Blizzard has announced some changes to the dungeon finder adding incentives and rewards for certain class types.
With the forthcoming 4.1 patch Blizzard will add in a 'Call to Arms' feature to the dungeon finder in hopes of alleviating or reducing the amount of time players spend in queue for random heroics. DPS classes see the worst queue times with a time of usually 30-45 minutes before getting into a dungeon (times of course vary region to region and server to server).
When there is a need for a class type (tank, healer, dps) there will be a 'call to arms' option in the looking for group tool and offer incentives for the needed classes. These players will receive a bag of loot containing gold, a chance at a rare gem, flask/elixir, a non-combat pet, and a possible rare mount if they complete a dungeon (defeating the final boss of a dungeon). There is also no daily limit on the amount of times you can queue through the call for arms system and receive the rewards.
This system is meant to address the unacceptable queue times currently being experienced by those that queue for the DPS role at max level. The long queue times are, of course, caused by a very simple lack of representation in the Dungeon Finder by tanks, and to some extent healers. We don't feel the tanking and healing roles have any inherent issues that are causing the representation disparity, except that fulfilling them carries more responsibility. Understandably, players prefer to take on that responsibility in more organized situations than what the Dungeon Finder offers, but perhaps we can bribe them a little. While this system gives tanks and healers something extra, the incentive is being provided so that we can help players in the DPS role get into more dungeons, get better gear, and continue progressing.
This should hopefully lessen the queue times for DPS, but I'm not sure about the longterm effects for the random dungeons. The incentives are really huge, but I don't think DPS classes will ever be able to rep the rewards of the system as DPS is almost never in high demand.
Let us know your thoughts below and if this is a feature you will be taking advantage of.
Links
World of WarCraft Community Site - Source
