The Epic Grind
by Elizabeth Harper 
Feb 22nd 2006 at 12:45PM
So, you've finally gotten to level 60. Now what? Well, there are some resources to guide you along, but whatever your
direction, be prepared for a grind. Rewards for gaining reputation with the game's factions can be high, but the process for getting
them tends to involve the tedium of killing the same monsters or doing the same repeatable quest for days or weeks on
end. Collecting a new piece of powerful gear is always a thrill, but you may find yourself running through Upper
Blackrock Spire a hundred times without winning a roll on the item you seek. Even if you're in an end-game
raiding guild, the game can be a grind - running through Molten Core again and again for the low chance of a specific
item drop. And I can certainly say that after defeating Ragnaros a few dozen times it becomes less of an epic
struggle and more of an issue of "Drop my Choker of the Fire Lord
already!" Have you reached the point where the game is nothing but a grind yet, or do you still feel the
magic?Filed under: Analysis / Opinion
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
sinnh Feb 22nd 2006 4:47PM
Never liked the way raid drops work myself.
Something WoW did that was revolutionary for the beginning levels was making quests "group friendly". Everyone gets a "head" off the boss etc. They found good ways to make group efforts = group rewards.
Unfortunately they didn't follow through when it comes to raids.
For an effort so difficult for many guilds it seems odd that just 1 person is rewarded for what is 40 people's hard work.
I'd like to see raid level bosses drop gems that everyone can pick up. In on a raid and the boss dies? You get a gem. Period.
You could then go to special crafters or traders in the world who would have need of said gems and would be willing to trade you an epic of your choice for X number of them.
You'd still have to put in an effort to kill the boss a few times, but at least you'd know you were making progress and that after X # of times you'd actually have something to show for it.
I don't mind if there are still some boss drops that are random, but for sure some kind of reward needs to be given to EVERY PERSON IN THE RAID if they are successful.
This would really cut down on the greed factor also, and might even be a solution to finally rid ourselves of DKP.
elizabeth Feb 22nd 2006 4:54PM
As you briefly mention, Sinnh, raiding guilds tend to get around the 40-people's-work-for-one-person's-reward thing via DKP systems. DKP awards points for (usually) attending and participating in raids, and when something you want finally drops, you can spend your points to get it. This way, even if you don't walk out of the instance with loot, you walk out of the instance with points - which seems nice in theory.
But of course, DKP systems are run entirely by guilds, and some are fair, most are complicated, and some are just scams. Always read your guild's fine print..!
Arres Feb 22nd 2006 8:50PM
Keep in mind that when you complete an End Game Raid like Molten Core you have dropped around 10 Bosses that drop 1-4 Epic items each. That nets the raid as a whole somewhere around 20 EPIC items. That doesn't include the blues and other "junk" that drops. I wouldn't say those are bad odds personally.