[...] players very anxious to post without fear of the NDA hammer falling, speculation, discussion, and talks about the raiding end-game changes have been making their rounds. As an ardent 25-man raider (I do [...]

[...] I really liked Keeva’s take on the 10-man / 25-man raid changes planned for Cataclysm. I liked the positivity of it, especially [...]

What motivates me is the challenge of getting 25 people together, helping them become a good team, and have the satisfaction of getting through content with them.

As much as I enjoy that challenge, helping organize and run 25 man raids can be like herding cats at times, and I’m allergic to cats. O_o So, that brings me to 10 mans…

I truly enjoy the dynamic and focus of a good 10 man group. The way I approach the fights is different and it’s a lot less stressful. At least, it’s less stressful for me.

That being said, I’m in a 25 man guild, and I do enjoy helping 24 other people raid and have fun. But, 10 man raiding is like meatloaf and mashed potatoes — a nice comforting dish.

Hmmm. That reminds me, I skipped dinner.

I was always afraid to pug with people I didn’t know..afraid of messin’ up and causing wipes but as I got more confident with my toon I became more comfortable pugging and doing it at my leisure during the week.
Cathy´s last blog ..Loving Defense in AV

Lets say there are two raiding formats from your perspective.

Format A is a 10man sizes, lesser gear rewards, few if any friends, and a bad schedule, and less competetion.

Format B is a 25man size, greater gear rewards, more friends, better schedule, and more competetion.

These are your two choices. Choosing B doesn’t mean B is the perfect format for you. I’m sure that if blizzard came to and said “Keeva, we would like you to create a format C” you would come up with something different.

Judging from you post Format C would have a 10man size, greater gear rewards, more friends, better schedule and less competetion. But that’s not an option so you have to choose which options fits your nees better.

It sounds like Greater gear, more Friends, and better schedule are the most important aspects for you. Therefore you sacrifice your more desired raid size. In short, your a format B raider eventhough you prefer the 10man raid size.

So many people are looking at enjoyment as a binary test. You either enjoy yourself or you don’t. That’s not true. The formats are a sum of their parts. I could enjoy my time in a 10man guild, but I can enjoy myself more in a 25man guild. And eventhough I love my current guild I wouldn’t say it is my ideal raiding situation.

I had a lot of good WoW friends in an old guild of mine, however the guild couldn’t meet the level of progression I needed to enjoy the game. So, while I still talk to some of those people, I had limit those friendships to find a guild that better met my needs. That doesn’t mean I don’t want to play with those friends. It means that having a progression guild is more important to me then playing or talking with those people every week.
Graylo´s last blog ..10mans vs 25mans: Is Equity Needed?

It’s been tough, but it’s not impossible. It takes players who really want to be in tens for the sake of tens, and that takes very selective recruitment. Won’t say it’s been easy, but there are some very stable 10-man guilds out there.

I think I’ve rambled on that whole topic plenty enough on my own blog, heh, so I’ll get out of Keeva’s leaves

I have a pretty vivid imagination — you could be a figment and still wouldn’t know it. Just because you THINK you’re real doesn’t mean you are!

Seriously, though — on my server there are no 10-man strict guilds. Breaks my heart because I would like to be in one. Kudos to you if you are one of the lucky ones!

My point stands though: Blizz inadvertently created a reward structure that makes 10-mans less viable and less stable than 25s, and 10-man raiders have been punished this expansion.

…lol. Right, I’m a figment of your imaginations

Ah, but here’s the problem: they DIDN’T balance things right in Wrath, and they DID kill off 10-man raiding in Wrath. Sure, lots of people run 10-mans, but just for Frosties, or alts, or to gear up so they can do the ‘real’ raids. The “cozy little 10 man guild” Keeva mentions doesn’t really exist in Wrath, at least not for long. They all dry up and wither away as people chase the allure of gear. It’s tough to be loyal to your friends when you wear second-best gear.

And ‘balance’ doesn’t need to mean ‘equal in all ways’. It’s OK if the apples and oranges are different sizes. If the apples are smaller I’ll still eat em, because I really like apples and I don’t like oranges. But in Wrath, the oranges have been nice and juicy and the apples have been rotten.

Yuck.