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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsDear Blizz: Here's how to fix LFG
by Mike Schramm 
Dec 11th 2006 at 9:32PM
Last Friday, in answer to Nethaera's comment that players should use the LFG system even if they don't like it to come up with a solution for it, I commented that it wasn't the responsibility of players to fix the system, and that I'd be typing "/join lookingforgroup" to find groups until the LFG system was fixed. Now it's Monday, and over the weekend, Neth continued blaming players for not fixing the LFG system, even going so far as to say that people like me who circumvented it "are the ones making the system not work because it only works if people use it." Instead of creating a system players want to use, Blizzard put a system in place that wasn't as good as a mod (Call to Arms, which a lot of players appreciated before the addon meltdown broke it), and then expected the players to tell them how to fix it.Now, I'm not here to fight with Nethaera. From what I know about her, she's a pretty cool chick. All I really want is a working LFG system. So even while I think it's wrong for Blizzard to ask players to fix their system, if you want advice, Blizzard, I'll give it to you. Compiled from my own thoughts (and our readers' across a few different posts about the LFG system), here's how to fix LFG.
- First things first, the autojoin has to go. Currently, if two people are looking for a group for the same place, they get thrown together, and that's just not how people work (it's one reason almost no one used the meeting stone system in place before the patch). People need that human filter in place-- it's also why more people are using the "Looking for More" option than the LFG option. People want to know what they're getting into before they accept an invite.
- To that end, there needs to be a lot more information in the LFG window. I just recently found out you could hover over names to see who's in the group (a lot of people haven't realized that yet, and that's a sign that it's not intuitive enough). Ideally, I'd love to see everyone in all the groups for an instance at one glance, and choose what group I want to join based on that.
- More options are necessary when setting up a group, both in terms of class and instance choice. Players should be able to specify what classes (or, even better, specs) we want/need. I can see the reasons why Blizzard has limited the instances available to certain players (lowbies shouldn't be in higher level instances), but once you've hit a level minimum, there's no reason why you can't be LFG for it (my 60 Warrior just took up enchanting, so he's always poking around for an Uldaman run).
- And of course there are other tweaks that could be made. Comments could be more prominent-- that would be a solution to the problem of LFG for more than three instances, or looking with your alt. Comments could be searchable, using the same interface as the auction house.
Filed under: Patches, Analysis / Opinion, Blizzard, Add-Ons, Instances, Quests, Expansions
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 2)
DÖT Dec 12th 2006 8:12AM
Holy CRAP I AM SICK OF THIS TOPIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Devynista Dec 12th 2006 8:32AM
A "lookingforgroup" channel only works if people use it too.
Thomas Dec 12th 2006 2:52PM
Heh, I agree with Dot. I'm a bit tired of the LFG bitch fest, though I will freely admit I haven't used the channel. Based on what everyone's saying it seems Call to Arms was a great solution - I used it quite a bit myself, loved the feature that posted new LFG requests near my minimap. It helped filter out all the unwanted BS that is now rampant on the Trade channel.
Sadly, I see the Trade channel turning into what the LFG channel is now. Hopefully that would actually work better. :P
Jason Dec 12th 2006 8:41AM
As with one of the previous posters, I'm also going to take your commentary as worthless criticism. Limiting by spec is worthless, and if you really don't want a particular spec, then ask them once they're in your group. If you're that big of an ass about it, then you can most certainly throw them out once you find out that shaman is enhancement when you wanted resto or that priest is shadow when you wanted Disc/Holy. However, that was one of the greatest downfalls of FFXI, and I'd hate to see it come to WoW.
As to your gripe with Auto-Join, it's been said. Don't like it? Don't use it. There's plenty of folks out there, myself included, who want a system that they can set up and simply forget about. I used the tool extensively on the PTRs, and loved it. I wound up with several groups, which while varying in effectiveness, were all more than capable of handling whatever we happened to be going after. Most of the issues were due to the player behind the character, not the character.
As to the rest of it, it's no different than the hordes of trolls and QQers on the forums. It's a mishmash of half-hearted bunk that, while applicable in some sense, is just that. It's a bunch of excuses as to why you're not using the tool. It's there, it's functional, and it does work. As Nethaera has stated, numerous times on the forums, it's like any tool. It will only work if it gets used, and people like you not using it are the issue. Not the tool itself.
