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October 29th, 2009, 20:31 GMT · By Florian Totu

World of Warcraft Tackles the PUG

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At least one of them has to know how to raid properly
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Over 11 million people pay the monthly fee to play World of Warcraft but almost all of them have something to complain about the game. From the classic problem of balancing the classes, to server issues and unsatisfactory comments regarding how Blizzard bosses run their business, every hardcore WoW fan hates the game and the company that made it. When Blizzard showed little interest in their attitude, which is perfectly normal since even if they complain they keep on playing, WoW fans decided to fight amongst themselves. Few chat windows in even fewer games have seen the slang “noob” as many times as the chat window of World of Warcraft.

The main concern of these “leet” players who find everyone else unworthy of their gaze is the “PUG” gameplay. PUG stands for pick-up groups, and it basically means going on a dungeon raid with people you've never interacted with before. Dungeons need a minimum number of players in a party before it becomes available, so no matter how good you think you are you still need players to join you. Blizzard has decided to try and improve the PUGs and a major update is being prepared for the groping system of Looking for Group.

The matchmaking system implemented comes to simplify things as much as possible and bring an overall improvement to the dungeon gameplay. Waiting around for people to report to the instance's entrance or for someone to get their heads together and properly use the teleport stone has been bypassed and now raid members can be directly teleported to the entrance, similar to the battleground system. The group matchmaking will also try to make a versatile party, looking for players of similar level and varied classes to provide a competent raid.

To try and promote the PUG, Blizzard has actually implemented special bonuses for these groups. Those who have been brought together randomly with one or more players through the matchmaking system can receive special rewards, which also include the non-combat pet, Perky Pug. Some control over the raid will still be available, as a “vote kick” system has been introduced. At least four votes are required for a player to be eliminated from the party. The “Need Before Greed” roll has been improved, and items are less likely to end up in the wrong hands. A special feature for enchanters has been introduced to automatically handle items that have been rejected by all members of the party. Along with the fact that now instances are cross-realmed with the help of matchmaking, these ideas are indeed a great addition to the game, but as always the community is still unsatisfied.

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