Leo 'Ransroth' Zelevinsky of Turbine has posted an in-depth developer post on the upcoming Instance Finder, implemented in The Lord of the Rings Online in Content Update 5.
The Instance Finder is designed to help players find instance parties, as well as reward them for taking part in the process. Finding and completing instanced content with the tool will grant you in-game currency which can be used for new gear for your character. The Instance Finder is a pretty significant update to the Lord of the Rings Online, so thankfully Ransroth is there to offer an incredibly in-depth Q&A answering any questions, prospective Instance Finder-users may have.
Take a look at a snippet below:
Instance Finder, a new feature in Update 5, is a tool to both help find groups to run instances and provide rewards for playing random content. You can use it to join instances with your friends (much like Instance Join) or to find new friends to fill a Fellowship. When you are put into an instance by Instance Finder, you will earn more of our new Instance Currency (Marks/Medallions/Seals), and have a small power and morale buff. In the near future (likely for Update 6), we plan to allow you to further customize your "random" experience by opting out of instances you'd rather not play.
I decided to organize the rest of the Dev Diary as a Question and Answer session, where I make up questions and then answer them.
Q: How do I get to the Instance Finder panel?
A: Shift-F is the default keyboard shortcut for it, or you can use the Main Menu to select the Instance Finder item.
Q: I open my main menu but I don't see the Instance Finder Item, and hitting Shift-F doesn't do anything. What gives?
A: You have to be at least level 20 to use Instance Finder.
Q: Why are some roles grayed out?
A: For each class, our system design team has decided what roles they think that class should be able to select, and the other roles are grayed out. For example, the screenshots above could be from a Rune-Keeper.
Q: How do I use Instance Finder to get matched up for a 6-man Tier 1 skirmish?
A: Open the panel by hitting Shift-F or using the Main Menu. Select the roles you are interested/able to perform in a Fellowship at the top of the panel. Select only the "Skirmish" button on the left, only the "6" button in the middle, and only the Tier I on the right. Once all of your choices are locked in, click on the "Join" button. The Instance Finder will go to work trying to find a group and a skirmish for you.
The full Q&A comprises a massive list of questions and includes some handy screenshots of the tool itself, as well. Check it all out at http://www.lotro.com/ and get ready for Content Update 5!
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