boards. A compiled list can be found on the official Guild Wars website at http://guildwars.com/community/default.html. By posting on one of these message boards, other players can comment on your ideas, concerns, and suggestions, and Development Team members are able to catch up on what the community wants to see in Guild Wars. Fansite forums make it easy and efficient for us to learn from those playing the game.

Thank you for your efforts in assisting us to create the best gaming experience possible.

Regards,

The Guild Wars Support Team

My suggestion is that drops only time out when the player has left. Wasn't the instancing of maps supposed to eliminate drops being stolen? "This is working as intended."? Here is another quote from the product description at amazon.com:

Your party always has its own unique copy of the quest map, so camping, kill-stealing, and long lines to complete quests are all things of the past.

Is this still working as intended Anet?

Hey, get over it. Shit happens. It's a video game, not life.

still why not, if people don't want the items they can always pick it up and drop it again if someone in the party asks for it.

It is just a bandaid to stop jerks so people don't get detterred into playing with henches only.

Actually, it is working exactly as intended. The trouble is that Anet's entire model for this game begins with the (often untrue) assumption that you have a group of trusted friends you can do pve runs with, rather than getting a PUG. This being Guild Wars, you are expected to be a member of a functional guild which could help you with these things. If you are not, or your guild is too small, or your guildies aren't around, you're a second-class citizen as far as the devs are concerned. This applies to pvp, too. If you don't have friends, Anet isn't your friend, either. I believe it's a conscious marketing decision. Who needs hype when the game sucks until you make your friends buy it? (Or until you buy the expansion, in which the alliances mechanic will allow you to get help from other peoples' friends.)

It should be fixed, to where no one can get your drop ever, and if you leave, your drops disappear. I agree 100%. I've never had to deal with a lamer like that, but I've played with many scavengers who would wait for items I didn't want to time out, instead of just asking "hey, can I have that if you don't want it?" I don't mind the 5 seconds it takes to pick something up and drop it back on the ground. I realize some people need money and some people don't, but it doesn't hurt to simply ask for something if you want it.

However, please don't post names, guilty or otherwise. It's against forum rules.

/signed

Drops should not time out unless the player they are assigned for leaves.

I do think drops should time out, because I hate doing UW/FoW runs and seeing all the crap that people won't pick up. When it does timeout all the people who need the money or salvage rush it all to grab what they can, including me.

But I know that for rare things people will cause others to get killed to steal the drop, thus I think that in this case, drops should not timeout when a player is dead. Ressurecting the player will cause the timer to reset. This will stop griefers from purposely causing players to die so they can steal things. Now they will purposely heal you and hope you don't see your drops.

i gave a guy a candy cane during a mission for free, coz he had -60%dp no thanks but i can deal with that.

Then i notice a decent drop for me but leave it because we were in a battle. the fight finished and i go over to pick it up, part way there it has changed from being mine to anyones, the guy i gave the candy cane to notices and is closer to it them i am, so he runs over and grabs it.

Shame there r a few people who r dickheads because yeah the game is meant for friends teaming up.

My idea, have afriends list and a dick heads list, so anyone who scams u, is rude or whatever can go on it and so u can c if u run into them again u dont join their party etc.

I like you reply very much. Very true and to the point. Good eye.

I've never had that happen to me, but my proposal would be that your drops can only timeout once they are off your radar. Not the instant they are off your radar, maybe after 10-15 minutes.

This way, if you die and the drop is in your vicinity, it's yours and you can choose whether or not you want it.

How about this...Anet should make one of the remaining letter keys that are not being used and whenever you press that key, the drop assigned to you appears in your inventory. You don't have to run to it and pick it up. I don't know if it would work, but it's just an idea.

Very funny true story:
farming new UW with a few mates, got to the end we picked up our rewards, except my mate who didnt pick his greenie up, the timer counted down and we ended up back outside.

My friends inventory was full and instead of just throwing out anything he was looking through his bags to find the worst thing he was carrying oblivious to the timer. Very funny for me, but he was very very angry.

i agree or some sort of button which assigns it to you if it hasnt already been asigned i hate it when someone gets a rare drop an im working ma butt off lol but i suppose its all in luck tbh!

The suggestion I made to them was that if you get in a situation like this and you opt to leave the session cause the jerk is doing this. then any items that were assigned to you would be removed from the instance when you disconnected. you would not get it either, but neither would the jerk that did that too you...

Sorry about that.. I have seen all kinds in this game. just be-careful who you play with is all I can say. sorry about that...

Same happened to me in fow when i got an ecto by the banshees
The guy who picked up was a noob so we were being nice to him letting in party and he goes and spoils the game by getting every1 killed trying to pick it up...
I could have complained but therees no point, i say just get over it

Maybe you shouldnt be duoing the UW. Make an 8 person party "like the game was intended" and someone else could have rezed you.

Anet really needs to fix this; lying there dead while greedy players wait to grab your stuff sucks. Other day guy did this to me i called him on it. His response "he needed the item for a another Char." Like you needing it makes it right to take my drop.

Run and pick up your drop and proceed. Don't dawdle and wait to be ambused, should'nt you have picked it up the first second it dropped?

Thank you!

To the OP, it's time for you to find one or 2 55s that you trust. Don't go to UW with strange PuGs.

/signed, drops should not time out, If they are assigned to you, they should be yours. This will encourage people to finish fighting instead of running for a drop. Rushing for drops can cause wipes.