WoW player highlights the struggles of returning after a long break

Returning to World of Warcraft can be an overwhelming experience, especially when you come back to a new expansion and begin raiding. A player summed this up perfectly with one simple meme in an Oct. 23 Reddit thread.

WoW, no matter which version you play, requires a lot of dedication and time spent. But when players reach the endgame, they face a different beast: raiding. 

Raiding is often considered one of the best and ultimate goals of WoW, but it also requires a lot of preparation. First, players often need to unlock the raid itself by progressing in the story far enough. Next, they need to have good enough gear to deal enough damage. Finally, they need to find a group of people willing to do the raid with them—and this is where a new kind of problem arises.

Until the launch of achievements in Wrath of the Lich King (2008), players didn’t have much proof (other than the loot they collected) of having completed a raid. This meant that every time a new raiding group was formed, players just had to take each other’s word they knew the mechanics of every raid boss. 

Nowadays, however, to even get into a raiding group, many raid leaders will ask that you link your raid achievement (proof you’ve already completed the raid once) in the group chat before they even let you join them. But to get this proof, you need to have finished the raid. And to finish the raid, someone has to let you join their raid group. And, yet, many won’t let you join without the achievement. It’s a vicious cycle that new WoW players have to overcome if they want to raid.

So, why are WoW players like this? Why do so many raid leaders have so little understanding of new players? Part of the reason is that raids in WoW, especially newer ones, are long and difficult. Many players simply don’t want to waste their time with noobs who will potentially make the raid last even longer or, worse, fail entirely.

While Blizzard has added Raid Finder, a tool that helps new players familiarize themselves with the raid mechanics with a random group, it does little to prepare players for the real thing.

Compared to WoW, the Final Fantasy XIV community is generally more welcoming to players new to raiding. In FFXIV, the raids are shorter, usually lasting only one boss fight. There are two easier modes to prepare players for the main Savage raid. But, most importantly, new players can participate in training groups where they learn boss mechanics and practice clearing bosses. It’s not perfect, but it’s a lot easier to get into than WoW raiding.

Out of desperation, a WoW addon was created on curseforge.com called “Fake achievement,” which can be used to fool the raid leader about having completed the raid. This is merely a bandage on a wound that has been present for quite a long time.  

We certainly hope Blizzard will address these issues so that new players can start raiding more easily. If you’re interested in raiding, you’re first going to need to hit max level fast, and we have a guide on how you can do just that.