The New LFG
October 22, 2009 § 2 Comments
So wow.com has recently posted info about the new LFG interface. I’m at once filled with deep apprehension and cautious optimism.
Before you continue on past the cut I must leave a disclaimer. Yes. I KNOW this is all still on the PTR and is subject to change. So don’t tell me that. I’m not an idiot. I’m still going to voice my opinions about it.
First the good:
The interface is undeniably sexy. I love that the ‘specific dungeons’ menu lets you queue up for any instance up to your current level. Meaning if you are level 70 you can queue up for the deadmines all the way up to Utgarde Keep. Being able to find a group for low level dungeons is an idea that really entices me. You can pick which ones you want to search for by ticking a little checkbox by the name of each instance. Another super freaking awesome change is that once your group has been gathered you are automatically teleported into the dungeon just like you would for a battleground. No more fighting about who is going to go summon or having to hearth through Dalalag to travel somewhere. I also like that it gives a little ‘ready check’ window letting you know when your group is full, and who you are waiting on to get things started.
In base terms of PuGing, and just logging in and running something just to get yer badges and be done with it, I like that you can choose to queue up for any random Lich King Heroic, with any random person. (You can also queue up for any other random instance, regular Lich King, regular Burning Crusade, and so on.) And the fact that things will be cross-realm, I’m betting that finding someone won’t take nearly as long. Although tank and healer shortages aren’t going to magically go away…but I digress. Additionally, thanks to the cross-realm groupings, theoretically “additional instances cannot be launched” errors will be eliminated.
Now the bad:
For doing a daily PuG you get a couple of emblems and gold. The amount of gold scales based on the randomness of the group (the more random, the more gold). Now some of you might read this and say, “But Fizz! Being rewarded with emblems and gold is a good thing!” Well, yes, I’m never one to turn down emblems or gold. However, I think it’s a bunch of nonsense that those who prefer to bring people we know with us to instances are being shortchanged. Ok, ok, maybe the idea is that you get gold as compensation for having to put up with some crappy PuG. However, I still think it’s a bunch of nonsense. Especially since it appears the ‘Proof of Demise’ and ‘Timear Foresees’ are being taken out of the game. Although in the end, if all I have to do is run one random heroic with one random group I could put up with a PuG a day. No. It’s still nonsense.
As much as I can see the benefit of cross-realm groups, I’m not a fan. I would prefer my PuGers to be on my server. First, I worry that since people aren’t running on the same server with the group they are in, there is even less incentive to act like a decent human being. At least if you act like a turd on your own server, your reputation has a way of following you. It just seems a lot less likely, or at least much harder to keep track of bad apples (unless they give is cross-server ignore lists). And second, while some of my most frustrating experiences have been through PuGs, some of the best people I know in the game I have met through PuGing. If I meet good people in an instance, without cross-server friends lists (and chat), it’s likely I’ll never see these people again. And finally, I just feel like using cross-server groupings to fix the “additional instances cannot be launched” issue is a questionable solution. I’d like so say I have a clever analogy, you know, this solution is like some other thing that’s close but more clearly illustrates the fail involved…but sadly I’m not that clever.
While it’s not such an issue for me, some of the comments in the wow.com posts talk about the lack of control over which classes join the group. Some people prefer not to have other plate wearers in their group. Some like having all ranged people (except the tank of course).
Finally the questions:
- Where does this leave premade groups?
- Will we benefit from the automatic teleporation?
- Are we going get any similar compensation with gold and emblems?
- What about raid setups?
- Will they be cross-server?
- Will people finally use LFG instead of trade to mindlessly spam their ‘LFM H Deadmines must link achievements!’? One can only hope.
“[Insert clever sign off phrase here]”
~Fizz
The Cranky Old Gnome 
Another feature missing, from my point of view, is the ability to select going with 3 or 4 players only.
I like 3-manning the Azeroth instances for the challenge. I also like 3 or 4-manning the heroics as otherwise the only challenge is trying to beat my best time.
I hadn’t even thought of that, but that’s a very good point. By now I’ve done Heroic Utgarde Keep so many times that 3-manning it is about the only way to keep me off auto-pilot.