Why do we raid?
by Amanda Rivera 
Jul 3rd 2007 at 4:12PM
It's a question that comes up more and more as I talk to my friends in the game. Why do we raid? The topic comes fairly close to home because I am in a situation where raiding is not quite on the horizon. Sure we have our Kara keys, but the coordination of an actual run has been far from successful. In addition to whatever challenges we have in my guild, there is the fact of my class. I am a mage, and currently the best gear I can reasonably attain is crafted, not found in an instance. So why am I pushing to raid Karazhan when I can get gear made that is better than what I'll find? Quite simply put, I want to know.
I want to know what it is like to experience the instance. The more I see of the Warcraft universe, the more I come to appreciate the complex beauty of it as a whole, with rich and deeply laid foundations of story and lore that intrigue me. If the game were a novel (and I've read the novels too, this is just a metaphor) I would sit down at the beginning and read until the end. Raiding is the climax to the story as it has been told, since the pivotal plot points are told in the raid instances. It is in Mount Hyjal that players finally face Archimonde, and in the Black Temple where they can best Illidan, providing they are uber uber leet. In order to read to the end of the story, you must raid.
I guess what I'm saying is that I want to raid not only for the chance for sweet gear, and I'm sure there is some still out there for me, if only in the form of weapons. I want to raid because of experience itself. But many are disillusioned with the game since TBC, and some say raiding is broken. Why still do players charge out into the 25-man instances, if they feel that the accomplishment has lost its grandeur despite the game elements becomin more difficult to overcome? Why do we raid?
[via James]
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Raiding
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Freehugz Jul 3rd 2007 4:17PM
Cuz once you start raiding, all the other content is just.... bleh
Prester John Jul 3rd 2007 4:23PM
'cause hours spent farming, DKP-related guild drama, and wipefests are AWESOME!!!
oh, wait...
Yeah, why do we do this? :p
Cascade Jul 3rd 2007 4:30PM
If this was a novel.....did you skip that long Naxx chapter like everyone else ??
Seper Jul 3rd 2007 4:32PM
On this note..
I think to myself every so often.. Why do i roll alts? Granted its a different experience.. but ill be rolling for different loots... thats about it. Ive already gotten a character to 70. Not like anything will be different. Instead of spamming heals.. ill be spamming fireballs.
I raid for fun and for a challenge. I like to accomplish things with my time and WoW is very good at filling that need.
I dont care if I get any epic lootz. Its some virtual item. Am I happy when I get one? Sure of course I am. But my guild is hating me right now.. cause I got really lucky in the 1st few weeks. Druid healing gear fell from everyone. So now i'm expected to go to every raid even when i'm in no mood to. *sighs*
Sergio Jul 3rd 2007 4:44PM
There is still some gear in Kara that will fill your other, non-crafted slots. I passed on the majority of items in Kara until other people had their fill simply because I had spellstrike/fire sets, but that didn't mean I didn't pick up some sweet pieces for my other slots.
meanymidget Jul 3rd 2007 4:59PM
i quit raiding because it just wasnt fun anymore just sitting there as a fire mage hitting 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 2...got very boring after a while however arenas and bgs are unbelievably fun
Preston Jul 3rd 2007 5:27PM
Raiding is boring and on its way out. People are doing PvP in the Arena now because it's more fun than spending hours every night in some cave trying to get +35 Random Purple Thingie.
I predict (or hope) that World of Warcraft 2 will focus even less on raiding and more on world questing and user-driven content and storylines, so that you don't have to constantly level and/or acquire new gear to feel like you're progressing in the game world. Frankly, raiding takes too much time if you're someone who has a real life that's more interesting or someone who just doesn't feel like committing themselves for that many hours to one game when there are plenty of other games to play.
Quoi Jul 3rd 2007 5:36PM
@7
Anecdote =/= fact.
It's something many people need to understand.
I raid cause I like it. I like being in a group with 9 other people, screwing around and blowing stuff up.
Rudi Jul 3rd 2007 5:43PM
I raid for fun. Example:
Last night my guild is doing Gruul's. We're fighting Gruul for like the 3rd time and nobody really knows what they're doing. After the first wipe one of our Pallies accidentally res-es someone too close to Gruul; the gate comes down, trapping half of us inside with Gruul and the other half (including myself and another mage) outside. As TS fills with yelling and cursing the two of us walk up to the closed gate and start taunting the folks trapped inside with Gruul. Much to our surprise after he finishes the group inside he pushes the gate open and one-shots each of us in turn, provoking much laughter on everyone's part.
