TL DR:
A dungeon finder needs to be implemented to take full use of the cross server technology and reduce party forming times from 1-2 hrs to 5-30 mins.
Normally, having a lot of end game content would be a great thing, but without the use of a Dungeon Finder (much like the Match finder in SPvP) to consolidate the player base for that specific area of content, less players will participate in that area of gameplay.
Long Version
Now I’ve been told that the idea for a Dungeon Finder was put to rest, but i’d ask the developers to reconsider.
Take into account:
The game just came out almost a month ago, and already many players are complaining about the dungeon system and no endgame. While I personally have to qualms with the “grindy” nature of gathering cosmetic dungeon gear, I do have a problem with the requirements or cost of each piece.
For example, in order to receive the chestpiece from Crucible of Eternity Explorer mode, you need to run the Dungeon either once a day for 11 days or 16 times in one day. Either of these methods would be fine, if it were possible to find groups.
On average, finding (starting) a group for any of the less popular dungeons ( SE, HotW, CoE, CM) takes anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 hours with the average amount of time being around an hour to two hours. This means staying in Lions Arch (or the dungeon’s area) for that amount of time and Spamming "LFG "or “LFM”. Not only is the current system influencing LFG spamming, but it is keeping players who would normally enjoy doing dungeons from not even attempting them because of time (group finding) constraints.
Furthermore:
Since the cross server group and instance based game are new to the MMO world, it is normal for a period of adjustment as the developers figure out what works and what doesn’t. As we witnessed with the MMO “The Secret World” they too had a cross-server system, and quickly realized that with 7 or more end tier dungeons, it was necessary to add a group finder to reduce group forming times from hour long fiascoes to shorter amounts of time.
This too, is necessary for Guild Wars 2, as most end tier players are either attempting to find dungeons to complete “cosmetic looks”, pvping or grinding mats or money. However, due to the unique nature of Guild Wars 2, in that there are so many activities to do End game, the percentage of dungeon players is reduced even more. With SPvP, WvWvW, Dynamic Event Chains, 8 Dungeons to grind for tokens, crafting mats or cosmetic reasons, Normal mat and gold grinding, world completion, Keg games, and puzzles, the percentage of dungeon players is significantly reduced.
Normally, having a lot of end game content would be a great thing, but without the use of a Dungeon Finder (much like the Match finder in SPvP) to consolidate the player base for that specific area of content, less players will participate in that area of gameplay.
