Best and worst raids per expansion

[Easyclassictopkeklel]

Any Single Boss raids would qualify as bad. Ruby Sanctum is probably the most forgotten one of them all.

I strongly disagree. Onyxia is and was beloved by many even tho it was a single boss raid. Even ruby sanctum got farmed on the servers I played on. The winner already is crucible of storms. Nobody gave a fk about that raid...we cleared every mythic raid since WOD but skipped this one. And so did almost every guild on my server.

[Soon-TM]

So I was inspired by @taishar68 thread on best/worst questing zones so I thought I would pose the same question but with raids? What do you consider to be your favorite raids as well your least favourite raids per expansion?


Classic:
Best: Zul'gurub
Worst: Molten Core

Burning Crusade:
Best: Karazhan
Worst: Battle of Mount Hyjal

Wrath of the Lich King:
Best: Ulduar
Worst: Trial of the Crusader

Cataclysm:
Best: Firelands
Worst: Dragon Soul

Mists of Pandaria:
Best: Throne of Thunder
Worst: Heart of Fear

Warlords of Draenor:
Best: Hellfire Citadel
Worst: Highmaul

Legion:
Best: Nighthold
Worst: Emerald Nightmare

Battle for Azeroth:
Best: Battle for Dazar'alor
Worst: Eternal Palace

Pretty much agree with everything here, except for WoD and BfA.

WoD:

Best: HFC - a lot of really good bosses, excellent art direction, plus I'm a real sucker for everything related to demons/Legion.

Worst: Highmaul. It wasn't actually "bad", but it had to compete with two of the best raids ever, BRF and HFC.

BfA

Best: EP. Except for the last fight, all bosses were quite enjoyable, and at times it felt as if it was the cancelled Abyssal Maw raid in Cata.

Worst: BoD. While it was quite nice from a mechanical standpoint, I really, REALLY hated how the Alliance waltzed into a massive Horde stronghold (without any outside help, unlike SoO), killed the Zandalari king and got out pretty much scot-free. Jaina vanishing away felt particularly cheap, the plot armour was some crazy titanforged !@#$ there - almost as bad as Nathanos soloing Tyrande and her hubby in Darkshore.

[devilzxlin]

WotLK: Best, begrudgingly ICC. Worst, Ulduar.

[RyudoTFO]

Classic:
Best: Zul'gurub
Worst: AQ40

Burning Crusade:
Best: Karazhan
Worst: Serpentshrine Cavern

Wrath of the Lich King:
Best: Naxxramas
Worst: Trial of the Crusader

Cataclysm:
Best: Firelands
Worst: Bastion of Twilight

Mists of Pandaria:
Best: Throne of Thunder
Worst: Heart of Fear

Warlords of Draenor:
Best: Hellfire Citadel
Worst: Highmaul

Legion:
Best: Nighthold
Worst: Emerald Nightmare

Battle for Azeroth:
Best: Battle for Dazar'alor
Worst: Crucible of Storms

[Sanguinerd]

Classic
Best: Onyxia
Worst: AQ40

Burning Crusade
Best: Black Temple
Worst: Mount Hyjal

Wrath of the Lich King
Best: Ulduar
Worst: The Ruby Sanctum

Cataclysm
Best: Firelands
Worst: Dragon Soul

Mists of Pandaria
Best: Throne of Thunder
Worst: Mogu'shan Vaults

Warlords of Draenor
Best: Hellfire Citadel
Worst: Highmaul

Legion
Best: Tomb of Sargeras
Worst: Antorus

Battle for Azeroth
Best: Battle for Dazar'alor(by process of elimination)
Worst: Crucible of Storms

[Dorthonion1]

Bear in mind I only played casually in TBC and I had a break late cata - early legion so opinions are based on soloing for some of it.

Classic: Best - AQ40
Worst - Molten Core

TBC: Best - Zul'Aman
Worst - Gruul's Lair

WotLK: Best - Trial of the Crusader
Worst - Naxxramas

Cata: Best - Bastion of Twilight
Worst - Dragon Soul

MoP: Best - Throne of Thunder
Worst - Mogu'Shan Vaults

WoD: Best - Blackrock Foundry
Worst - Hellfire Citadel

Legion: Best - Nighthold
Worst - Antorus

BfA: Best - Battle of Dazar'Alor
Worst - Ny'alotha

[Adam Jensen]

I'm only doing the expansions I did:

TBC
Best: Karazhan. Loved the atmosphere and the whole raid
Worst: SSC. Trash slog.

