After a few months live, heroics don't seem challenging to the experienced player. They are still a challenge and I still consider them heroic, even though I run them 14 - 21 times per week (don't always get the hunter in there). When the heroics first came out - and I'm thinking particularly of ZA and ZG - PuGs and even guild runs were brutal! Oy! the shouting, the kicking and the screaming! ZA and ZG were 2 and 3 hour commitments of face desking frustration and head phone flinging fury! Now, the "bear runs" in ZG are the norm where they used to be an epic accomplishment.

We've done them a lot of times - we've seen the fight on normal (excepting the Dragon Soul heroics and ZA/ZG) and after 85 levels (30 if you are a death knight), we are very familiar with our class and role. Most PuG players are geared in Firelands, or other raid tier gear and so they can stand in the fire a second longer without disaster than when the content first went live. For the "new" player, or player new to heroic level five man content, they are still very challenging, particularly for those gearing up a new class or role. And, contrary to what the doom sayers tell you, there are still people - a lot of people - who have not been pushing the same set of buttons for five years or more. I celebrated my sixth year of WoW this summer. That's longer than I went to college! I, and a lot of other veteran players have a wide frame of reference and experience when approaching heroic level content. We know the tricks that make it seem easier and maybe even make it look easier. Doesn't mean it's not challenging for everyone.