Since we lack WoW community council representatives to speak up for the community, I will take lead on this topic (and discourse here why LFD should be in the game).
There are no social interactions in the game in terms of getting groups. Not the way it is being “promoted” by certain individuals, including the WoW classic lead dev.
Our social interactions today is resumed to: spam LFM+ or LFG at LookingForGroup / Trade / General channel in Shattrath in hope that we get someone to join our group (for dungeons/pvp), and we monitor people LFM or LFG through an addon (LFG Bulleting Board). Without it, it is impossible to read through the LookingForGroup channel.
Now, let me go here quickly and say: the reason we cannot have those social interactions in LFG is because our servers are huge. When I was at Skeram, we could still talk in LFG, the server was “smaller”, although very active until late phase 1. Once we got to Faerlina during Phase 2, that kinda of social interaction was over… however, we got to get more and more groups to play.
Don’t fool yourself or anyone else with the excuse of “social interactions” to not add LFD to the game. Today we use an external software to organize our social interactions and groups (Discord), either PUGs (GDKPs and SR runs in the realm discord server) or Guild Runs (our own guild runs within our own discord servers).
Rarely we have to (or have the courage to) rely on LFG / Trade to LFM people to complete a GDKP/SR run, since we cannot certify so fast the player’s experience/capacity to collaborate with the raid, so usually we go to Discord first to ping people that are on bench or anyone else that can raid on that give day.
Of someone is so oblivious about the LookingForGroup channel, I suggest you to go through the following video from reddit:
In my own experience, I used to talk a lot in the heroic dungeons (I was a blood DK Tank during Wrath), so I used to run heroics all the time. Warsong realm, Ruin battlegroup.
More than once I crossed people I already knew in the LFD and people that recognized me (I was one of the first NA players to get Herald of Titans title FYI), so usually there was social interaction as a Blood DK full decked in the current tier was tanking heroic dungeons in LFD. Not that everyone will be willing to do it or expecting it to happen, just saying it is not because you have LFD that you will not have social interactions. We have so many tools that add more social interactions cross-servers that using the destruction of “social interactions” sounds like the most idiotic excuse ever made.
So, in a world without LFD, how do you think you will be selected for heroic dungeons.
Even before that, how do you think you will get into a heroic dungeon at all?
You first need a tank, then you need a healer (in case you are not one of them).
If you have guild and people to play with you, great, then you have no problem doing your groups (except low level groups right).
But if your guild tanks are already occupied, where are you going to get a tank? spam LFG and hope that LFG Bulletin Board will list your request so you can get your tank? some people have to PAY a tank today in TBC, what makes you think that will be different on WoTLK Classic?
And in case you are lucky to see a group LFM to a heroic dungeon… you know what will happen?
They will be asking for a certain Gear Score.
Yes.
Gear score will happen 100% and there is nothing you can do. You can’t escape Gear Score without LFD. If you are not geared enough you will not get groups, unless you make your own group and you pay your tank, then you will be able to go through dungeons.
As the title says, the alternative to not have LFD is much, much worse.
Bring LFD on release, Blizzard. Your customers are asking you nicely for quite some time.
Do not disappoint your customers.