Hate me, but dungeon finders are the best thing that’s happened to MMORPGs

Dungeon finders in MMORPGs are seen as controversial. They make life easier for many, but some players see them as the downfall of social interaction. MeinMMO editor Alexander Leitsch has often desperately wanted dungeon finders in recent weeks and also sees the change in WoW Classic as controversial.

For me, dungeon finders are one of the best features in modern MMORPGs. I’m certainly not the only one with this opinion, but there will also be many gamers who are just throwing their hands in front of their faces – as you saw in the discussion about WOTLK Classic.

Dungeon finders are controversial because they make it gloriously easy to enter a dungeon without having to engage deeply with the party. I don’t need to know the Gearscore or the names of my fellow players and still have a multiplayer experience.

But this is precisely where many see a problem. MMORPGs have become more impersonal, fellow players are often just accessories. The great friendships that you made when you were young or at university are becoming rarer.

However, this is not the fault of the dungeon finders. In WoW Bruning Crusade Classic and recently especially in New World, I have painfully experienced how complicated the group search for a dungeon can be and how it can isolate you in the guild. I can build up social structures better.

Tank and healer switch groups, but we just can’t move forward

In New World, dungeons have become one of the most lucrative and popular game content at the moment. You get good gear there, level up your competence quickly and don’t spend too much time in it, since many now know the dungeons by heart. The mutations from the January patch also present a decent challenge for PvE fans.

But the group search is more than chaotic in New World, because everyone is looking in the same recruiting chat. This is not only confusing, but can also lead to crazy situations, as I experienced myself yesterday:

• We were a group of four players – three DDs and one tank – looking for a healer for the new Heart of Storms dungeon. That took like 10 minutes.
• Another group was also looking for a fellow player for Heart of Storms – a tank.
• Suddenly our tank left the group and joined the other. At the same time, however, the healer from the other group switched to us. So both groups still couldn’t go.
• Eventually the healer switched back to his old group and we now needed both a healer and a tank. Annoying.

Admittedly, that was a rare oddity, but searching and spamming the chat doesn’t add any real depth or new social connections. I didn’t play or chat with any of the other DDs while waiting. We simply waited – just like in a dungeon finder.

Social structure comes from challenges, not dull farm content

But Alex, you could have made contacts while you were waiting and maybe gained new regular players that you could ask for future dungeon runs. Yes that’s right. You can do that. But for dull farm content like normal dungeons, I don’t usually need a fixed group.

I can run the normal dungeons with randoms with no problem, whether it’s from chat or a dungeon finder.

For me, real social connections only come about through challenges.

• For example, I prefer to run mutated dungeons in New World with a guild group. I know the players and they know me. Here, a dungeon is not exited immediately just because a wipe occurs.
• I’ve met more players through two wars over territory in New World than in the last 50 dungeon runs combined. Because for the wars we had to work together and exchange ideas.
• When I’m running a trial in ESO or a raid in Guild Wars 2, I prefer to do it with people I know who I’m voice chatting with.

My best experience in an MMORPG ever was with my PvP home group in Guild Wars 1. We met for training three times a week to get the Hall of Heroes regularly. I won’t forget the players from back then and the moments because they would never have been possible with randoms.

I find it strange that WoW will do without a dungeon finder in WOTLK Classic. This could lead to the same problem I had in Burning Crusade Classic. I couldn’t find a connection.

A few friends of mine leveled away right off the bat while I was first playing ESO Blackwood. They were then ready for the raids, but I lacked the level and gear to do so.

Of course they helped me afterwards, but they got the guild’s first kills without me. With a dungeon finder, I’d have an easier time catching up on my own while the guild was wiping a boss or two. But I was always looking for teammates and had to build myself up slowly.

In my guild, however, the air was quickly gone after the first kills. I never killed Illidan – in case anyone wants to take me with them!

Dungeon finders didn’t ruin MMORPGs, but there has to be something beyond that

For me, dungeons are generally just a means to an end, to equip myself in ESO or WoW and then later go on real adventures – often raids or PvP – together with my guild. Apparently the developers of New World also see that and bring a dungeon finder in the summer.

Dungeon finders didn’t kill the social interaction but rather help through simple content and grind. But after that, it needs something that goes beyond the regular farm content. Something that is not so easy to do with randoms, which kind of forces me into a guild or home group.

If that doesn’t exist, then social interaction also loses value.

At the same time, the guild or home group must not be everything. Because if I need them for every game content, I lose the fun of going out alone. And every gamer has a phase at some point when you just want to run a good Netflix series or a podcast alongside the voice chat.

How do you see the dungeon finder? Does every modern MMORPG need this tool? Or are simple LFG tools enough for you to list your group, as is the case in Guild Wars 2?

If you want to know how good the various MMORPGs are currently doing, you can find my personal tier list here:

Where are the 50 biggest MMORPGs currently? The Animal List 2022