WoW Forever GDKP ban: loot systems for North America and Europe

Blizzard confirmed that GDKP will not be allowed in WoW Forever during its September 17 developer Q&A following BlizzCon. On October 8, Blizzard's Clay Stone clarified in a direct interview with 4Gamers that the ban applies to North America and Europe. Guilds in those regions should choose a loot system without gold bids.

WoW Forever's first new raids open on December 9, 2026. Blizzard's What's Next panel recap names the Barrow Deeps for 10 players and Hyjal Summit for 20. Your guild needs a loot rule before the first boss dies, and ideally before signups open.

This guide compares the common guild loot systems and how they fit each raid size. We make GuildManager, which supports several of them. The recommendations below are our editorial advice, not Blizzard rules.

What the GDKP announcement means for officers

GDKP auctions drops for in-game gold and usually shares the gold pot among the group. Guild-point DKP uses points earned inside your guild. The two systems use different currencies, even though their names look similar.

In the Q&A, Josh Greenfield explained that GDKP can displace traditional guild groups, create a barrier for newer players and make illicit gold harder to recover. The October 8 clarification sets the regional scope, so this guide does not present the ban as a worldwide rule.

For a North American or European guild, publish a no-gold loot rule before recruiting or opening raid signups. The systems below assign items without auctioning them for gold. The additional house rules later in this guide are our recommendations.

Four systems to choose from

Our loot council vs DKP guide walks through both of those systems with worked examples.

Match the system to the raid size

The 10-player Barrow Deeps. A small group sees few drops per run and often includes friends, alts and guests. Soft reserve or plain rolls usually cost less effort than a full points economy.

The 20-player Hyjal Summit. A steady 20-player roster is where DKP or loot council starts to pay off. Attendance matters, and the same people compete for the same items every week.

Many guilds will run both raids. You can use soft reserve for the 10 and DKP or council for the 20, as long as each raid's rule is written down in advance.

Keep gold out of your loot rules

This is our editorial recommendation, not a Blizzard rule. Decide loot by your guild's own system, and keep in-game gold out of it entirely:

• No item, raid seat or loot priority is traded for gold.
• DKP points cannot be bought with gold or sold between members.
• Raiders do not pay each other to pass on an item.

A rule like this is easy to explain, and it keeps newer members on the same footing as players with large gold reserves.

Write the rules before the first raid

A loot rule that lives in one officer's head will be argued about on raid night. Post it where every raider can read it, and cover:

1. Which system applies to which raid. Name the raid and its size.
2. Who is eligible. Trial members, guests, alts and late arrivals.
3. Main spec and off spec. Say whether off-spec items go to rolls, and whether a second specialization counts. Blizzard's class deep dives say dual specialization unlocks at level 40, so many raiders will have one.
4. How ties are broken. Rolls, attendance or an officer decision.
5. How mistakes are fixed. Who can reverse an award, and how quickly.

Appearances follow their own rule. The Deep Dive panel recap says epic raid drops grant their appearance only to the player the item binds to, while bind-on-pickup Uncommon and Rare dungeon drops grant it to all eligible looters. Raiders who want a raid item's look still need to win the item.

Run it in GuildManager

• Soft and hard reserves. Raiders submit reserves before the raid and officers lock the list. The GuildManager addon shows reserves on item tooltips and in loot chat. See the addon page.
• DKP. Core includes attendance rewards, scheduled decay, a points ledger and Discord auctions. Bids use guild points, never in-game gold.
• Loot council. Core includes council voting with an optional note on each award, and candidate comparison using attendance, points, wishlists and recent awards.

Plans and limits are on the pricing page. For a comparison with another WoW Forever tool, see GuildManager vs CoGM for WoW Forever.

Related guides

• WoW Forever raid sizes and roster planning
• WoW Forever launch-week officer checklist
• Moving a Classic Era guild to WoW Forever
• WoW Forever guild tools

Sources

Checked October 14, 2026.

• World of Warcraft developer Q&A, September 17. Blizzard's official replay, GDKP question and answer. The replay is also embedded in Blizzard's announcement.
• Holly Longdale and Clay Stone interview, October 8. Direct developer interview published by 4Gamers. Clay Stone clarifies that the GDKP ban applies to North America and Europe.
• World of Warcraft: Forever What's Next panel recap. Blizzard. December 9 raid unlock, Barrow Deeps (10) and Hyjal Summit (20).
• World of Warcraft: Forever Deep Dive panel recap. Blizzard. Appearance rules for raid and dungeon drops.
• World of Warcraft: Forever Class Deep Dives: Hunter and Druid. Blizzard. Dual specialization at level 40.