LFG channel will have to wait
by Mike Schramm 
Mar 7th 2007 at 2:52PM
Lots of players logged on yesterday after the patch expecting to Drysc also reminds us that the LFG channel isn't returning worldwide-- it'll only be available for those using the LFG tool. So while we haven't actually used it yet, that means you'll have to flag yourself as LFG, and then you'll get access to the channel.
But what hasn't been answered yet is whether you'll get access to a worldwide channel, or just the channel for your instance. It seems like just talking to people LFG for, say, Hellfire Ramparts is pretty pointless-- we can see their names up there on the screen and we can tell them anything we want. So that points to a worldwide LFG channel. But that then lends itself to the kind of stuff that made Blizzard ditch the channel in the first place, not to mention that it seems likely that tons of people who aren't actually LFG will sit flagged for LFG, just to listen in on the channel.
The problem here is that the best thing the LFG channel had going for it was the fact that it was an open area for players to listen in on LFG requests-- I could sit on my alt and listen for groups for my main, or on my main I could hear about a group, and then head to a dungeon that I had never planned to go to. I fail to see, however, how implementing the channel in the LFG tool, either local or worldwide, opens itself back up to that kind of ad hoc group forming. I guess we won't know until we get a chance to use it.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Sylythn Mar 7th 2007 3:21PM
What's with the function generator as a pic?
Mike Schramm Mar 7th 2007 3:25PM
Heh Syl, I wondered if anyone would think that was strange. It is in fact a logarhithmic function generator-- which means that's a picture of an LFG tool. :)
Sylythn Mar 7th 2007 3:35PM
Wow...as a nerd and engineer, I so should have gotten that joke. :) Props Mike.
Derbeste Mar 7th 2007 3:58PM
Best. pun. ever.
Btw....I want my lfg channel back the way it was. /whine
Ragbar Mar 7th 2007 4:11PM
Oh god, I thought I escaped all that nerd-ism once I graduated. It's following me!!!!
BTW, great joke.
I need to send you guys one of the shirts I had made for student alumni council at my college. I'll know you'll appreciate it.
FRONT: "EngiNERD; get your precision on"
BACK: "You can't (resistor symbol) resist this"
jetpig Mar 7th 2007 5:06PM
sitting on the LFG system will be fine, just uncheck the auto-join. it's what i'm gonna be doing. and if i'm actively looking for a specific instance i'll check autojoin. i can deal with the random occasional tells.
SilentBob Mar 7th 2007 5:19PM
The best use of the LFG channel was it's integration with CallToArms, a mod that I sorely wish Blizzard would have "borrowed" like they did with SCT. It made organizing groups and finding members much easier than any other solution I've ever seen.
Chadwick Mar 7th 2007 5:34PM
As much as I liked the old channel and I do use the new LFG tool, it just seems like the main reason people want it back is to spam chat on it. If people used it for what it was intended, Blizzard would have not gotten rid of it.
The new LFG isn't going to work unless it takes all the best parts of the tool and the free flow of the channel and merges them.
Getting notices on your main for your alt, or vice versa, is the biggest issue I have with the current tool. That and the fact that no one uses the LFG tool.
I loved Call To Arms in that respect. It "sniffed" out the true LFG chat from the garbage.
Now the Trade channel is the new garbage channel and they will soon have a new tool for that as well.
Then your defense channels will get spammed.
They should really just put in a open chat channel that is global for all the lazy idiots that cant figure out that they can create such a channel.
/sigh
Ambroisa Mar 7th 2007 5:38PM
worldwide LFG made it possible for people that enjoyed playing alts,
able to look for groups while not on their main. whats wrong with
that ? I guess everything since blizzard, now, forces you to use the
game hindering tool, "LFG", to nearly do the same functionality as the
LookingForGroup channel. I bet the worldwide LFG chan was cheaper to produce and implement than the useless LFG tool.
Groupie Mar 7th 2007 5:39PM
test
Brian McBride Mar 7th 2007 6:28PM
Other MMORPGs have superior LFG tools. Why Blizzard can't just replicate theirs is beyond me.
The other day it occurred to me that Blizzard grosses something like 4mil a day from this game. They seriously need to go out and buy a clue.
James Mar 7th 2007 6:32PM
The world defense channel will probably not become a spam channel like trade and LFG. Why? The halfwits that spam the channels need an audience. Its no fun if its you and 50 other loud-mouth attention seekers all blathering at each other. These people need an audience, and if you can remove the audience, there is a decent likelihood that they will leave as well.
michel Mar 7th 2007 6:52PM
I couldn't suffer the old "lfg" channel. it's beyond my comprehension why some people could use it.
but well, people are all different :)
Chris Deke Mar 7th 2007 8:13PM
The only problem with the LFG tool is simple: no-one uses it! Otherwise its a perfectly good idea! What might work to make the noobs fall in line is simply auto-add you to the LFG tool if you have any quests in a certain dungeon (say you have x and y quest in zone uldaman, you get auto-added to the LFG tool) then you get a message "would you like to join a group with xxx for zone: uldaman" instead of just the random xxx has invited you to join a group. Other than that, JUST USE THE FREAKING TOOL PEOPLE! It does everything the global LFG ever did, easier quicker and with less screwing around.
Smutcakes Mar 7th 2007 9:27PM
It doesn't. I need to pay a visit to the enchanting trainer in Uldaman right now and am past the level range according to the lfg tool which means I can simply not look for a group.
Brad Mar 7th 2007 9:42PM
The LFG system is officially died. The only way people were going to use the LFG system if they were forced to use it. When people are given the choice over the clean and organized (LFG tool) over just massive cluster fuck (LFG channel) people will always use the cluster fuck.
nukethewhalesagain Mar 8th 2007 7:27AM
As a new WoW player I have to say that using the LFG system alone sucks. I mean its easy to use if I want to go to a dungeon during a time when there are a lot of people playing, but, if the only thing I can come up with is a couple of people using the LFG tool, I always end up spamming the chats. And forget about using it when I need help with a group quest.
I really hope the new system helps with that but if you have to be actively looking for a group to get in the channel, it doesn't seem like its going to get any better.
rustedwings Mar 19th 2007 9:23AM
I think the problem with tying a new LFG interface into a universal channel is that if you click off that little checkmark that says "Auto-Join" you don't ever have to party up.
What might be a better option would be to do the above but add a universal spam channel so the people who want to have barrens chat with them wherever they go can spam somewhere designed exactly for it..