Comments on: The evolution of LFG groups

By: Melfina the Blue (@MelfinatheBlue)

Melfina the Blue (@MelfinatheBlue) — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 23:21:00 +0000

LFR has certainly gone downhill. At this point all you need to do is run weekly and the Greater Internet Fuckward theory will be proven again and again. LFG is still pretty decent, possibly because it’s far easier for one or two bad apples to spoil a bushel than to spoil a peck.

By: Fn0

Fn0 — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 11:35:20 +0000

Because the SWTOR servers now have bigger population there is more anonymity and less realm culture which is largely the reason for the decline of quality in LFD (both the social aspect, as well as quality of play). Because there is no communication required to make a group with LFG tool there is no introduction of the player towards each other which also contributes to this. Therefore, I expect the quality of LFG in SWTOR to go down. I won’t experience it since I’ve unsubbed. I already found the PvE content far too unchallenging, the gear grind uninspiring, with PvP having the problem of being challenging, but buggy and also gear grind.

You wrote: Some groups were a bit rubbish but the vast majority were fine.

People do not remember the usual experience, the mediocre players, or the simple bosses. They remember the exceptions to the rule (both good and bad exceptions).

The people who behave “bad” are probably farming VP, XP, gear, or something else which makes any normal human grumpy. It simply isn’t a fun experience. You’ve done it before and want to zerg through it because it is a waste of time and then some random stranger you don’t know, don’t want to know, and will never meet again is holding you back. That sets a bad pace.

You wrote: (or at least the instances were easy which made everyone look decent)

Bingo. You can’t make it too hard for a few strangers who may not have best spec, composition, network connection, UI, talent tree, glyphs, mood, quality of play, gear, and so on, and so on. See blue posts here: http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/5271785785?page=9#166

In MoP we’ll have 3 difficulties: normal, while lvling up. Heroic: pre raiding end-game. Challenge: downlvled speed runs to compete on time (think: ZA mount run without gear nerfing that content).

I’ve played the MoP beta on my main and thus far the difficulty of the normal dungeons is akin to 4.3. When properly geared you need to somewhat follow the tactics. If too many people consistently do not follow the healer cannot keep up, especially the end boss. This is with standardized gear because Blizzard downscales the gear to test the difficulty (they did same with patch 4.3 dungeons which were tuned for ilvl 353; ie. full ZA/ZG).

By: Fn0

Fn0 — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 08:20:06 +0000

With 25% nerf, normal trade PuG (premade, inspected, 10m) is possibly easier than LFR (slotmachine).

By: Ratshag

Ratshag — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 16:40:38 +0000

Is a good start. But needs about 300 or so randomly selected people runnin’ many many many more dungeons fer ta develop a predictive tool.

By: melponeme_k

melponeme_k — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 13:59:26 +0000

I like LFG tools in general. However I do think quality in players is due to leveling surges. As you noted when the latest mass is moving through content there are more advanced players landing in groups.

I never had a problem in LFG randoms as a DPS player back in Lich in WOW. I was never kicked, received good play tips and had good conversations. As the expansion got older, the conversations stopped and the mood got nastier. The players that got punished the most were healers. I did have dual spec on my Pally as a healer. The random encounters as a healer were nail biting. That put me off grouping forever.

I’m in WoW now, but I don’t group. My play form isn’t up to the same standard as it was a few years back. Truthfully I don’t want to deal with the potential crazy.

I ran as a healer in SWTOR before lfg. The groups were good but hard to find.

By: ylam

ylam — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 12:53:21 +0000

I haven’t done LFG in a while, but the quality of LFR has dropped dramatically. I used to be able to churn out an LFR every week fairly easily to see if I’d get my weapon – 17 failed tries later, LFRs rarely kill the first boss (Ultraxion) without wiping. It’s sad and I’ve given up.

By: The Realities of 1.3 [SWTOR] | Diminishing Returns

The Realities of 1.3 [SWTOR] | Diminishing Returns — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 12:50:28 +0000

[...] The ‘ savior patch’ is finally here and Group Finder is live in SWTOR. For those interested in the dynamics of Group Finders, Spinks has an excellent overview post. [...]

By: nuggettygoodness

nuggettygoodness — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 04:04:44 +0000

Hey now, I’ve done that!
http://nugget.posterous.com/priming-consistency-cheating-and-being-a-jerk

But sample size too small.

Someone else should too!

By: Tonk

Tonk — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 23:34:07 +0000

I have not noticed a drop in player quality. The bigger trend in PUGs is that many players now overgear all LFG content to a significant degree. I’m seeing both raiding tanks queue for normals but I’m also seeing people who need mechanics explained to them (usually after a wipe). Also, LFD groups in leveling dungeons are usually perfectly fine.

By: Lujanera

Lujanera — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 22:10:06 +0000

One thing I’ve noticed from playing on a PvP realm is that it’s almost impossible to grief players of the other faction. You might get a kill or two, but it’s not difficult for them to escape. Once they do, it will be a long wait before another target arrives in the same area. By contrast, players in the same LFD group are pretty easy to grief and, if they leave, another one will magically show up seconds later. For griefers looking to generate tears the easy and efficient way, LFD has been a real boon.