Glory Days of US Raiding

[Retention]

So all the news recently got me thinking of when US Raiding was in its prime and I wanted to get some thoughts on how you guys felt about the apex. I think the US competition was stiffest mid-Wrath. One of the most difficult encounters would have to be Yogg-0, and when I look back at the World kills, I'm proud of the US guilds. Look at the US guilds on the World top 20 Yogg-0 kill list:

Premonition - World 3rd
Vigil - World 8th
Cuties Only - World 10th
Fusion - World 11th
Blood Legion - World 12th
Gentlemens Club - World 13th
Dues Vox - World 14th
vodka - World 19th

Other highlights are Premonition and Juggernaut getting World 1st/World 2nd for Tier 9 (albeit that was the horrendous "raid" ToC)

Gentlemens Club with a World 1st Herald of the Titans (a ridiculously difficult accomplishment at the time).

Those moments for me are when it was really great for the US guilds. I'm curious to know what you guys think?

[Deleted]

crazy how out of those guilds you listed for yogg, only 2 of them are still raiding semi hardcore to this day. Vigil and vodka(technically disbanded then reformed recently)

[Deleted]

So all the news recently got me thinking of when US Raiding was in its prime and I wanted to get some thoughts on how you guys felt about the apex. I think the US competition was stiffest mid-Wrath. One of the most difficult encounters would have to be Yogg-0, and when I look back at the World kills, I'm proud of the US guilds. Look at the US guilds on the World top 20 Yogg-0 kill list:

Premonition - World 3rd
Vigil - World 8th
Cuties Only - World 10th
Fusion - World 11th
Blood Legion - World 12th
Gentlemens Club - World 13th
Dues Vox - World 14th
vodka - World 19th

Other highlights are Premonition and Juggernaut getting World 1st/World 2nd for Tier 9 (albeit that was the horrendous "raid" ToC)

Gentlemens Club with a World 1st Herald of the Titans (a ridiculously difficult accomplishment at the time).

Those moments for me are when it was really great for the US guilds. I'm curious to know what you guys think?

US Guilds were competitive until the Race got really hardcore and that started with LK HC Limited Trys. Some Guilds had leveled alts to try this Boss to have more trys. But with the start of Cata this got really out of control, every hc guild had now alt raids and this was the new standard. I dont think that alot of US players can play the time that is required to compete for wf, people forget that the gearing of alts takes also alot of time (especially if you gear 4-5 alts). There are maybe only 2 US guilds that kinda try to do that.

[Hots]

Just reading those guild names made me nostalgic, cuties only vids <3.

I think alt raids did indeed made hardcore raiding to hardcore for US guilds. EU simply has more vacation days to use and i think overall better employment conditions and probably more who study. Just gives EU a bigger pool of players who are able to raid hardcore, hence a bigger chance to be better.

I wish blizzard would change alt raiding with funneling gear to mains, bur i honestly have absolutely no clue how one would do that.

[Deleted]

Vanilla wow, from Molten Core to Sapphiron. Pinnacle being world first of 4 horsemen by DnT.

[Flutterguy]

Vanilla wow, from Molten Core to Sapphiron. Pinnacle being world first of 4 horsemen by DnT.

Glory days of Alliance raiding too. lol

[Notdev]

US raiding scene has just been decimated over the years. The only US guild threatening for top 20 world is Midwinter. Unless another guild steps up big time it doesn't look like this will change.

[Deleted]

US raiding scene has just been decimated over the years. The only US guild threatening for top 20 world is Midwinter. Unless another guild steps up big time it doesn't look like this will change.

Ascension is keeping up with top 20. Especially after their amazing performance in highmaul with that #1 us margok kill.

[Notdev]

Ascension is keeping up with top 20. Especially after their amazing performance in highmaul with that #1 us margok kill.

Didn't forget about them but they are not really considered US though, although they are technically on North American servers.

[Deleted]

Didn't forget about them but they are not really considered US though, although they are technically on North American servers.

they along with every other OC guild are considered US by themselves, wowprogress and their fellow top US guild competitors though. you can't really separate them from the US in regards to guild ranks.

[brakez]

Hands down, Vanilla was the pinnacle of competition in the US. Though you couldn't server transfer (until late vanilla), and you needed more people (40), there were never so many elite PVE guilds in our country. To name just a few:

Death and Taxes
Deus Vox
Retribution
vodka
Vis Maior
Conquest
Risen
Elitist Jerks
Aeternus
Overrated
Drama
The Twelve Prophets
Ascent
Fury
Immortality
Impervious
Fires of Heaven
Afterlife
Forgotten Heroes
Aurora

Now we have Mindwinter. One competitive guild remaining. It's just not the same game.

[twelvethirty]

Father time always wins.

[Vestig3]

To name just a few:

And Nightmarus Asylum, but for a bigger part of vanilla EU dominated with world first end bosses and some people say the battle between Method and Paragon is the best there ever was but those people prob never seen the battle between Death & Taxes and Nihilum

[Dangg]

And Nightmarus Asylum, but for a bigger part of vanilla EU dominated with world first end bosses and some people say the battle between Method and Paragon is the best there ever was but those people prob never seen the battle between Death & Taxes and Nihilum

D&T chocked (or were really unlucky? In AQ40 and Naxx for sure) when it mattered.

[Notdev]

There were probably a hundred or more US guilds in mid WoTLK that would compete for top 10 US today.

[Kickbuttmario]

Not sure if this is relevant but the US gaming culture has changed significantly since 5-10 years ago, along with the standards that most US citizens, usually teens and young adults, must be able to fulfill to have some sort of level of solid success (usually financially, and this includes working long hours).

No idea how the EU compares but just saying.

[Deleted]

Not like it's all roses and butterflies in the EU either. If Paragon disbands (which isn't really all that far-fetched seeing that they were 10-man in MoP due to lack of hardcore Finnish raiders...) there is literally zero competition for Method anywhere. Except possibly from China which is pretty much the only WoW culture that seems to be on some sort of rise.

[Zlebar]

Dang choked* when it mattered.

Just kidding bud, lol

but it was definitely a different time for the US raiding scene back then.

[foxHeart]

I guess I'm supposed to look for whatever reason I can to feel some kind of pride over people born roughly on the same land mass as me doing things that don't affect me whatsoever.

[Ktperry]

Not sure if this is relevant but the US gaming culture has changed significantly since 5-10 years ago, along with the standards that most US citizens, usually teens and young adults, must be able to fulfill to have some sort of level of solid success (usually financially, and this includes working long hours).

No idea how the EU compares but just saying.

So do you mean Europeans dont grow up and get jobs?