[Guide] Lootspots and Lootspot Etiquette
or
A very long post
• • • Update 24.03.2016 • • •
Due to many recent, and not so recent, changes in the game this post is in the process of being overhauled.
• • •Update• • •
Lootspots are fun and a great way to acquire extra resources but it helps to know what exactly they are and how they work, when everyone is on the same page lootspots run quickly and easily. :)
Lootspot: The second and/or third player spot in a multiple-player Adventure offered solely for the lootspot player to gain loot whilst losing the fewest possible Troops, not so that they may amass experience points. When a multiple-player Adventure is completed successfully each player who has killed at least one enemy gets a full set of loot, if a single player completes a multiple-player Adventure only one set of loot is awarded and the other potential set or sets never appear. In Adventures experience is awarded based on enemies defeated so the host player gets the lion's share and the lootspot player receives xp only for the very few enemies they kill. Remember, each lootspot player must kill at least one enemy to get their own set of loot.
Lootspots are often swapped between friends and Guildmates with each player doing the same Adventure and inviting the other when appropriate; or sold in Trade chat for Gold Coins, Map Fragments, and occasionally other resources/items.
Specific levels are required to start Adventures but any level player with Troops can successfully fill a lootspot.
Please note: Lootspot sales and swaps are a player invention and are not supported by the Trade system or BlueByte so choose your partners carefully.
Buying and Selling Lootspots:
Before the Invitation is sent or Payment made all players should be perfectly clear on what is expected. This includes:- Time frame. Both for the buyer to make a kill and for the seller to then complete the Adventure.
- Type of General. Tavern, Battlehardened/Reaper or Veteran. The BH/Reaper and Vet take only 15 minutes to travel to the Adventure while the Tavern General needs 30 minutes to arrive.
- Type and number of Troops. Often a single Recruit or Cavalry. This can vary depending on the camp to be attacked and 200 Cavalry are sometimes sent when it is guaranteed they will survive.
- Adventure name. This may seem obvious but mistakes have happened.
It's not a bad idea to also confirm which camp is to be attacked, in the event the host is disconnected the buyer can still make their kill quickly and return to focusing on other things. (More on disconnects later.)
Selling:
-Remember, you are selling loot only. The buyer is not going to be happy to find they are expected to help you clear the map.
-Confirm the buyer understands exactly what they are meant to do. "Send 1R, transfer to G6, hit camp 3" may seem perfectly clear to you but may leave a buyer puzzled.
-Check your instructions for typos, a mistyped number can cause trouble.
-Make certain the Troops you've requested will kill at least one enemy in the camp you've chosen and that no Traps are waiting to catch the unwary.
-If you've advertised Ready To Finish be ready to finish when the buyer makes their kill, they may have another Adventure waiting.
-Confirm your buyer has made a kill before taking out the final camp. Click the loot camp before and after the attack and check the numbers to be certain.
-It is not uncommon for the Seller to be the more experienced player in the group, please keep this in mind and act accordingly.
Buying:
-Remember, you are buying loot only, not xp. When you have made your kill your job is done.
-Make sure you understand exactly what you are meant to do, if "Send 1R, transfer to G6, hit camp 3" isn't clear to you say so straight away.
-Don't assume you know which camp the seller has chosen or which Troops you should send, read their instructions.
-Double check the Troops you've assigned to your General before you send him.
-If you've bought a Spot advertised as Ready To Finish make your kill as soon as possible, the seller may have another Adventure waiting.
-Tell the Seller when you've made your kill. Click the loot camp before and after you attack and check the numbers to be certain.
-When the Adventure is complete you may get the "Return Home" pop-up, do not click it without first checking your host has assigned all their Troops to Generals, they will not be happy to find they must wait 90 minutes for Troop Transport to arrive.
-Every player selling lootspots sold their very first one at some point, please keep in mind the possibility that this may be true of a current seller.