Wrath
Best: ICC and Ulduar (tie)
Worst: Ruby Sanctum

Cata
Best: Blackwing Descent (FOR SCIENCE)
Worst: Dragon Soul (Stabbing Deathwing's chin and toes wasn't exactly my idea of "epic")

MoP
Best: Terrace, short and sweet
Worst: Heart of Fear
(didn't see ToT or Seige)

BfA
Best: Eternal Palace. Fuck off, the Queen Azshara fight was fun
Worst: Crucible

[TheFirstOnes]

Classic: Best- BWL ("Let the games begin" Love this line, and I love this raid)

Worst- AQ20 (Bugs n shit but without C'Thun. Yikes)


TBC: Best- Black Temple (As much as I love Kara, BT just hit different, man)

Worst- Serpentshrine Cavern (Very forgettable raid tbh, even with the Vashj fight)


WoTLK: Best- Ulduar (ICC is a very close second, but Ulduar's Music, the Yogg fight, and literally everything else just hit different, y'know? The LK fight alone, while brilliant, can't topple all the shit I mentioned in Ulduar. I'm sorry)

Worst- Obsidian Sanctum (Fuck this shitty excuse of a "filler" raid. Worthless)


Cataclysm: Best- Firelands (This is a top tier raid that's both chaotic and awesome. Love it)

Worst- Dragon Soul (Terrible fights, mediocre ending to a rather ok expansion, and outside of the final fight (NOT THE SPINE OF DEATHWING! JUST THE MADNESS OF DEATHWING), this raid was just forgettable all around. It still is, to this day)


MoP: Best- ToT (Aesthetically, this raid is a masterpiece, the boss fights are fun but not insane y'know, Lei'shen is one of the best WoW fights ever, and the whole Ra'den thing was actually very mysterious yet badass at the same time. So many Y'shaarj and N'Zoth hints there)

Worst- Heart of Fear (Bugs, forgettable fights, more bugs, BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ THIS RAID IS NOTHING BUT FUZZ FUZZ FUZZ. Fuck this stupid ass raid)


WoD: Best- BRF (Blackrock and Roll is the best WoW Track ever and I'm so glad Blizzard remade it. The remake is the best fucking thing in the history of Warcraft. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tztL0r2g9I LISTEN TO IT! Also, the fights, the looks of the raid, all around just glorious. Highly suggest new players give this raid a look, for if they want amazing Solo content as level 120's, or level 60's if you start playing during Shadowlands)

Worst- HFC (Good raid, but that ending was hilariously bad. Holy fuck)


Legion: Best- Antorus (Literally one of the best Raids in WoW, with some of the best WoW fights out there, some of the best looks ever in a WoW raid, with brilliant Music, the Seat of the Pantheon is fucking glorious, that ending Cinematic was the coolest thing ever (OMFG SARGERAS HOLY SHIT), and it ended Legion in a satisfying way that also left you craving for more (Sargeras and Illidan are returning, most likely in 10.0 with a potential Light and Shadow expansion...maybe?)

Worst- ToS (Not the worst raid ever, just kinda boring to look at, with the fights not being the best. Though, they are good. KJ is a great fight when he's not absolutely terrifying to fight on Mythic (SERIOUSLY, HOW IS HE THIS BADASS IN BFA?!), and overall, idk. The raid just didn't hit as hard as the others. Even EN kinda gave me more feels than this (Then again, I always wanted to see the Emerald Dream/Nightmare. So, maybe that's why). This isn't a bad raid though. The fights are still ok (Not good nor great, just ok), and final Cinematic is a masterpiece (Poor KJ)


BFA: Best- Battle for Dazar'alor (The fights are good, the ending of the raid felt satisfying but also cliff-hangery in a good way, I love how you get to see things from both Alliance/Horde perspectives, Jaina and Rastakhan were amazing fights, and overall, the raid was just good)

