The Queue: Layoffs
by Mathew McCurley 
Nov 10th 2011 at 11:00AM
I can't believe that they fired every single employee at Blizzard this week. Seriously, can they even do that?
Also, it's totally my birthday on Sunday. What are you all getting for me?
Shinae asked:
I've seen conflicting information about the upcoming Looking For Raid feature. Some places say that LFR will ONLY have the Dragon Soul. Others say (and I've seen for myself on the PTR) that the other Cataclysm raids will be available as well.
Which will it be? Thanks!
The Raid Finder tool will be launching in patch 4.3 with only the Dragon Soul raid, split into two raids for the purpose of the tool. For normal and heroic modes, it will be one instance. Blizzard has no said whether it will definitely go back and add the other Cataclysm raids to the Raid Finder feature. When Mists of Pandaria launches, every raid will be available in the Raid Finder.
andysdavis asked:
While leveling my orc mage through 1k needles, I finished the quest line where you kill Tony Two-Tusk and then bring him back to life again. Before he leaves he says "Thanks, mon. You've been true to your word, and I can respect that. I need to get back. I'm sure we'll cross paths again. Next time, I'll get to return the favor." I'm wondering, do we actually end up seeing him at a later point in the game, and if so, where?
Tony Two-Tusks is one of the random NPCs who can help you out on Sethria's Roost during the Molten Front daily quests. He definitely returns the favor.
Chance asked:
I signed up for the one year pass, but I will be going out of town soon. I have no quarrel with paying for the month and a half I will be away, my question pertains to the mount. If I'm gone when 4.3 drops, and am away for longer than 31 days, will I need to create a ticket for the mount to be resent to all my toons? Or does it not get mailed to a character until they log on?
I don't think you'll have a problem. Blizzard-mailed items are usually there for you regardless of time spent in the mailbox. I have Moonkin Hatchlings and Murkablos on characters I haven't played in a long time that are just waiting to be picked up.
Mackgyver asked:
I wonder how much gold will be wasted trying to win a goldfish that will die in less than a week.
You have no idea how much I want Blizzard to put in a goldfish at the Darkmoon Faire that you can have in your inventory and will expire in a week.
As a Jewish kid growing up, we always went to Purim carnivals at our local synagogue. When we were little kids, my friend Matty B. once won a goldfish at a Purim carnival that lived longer than any goldfish should have ever lived. It got gigantic. They had to change his tank, he got so big.
@SyntheticAether on Twitter asked:
Favorite WoW drinking game?
My favorite WoW drinking game is called "Drink every time you get a Tol'vir archaeology find that isn't a rare." I have died 12 times from alcohol poisoning.
@AnserShock on Twitter asked:
Doesn't it seem weird that monks can be tanks, I mean they are monks. Healing preaching manuscript writing peace iubbers, right?
Monks value balance, not peace. If you've got to take the gloves off to restore balance, you better believe the monk will do so.
Have questions about the World of Warcraft? The WoW Insider crew is here with The Queue, our daily Q&A column. Leave your questions in the comments, and we'll do our best to answer 'em!
Filed under: The Queue
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 10)
Didax Nov 10th 2011 11:02AM
TL;DR version first:
The Dungeon Finder (LFD) is a great tool for players who are somewhat shy/anti-social, as well as those on low population servers. However, I think that overall, it has been very bad for the game (e.g. decline in player behavior/attitudes and lost sense of server community).
I know that LFD is never going to go away. It is far too pervasive and Blizzard has put too much into its development. Knowing this, what can be done to address the problems associated with this far-too-convenient tool?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
My problem with LFD is that it has gone a long way towards killing the sense of community that used to exist on each individual realm. People have no need to talk to their server-mates in order to do their heroics. In fact, they are downright discouraged from pre-forming a group due to incentives like Luck of the Draw and Call to Arms.
