This is a response to 10mans vs 25mans: Is Equity Needed? over on Graylo's blog. If I'm gisting incorrectly here, I do apologize, but this was how I perceived the post.

The Removal of Obligation

Graylo addressed the purpose of changing the 10/25 to a single raid lockout and ended by stating that he didn't understand why the removal of obligation meant that the two formats needed to be relatively equal. As a raider who would prefer the 10 man format simply because it requires less organization and does not require me to depend on 24 other people, a few of which are guaranteed to bail or otherwise let me down and cause attendance problems, I feel that this is obvious.

Repeatedly, Graylo talks about choosing between the format and the gear. He claims that it makes no sense for a player to state that they like a 10 man format but raid 25 man instances for the better gear. And, he claims, their actions prove they do not like the 10 man format as much as they like the 25 man gear. This is true. However, I think a larger issue is being missed here. The player doesn't prefer one format or another more than they prefer making their character the best that they can. Currently that is a "no choice" desire. If one desires to maximize one's character, one is forced to run the 25 man version of the raid. Without equalization of 10s and 25s, one will be forced to choose 25 mans again. But this choice has absolutely nothing to do with the format of the dungeon. It has to do only with the loot available. All other things being equal, the player would not choose to participate in the 25 man. They would choose the 10 man. In some respects, their choice of format is being removed by their desire for gear.

I see no problem in scaling the 10 man encounters up to the level of 25 man encounters. Keep in mind that with the current implementation of the raid system, a 10 man dungeon is balanced around the idea that the players in it only have access to the previous 10 man gear. These items had a lower ilevel and consequently meant that the characters for which the dungeon was balanced were less powerful. Changing the lockouts and the gear dropped would allow Blizzard to rebalance the 10 mans so that they would prove challenging to people in the previous tier's best gear. This could include factors like steeper penalties for standing in fires since there is more room. Larger AoE explosions requiring more selective positioning. Having the same or slightly more adds per DPS on a fight to promote triage. Not scaling back health pools by the exact ratio of expected DPS. There are many ways to "balance" a fight that doesn't involve taking the 25 man encounter and scaling it directly to the damage and healing that a 10 man version could do.

The Slippery Slope

The slippery slope is a common argument for gaining support. Unfortunately, most slippery slope arguments are logical fallacies, more commonly known as the Fallacy of the Altered Standpoint. Asserting that if we let X happen, then Y and Z will follow in order to gain support for stopping X only works if Y and Z really will follow. I know a few people that pine for the 40 man raid days. They miss the epic feel. But the biggest resistance for changing to a 25 man raid format came in the form of guild size. How should a guild of 40 downsize to 25? I don't think you can say that the demand for the 40 or 5 man raid style really will follow from equalizing 10 and 25 man loot. In fact, as long as the Dungeon Finder stays in place and the dungeons act as an entrance point for gear, I doubt you'll ever see people asking for equalized difficulty on the 5 man front. If that were to happen, then quests would have to provide gear that was good enough to enter the raids straight out.

Equalizing 10 and 25 mans will not only simplify loot tables for Blizzard (a clear goal) but it will offer players a choice between the feel of the instance and the possible speed with which they get gear. The key to this is having the 10 mans drop the same quality gear. I don't mind taking a little longer to gear up because I prefer the format of the 10 man. I do mind not being able to reach the same level with my character without doing a 25 man. Is it possible that the 25 format will die once people have begun to gear up and then they drop to the 10 man format for achievements? Sure. But this is a slippery slope argument just like the one above. There is absolutely no certainty and why would a 25 man raiding guild drop 5 of its contributing raiders to downsize into 10s and get achievements? I think once the guild decides to run a 25 man format, they will stick with it until they either can't field the 25 man raid anymore or simply disband. They won't change midway because they've got the gear.

