alt="Flexible Raid" />

Raiding in World of Warcraft is one of the
prime undertakings players challenge themselves with. As with all things
in game, raiding has undergone many changes. All with the intention of
making raiding more fun and more accessible to the average player. Patch
5.4 brought another major change to the raiding with the addition of a
brand new raid difficulty known as Flexible Raids.

While many of us have already have the
opportunity to try out this new niche of raiding, many others have not. In
fact, many of us (even those who have tried it) are left wondering exactly
what is the purpose of these Flexible Raids and are they for us? Below
who, why, and how of Flexible Raids are explained in the hopes that many
of your questions are answered and you can determine if Flexible Raids are
the place for you.

Flexible Raids – Basics

If you are looking for a short and brief
explanation of this new type of raid this is it. Flexible Raids are a
brand new raid difficulty that Blizzard has added in Patch 5.4. Flexible
Raids are supposed to fall somewhere between Normal and Raid Finder in
terms of difficulty level. Unlike Raid Finder, Flexible Raids will allow
friends, family, or pick-up grounds to play together. Also unique to
Flexible Raids is the ability to have any number of players from 10-25.

Why Flexible Raids?

So why Flexible Raids you ask? Isn't the
raiding scene a bit cluttered now? The answer here is that while in the
past in they days of huge guilds and large raids Flexible Raids would have
had a hard time finding a place but things have changed. Now a large
majority of players play the game in smaller social groups of friends and
family or in small guilds that often struggle to fill raid spots.

During Wrath, many players in these small
groups were content with the 10-man raid option. However, the combination
of 10-man and 25-man into a single difficulty really was a detrimental to
this. The addition of Raid Finder mode allowed these players to get into
raids, but without their tight-knit circle of friends. Flexible Raids
solve both of these problems. Players can play with as many and as few
players as they wish, while still being able to enjoy the raid with the
friends and family they normally play with.

alt="Flexible Raid Selection" />

Flexibility in Numbers

As mentioned above, Flexible Raids will allow
any premade group of players from 10-25 take on a raid instance. This
means you can walk into the Siege of Orgrimmar with any number of players
between 10-25 you wish. It doesn't matter if you have 14, 23, 11, or
exactly 25, Flexible Raids will accommodate your group. However, this does
need to be a premade group, there is no Raid Finder properties here, you
will have to fill the raid with friends, family, or pick ups you find
standing around in town or from cross-realm.

Don't be too worried about filling your group,
unlike other raid difficulties, Flexibile Raids have no item level
requirement for players to participate. Once you have a group created and
head inside the instance you will find another happy surprise awaiting
you. When entering a Flexible Raid, the difficulty of the instance will
change depending on the number of players you have in your group. So no
matter how many players you bring along, the mobs inside will offer just
the right challenge for your current group.

Flexible Loot

Loot in Flexible Raids works off the personal
loot system seen already in Raid Finder groups and World Bosses. This
means that instead of items dropping from a boss and players rolling
need/greed on an item, each player has a chance at getting an item when
the boss dies. If the player wins, they will be awarded a class
appropriate item directly from the boss's loot table. If the player is not
lucky enough to win an item, they are awarded gold instead. Other players
cannot see who won or what items were received. Gear awarded through the
personal loot system cannot be traded.

Those participating in Flexible Raids and who
win items will also notice a brand new set of item levels. Currently items
in the Flexible Raid instances hold an item level of around 540. With the
difficulty of this type of raid falls between Normal and Raid Finder, it
makes sense that the item levels fall into this range as well.

alt="Gates of Retribution Flex Raid" />

Flexible Unlocked

Flexible Raids are not the place for you if
you are looking to take your small group of friends to ultimate victory
with a world first. Flexible Raid difficulty will be unlocked wing by
wing, much like Raid Finder, but on a faster timetable. On a brighter
note, Flexible Raids will be on their own lock-out totally separate from
Normal and Raid Finder. This means you can take on all three difficulties
if you so desire. Achievements related to the Siege of Orgrimmar
meta-achievement can also be completed in this difficulty giving players a
whole new opportunity to complete them.

That just about covers everything a beginner
needs to know about the Flexible Raid difficulty. Have you gotten the
chance to try out this new type of raid? What was your experience? Is
there room for Flexible Raids or has it made the raiding scene too
cluttered? Share your thoughts with us in the comment section below!

difficulty in World of Warcraft.