Poll: Raid Size!

[canardvc]

I play games to do all the stuff I can't do in real life.

Heh you still can kill Kobolds in this kind of fantasy game, thing that you (probably) won't happen to do in real life.

Seriously, this kind of system looks like some pen and paper roleplaying games, but is far from what a large public expects to find in a "commercial" MMO, and I think that's why there's no big actual games based on that : gold and money are elsewhere.

This said, this is the kind of "realistic" system that suits me well.

[froma]

I'm with Jaeth on this one, there is such a thing as overdoing it. Raiding isn't the problem, the current forced dynamics are. The idea of gathering a group of people to face a dragon and receive treasure from doing it is very exciting to me; it is a fantasy experience that I would wager many MMO players share. I feel that we encounter problems when the incentive of exclusivity and/or "1337ness" comes into play. It seems like these end game encounters are designed with the loot, rather than content, in mind. As a result, the end game comprises of monotonous zone clearing with the occasional “boss mob.” I would love to see a focus on epic content for the sake of epic content, treasure should be an afterthought. The solution is not just overcomplicating things.

[Jaeth]

Well put, Froma. WoW promised epic scale content - but all I found was, well, tedium. And then a 15-minute boss fight that isn't really all that fun as soon as you know how to beat it.

[Greymain]

going slightly off thread - are raid groups really such a good idea?

In AC2 I never encountered raids as such. big bosses were taken down by 3 or 4 groups co-operating with each other. But there was not normally a single Boss and one special drop. One such area was a series of dragon caves gradually getting tougher the further in you got. groups joined and left (or wiped) the campaign which could go on for days. on death you had hairy run through regenerating caverns to your group. I loved this informal arrangement, of course there was always the "accidental" attack at the wrong moment with 40 odd players being wiped (was the guilty party once but dont tell anyone) local chat was good enough to co-ordinate actions and good manners ensured everyone got their share of loot.

Point is I am not sure that conventional Raids with all their military overtones appeal to free spirits like me. They seem too serious and organised.

My small concern is that competion will replace co-operation in Vanguard.

[Xanoth]

Originally Posted by Greymain

My small concern is that competion will replace co-operation in Vanguard.

It seems to be the case in EQ2 thats for sure.

Despite raiding several times a week often for 6 hours at a time, i can't say i enjoy raids a great deal for reasons mentioned elsewhere in the thread.

not really expecting or even hoping for vanguard to "solve" raiding, but would be welcomed if they do.

[tianya]

I like the 38-54 man raids,im a lazy ranger and like to slack,haveing raids this large can give me the time to slack j/k actully,but i like the larger numbers,i have been in small guilds and at times the only ranger and that can be quiet annoying,at least with larger numbers there are different people for different jobs,makes my life much easier and i am not one for all the great loot so as far as loot goes i dont care really,i always get what i want in due time

[Pirotess]

I run a raiding guild and raiding in EQ was pretty fun at times and pretty tedious at others. In EQ2 it was just tedious 100% of the time. In WoW its more like EQ and fun most of the time but tedious here and there though not to the degree EQ was. Here's to hoping Vanguard gets the good parts of EQ and WoW raiding.

[Melchizedek]

I am writing an article on this right now. I voted for up to 54 people. The thing is this: not all "raiding" requires tanks, healing, and dps. The raid can require diplomacy to get you to the raid. The raid can require crafting while the adventuring division of your guild is trying to harvest something.

I don't want to say too much more, because I will the have my entire article written!

So while I hope for 54 man raids, maybe only 42 are adventurers and the rest are crafters and diplomats. Just something to think about.

[Greymain]

Guess limits are down to FPS need lots of room for 50+ folks plus mobs. Just a thought but with all that perception, links, chains and all the rest would you be able to see the action past all the screen clutter?

[Coinspinner]

18-24 for me.