Most Powerful Group of Players in WoW?

[Pacific]

In the World of Warcraft, there are always some players better than others. I'm curious as to who people think the most powerful/influential players/organizations in the game are.

Some general examples I expect to see pop up:
-World first guilds
-Add on makers
-Youtubers
-Theorycrafters
-Fan website owners
-Etc, etc

A typical answer I expect to see is "Paragon is most powerful group in WoW, they get all the world firsts." Or perhaps "That guy who made deadly boss mods runs the entire raiding scene." Among other answers.

So please tell me: which player/group in WoW is the most powerful?

[Forgettable]

They each have their own sphere of influence. At least in my eyes, Addon Makers and Theorycrafters are the most influential to my WoW experience, and Top Raiding Guilds would be next as they provide motivation to be better.

[averykey]

No one would play without the motivation to get better. People make those addons so they can raid better and they theory craft to get to the highest level of their class for raiding.

Top guilds have the biggest influence.

[Nobleshield]

They each have their own sphere of influence. At least in my eyes, Addon Makers and Theorycrafters are the most influential to my WoW experience, and Top Raiding Guilds would be next as they provide motivation to be better.

Kind of agree with this and this order. Your Theorycrafters and Addon designers make the cogs turn, your top-tier guilds show how a well-oiled team works.

[Qualia]

Powerful as in? If by "powerful" you meant influential then, sadly, there is none. If we look at total number of players, then the amount of people that any game related & non-Blizzard related groups - whether it's a world first guild, fansite, MMO-Champ or any organization - can influence or affect are just a small minority.

If by powerful you just meant "strong" then look at the top guilds.

[RickJamesLich]

I'd have to say world first guilds and add on makers first, both generate the most interest IMO, then after that, possibly theorycrafters (but they are much lower down). Youtube stuff was a big hit in vanilla and BC, and while there is decent stuff here or there, much of it isn't as good or as inspired IMO.

[Blueobelisk]

Those people who write simulationcraft are geniuses, among other theorycrafters. Add on makers are also really smart and I guess it takes them a decent amount of work.

World first guilds are just about raiding but ehhh they borrow other people's work most of the time I feel. Credit to them for being decent at the game but...they aren't too too special, everyone kills the bosses eventually.

I hate youtube and streaming so they're not powerful at all.

[Baracuda]

Youtuber/World First. If both O.O
Fan site owners don't really have influence, they're just messengers.

[Deleted]

The ones that have the biggets influences on blizzard and patch changes are definitely youtubers & fan sites.

[Deleted]

In the World of Warcraft, there are always some players better than others. I'm curious as to who people think the most powerful/influential players/organizations in the game are.

Some general examples I expect to see pop up:
-World first guilds
-Add on makers
-Youtubers
-Theorycrafters
-Fan website owners
-Etc, etc

A typical answer I expect to see is "Paragon is most powerful group in WoW, they get all the world firsts." Or perhaps "That guy who made deadly boss mods runs the entire raiding scene." Among other answers.

So please tell me: which player/group in WoW is the most powerful?

Tbh I don't think this kind of thing really applies any more.

Up until around the end of Wotlk it used to be about a players reputation, you worked hard to make a good name for yourself on your realm and as people came and went, your reputation would proceed you in many cases on to other realms.

Nowadays though there is very little patience and a lot of ignorance among the player base and so it leads to a rather disappointing community like we see today.

There was and will always be different opinions on this and about who is better then who but in realistic terms it just doesn't mean what it used to

Just for the sake of not totally derailing the thread though, I'll list some of the sites/names I've used over the years.

http://wow.allakhazam.com

http://www.curse.com

http://thottbot.com

http://wowmb.net

http://www.wowwiki.com/Portal:Main

http://www.wowhead.com

http://www.wowinterface.com/addons.ph

http://www.youtube.com/user/ZAMOfficial

http://www.gamebreaker.tv

http://www.mmo-champion.com

http://wow.joystiq.com

http://www.noxxic.com

http://www.tankspot.com

http://www.youtube.com/user/FatbossTV

And now most recently

http://evrelia.com

As far as guilds go it's a bit of and up and down question/answer due to the fact many guilds have come and gone over the years.

Personally it was looking at ones like Ensidia, Singularity, Paragon and Months Behind.

[hrugner]

If you mean people who can impact the game's future, then you're looking at two groups.
1. ptr raiders
2. the civilian guilds that devs belong to

[Dragore]

Casuals. If it wasn't for them the game wouldn't be the same at all. If you disagree you are lying to yourself.

