The WOW group finder is having some real issues. The way is works in theory is that people sign up for one or more roles - damage, healer, or tank. Then the system groups up 3 damage, 1 healer, 1 tank, and sends them off to do dungeons. Practically speaking there are a lot more than 3 damage folks for each healer or tank so the damage types have to wait in line. What *should* happen is that damage folks wait a long time and there are a few healers or tanks in line, but not both, because as soon as there is at least 1 of each a new group should launch immediately. Blizzard makes this clear to people by offering bonuses to the role that is most needed to get them to queue up, and this works, to a degree. Many people, myself included, sign up for whichever role has the bonus attached.
Recently this has not been happening at all. I have been signing up mostly as a tank when it has the bonus attached and then nothing happens. Obviously since tanks are in demand I should have a group instantly but instead I wait. I go do some quests, chat, run around the city, and then 10 or 15 minutes later I finally get in to a dungeon. This is a complete failure on Blizzard's part. That is 10 or 15 minutes that the healer and 3 damage folks are waiting in line for absolutely no reason. It irritates me, and I am sure it irritates them, and there is no rationale for why this should be.
There are other weird bugs too. Sometimes it tries to assemble a group for me as a healer or tank, and the group fails because one of the damage types is afk and doesn't click YES. Then the system tries again, but this time signing me up as a damage type. This is obviously contrary to the goal of the system, and it usually offers me the damage role without the bonus stuff. I signed up just because I wanted the bonus stuff, so previously I would just decline, which would boot me out of the system and force me to requeue. It turns out though that when I accept the invitation it lets me do damage but still gives me the bonus stuff despite the fact that it said it wouldn't and I didn't perform the role I was supposed to.
They really need to get their asses in gear and fix this. Part of the appeal of signing up as a tank or healer is that I get an instant queue. I can just go do my dungeon without waiting, huzzah! When I have to wait around for a long time for no reason I often just give up, log off, or miss the queue when it pops and then instead of a tank filling out a group Blizzard now has 4 irritated people still waiting.
Waiting isn't fun.
The thing I like about the dungeon finder is the FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT feeling. I just hit a button and then FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT for twenty minutes solid and then leave. I don't have to be social, I just play as hard as I can without screwing around. I am happy to do whatever role is required to make that happen, and Blizzard really should set up the game so people like me can help other people who are from the bad classes that can't do everything. FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT is fun, waiting is unfun.
I don't know what has caused this screwup but it has lasted for a month at least and it is really putting the hurt on the dungeon experience. People like the dungeon finder and it is a big draw for casual players. When it works it is tuned well enough to get overgeared people like me queuing up to help the undergeared and casual players do stuff. When it doesn't work they sit and wait and get grumpy.
Blizzard, you have been put on notice: Fix this.
No comments:
Post a Comment