Buyers and Sellers alike: Make sure everyone is looking at the same Guide/map, they don't all use the same numbering system. Taking a moment to double check at the start can save headaches later on.
Payment:
New friends can be invited to Adventures straight away but cannot Trade for 24 hours so lootspot payments are often made in the Trade Office. The Seller posts: Offer: One Fish for Cost: 'the agreed price' which the Buyer accepts, the Invitation is then sent immediately. Payment first, Invite second is the usual way but as with most things TSO this is not set in stone.
You will sometimes see very many Gold Coins or Granite offered for the cost of a Fish, this is a mistake and an easy one to make. The best thing to do if you've bought such a Trade is to contact the seller and offer to give them back. First because it's a kindness, second because you may do the very same thing one day and word gets around.
Loot and Loot Slots:
Keep in mind there is no guarantee which set of loot you will get, if you are hoping for Granite and Steel Swords and open your Mail to find Exotic Wood Logs and Horses the seller is not responsible, there is a % chance for any given result.
For example here are all the loot possibilities for Dark Priests:
New image incoming
and one potential outcome:
New image incoming
For a full list of Adventures and their loot click here: New link incoming
Some Adventures offer a small chance of an "Epic Building", these may be seen here: [Guide] Castles and Epic Buildings from Adventure Loot
Quests to "Lose fewer than x Troops on x Adventure":
Lootspots should be working now for these quests, as long as the looter stays within the quest requirements.
The old way, no longer accurate but saved for reference:
More on Disconnects:
This is TSO, they happen. Here or anywhere else there will always be the possibility of glitches; connections fail and Real Life emergencies do occur, if your Seller or Buyer vanishes do not panic, they may well be back shortly. The green light goes out and Whisper will show "The user is offline." even if they've only lost chat so try Mail to see if they are in fact still online. There is no Mail *alert* on Adventures so everyone should go home to avoid missing a new Mail and once again keep in mind it could one day be you getting disconnected.
If the Seller vanishes: Make your kill and wait as long as you possibly can. Mail the Seller to tell them how long you can wait, keep a copy of the message yourself and don't forget Time Zones, unless you say where and when you are "08.00 tomorrow" means little to someone half a world away. If you have the Troops to handle what remains of the Adventure and especially if the timer is about to run out do complete it, then everyone gets loot and when the Seller returns you should be able to work something out. The fairest way would probably be to reverse what happened the first time with the former Buyer taking the role of Seller and the former Seller paying the same fee and killing the same camps. As this will not always be possible the players involved will need to come an agreement on compensation..
If the Buyer vanishes without making a kill: As above: Wait as long as you possibly can, Mail the Buyer and tell them how long that is, keep a copy of the message yourself and don't forget Time Zones, unless you say where and when you are "08.00 tomorrow" still means little to someone half a world away. In the best possible world wait until the last day of the Adventure but with week long Adventures this will not always be practical though the Buyer will often have paid a high price for the Spot and if the Adventure is finished before they've had a chance to fix the fuse box, tend to a screaming child's scraped knee, or try frantically to mop up *popular local soda* that's just exploded on the keyboard (May all your Real Life interruptions be so easily dealt with.) they will likely not be happy and the players involved will need to come to an agreement regarding compensation.
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Disclaimer:All of above are all guidelines and suggestions not gospel, they have been written in hopes primarily of answering some common questions and to give lootspotters/lootspot sellers new and old a common thread to refer to should the need arise.
Comments, suggestions, discussion, and the correction of errors are welcome but before anyone says "No-one would be silly enough to..." every awkward situation mentioned above has actually happened and more often than one might think. Perils of being human you know. :)
My thanks to Tage for some very helpful suggestions, all the players who've Adventured and chatted with me, those I've read lurkily in Help and elsewhere and those who've contributed to the Euro, US, and German Fora/Forums. All mistakes and questionable notions are my own, anything I've got right I've learnt from them. :)
