Blizzard is currently set to roll out testing on twice-weekly raid resets for the 4.0 (Blackwing Descent and Bastion of Twilight) and 4.2 (Firelands) raids next week in Taiwan and Korea. The official statement by community representative Zarhym explains the translation:
The new raid lockout changes for Taiwan and Korea adjust the lockout timers for the patch 4.0 and 4.2 raids. The lockout timers for these raids will now reset twice weekly instead of once. These raid lockout changes are being made to allow players to raid more often and get more chances at epic loot drops.
Players will be able to down current Cataclysm raid bosses twice a week, accelerating players’ progression. We are testing these new raid lockout changes in Taiwan and Korea first. Our goal is to expand this change to other regions in the future, but we don’t have anything further to announce at this time with regard to North American implementation.
It’s not likely that they will bring this to the Dragon Soul raid until the end of its life cycle. While some players feel this is Blizzard going back on their original reasoning for having just one raid lockout between 10 and 25, it’s more likely that they are trying to put in some way for players to see content and gear up before the next patch.
I personally find this change to be a good one. Anything that gives players more options is an improvement in my book. Because I’m in a guild that has only been able to do 10 man content since this change, I can see where this might be able to rejuvenate raiding interest for the guilds that have lost it.
So what could it mean for your guild?
- The ability to run 10 man and 25 man content in the same week. Though the loot isn’t any different, it’s often easier for guilds to down content if they can field 25 people.
- Two separate chances at loot for players still gearing up. Run through the bosses once, then if they don’t drop what your raid needs, take the reset and start a fresh clear later in the week.
- More kill opportunities for players working on the collection part of the Dragonwraith quest. It takes months to collect enough for the 391 staff at this point, and that’s not counting the Legendary itself.
- Another chance to practice trickier fights. I know we’ve had instances where we’ve gotten a sloppier kill than we would like.
- And for those guilds working on 6/7 HC each week and spending that time trying to down Ragnaros, you still have the ability to extend the lockout and completely ignore this new system.
This change does benefit casual raiders the most, but it doesn’t take the choice away from progression raids, either. All in all I think it’s positive, and I hope they put it on all realms soon.
October 26, 2011
Raiding