I get what they were trying to do with the Rise of the Zandalari. They wanted the sense of progression in the 5-mans, like how we did in raids (progress through tier 11, 12, etc.). This didn't quite work out, because running the same 2 instances 7 times isn't exactly exciting or dynamic.

It should have been done like the ICC heroics, where Forge of Souls, Pit of Saron, and Halls of Reflection weren't exclusive from the other heroics, but still enforced an iLevel requirement. Choosing just the Zandalaris randomly could be kept in, with the same rewards. It had the sense of progression for those who followed the storyline, you went from the Forge of Souls, into the Pit of Saron (though the layout didn't quite make sense), and deep into the Halls of Reflection to strike a blow against the Lich King. HoR was unmistakably the most difficult of the 5-man heroics, and really capped off the 5-mans, even if it was Hell.

Blizzard isn't using the 5-man group medium to its full effect, and I think that leads to a lot of stale content as the 5-mans are all the same after a while (trash, boss, trash, bos, ad nauseum). 5-mans can be more than just a starting point for gearing for raids. I think some 5-mans should be an alternate, and separate, route for advancement from raids, and provide a different storyline, which may or may not complement the raid's storyline. Even if eldritch abominations are confronted in raids, there are still smaller villains and that could still have massive consequences, which can be defeated in 5-mans. While many players just want to blaze through heroics, I have a feeling a good number will take notice of a good, fun storyline with suitably epic encounters, even if not in a raid setting.

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