Breakfast Topic: What was your first raid experience?
by Jason Christ 
Sep 24th 2011 at 8:00AM
After reaching max level for the first time in Wrath of the Lich King, I started to really enjoy heroic 5-man dungeons. I'd heard of raids and seen them forming in trade chat, but I was terrified to try my hand at them. I was tanking the 5-mans, and while they were generally pretty easy, I didn't like the thought that my performance as a tank could make or break a run for others.
Finally, after gathering enough gear, I applied to an ad for the weekly raid quest to kill Lord Marrowgar. We zoned in and the other tank started pulling the opening trash. I wasn't sure what exactly to do, so I just hung near him and tried to attack what he did. Then I was asked to make a pull. Having recently facerolled several heroics, I threw my Avenger's Shield into some mobs and charged in. I quickly discovered that this trash was not the same as 5-man trash.
After being kicked from the raid, I licked my wounds until the expansion was in its waning days. Eventually, I joined another guild's raid and made it all the way to tank the Lich King himself. I didn't get the kill, but I discovered that raiding could be fun. Along the way, I found a new guild to call home.
So what was your first raid experience? What were you feeling when you first stepped into the raid? How did it go? Did it make you invest in raiding more heavily or dissuade you from doing it ever again?
Filed under: Breakfast Topics, Guest Posts
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
Strawder Sep 24th 2011 8:02AM
It hasn't happened yet.... unless you count the old ones that I solo.
Stonebeard Sep 24th 2011 9:17AM
Same here. I never hit max level with my old hunter until near the end of BC. I was waiting on a 10-man BT pug to form, and after an hour and a half of waiting on the prima dona tank, it sorta fell apart.
I actually stepped foot inside the Vault of Archevon once, but after the first fight, the main tank bailed, and the offtank was not up to par.
So that's all my raiding experience... I switched to tanking in Cata by he way. :)
EVOXPISCES Sep 24th 2011 1:42PM
Same. Although I plan to put the new Raid Finder to use.
Sergel Sep 24th 2011 2:00PM
Same. Actually i raided Sunwell & Black Temple, but that was with a group of 85's.
Otherwise, I never finished a raid
ElrithCC Sep 24th 2011 8:04AM
A bunch of us early level 60s formed a raid for Stratholme before the nerf. Later, the Scholomance.
I was on a dial up in those days, so it didn't go so well, even being dps.
Eventually I got invited by some friends to a Molten Core run, and packed up my PC and drove 20 miles to a friends house with broadband. Got my first epic that night, the Obsidian Edged Blade.
avgjoe Sep 24th 2011 8:05PM
i thought i was going to be the only one who said strat. 40 people with greens with no shoulders and the only trinkets people had were carrot on a stick. 5 people of your class rolling on your rare set, wannabe ferals rolling on rogue stuff, cloth ninjas. i remember when they made it 10 man and then eventually 5 thinking how difficult it would be. as far as mc i remember before the attunement we would spend an hour just getting to molten core. even if tier 13 is raid only it couldnt be as bad as seeing wildheart cowl drop once in 20 runs only to lose a roll to 5 other druids.
Garruk Sep 24th 2011 8:11AM
First raiding experience was way back in Molten Core. I had gotten into my guild because a rl friend was in it and they had just officially declared MC to be on farm. Went along on my hunter, fully decked in the best gear that I could get my hands on before raiding(which didn't say much in vanilla). It was a pretty clean run, as was to be expected, only dying on Garr because of stupidity. Was a great raid, even though I didn't win a thing.
Darkfreak Sep 24th 2011 8:12AM
Prince Malchezaar. Wrath had already hit but I didn't have yet, so when I saw they needed a dps for the end boss of Kara, I figured I might as well go. I got the dagger.
Donhorn Sep 24th 2011 8:20AM
I hit 80 right about the time that the Ony revamp was done. That was pretty much the only thing I could get through as a Boomkin sporting 2k+ latency, I knew of the other raids but didn't want to mess with them. I don't fully remember the first time in Ony, but I do know she holds quite a few special raid firsts for me. She was the first level appropriate raid I ever did, she later became the first raid I led, and more recently on my Priest she was the first raid healed (but that was more a rolfstomp than a real healing challenge).
Jill Sep 24th 2011 8:23AM
I only started in Cata, so my first raid experience was bring called into my guild's 10-man team as a dps (they were short one) for Nefarian and his sister because they needed a kiter and interrupter. I was really nervous about the whole ordeal, hoping that my performance would be adequate enough. Of course, I screwed up a few times, but they were really patient with me. That evening, my guild downed him for the very first time. I actually got promoted to be part of the raid team that evening as afterwards, and eventually I started tanking for the team. ^^ I love every minute of it!
