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The Controverse: Impact of LFR and More on Social Gameplay

by - 11 years ago

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Somewhere between the realm of Blizzard headquarters and the cozy rooms of its players is the realm of the Controverse, the place where Blizzard’s careful decisions and real player feedback clash. This week, we will look at something that’s been on the table for quite some time without a please-all solution in sight: group-finding tools.

Disclaimer: Although LFR is better associated with the old raid browser that came out with patch 3.3, popular usage has retrofitted this abbreviation to be used with its replacement, the raid finder, introduced in 4.3. LFG will be used in this newer sense within this editorial.

Group-finding tools have been both a blessing and a curse. Including things like the raid finder (LFR), the dungeon finder (LFD), the battleground finder, and others, these tools were designed with the intent of getting more players to do content faster instead of, well, using things like ye old LFG (“looking for group”) channel and waiting for parties to gather at summoning stones.

In that sense, it was a resounding success.

Old group-finder for WoW

Some of you probably remember this thing. Less streamlined and clunkier, it took just a bit more time to find groups with it. (Source)

Players now rely on group-finding tools to gear-up for current content, such as the Throne of Thunder raid. In fact, Blizzard expects players to use these tools for that purpose, encouraging them to do so with the launch of patch 5.3. Since LFD was introduced in patch 3.3, players have been running 5-man instances to gear up for endgame content. Since the scenario finder was introduced in 5.0.4, players have been using it to stock up on valor points and fill in gear gaps. Since LFR was introduced in patch 4.3, players have been running simplified versions of current content to gear-up for normal (N) and heroic (H) versions of the same content.

But are these player experiences everything that they used to be? The louder opinions of late would probably say “not entirely,” and there are several reasons for this.

The first and most immediate problem with the group finders is that the LFD mentality doesn’t work as well with the massive raid group required to complete something like Mogu’shan Palace or even with the tightly-knit groups of three needed for scenarios.

While a 5-man instance composed of five random players with varying skill levels, gear levels, and class/specialization viability posed some difficulties, stretching those same issues over a raid group of 25 players is at best a pain to coordinate and at worst half a dozen wipes. Blizzard indirectly acknowledged this issue when they introduced the stackable Determination buff, which slightly increased the group’s power and defense as it accumulated more boss wipes (luls for illustrative purposes).

This problem also stretches to the scenario finder, but more as a nuisance than a progress-breaking wall. Unlike dungeons, players join scenarios with random people to complete content that is heavily based on mechanics (such as escorting, or sniping off trolls, or some other mechanic) rather than fighting prowess. When even one player of the three that compose a scenario group doesn’t know a scenario, it takes all that much longer, drives teammates’ patience, and occasionally results in a wipe.

The second problem with these finders is that they do not facilitate friendly communication, which is what often makes or breaks a memorable and fun experience in a Massively Multiplayer Online Game (MMO).

The fact that 25 random strangers are scrunched together to complete (ostensibly challenging or unknown) content doesn’t help, either. This isn’t like running a raid with your guild–no one knows each other, and communication rarely occurs until after it’s too late. And by then, rage syndrome has set in.

Hey, let's go comatose in Orgrimmar!

The prevalence of group-finding tech has made it so that players don’t have to leave the comforts of their capital cities.

The third problem with group finders is that they automate, and therefore systematize, a process which previously required and encouraged social engagement. This is a problem which challenges the very integrity of the MMO experience.

As one player recently tweeted, “with features such as LFR people have a ‘log on, dailies, LFR, log off’ attitude now, this is where I lost my ingame friends.” With the exception of perhaps heroic scenarios and N- and H-mode raids, there is very little reason for players to even talk to get their daily routines done. In fact, many players barely even leave their capital cities, as long as they don’t have to do dailies.

The fourth problem with these finders is more narcissistic than anything, but it’s still there. With only a dozen or so gear level (ilvl) difference between upgraded Throne of Thunder (ToT) LFR gear and N-mode ToT gear, the sense of prestige from completing the more difficult N-mode raid is somewhat lost. Cosmetically speaking, the only difference between N-mode raid and LFR raid tiered gear is a color change. Given the choice between a raid that takes hours (or even days) to complete at a higher stress level and a raid that takes maybe an hour at a fraction of the difficulty, one would think that many players would simply stick with LFR and the “almost the best” gear that it gives.

Of course, there’s a flipside to all of this, and I’ll try to keep it short and sweet.

WoW is an old game. It was released in 2004–nearly a decade ago, in which we’ve seen two U.S. presidencies, the fallout of the economic downturn on a global scale, the rise of the Chinese economy, the BP oil spill, and much, much more. This game encompasses the childhoods of millions of players. Although the original player base was probably composed of more pre-adults who had time to blow and loved it, many of us now have one (if not multiple) full-time jobs, college commitments, spouses, children, houses, rent and bills… You name it.

The fact of the matter is that many of WoW’s players less time to play and WoW’s traditional mechanics simply make it impossible for these same, highly committed players–or even new players with similar priorities–to devote the same time and energy that they did years ago.

I believe one poster on the official board put it rather nicely: “LFR allows me to justify my subscription to WoW because it lets me experience more content on MY time.”


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Seth Harkins

PC gamer and lover of (most) things Blizzard. In his off time, he writes bad fan fiction, tends to his growing number of house plants, and enjoys a love-hate relationship with two cats.


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