Raids are one of the most distinct features of the World of Warcraft gameplay. These are incredibly difficult PVE challenges, which require flawless communication from a team of 25 people and excellent understanding of game mechanics from each player.
No wonder such challenging and exiting activities like raids quickly became a red flag for hardcore gamers worldwide. The WoW raid community has kept this game so popular for all these years.
Surely, any player who has at least a couple years of experience in World of Warcraft will point out their own favorite raids (Firelands from WoW: Cataclysm and Naxxramass from Wrath of the Lich King are my personal favorites, for example). This often starts long and tiresome discussions on WoW dedicated forums, but regardless of how nostalgia hits you when remembering how cool it was back in the days, the current raid content is what attracts players' attention the most. After the release of the Wrath of the Lich King Classic, however, the old and familiar raids are once again targeted by players who want to be at the cutting edge of PVE-race.
Considering the difficulty of WotLK Classic raid content, if you want to fight your way through the end-game content, you will most surely need a guild or a raid static, but that often means a lot of time spent in the game, which is not for everyone.
However, there is an old and tested raiding format which can help you get all the cool shiny gear you want. This format is called Gold DKP (or GDKP for short). The abbreviation GDKP has its meaning, which will be thoroughly talked about later.
What are Gold DKP Raids and How Does GDKP Work?
Upon reading this article’s name you are probably wondering: what is GDKP? Well, this raiding format was first created by asian players back in 2008. It became so popular on Asian servers, that it spread rapidly to European and American realms. At some point it became so popular that no PUG raid was carried out without this system in use.
GDKP in WoW Classic was not a thing. It was during the first iteration of Wrath of the Lich King when this raid format became the most popular.
If you want to know how GDKP works, the answer is simple:
- Everything that drops during the raid (gear, tier-tokens, recipes, and so on) is placed on an auction in the raid chat. There is no main/off spec priority, whoever pays the most will get the item they need.
- When the raid is completed, all the money is evenly distributed among all raid members (including those who bought items).
Sounds quite simple, but why has this format become so popular? There are a few reasons:
| Income | If you already have the best possible gear, GDKP Raids can be an excellent source of income. You will not have to buy anything dropped during the raid, which means that this raid format is the best way to earn a couple thousand gold every hour or two of raiding. |
| Rare Drops | Players who have good gear, but lack one or two specific items, will also find Gold DKP Raids to be an excellent choice. All you need to do to finally get the last piece of your best raiding gear is simply pay some gold, which is way better than depending on sheer luck in regular PuG raids or traditional DKP system within guild statics. |
| Gearing | For players with poor gear, Gold DKP raids can be a good source of guaranteed items, because the demand on the majority of raid drops (save some BiS trinkets or weapons) will be low, so everyone can afford buying them. This is especially relevant for Paladin healers, caster Shamans, and other classes with less of a competition for gear pieces. |
Note that, to make a GDKP raid worth the effort, the balance of players with different Gear Score is essential. Having a full raid of geared-to-the-teeth players will mean that no items will be bought (and consequently, no money will be earned). On the other hand, a full raid of newly leveled characters will not complete the raid, which is, again, just a waste of time.
The best possible scenario will be to have good-geared healers and tanks (maybe a couple of damage dealers, just to make things easier), with all other players having either middle-level gear, or very poor gear, but enough gold to spend on new items.
So, let us again list the pros of GDKP Raids:
- Quick and easy gearing;
- Good income (practically higher them most players can earn with Professions and farming);
- With the GDKP gear distribution system it is much easier to get some really good players with best gear to your raid;
- Because the money players use to buy items is distributed between raid members after the raid is complete, players will surely stick in until the end and will not leave when they get the item they need.
Why Do You Need Gold DKP Raids
GDKP Raids have another advantage over more traditional PuG raids and even guild raid runs. To learn what it is, try to ask yourself a question: why should I waste my time, killing bosses, without any guarantee of actually getting an item.
Also, as stated above, GDKP Raids are a really good source of gold farming. Just imagine how many shiny coins you can get if you have already gotten through the current raid content and have all the gear you need.
You can easily find a spot in a GDKP Raid if you can carry others through encounters and, because you do not need the gear, you will only earn cash without spending a penny. So, GDKP in WoW WotLK is probably your best shot if you do not have a guild or a raid static.
Are Gold DKP Raids Popular Today?
Since the release of Wrath of the Lich King Classic more and more players start taking the old ways. Since GDKP Raids are so profitable for everyone participating in it, no wonder that a huge percentage of PuG raids utilize this gear-distribution system. WoW Classic GDKP Raids will probably be an important part of players’ raid routine throughout the expansion. There is even a GDKP addon, designed to help players play more comfortably with this gear-distribution system.
Practically speaking, all you need to gear up your character with this raid format is gold, which we can gladly offer you for a fair price. Check out our WoW Classic Gold and WoW Gold services, to get yourself some.
F.A.Q.
What is DKP meaning?
DKP stands for Dragon Kill Points. This so-called “currency” is used in guilds and raids to distribute gear and items dropped from defeated raid bosses. Since there are always more players than gear pieces dropped from encounters, such systems are an essential part of World of Warcraft end-game mechanics.
How DKP works?
Quite simply. You earn DKP points for completing raids with your raid static and use them to “buy” items dropped by bosses.
What is GDKP in WoW WotLK Classic?
Gold DKP in WotLK Classic (as well as in any other expansion, where this system was utilized) simply means that in-game gold is used as DKP-points.