Dungeons And Dragons Online: In Testing: Changes to the Social panel

One of the best aspects of Dungeons & Dragons Online is finding a great party and then running through an adventure together. The most important tool we have to help you find a good group is the Social Panel. Since the launch of DDO in February we have changed and expanded the social panel several times in an effort to make finding a group easy. These latest changes are based almost entirely off player feedback. We feel that our newest iteration is huge improvement and we hope you like what you see.

Finding a group

When you want to either join a preexisting party or form a party of your own, your first stop should be the "Grouping" lobby. Here you can flag yourself as LFG. Don't forget to include your quest preferences or favorite character traits! Then simply hit "update" and you're flagged with the LFG icon above your character. You will also be automatically listed in the "Who Is" section. (See below for the attached screenshots).

You don't need to wait for someone to approach you though! One of the best things to do while you wait is to peruse the want ads and ask to be invited into your ideal group. All the info you need is located in the same panel where you posted your LFG message! You can view all of the groups who are LFM and you can now filter out groups that aren't looking for your player profile.

The first column shows you who the group leader is and any comments they have posted. Simply mouse over the leader's name to see a complete list of the rest of the party - name, rank, and class.

The next column, the Dungeon column, lists the group's preferred destination. If you see a group you like but don't like their preferred destination you can always see if they are flexible by selecting the group row and sending them a tell. The third column shows the party's desired classes, and the final column lists their ideal level range.

If you find a party you'd like to join just double click to send an instant invite request (you can also select and click on the "join" button). At this point the party leader will have a chance to examine your request and decide if you are the missing piece to their puzzle. Don't fret though - you don't have to leave your fate in only one group's hands - you can send requests to as many groups as you think you'd be a good match for...beware however, you will get placed into the first party that accepts your request so don't send a request to a group you don't really want to join. Your LFM panel will highlight the groups you have requested an invite from. If they decline your request (their loss of course!) the panel will update to reflect this.

So head over to the official forums and check out the rest of the scoop and some screenshots of the new Social panel.