Worst- Ny'alotha, the Waking City (What. A. Fucking. Joke. The raid LOOKS amazing, don't get me wrong, the Music is nice, and the fights are kinda good, BUT HOLY FUCK! What a way to waste the entire fucking Black Empire. That ending was Kerrigan Xel'naga levels of trash (LIKE, LITERALLY, THE PLAYER GOES FULL BLOWN KERRIGAN THERE, BUT INSTEAD OF AMON, IT'S N'ZOTH, WHO'S JUST DIMENSION AMON JUST SMALLER). Also, how dare you fucking waste N'Zoth like that. Idc if he can still Whisper and do shit post BFA (All Old Gods do that when they're dead, apparently. Doesn't mean shit). Man spent years hyping this shit up, his MINION got an entire expansion dedicated to him, but as soon as he's released, he's dealt with in 1 patch by the Player Kamehameha'ing his ass down? SERIOUSLY?! Ny'alotha also fucks off like the Eye of Sauron. WHY?! OH MY GOD!!! Seriously, fuck this trash ass expansion)

[Biomega]

+Naxxramas
-Onyxia

+Black Temple
-Mount Hyjal

+Ulduar
-Trial of the Crusader

+Firelands
-Dragon Soul

+Throne of Thunder
-Terrace of Endless Spring

+Blackrock Foundry
-Hellfire Citadel

+Tomb of Sargeras
-Antorus

+Ny'alotha sans N'zoth
-Uldir
---N'zoth

[Cathbadh]

Skipping Vanilla and BC since I didn't play then.

Wrath:

Best - ICC. I missed raiding Ulduar as current content. I enjoyed it while overpowering the bosses with later gear. But ICC was everything. It was the culmination of the Arthas story. The art and gear was great looking - seeing Marrowgar for the first time was crazy. The bosses were fun. Even the story/voice acting was good. It was also the first time I did any sort of progression raiding.

Worst - RS. The bosses weren't fun. The art was mostly recycled. The loot was garbage.


Cata:

Best - Firelands. Fun mechanics and bosses. Classes were fun to play at that point.

Worst - DS. Almost entirely because of the last two bosses. Both were awful mechanically, both were dumb ideas, and the ending to the story was awful.


MOP:

Best - ToT. Solid fights. Higher difficulties were both challenging and fun rather than a chore.

Worst - Tough choice. I'm going with ToES just because Lei Shi's voice and mechanics are the things of nightmares. That boss alone makes ToES worse than HoF.


WoD:

Best - BRF. Contender for best raid period. Mechanics were fun. Even the weaker boss fights were still fun fights. Nearly flawless.

Worst - HM. Only picking it because its not as good at the other two raids. WoD was a weak expansion, but the raids are all great. I'd put all of them in a top ten list.


Legion:

Best - Nighthold. All solid fights. Art was good. Elisande was a top tier fight.

Worst - EN. A smidge worse than ToV but still a decent raid.


BfA:

Best - Ny'alotha. Tough choice as most of the raids were equal. Not super great, not awful with one exception. None compare with WoD or Legion raids.

Worst - CoS. Overtuned fights. Purple abilities on purplish ground with purplish effects kinda made things a bit more difficult needlessly. The timing of the raid's release was bad. Not remotely puggable.

[Moggie]

Vanilla:
Best- Naxx40
Worst- AQ40

TBC:
Best- BT
Worst- Toss up between Gruuls Lair or Hyjal. With GL prolly getting the spot.

WotLK:
Best- Ulduar
Worst- ToGC

Cata:
Best- BoT (sorry, loved the varied boss fights here!)
Worst- Toss up between Tot4W or FL with FL prolly beating all others.

MoP:
Best- ToT
Worst- HoF
(The whole time gated to hell first tier of xpac holds super bad memories)

WoD:
Best- BRF
Worst- Highmaul

Legion:
Best- Antorus (really enjoyed NH but still preferred Antorus)
Worst- Hated ToV but really hate ToS more

BFA:
Best- BoD
Worst- CoS

[ClassicPeon]

Classic:
Best: Naxx
Worst: Molten Core

TBC:
Best: Karazhan
Worst: SSC

Wrath:
Best: Ulduar
Worst: VoA

Cata:
Best: Firelands
Worst: Tot4W
(cata one is purely astetic, i didnt play that expansion)

MoP:
Best:ToT(Also my best overall raid)
Worst: Terrace(could have been HoF but terrace had worse bosses but better astetics. HoF wins on better bosses).

WoD:
Best: Highmaul
Worst: Blackrock Foundry(yeah i know this is not meta, really didnt like the astetics)

Legion:
Best: Antorus
Worst: ToV

Bfa:
Best: No strong feelings on the best here. Uldir/boD/TEP are all decently above average raids to me
Worst: Ny'alotha. Bosses on normal/hc are mostly devoid of interesting mechanics. Almost nothing is changed from lfr - hc. Horrible for the last raid of an expansion + that cinematic.