In addition, a player's reputation on their server used to matter. Pre-LFD, I would very often add players to my friend's list because they did a great job at their role, and/or they had a great attitude. Subsequently, when forming a group for the daily heroic (or when occasionally needing a PuG to fill out raid groups) I would use this friend's network first.
Post-LFD, I have added, perhaps a TOTAL of 5 non-guildie players to my friend's list. The once lively chat channels that could be used to find reliable PuGs are now empty and silent. If I need to PuG someone for a raid, more often than not, I have to rely on (*shudder*) Trade chat.
Should Blizzard remove the penalty from queuing with friends? Should they add a server-only checkbox? Should they completely overhaul the system, perhaps making it somewhat like the Looking for Guild feature where players can search for groups using specified criteria?
MattKrotzer Nov 10th 2011 11:08AM
I agree on the way it fractured the sense of community. Back in Late BC and Early Wrath, I would be barraged with requests for runs because people knew I was a good tank. Now the only time I get requests is if people want me to craft them something, and they know I need Chaos Orbs.
Saeadame Nov 10th 2011 11:19AM
I think this affects smaller realms more than bigger ones. My realm has a very large population, so outside of your "circle" (guildies, other friends) you don't really know anyone anyway (other than "this guild is all ninjas," "this guild is all assholes," etc). Sure, there are a couple people you meet in raids or whatever that are decent, but there's so many people who fit that description (good at their role, not a problem in raids) that you don't really remember them, because next time you want to do a raid or something you can just find someone else like that.
Grovinofdarkhour Nov 10th 2011 11:20AM
Luck of the Draw isn't really an incentive to run without friends, per se; it's supposed to offset the diminished group performance that could be reliably expected based on the certain lack of group cohesion, and the possible lack of player skill, inherent in running with strangers. It's more of an "equalizer"... a "people wouldn't use this tool unless" kind of thing.
I don't tank, but doesn't Call to Arms still give the tank the bonus bag if you group with 4 friends and pick Random Dungeon?
Shinae Nov 10th 2011 11:22AM
You have a great point about the decline of realm community. At least the LFD does put priority on grouping people of the same realm when possible. But even when I get someone from my realm in LFD and I say hi, I barely get aknowledgement back.
The best thing we can do is to set good examples for our realm-mates. Instead of queueing alone for LFD, ask in chat channels if anyone would like to join you, LotD and CtA be damned. (Unfortunately, this only works for tanks and healers, to give DPSers a shorter wait time.) You'd be surprised how well some people found in Trade can perform in a dungeon or raid.
I'm hoping that the leader boards from Challenge Modes and PvE Scenarios in MoP will help bring back realm community. I know it's a long shot but it's something.
Shinae Nov 10th 2011 11:24AM
@Grov
No, the bribe bag from Call to Arms is only available when queueing alone.
spectres Nov 10th 2011 11:25AM
Your TL;DR is still too long.
loop_not_defined Nov 10th 2011 11:26AM
I firmly believe the benefits of Real ID's cross-realm friending and grouping need to be extended to character friending.
I know I'm repeating myself here, but seriously. Players cannot make friends in LFD. The tools we have are insufficient:
1) Real ID Friending with people you've anonymously known for 30-60 minutes...creepy.
2) Character Friending only works same-realm.
If you could form lasting friendships with people in LFD, wouldn't you take the time to chat with 'em?
loli.gigis Nov 10th 2011 11:30AM
For one I see this as a good thing for really unbalanced servers. On my server Alliance is severely at a disadvantage members wise. Most of them only PVP, there is only ONE guild that even raids on a semi-regular basis. If you don't get in for a raid on Tuesday's then your chance of finding one later in the week is slim to none. I think this will be good for those who want to raid but maybe don't have the access to a guild that does raiding. I know I will be using it, being a raid alternate for both groups of 10m raiding I would like to know the fights and have gear before being asked to come in as most of the time I find out last minute that I am replacing someone that night.
