We need better dungeon average wait time system

Community General Discussion
1

The way how the game determines (calculates) what to display to players for the “average wait time” when queuing up to a dungeon or other instanced content, seems to be broken or simply does a bad job and needs an update:

For example this image above, the average wait time displayed for my DPS was 4 minutes, but as you can see, my character was in queue for and hour and a half at the time of this screenshot.

Or this example image above, the average wait time displayed for my Tank was 10 minutes, but their queue popped seconds after I grabbed the screenshot.

I assume the astronomically different “average wait” times shown are calculated using the combined wait times of dps, tanks, and healers and/or parties, resulting in the inaccurate times displayed for each.

So I really believe whatever system is used to calculate these wait times, needs to be updated.

Possible Solutions:

  1. The “Average Wait Time” should be segregated by role and possibly further by group vs solo queues, so this way it displays a more realistic Average Wait Time for solo DPS queues, solo Healer queues, and solo Tank queues.

  2. The longest amount of “Time In Queue” that the last person(s) who’s queue popped over the past minute had waited for a certain role, should be displayed to all other players in queue, so this way rather than an “average wait time” it would reflect a more realistic wait time as it would display the actual time that the last players of a certain role whose queue popped had waited.

Option #2 in my opinion would be the easiest and best solution, as it would be better to see a realistic wait time that a real player had waited, rather than an “average”. Also if your queue pops well below the displayed wait time, that would provide a positive feeling/experience for the player; I know it does for me every time the “average wait time” displays a long wait time but in reality my queue pops less than that, as opposed to the frustration of it showing a low wait time but the queue time goes way over that and fills players with frustration/anger.

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P.S. This topic is NOT about how to improve my chances of getting into a dungeons quicker (i.e. playing a tank/healer or queuing with guildies/friends), as the time I have to wait when queuing solo as a DPS isn’t an issue to me and as you can see that I also provided a screenshot of queue times with my tank. Rather the topic is simply about the extremely way off “average wait time” display and how vastly different it is from reality. So don’t reply with snarky comments about rerolling or to make friends or join a guild, as that isn’t what this topic is about nor is a true solution to the issue pointed out.

8 Likes
2

The problem is not data segragation. The problem is that the past is not the future. Computer program can only tell you the past. When that doesn’t match the future, the results are silly.

3

The estimate is an estimate, mate.

3 Likes
4

it’s “average” wait time, not an estimate. There’s a huge difference.

5
  1. Roll a role that is in need. You don’t always have to see big flashy damage numbers to feel satisfied with the game…
6

Is it Alliance having wait time issues? Because I swear my heroics pop in under 10 minutes regardless of time of day.

7

Join a guild
Bring 4 friends
Bring 1 tank friend
Bring 1 healer friend
Play tank
Play heals

Ezpz

1 Like
8

You forgot “give up and stop trying”. Far more likely than hiring friends to fill your job openings who are at your exact level of difficulty, will be available whenever you are online and want to run a dungeon.

9

the only thing needed for the whole system to turbo up is more tanks and healers.

idk how to go about getting more tanks and healers though.

10

This is what guilds are for.

Join one, meet people, play together.

11

There would be more tanks and healers if the system did not make it difficult to off-spec tank or heal. People would spontaneously change roles when their dps queue was long.

Indeed. Join a guild and end up having to pug all your content anyway, because the star raiders run together, and everybody else is on their own.

Get real. I guess you get all the benefits of being in the right clique in the right sort of guild.

I did lots of mid keys in Legion. Asking for help in gchat got me volunteers who were worse than me and embarrassing.

1 Like
12

I’m thinking it’s an attitude problem that makes you not get invited.

You seem overly hostile.

2 Likes
13

you can join any clique with performance and availability + time :slight_smile:

ppl are not so reliable. if youre always there and not too much of a weird boi, “good” things will happen to you :wink:

1 Like
14

Who me? I haven’t applied to a group in more than an expansion but you’re saying I keep getting rejected? How exactly does that work?

I hate what devs are doing to destroy what little community is left by empowering the most antisocial people who can’t abide the idea that they might have to share their privilege with lesser mortals.

You mean if you’re not a mythic raider you can join their clique even though you’re already far behind their progression? That’s not how it works.

If they can’t find people in your guild that can keep up with them, the cliques will abandon your guild to find another that will.

15

Ok, I’m confused.

I’ll just /boop the vulpera and leave.

1 Like
16

If you don’t want to understand how normal people play the game, that’s on you. If you want to read things into what I’m writing that aren’t there because you have an agenda to push, again. That’s on you.

Most people who belong to guilds are average players. They can offer nothing to a clique that has been pushing high keys. And the clique has no incentive to take time from their own progression to help someone who can’t carry their alts.

The majority of players in every guild are not raiders.

17

this isn’t possible with the classes that don’t have multiple roles (i.e. Warlocks, Mages, Hunters, Rogues).

18

The better solution is find friends/guild that is doing similar content as you. Then you don’t have to bother with a queue.

Or roll a tank/healer.

19

To those who state joining a guild, making friends, etc… this isn’t even what this topic is about… this topic is actually about the pisspoor “average wait” time display and how inaccurate it is.

As for guildies or friends, yes, I have friends and guildies I can do runs with, but I don’t want to waste their time doing what I was doing, which was spamming Plaguefall over and over and over trying to get my legendary trait drop (I did this dungeon on heroic and normal over 38 times so far this week).

20

The queue sucks because too many DPS have this “I got this far on my own, I don’t need anyone else” mindset. There is a VAST pool of healers and tanks out there but they’ve been scared away from these roles because of impatient dps. Most of them also don’t want to have to watch videos on dungeons they should be experiencing themselves.

I have to say it’s really kinda sad how little questing prepares players for dungeons and the challenges within.