Apocolipto Dec 12th 2006 9:03AM
My own Op.. LFG works fine, it does just what i need it to do. I dont mind being put into a group full of people that want to do that same dung that i want to do. yeah its helpful if theres a healer in the group insted of just a bunch of warriors and such. Why do you need to prescreen everyone that is joining the group. 90% of the time group loot is on and people share the gear drops. If your that aprehensive about who joins your group then why are you even trying to join one. You have to have some faith in people. I dont care if the people in the group talk to me or if there male/female, it doesint make a diff just as long as there attacking something and not just standing there in that case you can just find a new group using the system.
guest Dec 12th 2006 11:23AM
Here's how you find what you need...
Let's suppose you need a priest for RFC...
/who priest 10-14
Then you ask them. It's not complicated.
Sylythn Dec 12th 2006 1:11PM
Simply put, the interface needs to be like the AH. I want to SHOP for a group. I want to know its class makeup, the specs in it (if people chose to put that info in the comments), its goals (if stated in the comments)... I want to be able to search on any instance at any time (not be limited to 1 like LFM or 3 like LFG), or look for groups that have people I know (or guildies!) in them (better chance of a good pug), or classes I like working with (I loooove instancing next to shadow priests who aren't stuck healing).
Groups can make or a break a night of WoW, and with something that important, I don't want to be limited in my choices or randomly placed.
Todd Dec 12th 2006 11:32AM
I like the idea of an ebay-like rating system. Get rid of those ninjas.
gonzo Dec 12th 2006 11:32AM
I pay to play and have fun; not to toy around with some new creation and beta test for Blizzard. I've seen numerous, decent looking suggestions floating around. I just hope things are fixed soon, rather than another two years down the road.
Arras Dec 12th 2006 12:40PM
LFG has it's faults, as does WoW as a whole
but in response to Neth's comments about how players that circumvent the LFG tool are being counter productive and hurting its development - I agree with Neth 100%
It's your game too, folks. You pay for it with your money (or someone else's money if you're lucky) and your time. Both of which are highly valued commodities - time moreso than money, in my opinion
So, remember you get out of this game what you put into it. Want the LFG tool "fixed" or improved to something more your liking? Then use it, report on it, look for bugs, break it.
Just don't sit there and whine about how much it sucks and expect the dev team to read your mind and fix it for you.
wakko701 Dec 12th 2006 2:46PM
I think the only problem I have with the new LFG system is that I can no longer play an alt and look for a group for any of my mains. Before, I could play my 55 druid and still see if a group is forming that needs my mage or priest. Now, I have to log them on and sit around hoping to get invited when i could be more productive. That, I think, it the single worst thing about the new LFG tool.
moink Dec 12th 2006 3:28PM
The LFG system has been working well for me, but maybe that's because I'm at such a low level that the others at my level are newbie-ish and open to new interfaces. That, and I'm a priest, which means that as soon as I join someone wants me. Mostly, it works. The complaints I think are reasonable are that you can't LFG simultaneously on more than one char, it overly limits the instances/quests you can look for help with, and it limits you to three. I also think "auto join" should be off by default or at least stay off between visits to the interface.
21: Group composition is important. I found out the other night, for instance, that it is near impossible to do an instance at the recommended level without a tanking class. A hunter, two rogues, and a mage asked me to heal them through Deadmines. They couldn't keep aggro off me and one rogue called me "the worst healer on the face of the earth" whereas in groups with warriors, pallies, or druids I've gotten complimented on my healing.
22: No! Please don't. I'd like to be able to check my mail, go into the auction house, craft, or even run a quest or two solo (e.g. those required before the instance quests) without getting constant whispers to join groups. I often get whispered with requests to join a group while in an instance with another group! I know it doesn't seem like a big deal to you, and I always respond politely, but if whispering priests becomes the default way to put a group together, I will be spending much more of my time politely turning down invitation offers than actually playing.
Kiliani Dec 12th 2006 4:23PM
I've heard that before it went live the LFG tool included battlegrounds - sure would be nice if they added that option back in.