Keep RDF, but bring back Group Finder

I want to preface that I am in no way trying to advocate for the removal of RDF. RDF opens the door for many players whom play at different paces to participate in content they would have been precluded to them by virtue of their respective server’s population, their respective playstyle, schedule, etc. However, those QOL improvements associated with RDF should not come at the expense of of other QOL improvements previously implemented to the game, specifically the functions which were available on Group Finder UI just a few days ago which included but are not limited to:

  • the ability to queue/show interest for multiple raids concurrently as well as browse the other available players/ raid groups while being queued for a different raid group. This allowed players flexibility manage their game time and gauge what was available in addition to not having to actively be focused on the RDF UI constantly refreshing and requesting to join a group. The option of being able to be discoverable by a RL forming a group while you went about your business in WoW is invaluable.

  • no penalty for leaving or being removed from a group. Different groups have different goals and skills. Not every group composition is going to be functional for the ends of everyone in that group, and that is OK. I can understand why this is seen as necessary for RDF, but premade groups should not be subject to this penalty. It’s a premade, and therefore, the expectation of being able to prune a group when necessary has to be assumed. if anything, this only adds to queue times due to players having a timer before they can rejoin the queue pool.

  • the mitigation of raid recruitment spam in other channels outside of LFG/Trade chats. Someone put it perfectly in a separate thread, we are back in 2019 having to spam different chat channels to try to form a group as per the above. Currently, if one wants to make a truly premade group, their only option is to spam a chat channel and hope their intended audience can keep up with the scroll. Additionally, one could only send messages in LFG if they were currently flagged as interested in joining a group or being a member of a group that was looking for more members. I thought that made a lot of sense.

  • and last but not least, being able to search for a group that is composed of players only from one’s own server (read: community). The preservation of server community was essentially the foundation to the entire classic experience. More or less forcing cross-realm play across the board this late into Classic seems completely out of touch. Players of WOTLK Classic should at least have the option to join/search for groups that are server specific.

The pros of RFD is that it provides lowbies the much more ease in choosing what pace their want to play at. The con with removing the LFG UI functions is that it removes that very same choice from non-lowbies. By reintroducing the Group Finder UI functions to the RFD UI, each set of players is able to get what they want while not being at the expense of the other.

You have the technology. Do it.

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The tools to find a group outside of RDF are still there. Just click “Premade Groups” under “Dungeon Finder”

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Not by a long shot. Please read once more.

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The pre made group finder is still there it’s just been tweaked.

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LFG is still there under Pre-made groups. It is missing a PvP section though.

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the OP is 100% correct. the old UI needs to be returned. When you click Pre-made group you should have the standard LFG UI we had before Tuesdays patch. If you click RDF you have the new RDF functionality.

Pugging dungeons and raids on populated servers that do not need RDF functionality is a nightmare now, just spamming trade chat similar to vanilla classic.

the current pre-made option is a half baked shell of RDF only, it shows cross server RDF dungeon queues including cross faction.

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I agree. RDF is great!

But the pre-made group finder that came with it is actually less of an enjoyable user experience due to the aforementioned reasons the OP brought up.

They should have just incorporated the RFD into the existing LFG tool. The UI is also a huge downgrade in quality and features.

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we still have the lfg but they made the ui horrible…lol u might as well use puggle or bullentin board again at this rate lol

Well the difference is only people forming post groups now so there isn’t a mix of people just waiting to be picked up and people forming.

I don’t know why they insist on using 1990 size fonts and graphics for the UI though…

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The point is that we went from having something significantly more sophisticated to now something objectively less functional.

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still exists

Very much agreed. The functionality of the group finder has been absolutely gutted from what it was. Literally all they need to do is have what they already had pop up rather than what does.

It’s so weird that it shows groups that you can’t even join if you wanted to, after the update now it shows the other faction and groups on other servers. It’s so obvious they just ported over the retail version and didn’t bother fixing it.

small multi dollar indie company can not expect much

OP is right. Many on my server feel the same way. Keep RDF but bring back orignal LFG not “pReMaDeS.”

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im sure they trashed group finder just out of spite
even as incompetent as modern blizzard are they could have kept that part how it was or just paid some random coder a weeks work to implement it

YEAH BRING BACK THE ABILITY TO ONLY APPLY FOR 1 GROUP AT A TIME AND BE HELD HOSTAGE BY THAT APPLICATION UNTIL THEY CLICK DECLINE.

Did people actually use the apply button in the old tool? I figured everyone just listed themselves and/or whispered raids leads.

Yeah and it was strangely effective too.

I think there were 2 types of group leaders. The first would only operate through whispers like you describe, but the other would utilize the functionality of the tool to invite people who applied. The latter type would be more commonly found in dungeon groups. I’ve managed to sneak my way in on alts that would have never been invited otherwise by whispering by using this method.

Amazing, I remember trying it once in the old tool and thinking “what’s the difference between this and just whispering” and then I started just whispering.

Compromise then, old tool with 5 requests to join? :wink:

As long as we can agree that both the new group tools need an actual devs eye on it, preferrably someone with some UI experience, we’re all good.