Raid finder coming in patch 4.3
by Adam Holisky 
Aug 17th 2011 at 11:20AM
According to an interview with Kotaku:
Finally, Chilton and Chris Metzen, vice president of creative development at Blizzard, explained a new feature coming with the patch called "Raid Finder". The Raid Finder essentially operates like a dungeon finder, automating the search for fellow players on the hunt for a good raiding party. It will be built into the game's updated user interface when the patch hits, they said.
The Kotaku article doesn't call it a "cross-realm" raid finder, but I think it's safe to assume that it will be -- otherwise, it'll just be like the one that's in game now (you remember that one, right?). There's no more details on the interface or accompanying restrictions on the new raid finding, but expect that information to be discovered or announced soon.
Brace yourselves for what could be some of most exciting updates to the game recently with patch 4.3. Look at what's ahead: new item storage options, cross-realm raiding, cosmetic armor skinning and your chance to battle the mighty Deathwing -- from astride his back! Filed under: News items
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
PyroFlyX Aug 17th 2011 11:27AM
I foresee a lot of wipes...
Bynde Aug 17th 2011 12:03PM
Yeah but these will be wipes in RAIDS.
So, it's different.
I approve of this addition because I can't see it making anything worse. If you're already in a raiding guild, you won't need it. If you are casual/small guilded, this gives a chance to be in a raid and see content you've never seen before and get insulted by new and exotic people.
I may try it once to check it out, fully knowing I could very well get disgusted with it like I have with DF, then never use it again. Just like I have with DF.
DragonFireKai Aug 17th 2011 3:28PM
I disagree, this can make things much, much worse.
You've seen all the threads in the forums complaining about Vote to Kick? Now imagine those problems in a raid. Kick protection, in a raid? You get a tank who isn't a tank, he just hit the tank option to leapfrog the queue, but because he gets kicked often enough, you're stuck with him for 2 hours. But if they don't have Vote to Kick implemented, then there's going to be people who abuse the ability to kick to manipulate who can get loot. And a million people will complain about it.
Remember all the comprehensive nerfs that heroics got because pugs were just too damn bad to clear them? And then they got a 15% buff on top of the nerfed dungeons? This shouldn't happen to the raids.
Vent, and general communication. You cannot pug most of the encounters without a chat program, but you'll get someone who uses vent, someone who uses teamspeak, someone who uses mumble, someone who using the in game abomination, and a couple people who refuse to use anything.
Not to mention the majority of the people who play this game are bad at it. The skill distribution falls within a bell curve, but the targeted skill level for raiding is pretty far to the left on the curve. That's why 10% of the game's player actually raid, and of those, only 30% actually raid succesfully enough to down the final boss on normal mode.
This is going to damage the game. Badly. I hope blizzard reconsiders.
DarkWalker Aug 18th 2011 10:42AM
@DragonFireKai
What Blizzard needs to do is to add some kind of performance requirement to the LFD (and LFR). Some kind of "you must be this tall to enter"board.
Suppose the iLvl check actually looked at the best gear the player have for each slot in each role, evaluated gear per spec by weighting the importance of each stat (for example, discarding Resilience and any other stat that is not useful for the role/spec), took notice of the gems and enchants, didn't take into account at all improper gear (wrong armor type or unusable), and disqualified hybrids from choosing a role they don't have the spec for. This alone would drastically reduce the problems with undergeared tanks/healers, even if the average required gear, for properly geared players (as in, appropriate gear type in all slots), remained the same.
Blizzard could go even further. Have a set of role-specific trials that take as little as 5-10 minutes to run solo, and that need to be completed at least once before a player can use the LFD/LFR for a role. Tune the trials so players need to actually learn to not stand in the fire, get away from big predictable hits, etc, as well as doing their intended role job (DPSing, burning/taunting adds, healing, triage, etc), in order to pass. Even if it was a cakewalk for any proper raider, this would help wonders with preventing players that don't have a clue, or are simply not skilled enough from joining the random groups. It would also be a training ground for players that want to get into heroics/raids.
