Help Understand Low-level Roulette

so something that really ate me up in the past. and i thought maybe just my imagination. but since ROG/NIN was implemented i was able to really put it to the test.

now everyday for leveling the thing i would always use low-level roulette at least once. it gives a good bonus for completion. and that with your daily rest EXP is nice. i never once seen a queue time less then "More then 30 minutes". never... however at the same time i could use a Lv50 MNK or DRG and it would say on average 11~15minuites for every attempt.

did the same thing at NIN lv49. it said more then 30 minutes. and the very moment i got Lv50 i checked it again. and guess what? it said 16minutes.

i have also noticed other things. like when you are low level and queue a dungeon like Stone Vigil it will usually say something around 20minutes. and that's what i did. i queued Stone Vigil by itself and it said 22minutes. but when immediately trying low-level roulette it said more then 30minutes. i went back to Stone Vigil and it still said 22minutes.


in any case, there's a lot i don't understand. but the biggest thing is is how it gives lv50's such a drastic reduction in matchmaking times over anyone not level 50. how come?

When you're level 50 you can be matched into any dungeon, so the pool of options is wider. When you're lower level, there will be dungeons you can't run because you aren't high enough level, so less options.

One thing I also do not understand is why Toto-rak is chosen over any other dungeons like 90% of the time.

When I was leveling ROG/NIN, it put me there many many times, just like when I leveled pretty much all other classes.

I could understand that this would happen because a tank, healer or dps queued specifically for this dungeon and I got matched to their party. This seemed to be the case quite a few times.

However, at some points I was in a party with players who were level 40+ (and so was I); once I had everyone at 50 except me (40+).

I asked them if any of them had queued specifically for this dungeon, for Atma books or whatever reason, and they said "nope" .

So... WHY SO MUCH Toto-rak?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SummonerSenah

When you're level 50 you can be matched into any dungeon, so the pool of options is wider. When you're lower level, there will be dungeons you can't run because you aren't high enough level, so less options.

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That still doesn't explain why TC was level 49 and had an average wait time of over 30 minutes.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by aerolol

One thing I also do not understand is why Toto-rak is chosen over any other dungeons like 90% of the time.

When I was leveling ROG/NIN, it put me there many many times, just like when I leveled pretty much all other classes.

I could understand that this would happen because a tank, healer or dps queued specifically for this dungeon and I got matched to their party. This seemed to be the case quite a few times.

However, at some points I was in a party with players who were level 40+ (and so was I); once I had everyone at 50 except me (40+).

I asked them if any of them had queued specifically for this dungeon, for Atma books or whatever reason, and they said "nope" .

So... WHY SO MUCH Toto-rak?

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i have noticed this too. The Thousand Maws of Toto-rak is very common dungeon through the roulette. i have no clue why. but i almost always get that dungeon. either while leveling or even using a lv50 tank or healer. is so strange. there must be a reason.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SummonerSenah

When you're level 50 you can be matched into any dungeon, so the pool of options is wider. When you're lower level, there will be dungeons you can't run because you aren't high enough level, so less options.

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and the same thing should apply when lv49 and queuing in to the low-level roulette. you have access to all dungeons below lv50.








in any case, i just don't understand why this is so. i mean one could argue they are lv50's and want to get in and out and just move on with other daily tasks. but at the same time lv50's have far more things opened up to them then those below level 50. so such a reason wouldn't be fair for low levels who need the gear and EXP.

maybe someone will have an idea as of to why this is like this. or maybe an official statement explaining it.

There are a lot of factors that go into the DF's party set-up AI. There is actually a hierarchy system which you can use to your advantage to get faster queues.

The first thing it does is look at your role, which is given top priority. If a certain role (DPS, Healer, Tank) is needed in one place more than another, the DF automatically tries to pump those roles into their most-needed locations.
Next the DF looks at each role breakdown. As you know, the DF will try to optimize part compositions as much as possible given the players queued. For example, the DF tries to put together the following jobs for a full party set-up.