[PtrN]

I can really only speak for WotLK But:

Best: Ulduar. ICC was great but Ulduar had a great aesthetic and variety in the fights. Not to mention you could "unlock" the hard modes instead of simply selecting them.
Worst: Ruby Sanctum. Felt like a half backed idea, barely was a raid. ToGC was the worst actual raid though I still enjoyed it when PUGs weren't being PUGs.

[Zuben]

MoP:
Best - Throne of Thunder. Strongly themed yet varied, had a strong story around it, main boss fight is my all-time favourite.
Worst - Terrace of Endless Spring. One area, a boss per step. Quite dull.

WoD:
Best - Hellfire Citadel. Varied and some of the bosses were greatly executed. Also liked their recurring broadcasts in Tanaan overworld to signify something was up in their domain. Tyrant Velhari is one to remember.
Worst - Blackrock Foundry. Dull aesthetics and theme.

Legion
Best - Nighthold. Loved the theme, surrounding story and boss fights. Especially Trilliax.
Worst - Emerald Nightmare. Otherwise true to its theme and an interesting event to explore the Nightmare, but the way it's built is frustrating.

No opinion on Classic, TBC, Wrath and Cata, because I didn't explore the raids when they were current. BFA I've largely gone through in tourist-mode, exploring each previous raid only once and the latest one not at all. None made an impression, I barely remember what Uldir was like.

[Muxtar]

Classic:
Best - Naxx
Worst - Molten Core

TBC:
Best - Black Temple
Worst - Serpentshrine Cavern

WotLK:
Best - Ulduar/ICC
Worst - Trial of Crusader

Cata:
Best - Bastion of Twilight
Worst - Dragon Soul

MoP:
Best - Throne of Thunder
Worst - Mogu'Shan Vaults

WoD:
Best - Hellfire Citadel
Worst - Highmaul

Legion:
Best - Nighthold
Worst - Halls of Valor

BfA:
Best - don't know really
Worst - Uldir

[Athulua]

ill rate raids i actually did, because there wasn't that many of them.

Firelands - solid 7/10, a bit short but a fun raid with many unique encounters
Dragon Soul - meh 2/10, not only a lukewarm raid at best but also very long lasting. Spine was a nightmare.
Mogushan Vaults - 5/10, not anything spectacular. Mediocre fights except Elegon
Heart of Fear - 3/10, rather miss in terms of aesthetic, Amber Shaper fight was bad. Not because I was bad but because the vehicle mechanic could land on a really bad player and ruin the attempt.
Terrace of Endless Springs - 8/10. Actually, one of better raids. Didn't wasted your time with endless trash grinding. Nice 4 boss straightforward instance.
Throne of Thunder - 9+/10. Ye this one is really good and most people like it. It wasn't perfect, positioning loot pinata bosses near the end and hard ones at start but overall very solid raid.
Siege of Orgrimmar - 6/10. I'm taking 3 points off because it was hilariously long lasting. 13 months and that's not even counting the pre-patch. I hated Galakras because you could not skip this 10-minute slog and gear didn't made it any better.
Highmaul - 6/10. This time i'm taking 2 points off because it was way too short lasting. Mere 2 months before Blackrock Foundry came out and completely invalidated it.
BRF - 10/10, I think this is my favorite raid out of everything I played. Good fights on mythic. Well the furnance could use improvement but that's really looking for problems.
HFC - 5/10, by this point I was kinda sated with orc theme and to top it off, this crap lasted even longer than Siege of Orgrimmar.
Emerald Nightmare - 4/10, meh. Undertuned and annoying with the AP grinds coming before it.

then there is a long break, im not reviewing stuff that I did only on LFR

Ny'alothe - 7/10, about as fun as firelands. Doesn't really stand out and idk how long it will last. If >10 months then it will drop 2 points from this score.

[Derpleton]

Vanilla:
- Best: AQ40
- Worst: Molten Core

TBC:
- Best: Zul'aman
- Worst: Gruul's Lair

Wrath:
- Best: Ulduar
- Worst: ToC

Cata:
- Best: Firelands
- Worst: Dragon Soul

MoP:
- Best: ToT
- Worst: HoF

WoD:
- Best: Blackrock Foundry
- Worst: Highmaul

Legion:
- Best: Nighthold
- Worst: Emerald Nightmare

BfA:
- Best: Dazar'alor
- Worst: Ny'alotha