Our co-op squad says loot is first come, first served until I get there first

I play a cooperative extraction game with three friends. We enter a map, collect equipment, and try to leave without losing it. From the beginning, the group’s loot rule has been “if you open it, it’s yours.” It is simple, fast, and apparently constitutional law when I am the person asking for something.

One teammate plays a gear-hungry role and moves through rooms at full speed. He opens most containers before the rest of us arrive, then says the rule exists to prevent arguments. Usually I accept that. I take what remains and build around it.

Last weekend, I spawned closest to a locked room and used a key I had saved. Inside was a rare attachment that works especially well with his usual loadout. I picked it up. He immediately said, “Come on, you know that’s for me.” I reminded him of the rule. He argued that the rule covers general loot, not items with an obvious best owner.

That would be a reasonable distinction if we had ever applied it in both directions. Earlier the same session, he kept armor that was a clear upgrade for me because he found it first. When I mentioned that, he said armor is flexible but the attachment was “build-defining.” Soon the entire squad was doing courtroom analysis of item categories while another team approached. We were eliminated before anyone won the argument.

Afterward, he said I had proved why rigid rules do not work. I think I proved why flexible rules administered by the fastest looter work perfectly for the fastest looter. The other two friends want peace. One suggested that we give priority to the best fit but let the finder decide. That sounds like the same conflict with extra vocabulary.

I do not care enough about one attachment to damage friendships. I do care that a supposedly neutral rule changes the first time it benefits me. Would you push for round-robin rare loot, announce needs before the match, pool everything until extraction, or keep first-found and refuse all exceptions? We need something simple enough to use while being chased, but fair enough that “simple” does not just reward whoever sprints ahead.