Loot

This term refers to the items, weapons, crafting materials, gold...literally anything "dropped" by mobs when they are slain. For this reason, loot is sometimes referred to as "drops".

The quality and quantity of loot is fairly random, but is directly related to the uniqueness and difficulty of the slain mob. The higher level the mob, the more valuable/useful the loot is likely to be. The chance of dropping a rare item is greater at higher difficulty levels as well.

To eliminate bickering or "stealing" another party member's "kill", the game engine assigns "loot turns" to each player as a means of equally disbursing loot among all the party members. When an item is dropped, the game automatically assigns it to a specific member of the party, and for a period of time, only that player can pick it up. The next item dropped is assigned to the next member of the party, and so on. If the assignee doesn't pick up an assigned item within 5 minutes after it dropped, the assignment goes away, and anyone can pick it up.

This rigid system makes no distinction between player classes, even if certain items would be better suited for another member of the party. For instance, an Elementalist is just as likely be assigned a dropped Longbow, as a Ranger is likely to get a Fire Staff. The game also distributes the rarity of the loot among players. It is not known how this works, though it has been known to suffer quirks on occassion (especially when drops in an area are modified or balanced).

Dropped gold is automatically divided among all members of a party when anyone picks it up.

Note that NPC Henchmen get "loot turns" as well. Although dropped items assigned to Henchmen do not actually appear, they are taking in their share of loot along with the "real" players. Therefore, when farming for loot, it is best to bring only the minumum required to survive.