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Etadanik · 12-30-2006, 12:57 PM

A belated observation, to be sure, but anyone else feel that the WoW LFG interface is one step forward, three steps backwards? I have three main problems with it -

1) The interface doesn't support one of the primary functionalities that a MMO LFG tool should support - the ability to find groups for characters other than the one you're playing. Sure, you can browse through the Looking for More List, but they're level-locked, so unless all your alts are around the same level and have the same quests it's not usable. Given that most people have more than one character and given that WoW is so heavily advertised as a game where you can solo/quest while looking for a group, the absence of such a feature is retarded.

2) Along the same lines, the interface sucks balls. As far as I can tell there is no way to display the list of all groups looking for more members. WHY? One of the classic principles of UI design is that the user spend as few clicks as necessary; as it is I have to systematically skin through the lists of ALL eligible dungeons/raids/zones in order to see what groups are available. Combine this with the fact that Blizzard determines what sort of adventures you can LFG for this becomes absolutely ridiculous. Again, WHY? Does Blizzard think that people don't shop around for groups, don't join for anything except dedicated "group" quests/zones, and know exactly which one they want to join every night? This becomes even more assinine when you realize the attitude behind it, which suggests that players would only join groups for their own elite quests/instances and never just to be part of something social.

3) Community. I don't know about anyone else, but despite the spam and retardation the Global LFG Channel added a sense of community and liveliness to the game. With its removal the game has once again gone back to the "single-player with ganking" feeling it had back when meeting stones were the primary means of LFG. The sad part is that there was absolutely no reason to do this - it's okay to have a LFG tool and a LFG channel, and those who did not like the LFG channel could have easily turned it off. Of course, let's not even mention the better solution - ie the EQ one - in which you had a globally listable, searchable, write-your-own-witty-notes LFG interface that made it seem like that much adventuring was going on. By comparison, the LFG tool for WoW feels dead, especially for lower level players, who might rotate through all the various level-locked dungeons only to find that a grand total of 1-2 groups are actually LFM.

In conclusion, WHO DESIGNED THIS SHIT? I can only hope that this is a Beta and that the TBC version will be a hundred times better, because this is the second time Blizzard has tried to "innovate" from traditional MMO LFG tools and failed.

12-30-2006, 12:57 PM	#1 (permalink)
Etadanik Banned Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 1,643 +0 Internets	[WoW] LFG Interface A belated observation, to be sure, but anyone else feel that the WoW LFG interface is one step forward, three steps backwards? I have three main problems with it - 1) The interface doesn't support one of the primary functionalities that a MMO LFG tool should support - the ability to find groups for characters other than the one you're playing. Sure, you can browse through the Looking for More List, but they're level-locked, so unless all your alts are around the same level and have the same quests it's not usable. Given that most people have more than one character and given that WoW is so heavily advertised as a game where you can solo/quest while looking for a group, the absence of such a feature is retarded. 2) Along the same lines, the interface sucks balls. As far as I can tell there is no way to display the list of all groups looking for more members. WHY? One of the classic principles of UI design is that the user spend as few clicks as necessary; as it is I have to systematically skin through the lists of ALL eligible dungeons/raids/zones in order to see what groups are available. Combine this with the fact that Blizzard determines what sort of adventures you can LFG for this becomes absolutely ridiculous. Again, WHY? Does Blizzard think that people don't shop around for groups, don't join for anything except dedicated "group" quests/zones, and know exactly which one they want to join every night? This becomes even more assinine when you realize the attitude behind it, which suggests that players would only join groups for their own elite quests/instances and never just to be part of something social. 3) Community. I don't know about anyone else, but despite the spam and retardation the Global LFG Channel added a sense of community and liveliness to the game. With its removal the game has once again gone back to the "single-player with ganking" feeling it had back when meeting stones were the primary means of LFG. The sad part is that there was absolutely no reason to do this - it's okay to have a LFG tool and a LFG channel, and those who did not like the LFG channel could have easily turned it off. Of course, let's not even mention the better solution - ie the EQ one - in which you had a globally listable, searchable, write-your-own-witty-notes LFG interface that made it seem like that much adventuring was going on. By comparison, the LFG tool for WoW feels dead, especially for lower level players, who might rotate through all the various level-locked dungeons only to find that a grand total of 1-2 groups are actually LFM. In conclusion, WHO DESIGNED THIS SHIT? I can only hope that this is a Beta and that the TBC version will be a hundred times better, because this is the second time Blizzard has tried to "innovate" from traditional MMO LFG tools and failed.