Hey all, welcome to 4.3. The new raid finder will assist us in learning all the fights and gathering our collective skills as a cohesive team.
Here are the main points that are needed to understand from
MMO-ChampionRaid Finder - Patch 4.3 Preview
Raid Finder is a new feature being added into Patch 4.3 that works similar to the current dungeon finder but for 25man raids. Similar to the dungeon finder feature, you queue as your respective role, a group is found and off you go to slay dragons (and other bad guys). However Raid Finder will have a few small additions that are not present in the Dungeon Finder.
Just like the Dungeon Finder, a raid leader will be selected. They will be unable to affect the loot distribution or spontaneously kick people from the raid. They will however be able to mark targets, use the /raidwarning command and promote other players to assist in leading. The leader will also be responsible for making judgemental decisions on fights (example: who has to interrupt X target.)
Raid Finder will not have a lockout, however players will only be able to recieve loot from the first time they kill each boss each week.
A new need before greed system has been implemented purposely for Raid Finder that gives players a bonus 100 to their role when needing on loot designed for their role within the raid (example: mage needs on tanking item and rolls 94, tank rolls 75 but recieves a 100 bonus due to the item being designed for their role, making their roll 175.)
Raid Finder is currently implemented for Dragon Soul only and is split into two separate raids, the first four boss' of Dragon Soul and the final four boss' of Dragon Soul.
Just like Dungeon Finder the Raid Finder will have an item level requirement, in this case it's 372.
All loot, including tier pieces will be of a lower item level than the normal and heroic version of Dragon Soul in relation to the difficulty.
Just like the Dungeon Finder the Raid Finder will be a cross realm feature.
The raid composition will always consist of two tanks, six healers and seventeen DPS. The system will automatically attempt to balance the group between melee and ranged DPS.
Raid Finder will not lock you to the normal or heroic version of Dragon Soul.
Just like the Dungeon Finder the Raid Finder will have a vote to kick system, as well as a Dungeon Deserter debuff.
Boss' will not reward Valor Points however killing the last boss in each of the respective raids Dragon Soul is split into will reward 250 Valor Points, totalling a potential 500 Valor Points from clearing the whole raid.
Patch 4.3: Raid Finder Loot Rules
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
As previously announced the Raid Finder will use an altered version of Need Before Greed that provides loot roll bonuses to those that have entered the raid in the role (tank, DPS, healing) that uses those items. Unfortunately the system is currently unable to detect spec, and so this creates some issues for classes that utilize stats that are not "common" to that role.
To help clarify which items you will or will not be able to roll on based on the role you entered the raid in, we have some basic guidelines that we've followed that should help you anticipate which items you'll receive the roll bonus on.
If you're in a raid as one of the below roles here is what you'll receive a roll bonus on:
Tank:
Agility Leather (for druids)
Strength plate with tank stats on it
Trinkets with tank stats
Trinkets with Agility (for druids)
Healer:
Any appropriate caster gear without Hit
Trinkets that trigger on heals or beneficial spells
DPS:
Mostly everything that doesn’t have a tank stat on it
Spirit gear (for elemental shaman, shadow priest, and moonkin)
Trinkets that trigger on damaging spells/melee hits
In some cases we've been overly restrictive when flagging accessories (Petrified Fungal Heart and Signet of Grasping Mouths in particular), and we're planning to modify a couple of those items to be less restrictive before or shortly after the patch goes live.
With Mists of Pandaria our expectation is that we will have the ability to detect spec, and so all of these issues go away for future raids. For Dragon Soul there will be some overlap, though, and it's important you're aware of the loot rules as due to the automated distribution system our support department will not be able to assist with any loot disputes while using Raid Finder.
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