A post HERE, and some forum discussions, have stirred up quite a controversy amongst WoW players. Namely, the hardcore raiders are at odds with the more casual among us regarding raid difficulty. The central debate seems to be that “hardcores” are upset at the ease of the new content, and angry that even Ulduar is intended to be “PuGable at some point” according to Blizzard. The casuals are upset that hardcores, in their minds, wish to deny them content and storyline. And most of WoW’s population is somewhere in between in this debate.

I agree, some of the encounters are easy… and Naxx, with a competant group, is a pushover. Sartharion is a loot pinata… but not if you leave drakes up. The way I see it, there’s still “elite” encounters in the game… the only difference between what we’ve seen so far in Wrath and BC/Classic is the “approach,” so to speak.

I’ve tried, and failed, at Sarth with drakes up. I’ve failed at some of the heroic and raid achievements. Guilds that manage to topple said achievements had to work at them for a while, and are rewarded with titles and achievements that I will never get. Pre-Wrath, the hardcores were rewarded with storylines that I would never see… which I think is cheating not only the casual players, but the developers as well.

Imaging creating an engaging, dynamic raid encounter with beautiful artwork and storyline. Then imagine that only 5 percent of the player base would see it! It’s a shame, is what it is, and I think the new system works much better. The hardcores who argue for “exclusive” raids are being unfair, I think… and most of them, for all their hardcoreness, have yet to down Algalon. This, in my opinion, is the “Sunwell” or “Classic Naxx” at this point… This is the encounter that the hardcores get to see exclusively, and I think that’s more than fair.

If they were so much better than us casuals, they would have downed it already.

So, I say to all of you: If ulduar is so easy, link your algalon achievement.