Do we need a lfg system?

[Veluren]

So, I just ragequit after spending an hour and a half straight looking for a group as a dps for a flashpoint.

Looking back, wow did it pretty wrong in some aspects, but the idea was nice, especially because it saved dps from having to quit playing because nobody needed that single person out of several hundred.

So, do you think we need a LFG system? If they put one in, I'd hope they don't make it cross server, and don't make it teleport you to the instance, both wow and rift have done both of these with negative effects.

[Kuthe]

If it put people together, but didn't teleport, then it would be good.

Personally, I'm on a realm, which on the Republic side, is run by a collection of guilds called 'Ruin'.
They made up their own chat channel which everyone uses to join up for Heroic quests and Flashpoints.

Though yes, sometimes it seems to be hard to find the right people for flashpoints, I do miss that type of interaction that used to occur on WoW.

[mistuhbull]

Yes. As it stands now, endgame in TOR will truly be a lobby game.

Every Instance is literally hubbed off the Fleet, which means if you want any chance of finding a group you are basically forced to sit on the Hub (see also Lobby) and spam for a group for an undetermined amount of time.

I've never quite understood the backlash against WoW's system, saying it sucked everyone into cities and killed the world. A LFD system allows playersw to look for instance groups effectively while being able to go out and do whatever they want in the world

[Synche]

The LFR / LFG is one of the best systems in WoW, any one who complains that it killed the community is plain wrong, the community killed itself. I hope they do implement one eventually, whether or not it is cross server. Right now it is a pain getting a group together, you need to go back to the fleet and spam general chat and take 30-60 min just to find a group.

The best part of LFG is that is allows you to do whatever you like while waiting on the Queue, would it lead to people sitting in Fleet waiting for Queue? Maybe, but that is the players choice, neither Bioware / Blizzard can solve that. There are plenty of things to do in either game to keep you busy enough, people just choose not to do them.

[endersblade]

I don't want it to be cross server (at least not right now, most of the servers seem to have a healthy population) but having it warp you to the flashpoint would definitely be nice. While yes, it's magnitudes easier to get to the instances in TOR than it is in WoW, it's still more travel time than I want to spend. If I'm knee deep in a quest (say, in the works on Coruscant) I don't want to have to fight my way back if my hearth is on CD, Taxi to the port, then get up to the fleet, only to have to come all the way back, and re-fight my way down to where I was when the instance is over/if it fails. Having it the way WoW does it, where it pops you right back where you were, would be wonderful.

I've noticed that already, the amount of people LFG for flashpoints is dwindling rapidly on my server, and I think it's mostly because people do it for the quest(s) and then never touch it again, because they'd rather be out questing. Hell, that's how I do it lol. I'll run the instance once, maybe twice, and then I'm off to quest again, never touching it again. I've only been through hammer station twice, once on each character I'm leveling. Esseles I've done...hell, probably 100+ times, but that's because I like to solo farm it starting around level 14 ;-P Point being, if the LFG tool from WoW found its way into TOR, minus the cross server part, I most certainly wouldn't complain. That way, the 'community' aspect of it stays in one piece, as you're still running it with people on your server, AND you don't have to sacrifice your questing time to go do dungeons. It's a win/win in my eyes.

Also, while yes, it was WoW's community that killed itself, the LFD tool was the weapon. The community on my server was actually pretty good until that hit, and then everyone did nothing but complain about people from other servers, and pretty much stopped grouping up with people from their own as well. That's why the tool needs to stay per-server.

[sleekit]

I've never quite understood the backlash against WoW's system, saying it sucked everyone into cities and killed the world. A LFD system allows playersw to look for instance groups effectively while being able to go out and do whatever they want in the world

actually that was WARs system. WoW "appropriated" it (as they did with many things from "up and coming" mmos during the last 6 years).

the worst thing about WoWs implementation was the fact it was cross server which turned fellow players into little more than a disposable commodity.

a matching system is fine but for the sake of server communities and basic civility between players it should be kept local so that societal pressures still exert themselves on peoples behaviours.

luckily SWTOR has larger server populations and smaller standard groups both of which statistically aid single server matching.

[Cyfoeth]

I don't mind the idea of a LFG, as long as it's server-only. Cross-server might become necessary, however, as the game gentrifies. Unless folks want low level characters never running Flashpoints because of fewer folks in their level range. But right now -- I'd prefer a LFG that pairs people up easily on the same server. I wouldn't mind a teleport though. It's not like Flashpoints are in locations on the world, you take shuttles and things. So... letting folks do other things while they wait is a good idea.

[Aulisemia]

Absolutely not. I would assume that you were looking for a DPS for one of the higher end instances...the game has been out officially for a week. The player base will grow and more people will become available. One of the great flaws of a LFG system is that it completely removes any incentive to get to know anyone in the game. Everyone is just a temporary companion that can be easily replaced with a click. Even server limited LFG is a terrible idea - better to "suffer" and look for people than to completely degenerate any sort of social interaction we have with folks.

[yazu777]

Op forgot to mention it was esseles.

[Vladrick]

The LFR / LFG is one of the best systems in WoW, any one who complains that it killed the community is plain wrong, the community killed itself. I hope they do implement one eventually, whether or not it is cross server. Right now it is a pain getting a group together, you need to go back to the fleet and spam general chat and take 30-60 min just to find a group.