Den Nov 10th 2011 11:30AM
I hate to say it, but the only way to really find new non-guildies to chat it up with is to become a chatter box. Talk to people because they have funny names, stand out as actually paying attention in a BG, are doing the same odd-ball activity as you, etc. Even then, you may not even find 1 person that'll last on your friends list for more than a few weeks, simply because they'll get done with that alt, get too busy raiding, etc. You will make some connections but, as an example, I have someone on my real ID list that I LOVE chatting with, but rarely get to play with them primarily due to differences in play styles: he loves instanced content, helping people gear up, etc, while I like starting world pvp or helping folks who found it and need help.
At this point, I feel that those of us who don't like the instanced content will simply have to play other (or smaller) games to find the sense of community we had in Vanilla WoW.
Hal Nov 10th 2011 11:34AM
First off, I don't see Blizzard doing anything to "fix" this problem anytime soon. At most, they might make the system prioritize groups or players from your server over other servers, but if you're a tank or a healer, this is going to put you in a tight spot. After all, if you have an instant queue waiting for you, that's likely someone else's server group waiting for you, not your own.
The "sense of community" has expanded into pug-raiding and away from dungeons. This is especially true for "throwaway" raids like Baradin Hold. This is a pretty reasonable way to figure out who you like and who you don't. Yes, this is a weekly exercise and not a daily exercise, but it's just the new dynamic.
Of course, it's not like you don't have other ways of building community without abandoning the LFD tool. I'm always seeing advertisements in trade chat for rated BGs and people looking for more to join those. I'm sure your server has a group of people who regularly try to win Tol Barad as well, since that means Baradin Hold and dailies.
And you know what? I still see people setting up pre-assembled dungeon runs in trade chat on my server, mostly ZA/ZG. Why? Probably the same reason why you want a solution to the anonymity of the dungeon finder.
In conclusion: Community cohesion didn't fall apart when the LFD tool came along. It just moved into different arenas. If you want to keep it going, you need to adapt.
Gusshanks Nov 10th 2011 11:39AM
First off, I agree with much of what you are saying. It is very true there has been a decline in the behaviour of people using the LFD tool.
I don't think that the solution to the problem is anything Blizzard can do. It really is up to individuals to uphold the "professionalism" most of us find lacking in LFD. This means being courteous and looking out for other members of the group. As a tank, make sure everyone is ready before pulling. If you have quests, share them. If you have a gathering profession, see if others in the group do as well and work out a way of dividing up the spoils. If you are DPS, don’t pull and don’t pull off the tank.
I have recently been leveling a resto druid (loving how they heal) and using the LFD tool for almost the entire process. I have been in a lot of crappy groups. It can be incredibly frustrating and many times you just want to give up. But I make sure when I enter a group to say hi. I try to give warning if I’m low on mana or need to switch specs (I do quests a bit when not in LFD so might start in feral DPS spec).
Just recently I ran into a tank who was just learning. He was doing ok, but not great. There were certainly things he needed to work on to be a better tank. But I worked with him and he was very grateful for the help.
It is up to each of us to try and make the group a good group. If we can make the group a good experience for the person then they can clearly see when they are not in a good group. If we give up then the bad attitude wins and everyone looses. Yes, it’s a tough battle. Yes you will be frustrated. And yes you will want to give up. Everyone once and a while though, you will run into other s with the same attitude and it is a great experience.
(cutaia) Nov 10th 2011 11:40AM
"Your TL;DR is still too long."
I, too, am illiterate. :(
*sad trombone*
Kadzeroth Nov 10th 2011 11:41AM
I agree it has definitely created a community that features a lot of d-bags. I really love the RDF though, it's great when all you did was guild runs anyway. I never pugged prior to the RDF, ever (Wintergrasp Raids being the exception).
But I can actually run things when there is no one on in guild chat. I also am on a hugely populated server so the community there was always hit or miss anyway.
