What is your preferred raid size?

[Bladefury]

Assume that internet lag and video lag are not issues here. How many people would you prefer to do stuff with?

This isn't really "what raids do you prefer in WoW." This is a question of "How many people would you WANT to raid things with?"

[Bladefury]

A few notes:

Personally, I long for the days of Molten Core. You didn't have to have everyone doing PERFECT FOREVER. You could bring in people that weren't really your "A" team, but were good, decent people. You can't do that in Karazhan or further in TBC.

Also, I searched for similar polls before I posted this, but could not find any. Apologies in advance if I failed. :P

[Grizzlebeard]

Despite 20-25 man raids being easier to run I do miss the days of 35+ man raids in VT and the Planes. Larger events requiring greater numbers just gave the event a more epic feel for me. Sure, it's a buzz dropping Ossirian with a small raid but it was also a world of fun doing shit like AoW or the Burrower Parasite with large numbers when they were current content.

[chaos]

Originally Posted by Bladefury

A few notes:

Personally, I long for the days of Molten Core. You didn't have to have everyone doing PERFECT FOREVER. You could bring in people that weren't really your "A" team, but were good, decent people. You can't do that in Karazhan or further in TBC.

Also, I searched for similar polls before I posted this, but could not find any. Apologies in advance if I failed. :P

jesus god yes. Nothing is more frustrating than this new perfection requirement for raiding. At the high end sure, but KZ? Seriously?

IDK, I quit raiding a while back so it may have changed.

[Kiroy]

Some of the most fun I had was watching and participating in 50+ zergs.

[Twobit Whore]

I loved huge raids back in EQ. 70+ people was crazy. What I didn't like was 2 items dropping, one that no one needed/wanted and one that was all/all and EVERYONE wanted.

[Bladefury]

Right.

I think MC had it pretty good, with 2-4 items per boss. If you manage to clear the whole thing in a night (not a hard stretch at all, even for a pretty casual guild) that would net you 30ish items. 3/4th of people capable of getting upgrades while still having 40 people in a raid is win, imo.

[Bladefury]

Also, a further question. Who has NOT lost friends and/or guildies because of switching from 40 man to 25 man?

You lose the people that just don't cut it in these smaller raids. Are you raiding because you have to win, or are you raiding for fun? Do you want to kill things, or possibly kill fewer things, but make friends too?

[...]

5 man group (no raid!)

[PerritoBites]

I wish raids could be dynamic. The more you bring, the harder it gets and the more drops ;D If this was the case, then I would like to do 40-50 man raids. In the current state of MMOs, I prefer the mid size (20-25) since it is easier to always have those numbers.

Also, I really like when there are events that involve more than 80 people. Or even 40 people fighting 40. This is what MMOs should be about. Not 5 v5... you can do that in non MMO games ;D

[Zerai]

I must admit I enjoyed larger raids because it allowed you to miss raids. Now, if you miss raids, you're hindering the group. While some classes have that issue more than others (MT, clerics), you still need dps classes doing a damn good job, and if you're a rogue, if you miss a couple raids, you're extremely easy to replace.

The smaller the group, the more required attendance becomes. Things like EQ you didn't need 50 people exactly. It was nice because you could have 40 one night and 60 the next and do it both times.

[Noc]

Originally Posted by PerritoBites

I wish raids could be dynamic. The more you bring, the harder it gets and the more drops ;D If this was the case, then I would like to do 40-50 man raids. In the current state of MMOs, I prefer the mid size (20-25) since it is easier to always have those numbers.

Also, I really like when there are events that involve more than 80 people. Or even 40 people fighting 40. This is what MMOs should be about. Not 5 v5... you can do that in non MMO games ;D

I could not agree with you more here. I made a huge ass post about this a few years ago on some MMO site. Sadly shit like this don't get implemented.

If we are talking AI in a dynamic world then then number won't matter as the AI would gage itself based on how many players it is up against. Of course you have to have at least X amount of players. X=30 anything less is an auto-wipe all day long. LOL

In todays world huge PVP raids of even proportions are fun as fuck. AI raids of 20-30 is fine.

[PerritoBites]

Also for fights like Onyxia my guild decided to do two 20man raids instead of one 40. Double the loot for double the trouble ;D I like it when you can do stuff like this as well.

Edit: bad typing lol

[Arbuste]

I had an incredible lot of fun participating and leading 50+man raids in EQ. I definitely don't want to do that anymore. I guess.
Anyway, it all depends on the game, on the mechanics, the content, the "rewards"... In the right game, PvP battles of 500 vs 500 people, or PvE serverwide events requiring a thousand (realistically and moderately) coordinated people could be awesome.
If you're only having WoW and WoW-like games in mind, with their silly choregraphy-like scripted raids, I think 25 people is already too many.

[kudos]

The only raids that stick out in my mind were the 70ish player raids in EQ. Everything else is pretty much a blank.