Automated LFD tool

[Ynna]

we can solve the problem of not having LFG by all becoming friends :3

That would be really awesome. But some people are dicks, and on the internet, this shows. Most people don't even consider being nice to each other, to the point of dehumanizing avatars and player characters.

Free server xfers, or payed server xfer: Since everyone is looking at facts so much in this thread.

Well, if people can switch servers freely (with limited penalties, as someone above said) the effect a LFD tool has on the community is minimal at best, since that community is fluid to some degree.
And, in Guild Wars 2 a server-only LFD-tool would actually not be a bad idea in my opinion. It helps people create groups, which despite what some are saying, isn't something most people actively do or want to do and since you get grouped with people from your server you can make new (meaningful friends) and will see the same faces from time to time.

I think most people will agree that an automatic tool is a superior idea to a manual channel or something similar for the intents of PuGing (since most people will run with friends and/or guildies when possible), because it's easier to use and doesn't assume someone takes initiative. The only argument against it is the effect on the community, which can easily be solved by making the tool server-only, which is perfectly viable, since there are no rare roles. (E.g. Healers and Tanks)
Edit: This would also fall under the ArenaNet Design philosophy, which prefers actually doing stuff, and not standing around, preparing to do stuff.

[BlairPhoenix]

LFD Tool? Yes please. Cross Server? No thank you. People are only jerks from the LFD as there is no accountability. The chances of you meeting the people in your LFD group is slim/none. If the tool was not cross server, you could still recognize those people as bad, and putting them on your ignore list would actually have meaning. Likewise if they were good you could continue to play with those people and put them on your friendslist. All a non-cross server LFD tool does is make it easier to form groups, which I don't see the problem in.

I see no reason to make the tool cross server though. Even on lower pop servers, the fact that their is no trinity will still make it infinitely easier to form groups. I think another fact people forget here is there aren't factions, which effectively splits servers and the possible amount of people you can play with, in half.

[Glytch]

That would be really awesome. But some people are dicks, and on the internet, this shows. Most people don't even consider being nice to each other, to the point of dehumanizing avatars and player characters.

=((

we still should errbody on mmo champ be frendz

[Fencers]

So yes, it worked. Oh, did it take longer to make groups? yes, that it did, why lie? Id took longer because it was "first whisper, first served" so you could have stood 5 hours looking for a tank, if someone else whispered him/her first, bad luck. That was the biggest drawback.

By many, this would be considered a bad system. Developers don't look at game systems and think, "Oh well, players just have to be willing to work for it!"

They look at systems as a means of implementing fun quicker and more broadly.

Running to the summoning stone wasn't especially hard, true. But it wasn't exactly the highlight of my day either. World shouting is possible even in today's LFG-ized WOW/Rift/EQ2/Aion but tedious.

Is this a fun element? Probably only for a very few.

[Durzlla]

we can solve the problem of not having LFG by all becoming friends :3

I'm just gonna put this here....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJTBPdVpdMc

You can, atleast in WoW: just add the person to ignore list and you'll never get to same group with that person anymore.[COLOR="red"]

I did not know this...

Free realm transfers aren't always available when you need them, and having to pay real money just to get to dungeon groups is a horrible idea in comparison to a cross-realm LFG tool.



No, you were saying no one would've liked WoW or EQ at all. See the "no one would have liked WoW or even EQ in the first place." quote there? Well, there happens to be a lot more to both games than just dungeons, so trying to equate that people who don't like manually yelling in chat trying to get groups wouldn't like the rest of the game is a fallacy.

You could even say that no one would've liked _dungeons_ in WoW or EQ because of that, but again that would fall flat on its face: how hard it is to get to the dungeon itself doesn't correlate with how enjoyable the dungeon itself is once you are inside.

I 100% agree with the whole realm transfer thing, why should i have to fork over my money to get off a low pop/unplayable server? It's just stupid....

[Newbryn]

I wouldn't mind LFG if it was limited to just your server, like someone posted people may not be reading,I for one try as little as possible to read the general chat in wow considering the crap that gets spammed.

[Exerionx]

There is no Trinity in GW2, so there is no need to have automated LFD system like in WoW. A chat or a manual LFG interface is more than enough.

Well said, friend.

[Cuchulainn]

Well, if people can switch servers freely (with limited penalties, as someone above said) the effect a LFD tool has on the community is minimal at best, since that community is fluid to some degree.
And, in Guild Wars 2 a server-only LFD-tool would actually not be a bad idea in my opinion. It helps people create groups, which despite what some are saying, isn't something most people actively do or want to do and since you get grouped with people from your server you can make new (meaningful friends) and will see the same faces from time to time.

I think most people will agree that an automatic tool is a superior idea to a manual channel or something similar for the intents of PuGing (since most people will run with friends and/or guildies when possible), because it's easier to use and doesn't assume someone takes initiative. The only argument against it is the effect on the community, which can easily be solved by making the tool server-only, which is perfectly viable, since there are no rare roles. (E.g. Healers and Tanks)
Edit: This would also fall under the ArenaNet Design philosophy, which prefers actually doing stuff, and not standing around, preparing to do stuff.

The bolded areas I completely agree with. I do recognize that the LFD tool has potential, but has gained its' infamous reputation because of how Blizzard lazily handled it. If the LFD tool were to ever show its' ugly face in GW2, then it should match-make same server players only. Especially since, yes, xfers will be free with a minimal penalty (long wait times and a coin charge perhaps?). My post was mostly sarcasm toward GayGirly, but now that you mention it, the idea makes sense.