Harain Sep 24th 2011 8:24AM
Hmmm, Probably 10man Stratholme, or maybe UBRS (or LBRS) , I cant remember.
nubcake Sep 24th 2011 8:28AM
My first raid experience was officially ICC, and in training my guild used Zul'Farak. I was scared and amazed at the same time of what the group did. I was told, just stand back and shoot what the tank shoots..."ok?!" I had no knowledge of what "scull, x, square" meant, what aggro was, or that if I shot off target I would die! I learned a lot that day. Then Naxx came, no one would take me with them because my gear score wasnt good enough, so I waited and kept workin on my gear while the others bragged. One day I got into ICC finally, super scared that I would wipe us and stoked that I could finally show off my madd skillz. It was an amazing moment to me to see the team work and cooperation it took out of 25 people to even kill trash! Then we got to Lord Marrowgar.... yep I stood in the (blue) fire, spent the fight dead. But it was alllll over then. I just HAD to raid from that moment on. The incredible itch to raid still burns to this day as I now push my way into the Firelands and top the dps meters and really show off some madd skillz!!
Noyou Sep 24th 2011 8:30AM
The Obsidian Sanctum. I think 25 man. A guildy that was fond of dragging me with to run me thru dungeons and heroics was now dragging me through my first raid. I was petrified to say the least. I had a tank spec (LOL) and some tank gear (GTFO) and maybe was enchanted a little? Oh, who am I kidding, I was probably a mess. I didn't do much more than follow other people around and try to stay alive. Oddly enough it was kind of fun and exciting. I still have a fond place in my heart for OS and probably always will ;)
raymondmcneill Sep 24th 2011 8:33AM
Kara. Like many other BC babies, I never got further than Kara, both in game, and mentally. I love that raid. My guild were farming it pretty reasonably by the end of TBC, and i had yet to reach 70, as soon as I did, they threw my a pity invite.
I had literally never set food in a raid, was geared in greens and quest blues, not an epic in sight. But I read up. Came with food, scrolls, enchanted my gear as best I could, I socketed gems. I even studied tactics. Result? my little fail hunter topping the charts for several of the bosses. Full clear on continuation night, I still farm that place most weeks.
Finally got my mount last week off Attumen, hurrah!
Eddison Sep 24th 2011 9:31AM
My first raid was also Kara, but I hadn't read up on boss fights, brought scrolls, and only had health potions. I had no idea what I was getting into.
And I got one-shot on the first pull by one of the spectral horses.
It's hilarious now, but I seriously wanted to drop raid in embarrassment. D: I was convinced to stick it out, and then I joined a weekly pug of Kara, which led to ZA, which became a raiding guild. I'm glad I stayed in raid. :)
Kylenne Sep 24th 2011 12:24PM
My first raid was also Kara, though I progressed further than that.
The old fart in me looks at Wrath kids much the same way I look at kids born in the 90s though. Like, shouldn't you guys still be in diapers or something? ;) (And I'm sure we BC kids seem the same way to vanilla kids)
Allin Sep 24th 2011 2:16PM
Kara here as well! My IRL friend used to raid fulltime and he always talked me into the guild he was in. One day they didn't have an offtank and I signed up. Brought my laptop to my friend and he basically talked me through all the fights. Worked my way with my own guild through Gruul and Maggy post-nerf, finishing BC farming ZA.
During Wrath I did all the raids, but mainly pugged them. Ended ICC 9/11, with some heroic bosses.
Unfortunately haven't had the time to really finish any raid in Cat.
Ramses Sep 24th 2011 8:37AM
I've solo'd up through karazhan and magtheridon.
However, my first raid experience was in Naxxaramus in Dragonblight. Two of my friends have been avid raiders since vanilla, being part of the AQ40 generation. Their guild had broken up at the end of BC and we all transferred together and formed a small little guild. When the time came, we started working on naxx. I didn't do well. With my whopping 800 dps, I was at the bottom of the pack. But we down all of the first quarter and up to the instructor in the second quarter.
They said I was doing well. I required very little healing, I knew not to stand in things, and I was in position. But they told me this isn't pvp. I was geared and thinking in terms of survival. You have to think in terms of damage.
Anyway, I enjoyed it. Makes me wish I kept all those pictures of the bosses we down in the first quarter that night. It was a fun experience. I liked being with my friends and downing bosses. But, I came to a conclusion that night. I don't want to invest the time it takes to raid. I have since stuck to my PVP and cleaning out old bosses for mounts. In the beginning of cataclysm we went back and did retro-raids on friday nights. That was fun and required little to no ramp up time/consumable time. We've since gone back to our battleground ways and done zero of the cat raids.
Raiding is fun when you have the right group. But it requires a personal investment of time and preparation that I don't have. I have just as much fun with my friends defending a flag from wave after wave of "pvp trash". We have fun in our own way.
Xantenise Sep 24th 2011 8:40AM
I vaguely recollect LBRS being my first raid in either vanilla or early BC, but I can't remember enough to talk about it. ZG came after, but I can't remember that either.
What I CAN remember is my third raid, Kara. I hadn't even geared up for heroics on my warlock, but they let me come along anyway, and I got a wand and another piece of gear I can't remember out of it, so I was happy! We downed Prince over the weekend. It was nerve-wracking, but so fun to come along.
Jason Sep 24th 2011 8:41AM
Karazhan. My guild decided to start raiding towards the end of BC, so we cobbled together a group of guildies, farmed heroic BC dungeons for loot and then worked our way thru the instance from Horseman to Prince Malchezzar. It was and still is my favorite raid instance.