Calculated Risks

So there you are.  You’re in a raid and a boss drops an item that’s an upgrade.  While it’s a nice upgrade you know there might be better on the horizon.  No only that but you’re competing with others for the same gear.  So what do you do?  Do you attempt to win the item, or do you pass and take a calculated risk that the upgrade you really want will drop?  This is a common scenario  that I, and three other hunters were faced with last night.

Our guild did it’s usual VoA and Onyxia 25 runs.  It turned out that we had Wintergrasp at the start of our raid so we went there first.  It also turned out that we were carrying four hunters, which is three t00 many if you ask me.  All of us of course were on the hunt for upgrades.

We downed Koralon and the Windrunner’s Handguards of Triumph dropped.  It was nice upgrade for all four hunters, but only three of the four hunters rolled (I was one of them).  So why didn’t the other hunter roll?  Was it to be nice and see someone else get some gear? No, he was passing on this loot hoping that Onyxia would drop the Rifled Blastershot Launcher, a very nice gun indeed.  In fact I believe that it’s best in slot outside of Trial of the Grand Crusader.  I can understand why he would want this.  In fact I too was tempted to pass on the gloves and hold out for the gun.

Here’s the reasoning behind his decision.  We like to spread the loot around, so whoever got the tier piece was not going to get another item from Onyxia.  Also, one of the hunters already had Talonstrike which meant she wasn’t going to get the gun either.  She also did not win the gloves.  That meant a 50/50 chance of getting the gun if it dropped.  Not bad odds at all.

Here was my reasoning for rolling on the item.  I like to plan things out, and based on the content I’m running I have a list of items that I want to be part of the gear set I take into Icecrown Citadel.  The gloves and the gun are on that list.  All of the items work together to create a very nice set of gear.  While there may be individual pieces that are weighted higher, it’s really the set as a whole that I’m after.  I can’t control what will drop and when it will drop.  So when I see a piece that’s on the list, I roll for it.  Also, these gloves represent what is currently best in slot for my content.  Not only that, but getting them saves me 45 badges and the need to get a trophy out of TotC 25.  So for me, rolling on the gloves was a no-brainer.

In the end Onyxia did not drop the gun, or any other hunter loot for that matter (okay it’s all hunter loot, but nothing we could actually use).  Oh and guess who won the gloves.  Booya!  See what I did there?

Windrunner's Handguards of Triumph - Booya!