Parties, Raid Groups and the Group Finder

A party holds up to five characters who share a private group chat and experience and split the loot from defeated enemies. Anyone can start a party by inviting someone who is not already in one. The leader, marked with a small crown next to the portrait, can invite, remove and promote members and set the loot rules. If the leader leaves, a random member becomes the new leader.

• In a party made by the Dungeon Finder the leader is only a Party Guide: they cannot change the loot method or remove someone on their own.
• Parties of three to five players in the same area get bonus experience from kills, and the bonus grows with each extra member. Two-player parties get no bonus.

A raid group is made of up to 8 parties of 5, for up to 40 players, and is used for hard instances and PvP. The raid leader or an assistant invites you and the leader puts you in one of the parties. Everyone can talk in raid chat, and the leader and assistants can send raid warnings that appear in the middle of the screen. Unlike a party, logging out does not remove you from a raid.

In a raid group you get experience and loot only from your own party's actions, unless they come from a raid quest or a raid monster. Raid sizes, difficulties and lockouts are covered in Raids.

The Group Finder opens from a button on the micro menu at the bottom of the screen. It was added in patch 6.0.2 and brings the matchmaking tools together in these tabs:

The Dungeon Finder unlocks at level 15. It builds 5-player groups for Dungeons and Instances from players of many realms and then teleports everyone in. Choose your roles and either a random dungeon or specific ones; you can only queue for dungeons that match your level range and expansion. Random dungeons give extra rewards.

• If someone leaves, the leader is asked whether the tool should find a replacement.
• Players can be removed with a vote kick.
• Leaving, or being kicked, before a boss dies gives the Dungeon Deserter debuff: no Dungeon or Raid Finder for 30 minutes.
• You can teleport in and out when not in combat; walking out through the entrance takes you back to where you were before.
• Players from other realms can only trade rare or epic items that dropped in that dungeon, and conjured supplies.
• Call to Arms gives a bonus bag to players who queue alone in the role the queue needs most and finish the dungeon.

At launch there was only a LookingForGroup chat channel that was not shared between zones, so most players found groups through their guild, friends or whispers.