However! ... why add a LFD tool that's only same server though? Instead they should just add a tool that lists players who checked which dungeons they're interested in doing and other players can look at that list and invite people. This will be efficient as well as force players to have some sense of organizational skill. I know "force" sounds bad, but in this case is doesn't sound so bad. That's just my opinion though.

[Ynna]

However! ... why add a LFD tool that's only same server though? Instead they should just add a tool that lists players who checked which dungeons they're interested in doing and other players can look at that list and invite people. This will be efficient as well as force players to have some sense of organizational skill. I know "force" sounds bad, but in this case is doesn't sound so bad. That's just my opinion though.

My experience with pre-LFD- WoW is that most people don't bother with actively forming groups through such a tool. Only people with "organizational skill", as you put it, do. It won't entice those who lack those skills/are lazy/can't be bothered/are shy/etc. to invite people, even if there's a plethora of them available. While I fully understand your point (and for me, personally, it wouldn't matter, since I would be taking the initiative to form groups), a server-only LFD-tool would do the exact same thing, only faster and easier, without additional hassle. I think at this point, we're just debating preferences, since neither option is objectively "better".

And I don't think a popular videogame is the perfect place to teach people "organizational skills", and those who would learn those skills still will, through guild management or active PuG-ing.

[Orist]

I am torn on this. I do agree with the bad stuff that comes along with a LFD. Namely the lack of responsibility for being a twat with people you will never see again. But on the other hand, I keep an odd schedule and sometimes I might get on really late or early and want to do something and the LFD would allow me to quickly jump into something when Guildies arent on or the server is kinda empty at the moment. So...I guess I would be alright with it either way.

[Rowen]

Now that I think on it, supposing a server-only tool:

Without LFG:

- Spam channels for party members
- Form a group of perfect strangers
- Do dungeon
- If you dislike someone, put him on ignore at the end of the run.

With LFG:

- Click button
- A group of perfect strangers is formed
- Do dungeon
- If you dislike someone, put him on ignore at the end of the run.

[Deleted]

Soon as I heard friends had immediately thought of this

[Glytch]

Soon as I heard friends had immediately thought of this

id be the trick in the red jacket

[theredviola]

At some point WoW decided to take the "fast-food"/"instant gratification" approach when convenience became the overall design doctrine.

It ruined a lot of what made the game a great MMO and I can only hope GW2 won't follow down that path.

There's nothing wrong with their approach towards trying to make the lives of players easier. Most all the grievances that came out of that system were because the community abused the loop holes in the system. It wasn't as poor as system as people are claiming them to be. At most, it was a rushed, and not fully thought through system before implantation.

Now, to remain on topic. Even if Anet decides to implement a LFD system, I doubt it will be as poor as WoW's. Anet is smart and would look at WoW's LFD system, recognize and analyze the errors and takes measures to side step the. However, as mentioned above due to the lack of a holy trinity system in GW2, I doubt that a LFD tool would be implimented.

[Cuchulainn]

I think the general consensus of this thread is that GW2 doesn't necessarily "need" a LFD tool, but if ArenaNet added one, then it'd be more refined as to not break community strength. After all, community building/strength is one of the many great aspects of GW2, according to ArenaNet.

[sacrypheyes]

speaking of dungeons, i just wonder if henchmen of some sort will be available just in case you'd need to fill some spots in your 5man group.
while it "prevents" people from interacting with each others on the one hand, on the other it's a nice thing to have when there's no people around.

[Cuchulainn]

speaking of dungeons, i just wonder if henchmen of some sort will be available just in case you'd need to fill some spots in your 5man group.
while it "prevents" people from interacting with each others on the one hand, on the other it's a nice thing to have when there's no people around.

There will be no henchmen in GW2.

[Ishu]

I personally disagree that the cross server LFD was what killed the community. The community was pretty much dead by the time the LFD tool was introduced, and the LFD tool just dealt the final blow, making sure it could never recover.

What started the decline was the cross server BGs. That was the biggest blow to the community, and is what I'd consider the main reason for the current state. During TBC the effects of cross server BGs could be seen hugely. The PvP community was absolutely destroyed, both between the two factions and also within the factions themselves. No longer did you play against people you knew, and no longer did you play together with people you knew. It was all randoms. But despite this, the raiding community remained strong mainly due to the amazing raid balance set during TBC. The PvE community outside raiding remained the same as in classic, but wasn't really meaningful in any way.

In WotLK I personally consider hard modes and the ability to raid 10/25 man in the same raid to be what killed the raiding communities. It made it hard to compare progress to other guilds, since you no longer had one path to do it. It became so much that most servers (at least the ones I played on, about 5 different) stopped comparing raid progress altogether since it was essentially useless anyway. There was only one viable raid, the old ones were redundant and there was no reason to compare progress in those anyway. So the PvP community was broken, and now the raiding community was broken too.

What remained was nothing spectacular. People might have had some people on friend list after doing 5 man dungeons with them, but that was about what was left of the community by that time. The introduction of the cross server LFD just made sure you wouldn't get people on your friend list through 5 man dungeons any more. Everything else was already broken when this was introduced.

[Fernling306]

I said that I would rather have a LFD tool than to spam lfg in chat. I should have been more specific. If it is same server LFD then I am 100% for it, but if it is cross server I am completely against it.

[Odeezee]

speaking of dungeons, i just wonder if henchmen of some sort will be available just in case you'd need to fill some spots in your 5man group.
while it "prevents" people from interacting with each others on the one hand, on the other it's a nice thing to have when there's no people around.

that was one thing ANet do not want and they regret having to add them to GW1. dungeons are meant for players and the group size is smaller too so groups are easier to make and there is also no trinity so you just need enough bodies to run the dungeons. and if you want DEs they scale so there is absolutely no need for henchmen/heroes.