Should most of the folks in the raid have been better served loot-wise to have been spending their time running heroics, crafting items, or doing PvP? Yes, of course. But we were doing it because the content is challenging and the sense of accomplishment is greater due to the grander scale. I added Tailoring after TBC came out, finished up my Spellfire/Spellstrike sets, got exalted HH, etc, etc, but taking down Maulgar for the first time is probably the highlight of TBC for me (certainly more memorable than dinging 375 Tailor).
dang Jul 3rd 2007 5:50PM
I like raiding because of the all you can eat taco buffet afterwards.
MMMMMM tacos!
Gazoo Jul 3rd 2007 6:02PM
Raiding is anything but boring, and anyone who goes into a raid and presses 1,2,1,2 does not belong there anyway. If you do not bring attention to detail and the ability to adapt to unforeseen circumstances in a split second, then you are not raiding material.
I love the challenges, I love the fellowship, I love working together with others to achieve goals within the game. Loot is secondary... it is a nice little pat on the back when we down a boss.
In each and every encounter, each and every time you go into a raid instance you face the possibility that you could fail if every raid member is not on his toes... if you are sleeping, or simply pressing 1,2,1,2 you will cost the people you are with a lot of time and wasted effort (and gold).
Raiding is the win...:)
Mathi Jul 3rd 2007 6:14PM
In response to the question "Why raid?" I answer "Why not raid?".
TV and books are relaxing, but not interactive. Raiding (and gaming in general) gives a sense of progression while you are acting out your 'story' (to continue the novel metaphor).
Who said you can't have a life? Plenty of people with a life watch TV or read to relax for 3-4 hours a night. Ditch that and you have raid time.
makabak Jul 3rd 2007 7:10PM
I enjoy raiding. Granted, MC farm runs and BWL frustration runs sucked, but there's something in raiding that you can't get anywhere IRL: coordination of large groups of people. Where else do you get 10, 25, even 40 people all working in concert to pull something off?
I think it's pretty cool, myself.
Hermandous Jul 3rd 2007 7:28PM
I think raiding takes a great deal of coordination, dedication, and a real shared desire to progress with a group of people through initially very difficult circumstances.
I personally get the most gratification out of successfully pulling together as a team, approaching the raid as an organized unit, and effectively clearing through all of the complicated obstacles.
It's something that you can actually apply to working in a team environment outside of the game (especially, in my case, as a programmer; where many of the same principals in raiding apply). As well, learning the same skills in real life can also apply to raiding. It's a different kind of team experience than a big PvP run, or a tactical FPS like Counterstrike - since it requires higher levels of concentration which draws on communication, organization, experience, as well as reflexes.
Rich Jul 3rd 2007 10:35PM
Some people raid for the fun, others for the challenge, others to stroke their e-peen.
Preston Jul 3rd 2007 11:06PM
7:
It's not anecdote, it's fact. Blizzard is toning down raiding, first by ending the big 40-mans to tuning down the difficulty level of existing raids. They're even chopping out attunements now. They realized this game was heading toward the same fate as Everquest, that of a game with all the best content only available to those who spend unhealthy amounts of time in front of a computer pressing little action bar buttons--driving away all the normal humans.
15:
But what we can all agree on is that raiding takes far too much of your time if you're not a supernerd who basically lives his or her life in World of Warcraft. PvP is so much more interesting and takes so much more skill, it's not even funny. You can't emulate real human intelligence in some boring trash mob.
Frankly, World of Warcraft isn't that good enough of a game to warrant so many hours spent in it. Some people get obsessed with increasing little numbers on their character sheet and lose track of what "fun" is supposed to be.
andrea Jul 4th 2007 12:19AM
All I have to contribute to this, is that if you are in a guild you don't like, it can certainly give you an unfavorable view of the raiding scene. I like to do it, but I don't like doing it with people who behave as if they are robots and do not enjoy one another. I dislike guilds that treat their members as if they are their filler. It seems like most raiding guilds are exactly this way.
I found new hope by leaving my PVE server and rerolling on a PVP RP server, where conversation seems a little more likely, and racing to a world first is not.
Wxndy Jul 4th 2007 8:47AM
I L O V E raiding!!
Be in an instance with my friends getting some bosses down. It is awesome :D
It's the challenge and just the fun with my friends.I look forward to it! It's almost saterday... :)