Mythic raiding is currently the pinnacle of hardcore raiding. Requiring a solid 20 players and fine tuned to perfection, this is considered to be the most difficult raiding tier in the game. Elite guilds such as Midwinter, Serenity, and Method all raid at this level. However, with guilds harder than ever to find and putting together 20 plus players becoming seemingly impossible, many are not content with the current Mythic set up. This author, quoting a very intense Britney Spears fan, says LEAVE MYTHIC RAIDING ALONE!

Mythic Problems

As mentioned above, there is no doubt that Mythic raiding has some problems. Guilds these days are tough to find and trying to fill them with competent players...sometimes seemingly impossible. These circumstance have lead to more than one guild implosion and probably quite a few players leaving the game temporarily or for good. Replacing players is a pain, keeping players is a pain, and the whole process can leave everyone involved feeling rather hopeless. Many see the answer to this problem as changing Mythic from a 20 man raid to the standard Flex raid style seen in other difficulties.

Fix Not Flex

Many see the answer to this problem as changing Mythic from a 20 man raid to the standard Flex raid style seen in other difficulties. This would allow Mythic to be taken on no matter what size raid group you could throw together. The theory here is that making the raid easier to fill would make Mythic more obtainable for more players who wish to take part in it. I heartily disagree for a variety of reasons.

Guild Health

First and foremost; Mythic raiding is supposed to be difficult. There is a reason it is named Mythic. This tier of raiding is not for every Tom, Dick, and Harry. Mythic is supposed to be a place where those players who still love hardcore raiding can shine. However, these types of players make up a very small portion of the population, so of course filling a raid may be a challenge.

This doesn't mean we should turn Mythic into Flex. Instead, developers should focus on breathing new life into guilds and making it easier than ever to recruit for them. Guilds today are in a dismal state no matter what raid tier you are taking part in and it is about time something was done about it. The restored health of guilds would easily take care of many recruitment concerns and make filling a raid less of a chore.

Fine Tuning

Mythic raiding is preciously fine tuned for a 20 man raid. Every boss and trash mob has been honed to offer the perfect challenge for this size raid. This precision tuning would be lost if Mythic were turned into a flex style raid. While Flex raiding does offer a challenge, it makes it exceedingly difficult to calibrate the mechanics just right.

Mythic raiding is supposed to be the hardest raiding gets. This makes this level of perfection essential to offer the most challenging encounters in the game. This level of exactness simply can't be had when the raid is constantly being adjusted for different raid sizes.

A Place for Elitists

Finally, Mythic raiding should be left as it is to give WoW elitists a home. While most players find these types of players unbearable, they are still a part of the game. As the game has steadily been made easier and raiding has become more accessible to more players, these hardcore players have slowly found less and less to challenge them in game. Mythic raiding is one of the last few bastions left that these players can truly put their skills to the test.

The 97%

Finally, turning Mythic raiding into a flexible style would create even more work for developers. While I firmly believe the 3% should have a playground, I think most efforts should be focuses on creating more content for the 97%. As we saw in Warlords, not enough content can be disastrous. Clearly, developers are already struggling to churn out content with expansion packs coming closer together, why stretch their resources even thinner?

The Solution

While I firmly believe Mythic raiding should remain mostly as is, the solution remains out of reach. Restoring the guild and making recruiting easier would be a definite improvement, but would not totally solve the problem. Perhaps instead of going to a flexible style raid Mythic should be available in 10 and 20 man modes. This would allow for fine tuning, while making it easier for more guilds to take part in this raiding difficulty.

As likely as not, the solution may not have been thought of yet. However, the solution has not and never will be turning it into a free for all raid sizes. Mythic raiding and the challenges it presents should be preserved.