WoWGrrl's World

Oh, LFG Tool, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways:

1. I can finally get into dungeon groups on leveling lowbies!
2. No longer do I have to be one of the people who get to the stone to summon (since 3/5 people in almost every party I was in didn't bother)
3. Getting into dungeons like Uldaman and Maraudon aren't hellish anymore!
4. Vote To Kick is brilliant!
5. Refilling spots after someone leaves is also brilliant!
6. No longer is it painful to be the "leader" of the group, especially when someone leaves. Not up to the leader to find a specific new person to fill the slot.
7. Yay for the Satchels of goodies!

I'm sure there's more about the LFG tool that I love, but right now, those were the top things that came to mind about it.

Heroic LFG vs Leveling LFG

One thing I've noticed in my extensive use of the new LFG system is that at Heroic level, my Ele/Resto Shaman will time after time after time get the Healer role, and it's very rare to get the DPS role.

However, with my Lowbie LFG players, I'm getting more of a mix of roles - the dps/healer gets more Healer roles than DPS roles, but not by the huge margin as in Heroics. And the tank/healer lowbie I'm working on seems to be about 50/50 in terms of what role comes up for me when a dungeon pops.

It's kind of neat, putting myself into the tool and then getting the "roll the dice" surprise as to what role I'll be performing. Reminds me of the "cherry surprises" Mom used to make at Christmas time, where (to me anyway) the real surprise was whether it was a RED cherry or a GREEN one.

Always delightful :)

How To Get An Instant LFG Party: Solo

I'm sure this isn't a shocking surprise to anyone, but after partying with about 200 strangers over a variety of toons, I noticed this:

• If you're a DPS, it takes a few minutes (sometimes up to 20) for an instance to pop.

• If you're a Healer, it takes anywhere from 5 seconds to a few minutes.
• If you're a Tank, as soon as you put yourself into the tool, an instance pops.

Not at all shocking considering the vast majority of leveling players are DPS spec'd because leveling (though quests) with a Tank or Healer spec is significantly slower.

And of course, players can't dual spec until level 40, so even the wealthiest players can only switch gear around in order to handle different roles, whether they're inside a dungeon or questing out in the lands.

LFGing It With A Friend

I've used the LFG tool to complete parties in both the Heroic and Leveling ways, but because I'm so comfortable with dungeon PUGs now, I really only list myself as DPS if I've got another role selected as well - either Tank or Healer - so my experience may be different than yours, for sure.

After all, since I put myself in as either Tank or Healer too, I rarely have to wait very long for an instance to pop, and as a result, I purposely seek out DPS friends to join me when I list myself in the tool. This way, they can benefit from the fast-popping instance as well.

Plus of course, it's ALWAYS more fun to run a dungeon when you've got at least one friend in the party, isn't it? :)

I'm happy to hear from my DPS-only friends that the tool is pretty awesome for finding a tank and a healer for a 2- or 3-DPS party, too!

The Social Woes NewLFG Have Reduced

This upgrade of the LFG tool to be cross-battlegroup and intelligent enough to put together a proper party (you know, one with a designated tank and healer so it doesn't have to be decided after formation) has gone a long way to alleviate some Social Woes that have existed for quite a while in the game.

For example, a lot of behaviors that could be labeled "rude and lazy" aren't much of a concern anymore:

• You can continue to quest right until the teleport sequence is engaged, and nobody is inconvenienced (by having to make their way to the stone to summon your lazy ass).
• You can AFK in an instance without any word, or do stupid things like run ahead and get yourself swarmed and killed (and get kicked via Vote).
• You can leave parties right in the middle, even if you're a Tank or Healer, and the party rarely breaks up.
• Even people who roll "Need" on everything are only a pain for the first 10 minutes of them being there.

What Features Of The LFG Tool Do You Love?

I've probably missed some of the great features of the dungeon tool in my post, and I'd love to hear your thoughts on the matter.

Future post on the matter will cover the Laments I have about the new Dungeon Tool - because no matter how awesome it is, it'll never be perfect .

Stay tuned!

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Related posts:

1. To The LFG Tool: Some Laments

Tagged as: Dungeons, friends, Healing, heroics, instances, Leveling, LFG, LFG tool, looking for group, patch 3.3, Playing With Friends, random dungeons, satchel of goods, Tanking