World of Warcraft: Looking for Group

Since the inception of World of Warcraft, and MMOs in general, finding a group to run dungeons has been the bane of the majority of players, with the exception of tanks and healers. Although Patch 3.3.0 has been live since early December, only until now have I been able to use it extensively. Despite this I will give a brief explanation of the new system. The major feature is the cross-realm instancing, which works exactly like cross-realm battlegrounds. Players queue up as one or more roles (tank, healer, dps) and should they choose, as the dungeon guide (party leader).



After joining the queue a group will be put together, and the progress can be viewed through a minimap icon that will appear. Wait times vary greatly depending on the roles one chooses. Obviously tanks have the smallest wait time, on my paladin waiting for more than ten second was rare. Healers also have a shorter wait time, however they are still dependant on finding a tank. And of course, dps have the longest wait which can sometimes run for more than several minutes (or longer).



Eventually a group will be found and the player is given the choice to either "Enter Dungeon" or "Leave Queue". Players are automatically teleported to inside the dungeon once all group members select "Enter Dungeon". However if someone declines, the group is placed at the front of the queue to fill the empty slot.



At this point the dungeon goes along as it always has with two differences that were added. There is now an option to roll for disenchant (if there is an appropriately skilled enchanter in the group), this is a necessary feature since players can only trade conjured items inside the dungeon, except between the same server. Another important addition is the ability to teleport out of the dungeon and then back in. It should be noted that players are always placed at the beginning of the instance whenever they port in.

Now on to the benefits of this new system, and in my eyes there are really only two. Although the other main benefit of this system is an increase in pre-WotLK dungeons (which I will be discussing shortly), most people consider only the rewards. Players are rewarded with extra loot, gold and experience when completing a random dungeon or heroic. The following image should help illustrate how these rewards are distributed.



This system of gaining rewards has replaced the old random dungeon/heroic dailies. Instead, there is a random raid weekly quest offered that has the player kill one boss out of the lower end game raid dungeons. Completing this quest will grant five emblems of frost and triumph.

What I was most looking forward to with the cross-realm dungeons was being able to easily find groups for all of the pre-WotLK dungeons. Players can start using the dungeon finder after level fifteen, so essentially all dungeons are available. I play far less than I used to, but when I do, I play my alts and I almost exclusively level through dungeons. With heirloom items the experience gained is considerable, coupled with the experience reward from finishing a random dungeon and it is a great way to level a character.



I started around level thirty which meant that I was put into Scarlet Monastery: Graveyard often, very often. Shortly however I moved into the Library, the Armory, the Cathedral and so on. As expected the system puts you into dungeons that match your level, usually. As I closed into level sixty I noticed it seemed reluctant to place me into the dungeons I was most anxious to run: Scholomance, Stratholme and Blackrock Spire. My priest is now level fifty-eight and I will likely be placed into Hellfire Ramparts soon, /cry. The lack of randomness is unfortunate (Dire Maul over and over), but players can still specify the dungeons they would like to run, sacrificing the extra rewards of course.

There are some possible disadvantages with this system. Apart from being placed into the same instances too often, most groups are only determined to get to the required boss and leave. This is certainly not true of all groups, but a great majority of them. Trying to get obscure quests finished in an instance or perhaps killing a particular boss that is not in the direct path of the final boss, can be challenging. The solution is to run the instance with friends, or anyone who is willing to help.

Good help can be hard to find when not in a guild. This system will never replace good friends or a good guild, but it dramatically helps the majority of players who are simply trying to get some instances done. Overall I am extremely happy with the new looking for group/cross-realm dungeon system. It works very well and has made all the old dungeons relevant once again. Below there are links to find more information.

World of Warcraft Official Dungeon Finder Page
WoW Wiki Dungeon Finder Page