NEW RELEASE! AUGUST 20, 2008
Swaps is also now UPDATED to Version 1.03. This version allows guilds that were using class points to re-enable them if they want to. The default behavior is to disable class point auctions.
Please note that we now host the AddOn at Curse:
Email Swaps support at swappeals@gmail.com.
Only grant auctioneer permission to your most trusted guild members. Watch the download/upload log for unusual behavior. If you think someone is attempting to abuse or jury-rig your guild's Swaps database, remove their auctioneer permissions immediately.
/swaps createraid RAIDSIZE
where RAIDSIZE is 10, 20, 25, or 40.
NOTE: The raidsize sets the minimum bid and raise for the raid so that point distributions are fair and accurate between 10-, 20- 25-, and 40-person raids. Don't forget this important step!
/swaps vest
to "vest" the raid. Your guild may have policies surrounding vesting (for example, only once vesting at the beginning of the raid).
NOTE: Most raids should be vested once. Unvested raids should be the rare exception.
/swaps split
/swaps endraid
To execute a class-restricted auction, execute:
/swaps auction [LOOTLINK] Class
[LOOTLINK] is the loot-link of the item to be auctioned (SHIFT-CLICK the item). Class is the name of the class (Warrior, Priest, etc...) that the auction is for. Remember to capitalize the class.
Class-restricted auctions should be restricted to items Blizzard deems (via the Class: parameter on the loot) the exclusive province of the class. This covers all Tier 1 and Tier 2 sets, spellbook drops, and other items with a single class restriction.
A guild may set a policy that certain drops are restricted to particular classes, though in our experience we have found this causes more problems than it solves. We follow Blizzard's lead as much as possible with regards to restricting items to classes. If Blizzard does, we do. If Blizzard doesn't, we don't.
/swaps auction [LOOTLINK] Class1 Class2 ... ClassN
Again, the best practice is to follow Blizzard's lead and only restrict items as Blizzard restricts them. This can be extended to implicit restrictions, as well, such as
/swaps auction [Some Two-Handed Sword] Warrior Paladin Hunter
since only warriors, paladins, and hunters may use two-handed swords. However, in practice we have found such "implicit" restrictions entirely unnecessary as most "sane" people don't spend their points on items they have absolutely no use for. See "Handling Grief Bids" below.
/swaps auction [LOOTLINK]
Anyone may bid on the item.
/swaps greed [LOOTLINK]
All members of the raid then just execute a /roll. Swaps records the rolls and awards the item to the highest roller.
The benefit of using Swaps for this is that the "auction" is recorded in your Swaps database and will persist in your reports. If you don't use Swaps for greed rolls, you will lose track of some of the items your raid has distributed.
Occasionally, you will want to restrict a greed roll to certain classes. In this case, execute:
/swaps need [LOOTLINK] Class1 Class2 ... ClassN
/swaps random [LOOTLINK]
NOTE: In all the cases above we use the phrase "assign the item", you will still need to use the Master Looter interface to move the item to the winner. Swaps just tells you (and the raid) who the winner is.
/swaps random [Trashy Green Item]
For example, Ravinia bids on and wins the Left Bindings in a Molten Core raid. If she is present on a future Molten Core raid and the Right Bindings drop, she automatically wins them. If she is not present, the Right Bindings should be auctioned normally. If your guild is lucky (or unlucky) enough to have two people with the same-side Bindings in the same raid when the matching Binding drops, you should give the Binding to the person who has been holding the matching Binding the longest (look at your Swaps reports!).
Other similar items (such as the Priest and Hunter epic items in Molten Core) should be handled in a similar fashion.
NOTE: Although these items also require levels of reputation to make, don't concern yourself with the reputation levels of the bidders. In practice, we have found that people bid on these items only when they have, or really intend to have, the required reputation to make the item. They are paying Swaps for the item, and most people are clever enough to realize that it is not worth paying Swaps for something they will never use.
To cancel an auction, you must first determine the id of the auction you want to cancel:
/swaps summary
Then, cancel the auction:
/swaps cancelauction ID
Where ID is the number of the auction from the summary. Be careful: you cannot uncancel a cancelled auction.
It is not a good practice to cancel an auction that no one bid on but afterwards someone declares "I would have bid on it!". These are usually bid speculators trying to get something very cheap.
Interestingly, this has happened to us only very, very rarely. First of all, it is risky behavior. If you bid-up an item you don't want, you risk winning it and losing your hard-to-regain Swaps points. If you declare, post-auction, that you really don't want the item, the whole raid knows you're a griefer and, if they are wise, they will never again invite you to a raid.
On the other hand, it is reasonable to bump-up an item, as long as you're willing to accept the risk that your price might be too high for your competitors and you'll win something you have little use for.
In other words, grief bidding doesn't really happen because the outcomes rarely favor the griefer.
Remember! You control who can come on your raids and, by extension, who can bid on items the raid gains. If you don't want Bob the Jerk grief bidding on your raids, then don't invite him. Problem solved.
Without moralizing too much, this really is a matter of politeness and maturity. If your raid requires a non-guild member to succeed, you owe it to that person to give them a fair shake at loot. Swaps gives them this fair shake by, over time, allowing them to gain points in the system and bid on items they can afford.
This bears repeating: In Swaps, no one has the authority to tell any person in the raid how they may spend their points. Obviously, this does not extend to auctions a person is not qualified to bid in (for example, a Priest bidding in a Mage class-restricted auction).
When first adopting Swaps and learning how it works, you should repeat before each auction, "No one can tell you how to spend your points" to your raiders until the meme takes root.
This goes back to merit and how Swaps is an "implicit" merit system. A person who raids every day will have more Swaps points, more opportunity to win, and more items won than a person who raids less frequently. The first thing you should do when the whiner pipes up is inspect the Swaps reports. Look at his current balances. Look at the items he has won. Look at how much he spent on the items.
Invariably (in our experience) the whiner will already be one of the best-geared members of the guild, but with a low current Swaps balance. Why? Because he just spent a huge wad of points on that [Uber Epic Purple of Uberuberness] last week. Calmly point these facts out to the person, publicly if necessary. Publicly referring to a Swaps report showing a heavily-geared member who is now whining about "deserving" more loot has a uniquely powerful calming effect.
Swaps works well for us. Why? Well, we understand it because we designed it, and we understand exactly what we wanted to achieve with Swaps -- and we succeeded. However, your guild might have ingrained and/or inflexible attitudes about how loot should be distributed. You may believe that the officers or some "loot council", rather than the members themselves, are better suited at determining who should get loot. You might believe that certain items are "obviously" designed for a particular class and not be willing to allow another class to win them. You might think funnelling specific loot to specific individuals at specific times is the correct way to distribute loot.
Ask yourself this question: Would your guild break apart if a non-warrror won Ashkandi? Although most guilds will never see a Ashkandi, it's a reasonable question to ask as it represents one of the most extreme cases of loot distribution guilds will face. If you cannot imagine the extreme case of a non-warrior winning Ashkandi, then Swaps, in its purest form, may not be the loot system for your guild.
On the other hand, if you are concerned about lowering loot drama by using an objective loot system that relies on the collective "mind" of the guild rather than the subjective opinions of a few members to distribute loot, Swaps might just work for you.
Brandon, Guildmaster of Maelstrom/The Shadow Watch