Normal / Heroic still the same respectfully?

[c313]

So back when Flex (today's normal) first came out in SoO, that is when I first broke into raiding. Did flex first as a learning curve then broke into Normal (today's Heroic) after I was comfortable with the fights.

Haven't raided this expansion yet so figure now's better than later. But I am wondering if Normal and Heroic still share the exact same fights/mechanics. Just with the obvious less/more health and less/more damage being dealt to you?

[Ellesarr]

Normal has less mechanics.

[c313]

So its pretty much an improved version of LFR now?

[BiggestNoob]

At HFC launch, normal and heroic were basically the same content, with heroic just being tuned slightly higher. They released a patch a few months ago that made normal and LFR basically share the same lack of mechanics, so normal is significantly easier than heroic now.

So it was:

LFR <<< NORMAL < HEROIC <<<<<<<< MYTHIC

Now it's:

LFR < NORMAL <<< HEROIC <<<<<<<< MYTHIC

[freddy090909]

So its pretty much an improved version of LFR now?

Normal is now a reasonable next-step after LFR (honestly, you could simply skip LFR entirely and use Tanaan/Mythic Dungeons).

It's noticeably easier than Heroic, which is noticeably easier than Mythic. I'd put it at a very slight step above LFR, assuming the group in Normal is relatively organized. That is, you will easily breeze through it, especially as you start getting a little gear and a few people get their tier bonuses.

Honestly, I'd say that if you are willing to queue up and let groups form through LFG, Normal is a significantly better use of your time than LFR, which provides gear that is essentially worthless. You will want to at least touch on the mechanics for each fight, though. Something like two-minute tips (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...DbKG67JUDpqtN5) or simply reading the dungeon journal is plenty to teach you the fights on normal.

[Valech]

Normal is now a reasonable next-step after LFR (honestly, you could simply skip LFR entirely and use Tanaan/Mythic Dungeons).

It's noticeably easier than Heroic, which is noticeably easier than Mythic. I'd put it at a very slight step above LFR, assuming the group in Normal is relatively organized. That is, you will easily breeze through it, especially as you start getting a little gear and a few people get their tier bonuses.

Honestly, I'd say that if you are willing to queue up and let groups form through LFG, Normal is a significantly better use of your time than LFR, which provides gear that is essentially worthless. You will want to at least touch on the mechanics for each fight, though. Something like two-minute tips (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...DbKG67JUDpqtN5) or simply reading the dungeon journal is plenty to teach you the fights on normal.

I would like to emphasize this very accurate answer.

[Bigbazz]

Normal is closer to LFR in terms of mechanics, just that those mechanics are more important than in LFR and of course dps/healing requirements are higher. Heroic has many more mechanics than normal and much higher dps/healing requirements, Mythic has more mechanics again and/or some mechanics have changed completely into something else, and of course the healing/dps requirements further increased quite a lot.

[ThePants999]

Personally I feel that the jump from LFR to normal remains bigger than the jump from normal to heroic, though it certainly is a lot closer than it used to be.

[ceall]

Another thing to mention, normal is no longer wing based like it was back in SoO. You have to put up a group by yourself nowadays. Or join a group via lfg tool. You also have to walk in to the raid now instead of using an interface option to queue for it.

From personal experience, it's faster joining a normal pug and killing a few bosses than waiting 45 min for lfr queue to pop up and then kill 3 bosses.

Many people leave after 2 wipes though, as they're most likely alts that just don't care about how far they come, or just join a better group.

[Bigbazz]

Another thing to mention, normal is no longer wing based like it was back in SoO. You have to put up a group by yourself nowadays. Or join a group via lfg tool. You also have to walk in to the raid now instead of using an interface option to queue for it.

From personal experience, it's faster joining a normal pug and killing a few bosses than waiting 45 min for lfr queue to pop up and then kill 3 bosses.

Many people leave after 2 wipes though, as they're most likely alts that just don't care about how far they come, or just join a better group.

It's faster than LFR if you get a good group.. I've seen some godawful groups that I had the displeasure of joining.. They are all the same with the link achievement or ilvl requirements but you get in and things can go horribly wrong, you find people in there who are clueless and fairly unwilling to learn/co-operate, with very low dps numbers (though almost always the real issue is not dealing with mechanics, Kormrok perfect example).

I mean these guys even find themselves in a lot of the "1-shot" Archimonde Heroic groups too, it's a surprise how they get invited to begin with and then they are being carried so heavily.. If you get a good group then it's really fast and smooth, but the frustration of getting bad groups one after another is enough to turn one off completely.

I do run HC Archi weekly in a pug for my ring upgrade, but otherwise I tend to steer clear of LFG.

[Alroxas]

Normal has less mechanics.

Well now (6.2.3) Normal has less mechanics than Heroic but initially, Normal and Heroic were pretty similar with exception to damage/HP modifiers. Prior to the nerfs to Normal, there might have been a few fights where there was 1 more mechanic in Heroic but they were pretty rare.

The current system seems slightly better because it makes Normal/Heroic a bit more of a stepping stone instead of a repetitive grind with more numbers flying around.

However, the difference between LFR to Normal could be improved. It's still a vast jump from LFR to Normal, or at least the mindset of the player is vastly different between those two levels.

[JemiS]

Well now (6.2.3) Normal has less mechanics than Heroic but initially, Normal and Heroic were pretty similar with exception to damage/HP modifiers. Prior to the nerfs to Normal, there might have been a few fights where there was 1 more mechanic in Heroic but they were pretty rare.

The current system seems slightly better because it makes Normal/Heroic a bit more of a stepping stone instead of a repetitive grind with more numbers flying around.

However, the difference between LFR to Normal could be improved. It's still a vast jump from LFR to Normal, or at least the mindset of the player is vastly different between those two levels.

To note, this puts it back to how it was in SOO. Siege Flex didn't have all the same mechanics as Siege Normal.