1 PLD
1 WAR
1 WHM
1 SCH
2 Melee DPS
2 Ranged DPS

In order to optimize party composition further, it will try to make sure there are no duplicates of any class/job so that the Limit Break gauge isn't hindered. This doesn't affect tanks or healers currently since there are only 2 of each, but for DPS it can create a difference in queue times quite drastically. For instance, the number of ROG/NIN currently using the DF will be higher than normal given that it was just released. There are more than enough ROG/NIN to have them fill all the DPS slots, but the DF doesn't WANT this outcome. After one of the many ROG/NIN are chosen, the DF will then attempt to find 1 Melee DPS that's either a MNK or DRG, and 2 Ranged DPS that are either BRD, SMN, BLM. Now if the DF fails to create the ideal party composition, only then does it start doubling up on classes/jobs. However, because there is an over-abundance of ROG/NIN currently floating around, their position in the party hierarchy is at the lowest in the eyes of the DF. This means that, assuming everything else equal, a MNK or DRG will have a shorter queue time than a NIN, and that BRD, BLM, and SMN would have shorter queue times than any melee DPS. Of course not everything is equal because more players prefer some classes over others (there are a ton more BRDs than most other jobs which skews queue times a bit as well for all jobs).

I'm not going to go into every detail because there are a LOT of factors for the DF's decision-making process. It's not necessarily level 50's getting priority, it could very well be timing. A MNK or DRG would naturally have a much shorter queue than a NIN right now, regardless that they were level 50.

According to friends/family + personal experience, here's a listing of all jobs rated according to general queue times (lower numbers having shortest wait). Most of these were judged during peak hours (4-9pm PST) so things may vary if you play late night or early morning. Things will change as people cap NIN and stop queuing with it as well.
1. WAR/PLD (almost instant for each, difference is negligible)
3. SCH
4. WHM
5. MNK
6. SMN
7. DRG
8. BLM
9. NIN
10. BRD

It's possible that Tam-tara is the default dungeon if it pairs you up with 3 other people that did Low level Roulette instead of pairing with (at least) one person who chose a specific dungeon.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Velox

According to friends/family + personal experience, here's a listing of all jobs rated according to general queue times (lower numbers having shortest wait). Most of these were judged during peak hours (4-9pm PST) so things may vary if you play late night or early morning. Things will change as people cap NIN and stop queuing with it as well.
1. WAR/PLD (almost instant for each, difference is negligible)
3. SCH
4. WHM
5. MNK
6. SMN
7. DRG
8. BLM
9. NIN
10. BRD

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I almost always get 5-6 mins q's on DRG and MNK.. BRD, SMN, BLM (in my experience) take the longest to q for a dungeon/trial (like 11-16 mins avg). Nice explanation btw :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by whiskeybravo

I almost always get 5-6 mins q's on DRG and MNK.. BRD, SMN, BLM (in my experience) take the longest to q for a dungeon/trial (like 11-16 mins avg). Nice explanation btw :)

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This is true. Like I said, theoretically ranged DPS classes should have shorter wait times, but what messes this up is that there are a LOT more people playing ranged DPS than melee DPS overall. Much of this is attributed to ease-of-play. Ranged DPS classes tend to be easier to play than melee (SMN is an exception) due to not having as complex rotations or positional requirements. They are also the safer classes to play, allowing for more mobility and less risk of dying to enemy-centered AoEs (there are a lot of enemies that cast AoEs around them). Before NIN was released, a HUGE portion of the playerbase was playing BLM and BRD, giving them the longest queue times. Once the level of NIN players starts dropping it will return to that trend until 3.0 mixes things up with all the new classes/jobs they will be adding.

It's kinda funny how people get the same things as i do with so much Tam-Tara and Toto-Rak i figured it was just a healer thing like DPS like running them for some reason. Now and again i get Ifrit NM or Titan NM which are great because they take like 4-5 minutes max. Wish it'd put me into some more fun stuff like Cutter's Cry now and again. I hate Toto-Rak especially it's so dull.