The final piece I would like to see is Blizzard moving away from raid/boss locks. Use gear locks instead if controlling gearing speed is still deemed necessary, preferably with some kind of per-player loot akin to what GW2 and TOR are going to use. If there is no locks in place preventing players from playing more than once, getting a fail group through the LFR (or being kicked from a LFR group) will be much less an issue.
LordFreezer Aug 18th 2011 2:59PM
I think Dragon Kai is QQ'ing tat he won't be allowed to atc like an elitist jerk to everyone because he has no girl and no life and does nothing but raid on WoW.
Phil Aug 17th 2011 11:28AM
I am excited and scared at the same time, oddly the exact same way i feel about my upcoming wedding lol
Jurk Aug 17th 2011 11:32AM
Just keep a backpack with a change of clothes and running shoes in your best man's car. =)
Hob Aug 17th 2011 11:33AM
Congratulations and best wishes!
/cheer
/champagne bottle
/salute
dj.clayden Aug 17th 2011 12:17PM
Odd advice for pugging raids. Jurk. =/
Phil Aug 17th 2011 12:25PM
@dj.clayden
I think Jurk's advice is very sound, for both my upcoming wedding and raiding. Always bring a spare set of clothes, running shoes, and if you are a fan of Hitchhiker's Guide a towel.
Jurk Aug 17th 2011 5:25PM
@Phil
Glad you took my comment with good humor as it was meant to! Good luck on your wedding and do bring a towel!
Nucleon Aug 17th 2011 11:29AM
Raid finder + free RealID grouping with players in other realms effectively levels the boundaries between shards and allows you to raid with whoever you want, whenever you want.
AWESOME.
Noyou Aug 17th 2011 11:57AM
Yeah this is great. I don't have friends all over but this is cool. It will benefit a lot of people. The quality of life changes they have made in this expac are truly cataclysmic.
Minstrel Aug 17th 2011 12:25PM
I hope they incorporate cross-realm grouping for raids. This announcement only mentions a raid-finder, which is PUGs. Being able to group up with friends across realms would be pretty amazing. You could effectively form a cross-server raiding team. I'd love that.
I have to hope that with this coming on the heels of cross-realm dungeon grouping, the cross-realm raid finder will allow the same. I could imagine cross-realm dungeon grouping remaining free and the cross realm raid grouping being the premium service...which may well be worth it.
ady5078 Aug 17th 2011 11:30AM
Woo, my tip was read!
In any case, I can't wait for the patch. All the new features make me convinced that this is when I should return to Azeroth.
omedon666 Aug 17th 2011 11:33AM
I can't see the "don't be new on my time" undercurrent of WoW facilitating the acceptance of this feature unless the completion achievement is a pre-requisite to queue. I don't like that, but it's true.
I truly hope I'm wrong, and that this won't become a trainwreck. This will be interesting to watch.
Trasken Aug 17th 2011 11:42AM
Agreed.
Heck, just last night we had a mostly guild run of Bastion of Twilight and one member mentioned he hadn't been there before. We lost 2 of our 3 Pug'd players over it.
It's getting ridiculous...
omedon666 Aug 17th 2011 11:49AM
Not to mention the DF ethic of grouping well geared players with less geared players. That will be magnified in the "srs bsns" raid environment, and it will get ugly.
Again... I hope I'm wrong.
chaosdefined Aug 17th 2011 12:45PM
I agree and I hate that. I've not raided much this expansion because my old guild died from lack of interest in the new content, so I took a break and levelled an alt. Coming back now I'm finding it hard enough to get into a decent guild when I have no experience in Firelands, let alone a PUG for BoT or BWD!
A feature like this sounds good in theory, but in practise the playerbase will disown it.
Boozard Aug 17th 2011 8:42PM
maybe a self rate button would be a good idea. we could have a "srs bsns" button, an intermediate and a beginner button. people who are new to raiding would probably avoid pressing the "srs bsns" button. hardcore raiders pressing the beginner button would more or less know what they're in for. i think most people would click the intermediate button. i'm just rambling here.