The best part of LFG is that is allows you to do whatever you like while waiting on the Queue, would it lead to people sitting in Fleet waiting for Queue? Maybe, but that is the players choice, neither Bioware / Blizzard can solve that. There are plenty of things to do in either game to keep you busy enough, people just choose not to do them.

^^ Agree 100% with this. No system is perfect, but being one of those who was in WoW, when it wasn't there, it sucked. It may not have seemed as bad at the time but once it was put in, It's better IMO then sitting somewhere and waiting for a group. Yea it has it's drawbacks but I think most don't want to sit at the fleet and spam for groups. Even then, you group with people you don't know and run the same risk of bad players. My time is broken up so at times, I do n't have the time to wait around even though I am a Tank. Using Wow as the example, I would rather get into a fairly faster group and risk the derp fest then sit around for a while and also get the derp fest. I would include Heroics in the areas as well. Cross Server? ehhhhh baby steps, maybe try server only for a while then Cross if needed. The lower pop servers would suffer though with server only.

[Redblade]

I've never quite understood the backlash against WoW's system, saying it sucked everyone into cities and killed the world. A LFD system allows playersw to look for instance groups effectively while being able to go out and do whatever they want in the world

The system in it self isn't the issue so much as the anonymity the cross realm with millions of others is, if it stays server based you are still accountable for your actions as you will see those people again.

[Drofdel]

I'm only okay with it as long as it's not cross-server. People do whatever they feel like on cross-server LFD because they can get away with it; that's why I despise it.

[shimargh]

there is an ingame tool "LFG" that flags you as that...
if you /who you'll se ppl who's looking for group, maybe they just could advance that into a "lfg for instace", some kind of purple icon (like now) with some extended tooltip

edit: OH WAIT, it's like that...

no other tool needed, seriosuly

[Zechs-cenarius]

Yes. As it stands now, endgame in TOR will truly be a lobby game.

Every Instance is literally hubbed off the Fleet, which means if you want any chance of finding a group you are basically forced to sit on the Hub (see also Lobby) and spam for a group for an undetermined amount of time.

I've never quite understood the backlash against WoW's system, saying it sucked everyone into cities and killed the world. A LFD system allows playersw to look for instance groups effectively while being able to go out and do whatever they want in the world

How is this different than any other MMO? hell even in EQ I remember in Kunark,SoL, PoP that I was sitting in a busy area usually a city area looking for groups. Same thing in WoW. Its not so much game mechanics that force that but more like human behavior from what I have seen in my experiences.

[Vrachara]

Just give us a global LFG channel and/or a simple pane showing who's up for what Flashpoint/group quest/etc. and we're good. Fact is, everyone groups up at the Imperial/Republic Fleet for Flashpoints, and there's barely anyone ever there as most people would rather go questing instead of sitting around in a capital hub.

[Prancing Minstrel]

The convenience far outweighs the minor annoyance of rude idiots using it. I'm all for it's implementation, and dual spec too while they're at it.

[sleekit]

i dont think completely destroying the social nature of MMOs in favor of turning them into an xbox live like lobby for a dungeon grinding minigame where people are treated as disposable actually is just a "minor annoyance".

server communities used to be one of the best things about WoW. nowadays the only people everyone on a server probably knows are the few more colourful idiots on the trade channel.

what you had is not all that can be.

[Usagi Senshi]

The system in it self isn't the issue so much as the anonymity the cross realm with millions of others is, if it stays server based you are still accountable for your actions as you will see those people again.

Who seriously gives a flipping turd about that? Oh no, I'm accountable for my actions in a videogame from other nameless losers who think they're right in some pitiful way. I only care about how fast I can get in a dungeon and get it done all at my own time and not at the dispense of others around me. I have no time to wait on people like I did in WoW back in 2005-2009 and the faster BioWare implements this system the happier I'll sooner be.

Can't wait until the cross-server PVP matches happen too, as I don't care about killing people on my own server. I just want to kill people in the game, period, and as many times as possible in a single setting.

Regardless of what you people seem to think, the queuing systems that Blizzard added into their games helped revolutionize the genre that much more, so don't expect other studios to just ignore it.

[odiodin]

Um... you're aware that you don't have to use the LFD tool if it's implemented right? If you want to only group with only a small circle of people then make friends on your server and do that.

It's a tool, wanting others to not have it to suit your own philosophical views is selfish at least.

Features like LFD and addons only would make this game better. Wanting to keep them out of the game isn't logical. There is literally no downside.

[sleekit]

Gybano Blizzard did not create the matching system and did not "revolutionize the genre" with it.
they basically nicked it from another launching game (WAR to be exact)

further to that it exists in many other games and functions perfectly well without the cross server mechanism that engenders people with anonymity and disregard for their fellow players (as gleefully displayed by yourself)

i might also add that while you do not consider community or social responsibility important in an MMO Bioware do and are on record as wanting to preserve server communities as much as possible as opposed to that which you crave which has very little to do with a genre of games that is supposed to be, by its very nature, social.

you claim to like pvp...i probably cannot convey the joy of having an on server nemesis (or half a dozen)...but it is awesome...

Features like LFD and addons only would make this game better. Wanting to keep them out of the game isn't logical. There is literally no downside.

seeing it as a black and white either/or replication of what WoW had isn't "logical" especially given that's not what the majority of posters you are riling against actually said.

what they said was "matching system ? ok. but keep it server limited preserve the server communities." that is not a "no"...