My experience has been overall good though, with very few jerky or terrible groups. Most of the time it's simply a quiet run (which I'm fine with) where we kill everything quick and move on. There are occasions where you get a fail tank/dps/healer and things just go to hell from there, but I find them few and far between. This may be luck, who knows.
Moanique Nov 10th 2011 11:42AM
Given what I see in Trade generally and the occasional outlandish requirements to get into a PUG, I can't say that I'm really all that interested in my realm 'community' as such.
But with that said, LFR server PUG's should do OK if anyone wants to bother. Pick up 15-18 people or however many you can put together in a short amount of time, don't make the requirements to join the PUG too stiff and fill in the empty spots from elsewhere.
For the most part I enlarge my friends list by offering to assist anyone with quests by giving a shout-out on the zone channel when I enter to do something. As well, most people working TB are happy enough to have someone along to help.
You just have to be creative.
Adam Nov 10th 2011 11:44AM
Blizzard penalizes you for queuing with friends? Really? I've seen no debuff for queuing with people I know for a fact put out decent damage and healing numbers.
Now I have seen a buff for being a brave individual and jumping into an unknown group, but I've seen no discouragement to partying with your friends.
Oh, you were just complaining that you can't have your cake and eat it too...
Neirin Nov 10th 2011 11:51AM
The benefits of running with guildies/friends far outweigh the call to arms and luck of the draw incentives (luck of the draw was added expressly to make up for not being in a coordinated group). So the only real tradeoff is a server-specific chat channel for groups for an automated cross-server system. I remember meeting some good players back in BC by lfg/trade spamming, but 90% of them I only ever hit up to help me run heroics, which the LFD tool takes care of for me. Losing that last 10% that I either became friends with or recruited into my guild seems like an acceptable cost to avoid 2 1/2 hours of "LF tank for H SLab pst" or even 1 hour of "LF1M CC for H MgT pst." I'll admit the SLab one was on a particularly bad day, but those are actual times it's taken me to get a group before when my guild was busy elsewhere.
Also, in 4.1 blizz added a variable to the LFD matchmaking system to slightly favor people from your realm. I've had several fully random groups that were all from my server despite my server being absolutely tiny. This feature so many people pined for was greeted with a resounding "meh, whatevs."
Shade Nov 10th 2011 11:55AM
The new guild system is proof that the server community issues you've cited have been accepted by Blizzard. Like you said, you only really talk to people in your guild, and it's actively discouraged to do otherwise since there are pretty significant disadvantages to not doing things in a guild group. The lfd/lfr tools take the remainder of the population, including the guilded players who didn't fit into a guild run, and match them across servers so each server doesn't have to sift through the scraps with wildly varying wait times. And as much as I hate describing things that way, since I'm essentially unguilded, that's definitely how I feel. "You're not in guild runs? Uhh... here, go do stuff with random other people so you don't complain."
Killik Nov 10th 2011 12:03PM
LFD hasn't *created* a community full of d-bags, it's just exposed them to the light. Back before LFD, those people were the ones too lacking in social skills to join a proper guild, form a PUG or even have friends. Now they can be in your instance run with you. TBH they aren't even that common - it's just that you remember them when you run into them. Also, LFD means it's no longer mandatory to talk as much with actually nice people.
Kriegle Nov 10th 2011 12:04PM
I'm pretty sick of people talking about the "sense of community" being ruined. It's rose-colored glasses, doesn't anyone remember how awful it was before the LFD? Standing around in cities for hours on end spamming "LF Tank Daily H and gtg", was that just me? Also, why is everyone only choosing to remember how awesome all of these groups were? PuG groups fell apart all the time.
It's awful in the LFD, but for different reasons. I'll take a shorter wait in which I have to put forth no effort spamming trade chat with the possibility of running with asshats as opposed to the exact same scenario but with an hours-long wait that may not even culminate in anything.
"Sense of Community". Everyone keeps using that word. Other than having a few people on your friends list (which you're still free to do), who the hell cares?