Is raiding easier in WotLK?
Hmmm. This sounds a bit like elitist chest-thumping, but I'll try not to read between the lines too much. It's hard to talk about a typical hard-core raider, but a lot of them do their progression raiding (25 heroic Coliseum at the moment) on 3-4 nights a week, and spend other nights also doing the 10-player version or even going back to Ulduar to get a second hammer or whatever. I don't know very many progression-oriented players that breeze through the content and then log off.
I'd also put the complexity of fights like Yogg, Mimiron or the Twin Valkyr against any ever offered in the game. If it feels like you aren't struggling to learn these fights as much as you used to, then that's probably true: there are now many sources for videos and strategies that have become a lot more robust and user-friendly, as well as pretty sophisticated UI mods to help you track everything going on. The whole raiding community is just more well-connected than it was in the MC and BWL days. Many casual raiders could name a handful of cutting-edge guilds these days, which just didn't happen 4 years ago.
I don't think the server first folks are beating their heads against the content any less than they used to. What has changed is that the rest of us are able to follow in their footsteps a lot more easily now. Blizzard will definitely take some credit for letting a larger population of our player base to enjoy raiding. But I don't think the cutting edge folks are finding the cutting edge encounters any more trivial.
I have to agree - yes, some raids are easier (Naxxramas) but the wealth of information out there on how to down a boss helps a lot. On those occasions where we've decided to figure out a fight ourselves, we've struggled for a bit. The reward was always worth the pain.
Quote from: Vitandus on Tue, 2009-09-15 : 11:19
On those occasions where we've decided to figure out a fight ourselves, we've struggled for a bit. The reward was always worth the pain.
We may have struggled but at the same time its not a 3 month learning curve for some bosses like most of the 40 man raids were. We don't go in and only end up with at best a pair of boots and some bracers every week. Plus you get an ample supply of epic gear before and during actually raiding now. Back during the days of 40 man raids having epic items at all meant you were generally in one of the top guild on the server. You had to have a high degree of skill to get epics before, now you craft epics easily(you actually would have to have exulted rep from grinding before to get some fairly sub par epic recipes then actually farm an unreasonable amount of mats to make it) and free epics from 5-mans if you played back during original you know these are free, badges give you more free epics. The videos that are out there make taking the information in easy but the information was still out there. The only major change that occurred, at least for me, that is related to addons is vent is more commonly used, I never used vent for any raid until well into BC.
That is true - they did significantly ease the move into raiding. I think the barrier to entry for Karazahn was worse than Molten Core - both were significant in comparison to Naxxramas.
one big thing people forget when they say new content is easy or old content was harder is that the itemization for the vanilla stuff sucked dick. im talking huge black jail dick.
Quote from: tulion on Tue, 2009-09-15 : 20:23
one big thing people forget when they say new content is easy or old content was harder is that the itemization for the vanilla stuff sucked dick. im talking huge black jail dick.
Spirit on Giantstalker gear? JUST WHAT THE HUNTERS NEED!
Quote from: Skippy on Tue, 2009-09-15 : 21:23
Quote from: tulion on Tue, 2009-09-15 : 20:23
one big thing people forget when they say new content is easy or old content was harder is that the itemization for the vanilla stuff sucked dick. im talking huge black jail dick.
Spirit on Giantstalker gear? JUST WHAT THE HUNTERS NEED!
dev1: ZOMG SPIRIT ON ROGUE GEERZ LOL WE SHURE SHOWED THEM WOW PLAYERZ HAHAHA
dev2: Wait... rogues dont use spirit?
Quote from: Vitandus on Tue, 2009-09-15 : 12:49
That is true - they did significantly ease the move into raiding. I think the barrier to entry for Karazahn was worse than Molten Core - both were significant in comparison to Naxxramas.
That was only because the attunement was annoying and involved multiple 5 mans. The attunements for SSC, TK, BT and MH originally were even more annoying. Especially getting it for 25 people with limited healers and tanks when the heroics were just nasty and annoying. People were getting welfare epics instead of raiding. Thus, they nixed the attunements to get more people into raiding.
Currently, raiding is very accessible. Not the same as "easy", though. A lot of raids are really easy in comparison to previous ones. Naxx is now a joke compared to what it was originally. Faceroll easy since Wrath came out. Between Naxx, Maly, and Sarth, the only real challenge was Sarth 3D. And that challenge was 90% getting people to avoid zones and waves. Ulduar is harder, but still not that hard aside from the hard modes. Honestly, the hard modes are not that hard really. It's just tightening up the strat and paying attention. Aside from a couple things, none are a total new strat. TotGC seems so far to just be a gear check with the typical skill compensation required if not quite there.
40 mans had much more of an epic feel to them and required more strategy and coordination, but less individual responsibility (WoW requires no real "skill", IMO). Aside from pre-nerf Illidan and Yogg, nothing has been as satisfying as downing the bosses in BWL, AQ40, and the original Naxx to me. I don't think anyone who took down, at level 60, Nef, Chromag, and Twin Emps would really compare the strategy and coordination required with anything in the current tier. It's simply less complicated.
Quote from: One Ear on Wed, 2009-09-16 : 09:41(WoW requires no real "skill", IMO).
So, that means that I really REALLY suck at this game. Not even suck like a Dyson, but like Pam Anderson on Tommy Lee suck... or "Ib reabby sub ab dib gabe"