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Looking For Group

From WoWWiki

Looking For Group or LFG chat channel is often used by a player character when not in a group who wants to join a group, usually to pursue a quest. At time of writing, this is deactivated by default. To join this channel, you have to actively be LFG/LFM using the Looking For Group interface pane.

Contents

Upcoming changes

The new Looking For Dungeon

In patch 3.3.0, Blizzard introduced the new Looking for Dungeon system. At current on the public test realm, only the dungeon section of LFG has been turned on; not raids or groups in general for high-level quests. LFD will select players to form a party from all servers in the battlegroup, so there need not be a full group of players on one specific realm.

The very first screen players see shows the role selection toggles and the type of dungeon desired. By default, the selection is for a random dungeon. This can be changed via the Type dropdown to such options as Random Lich King Heroic, Random Burning Crusade Dungeon, or Random Classic Dungeon. Running a random dungeon confers additional rewards in the form of emblems and gold.

Note that it is not possible to queue for dungeons outside of the player's level bracket or expansion level; i.e. level 80 players cannot queue for classic or Burning Crusade dungeons.

Selecting a specific dungeon or dungeons can be accomplished by choosing the very first option in the Type dropdown. The UI changes to show a list of dungeons, all of which are selected. To narrow the list, click the checkbox next to the category line to select/deselect all dungeons in that category. Players can also collapse categories of dungeons by clicking the +/- box just to the left of the category checkbox.

Queuing for a specific dungeon

So, how do you want to tell the UI that you only wish to run Pit of Saron in 5-player Heroic mode?

Step 1: Choose the "Specific Dungeons" type

Step 2: Collapse the first category

Step 3: Collapse all other categories

Step 4: Clear all visible checkboxes

Step 5: Reopen desired category

Step 6: Select desired dungeon(s)

Step 7: Make a role selection

Step 8: Find a group!

Step 9: Wait in the queue

Step 10: There's enough people!

Step 11: Is everyone ready?

Free teleport to the instance if all ready

Looking for more

So the tank left, or a healer disconnected, or a DPS got kicked. How does the party add a replacement member?

  1. The party leader opens the LFD frame
  2. The leader selects the dungeon the party is currently running (See the previous section)
  3. The other party members confirm their roles
  4. The party joins the queue
  5. When a fifth is found, the ready check window appears. Everyone should hit "Yes"
  6. The new member will be teleported to the instance entrance

History

At the launch of the game, there was only the LookingForGroup chat channel. This channel was available in all zones, but it was not a linked global channel. This was problematic since zones of the same level range are spread out thruoughout Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor. At this time, many players relied on their guild, friend's list, or even whisper to find groups. Otherwise, they would travel to Orgrimmar or Ironforge respectively, find a group, then travel back out to the site of the dungeon, making dungeons far away from these cities very unpopular. As a result, warlocks were also very popular at this time, as they played an important role in forming groups. Blizzard eventually added a queuing system related to the Meeting Stones in front of the instances, but it was rarely used, and was generally a failed feature. In Patch 1.9, the LookingForGroup channel became global, although it was restricted to the major cities.

With the release of the Burning Crusade expansion and Patch 2.0.1 came the release of the new Looking For Group interface pane as well as the conversion of Meeting Stones from a queuing system to a summoning mechanism. At this time, the LookingForGroup channel was completely removed, since the interface was intended to replace it. Instead, players began to use the Trade channel for LFG, guild recruitment, and general global chat. Blizzard responded by hotfixing a rate limit of so many messages per minute. However, this was eventually lifted, and Trade channel continues to be a mixture of trade and other uses even today. After much community feedback, in Patch 2.1.0, the LookingForGroup channel was restored, although it was only available while actively using the Interface Tool.

The LFG panel as of patch 3.1 as seen by a tauren rogue.

In Patch 3.1.0, after the release of Wrath of the Lich King, the Looking For Group panel was improved to include the role which your currently logged character is able to fulfill (tank, damage, or healer), specify leadership, and identifying groups or individuals via the Looking for More pane.

At BlizzCon 2009, Blizzard announced that a Cross-Server LFG system will very likely be released in Patch 3.3.0. This is the second Cross-Server feature Blizzard has added to the game, after Battlegrounds. Cross-server features are generally used to help users low-population realms find groups, which was previously nearly impossible any time other than peak hours.

Patch changes

  • Patch 3.3.0 (PTR): Cross Server LFG
    • Supports 5-player instances
    • Designed for PUG's
    • Reward System (Source)
  • Patch 3.1.0 (2009-04-14): Class roles (i.e. damage, tanking, healing) have been added to the Looking For Group feature. Class roles will be displayed when sorting through the Looking For More section.
  • Patch 2.1.0 (2007-05-22): Players will now be able to access the Looking For Group Channel by joining the Looking For Group/Looking for More tool.
LookingForGroup channel is accessible only when using the interface pane.
  • Patch 2.0.1 (2006-12-05): A new Looking For Group tool designed to assist players in finding groups for instanced dungeons and quests will now be available. This interface gives players the option to be added to a pool of other players also looking for a group, as a means to expedite the process. In addition, players will also be able to search for additional members in situations where they have a group and are simply looking to find more players. For a complete overview of this new interface, please take a moment and read the information contained on our comprehensive Looking for Group preview.
    http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/burningcrusade/townhall/lookingforgroup.html
LookingForGroup channel was removed.
  • Patch 1.11.2 (2006-07-11): The Looking For Group channel is now defaulted off. Players will need to join the channel to access it. (/join LFG)
  • Patch 1.9.0 (2006-01-03): In addition, the "Looking for Group" and "Trade" channels have been unified among the corresponding cities, meaning, for example, that you can trade your goods or look for groups in Ironforge while in Stormwind.
Previously, these were not global (cross city) channels.

See also

External links

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