Theory-crafters, PTR raiders, addon devs. People who spend their time on the greater good and get no real reward from it.

[Zaelsino]

Depends what angle you look at it. The "vocal majority" of players are obviously the most influential, since their wants are what Blizzard build their game around.

More broadly, I'd say it's the bigger companies that have the ability to pick apart the files, have direct lines of communication with Blizzard, organize interviews, sponsor players and the addon websites, etc., but that's obvious.

Also, high end streamers. You'd be surprised at the amount of people happy to bend over backwards for five minutes of fame from these guys.

[foxHeart]

World first guilds are just about raiding but ehhh they borrow other people's work most of the time I feel. Credit to them for being decent at the game but...they aren't too too special, everyone kills the bosses eventually.

Everyone? No. Sure, a tiny percentage will eventually catch up after months of wiping, with strategies they took from other guilds, and attempting with way better gear than the first groups who cleared it. Then there are people who come back after the nerfs and completely outgear the content, but they don't count as the content will have become irrelevant.The disparities between bad > okay > decent > good > heroic raider > world first are substantial, no matter what you tell yourself.

[Hitei]

I wouldn't really call add-on developers "powerful" or "influential". While it's true that a large majority of players use the addons, I assure you that the majority of that majority don't know or care who made them. It's like calling a major umbrella producing company influential, sure a lot of people use their product for the convenience.. but it's not like they can just easily change the opinions of the masses... certainly not anywhere near the level of influence that theorycrafters, streamers, youtubers, high end raiding guilds and the general public have.

[Yvaelle]

Kind of agree with this and this order. Your Theorycrafters and Addon designers make the cogs turn, your top-tier guilds show how a well-oiled team works.

I agree with this

(pats self on back for Spriest theorycraft)

Each exerts a different sphere of influence over different demographics within WoW. For heroic raiders, theorycrafters and top raiders are very influential. For PvP'rs, top Twitch and Youtube channels are probably the most influential.

None of us exert hard power of course, but in terms of soft power - all of the above shape the communities in which they are involved. Due to that - there isn't really a "most (soft) powerful group in WoW" - Ret Paladins don't care about my Spriest theorycraft - so I have zero influence over non-priests on the topic of theorycraft. That's true for all influencers, we influence within our sphere - but the only sphere which engulfs the entire WoW community is the Dev Team. So, though it's somewhat redundant - the Dev Team is the most powerful in WoW

[Boricha]

Easily Youtubers. I just wish someone other than Swifty was the main figure.

[hrugner]

I wouldn't really call add-on developers "powerful" or "influential". While it's true that a large majority of players use the addons, I assure you that the majority of that majority don't know or care who made them. It's like calling a major umbrella producing company influential, sure a lot of people use their product for the convenience.. but it's not like they can just easily change the opinions of the masses... certainly not anywhere near the level of influence that theorycrafters, streamers, youtubers, high end raiding guilds and the general public have.

They have the ability to make tedious, difficult or complex tasks more simple and accessible making that content faster for people to get through while also making it more appealing. I'm pretty sure they can have a more practical impact on what makes it into the game than a youtuber or a streamer.

[Morbownz]

PvP movie makers, back in the day they'd make people level alts just to try and emulate their WoW Heroes, although I understand that the GM of Blood Legion can get a reservation for two at Dorsia on a Friday night, although he could be lying.

[Blueobelisk]

Everyone? No. Sure, a tiny percentage will eventually catch up after months of wiping, with strategies they took from other guilds, and attempting with way better gear than the first groups who cleared it. Then there are people who come back after the nerfs and completely outgear the content, but they don't count as the content will have become irrelevant.The disparities between bad > okay > decent > good > heroic raider > world first are substantial, no matter what you tell yourself.

I don't want to argue too much or derail the thread, but since its about the influence of world first raiders... Surely everyone looks to them to see what raids are like and to see the competition and who will finish first...

But if we're going to talk about how powerful each individual guild or member is compared to a single youtuber or add on maker or theorycrafter...if you ask me, I'll say being a world first guild is 25% being skilled (I'm seriously high balling that number). 75% of being a world first guild is being prepared. Being prepared by having many characters and raiders in good gear that can sub in for any reason, as well as being able to play enough time to beat everyone else.

But anyway, I just meant that add on makers and theorycrafters influence what an average raider does for the entire patch. A world first guild is looked at the first two or three weeks of a patch.