Dungeon Finder



Dungeon Finder, sometimes referred to as the "LFG tool", is the Looking for Dungeon system Blizzard has introduced in patch 3.3.0. It is only used for 5-man dungeons, not raids or groups in general for high-level quests. The Dungeon Finder selects 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 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; e.g. 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 example
To tell the UI that you only wish to run Pit of Saron in 5-player Heroic mode:

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) Somebody in the group opens the Dungeon Finder frame and answers "yes" on the refill screen
 * 2) The other party members confirm their roles
 * 3) The party joins the queue
 * 4) When a replacement is found, the new member will be teleported to the party leader's current location

Removing a player
You can remove a player from the group via the Vote Kick System.

Leaving a group
When you leave a group you got via the Dungeon Finder you will be on Dungeon Finder cooldown, preventing you from joining another random group for the next 15 Minutes (from the time you were matched with a dungeon). There are the following exceptions:


 * You got kicked from the group
 * The End Boss (or whoever gives the reward for joining a LFD-group) of the Instance has been killed

LookingForGroup channel
In addition to Dungeon Finder, everyone in capital cities automatically joins the LookingForGroup channel. It can be used to manually search for groups instead of, or in addition to, both Dungeon Finder and Looking For Raid.

Rewards
Depending of the type of the dungeon, and on character's level, there are varying rewards:

The Daily item rewards depends on the Dungeon type:
 * For a Random Classic Dungeon and Burning Crusade Normal you receive a Satchel of Helpful Goods.
 * As of Patch 3.3.0, the Burning Crusade Normal rewards appear to be dramatically underleveled, around item level 65 when standard BC rare gear is item level 81-115. This may be fixed in a future patch.
 * For a Random Burning Crusade Heroic Dungeon you only get money and XP (more money, but less XP, than from a Lich King normal dungeon).
 * For the first Random Lich King Normal Dungeon each day you receive 23 Justice Points. For any normal dungeons after that you only get money and XP.
 * For the first Random Lich King Heroic Dungeon each day you receive 23 Justice Points. For each additional Lich King Heroic you do afterwards, you will get 23 Justice Points.
 * For the first seven Random Cataclysm Normal Dungeons done in a week you receive 140 Justice Points for each. Additional normal dungeons after that give only money and XP.
 * For the first seven Random Cataclysm Heroic Dungeons done in a week you receive 70 Valor Points for each, for a total of 490 each week. For each additional heroic, you receive 70 Justice Points.
 * For the first seven Random Rise of the Zandalari Heroic Dungeons done in a week you receive 140 Valor Points for each, for a total of 980 each week.
 * Note: Between the seven Cataclysm heroic and seven Rise of the Zandalari heroic dungeons, you can receive a maximum of only 980 Valor Points each week.

The Daily money and XP rewards depends on the character level. The following table contains the rewards for each levels first random dungeon of the day, any other runs during the same day will yield approximately half the money and experience:

Level restrictions

 * For random Classic dungeons you must be at least level 15 and must not be able to queue for random Burning Crusade dungeons.
 * For random Burning Crusade normal dungeons you must be at least level 59 and must not be able to queue for random Lich King dungeons.
 * For random Lich King normal dungeons you must be at least level 69 and must not be able to queue for random Cataclysm dungeons.
 * For random Lich King heroic dungeons you must be precisely level 80. You may not queue for a Lich King heroic at 81.
 * For random Cataclysm heroic dungeons you must be at least level 85.
 * To queue up for a Random Dungeon, you must be within the correct level range to run at least two dungeons in a given bracket. For example, you can use the Dungeon Finder to go to Utgarde Keep at level 68, but since this is the only Normal WotLK dungeon available at that level, you cannot queue for a Random WotLK dungeon until you are 69, when The Nexus becomes available.

Dungeon finder instance breakdown
Classic dungeons vary widely in scope, from short romps to 4+ hour marathons. Many of the classic dungeons have been broken up into separate events to allow achievement of the dungeon finder rewards in a comparable amount of time. There are no in-game maps of classic dungeons, so inexperienced adventurers may want to refer to online guides.

Classic dungeons
This chart may be out of date; new instance levels as of 4.0.3 can be found here: http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/1127129847


 * Notes

Burning Crusade dungeons
All Burning Crusade Heroic-level instances have a level range of 70 to 75, and require the appropriate key to enter (except Magister's Terrace, which is unlocked at the end of a quest chain involving clearing the dungeon on normal difficulty). The keys are purchased from corresponding faction Quartermasters. All have the same completion criteria as the Normal-level instance.

Note that an optional third boss Anzu is now at the end of heroic Sethekk Halls, but not in the Normal version. This boss is not required to complete the instance.

Wrath of the Lich King dungeons

 * Notes

Most heroic dungeons require an average ilvl of 180. The tier 9 and 10 five-man normal dungeons require ilvl 180 while the heroics require ilvl 200 or 219.

All Wrath of the Lich King heroic instances require precisely level of 80. The Nexus, Ahn'kahet: The Old Kingdom, Gundrak and Culling of Stratholme each have an optional heroic-only boss.
 * Wrath of the Lich King heroic dungeons


 * Some instances require a minimum level of gear.
 * WotLK Heroics, beside Trial of the Champion, Pit of Saron, Halls of Reflection and The Forge of Souls unlock with an average item level of 160.
 * Also Trial of the Champion (normal) and The Forge of Souls (normal) unlock with an item level of 160.

Cataclysm dungeons
From Patch 4.0.6 onward, you do not need to discover entrances to the Cataclysm dungeons in order to be able to queue for them in the Dungeon Finder.

Cataclysm dungeons also have a minimum average item level (ilvl) in order to use the Dungeon Finder. You can get around this restriction if you walk through the instance boundary with your own hand-picked party.

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 throughout 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.

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.

First announced at BlizzCon 2009, Patch 3.3.0 saw a new cross-server Looking For Group (and Looking For Raid) system. This is the second cross-server feature Blizzard has added to the game, after Battlegrounds. Cross-server features are generally used to help users on low-population realms find groups, which was previously nearly impossible any time other than peak hours.

Patch changes

 * The daily Random Dungeon reward on normal difficulty has been increased to 140 Justice Points, up from 70.
 * Players no longer need to discover Cataclysm dungeon entrances in order to access them via the Dungeon Finder.
 * The daily Random Dungeon reward on normal difficulty has been increased to 140 Justice Points, up from 70.
 * Players no longer need to discover Cataclysm dungeon entrances in order to access them via the Dungeon Finder.