Tell Players to Choose

I have to disagree vehemently here. I should not have to choose between raiding casually in the 10 man format because it is easier to manage or raiding competitively in the 25 man format because it takes more effort on some peoples parts to organize. Especially if I am not the person organizing. Forcing players to choose between rewards and enjoyment is silly. Games simply aren't built around the second place. Especially if the choice is binding (as it will be when the lockout is shared). What made that choice OK so far is that it did not preclude a person from seeking their enjoyment in the game through either means. Not only would it permanently place the 10 man raiders half a tier behind, but it would insure that transitioning from a 10 man to a 25 man guild would be difficult and the transition from 25 to 10 would yield almost no benefit for the person looking to downsize. It would encourage those raiders who liked the 10 man format to join a 25 man raiding guild, gear up, and then scoot on back to their 10 man format where the fun lies.

Recognition

I feel it is important to mention recognition here. There is a great deal of recognition involved in raiding. That recognition needs to be available for the 10 man raider as well. Creating a "class system" where a 10 man raider can be king of the paupers, while the 25 man raider is king of the kings will never get players to view 10 man achievements on par with 25 man achievements. Offering a special "poor man's" award for completing the 10 man content in 10 man gear is akin to offering ribbons to those people not placing first. It would be hard for people to look at this as anything other than the winner of the loser's bracket. That's not a particularly prestigious title and the 25 man raiders will continue to look down on the 10 man raiders as far as "difficulty" goes.

We were given some license this week to choose the instance we want to spruce up. I picked Ragefire Chasm (map) because it's an instance that I used to ghetto-hearth all the time and it never got the respect it deserved from me. Also, it's massively accessible in much the same way the Stockades are massively accessible to the Alliance.



Here's a little back-history from Wowikki.com

Ragefire Chasm was first discovered by Chief Goblin Engineer Gazlowe, during Rexxar's visit to Orgrimmar. Beneath the city of Orgrimmar lies this fiery chasm. Recently, a clan of troggs known as Ragefire Troggs have begun to appear in the chasm, from deep below the lava-filled tunnels. Magatha the Seer, of the tauren people, attempted to make peace with these creatures, but was met only with hostility. It was clear that these troggs were not interested in diplomacy, and could potentially overwhelm the entire Horde if left unchecked.
A sect of the mysterious Shadow Council has also taken refuge in this chasm. This sect is known as the Searing Blade, and is led by Taragaman the Hungerer, a felguard; Jergosh the Invoker, a powerful warlock; and Bazzalan, a satyr. From their dark hiding place, they plot to overthrow and destroy all that the Horde has built for themselves in these lands.

If you haven't run RFC, you should. The very first thing to do in RFC is go find the corpse of a Maur Grimtotem. His earthly remains are guarded by his assumed assailant Oggleflint. For shame, Maur. Who gets killed by someone named Oggleflint?!?

From there, you mosey on over to kill a felguard named Taragaman the Hungerer. What a great name. Next in line is an Orc Warlock named Jergosh the Invoker. He's a leader of the Searing Blade and prototypical angry/demonic orc. He gives orcs a bad name! (yes, you should be singing Bon Jovi) Finally, you trek up to Bazzalan, a Satyr who also acts as a leader of the Searing Blade. All in all a fun time with several different feeling bosses. Good trash packs too!

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And then, the mountains were sundered and the lava pools below burst forth, also allowing the release of some very dark magics planted in the deepest bowels of the Ragefire Chasm by none other than the nefarious warlock Jergosh. In the midst of violent magics and tremendous forces, the Ragefire Chasm thrust through the crust of Azeroth and pushed towards the sky, bringing with it the remains of those killed previously.

Jergosh the Invoker returns as Jergosh the Cursed, an undead warlock of immense power. He summons to his side the Satyr Bazzalan, rotted and decayed but held together by powerful dark forces, this Satyr knows no remorse or mercy and will gladly sacrifice parts of himself to smite his enemies.

Unintentionally resurrected in the chaos was the brave spirit of Maur Grimtotem. His spirit ripped from the serenity of the afterlife, Jergosh quickly realized his power and imprisoned him in a chamber deep inside the Ragefire Chasm. Maur is in grave danger of being consumed by the dark forces swirling in the ever-rising lava, where his soul would be destroyed and lost forever from the light.

Adventurer's are moved by the plea of Magatha Grimtotem, who sensed her clansman's spiritual return and torment. Magatha places a bounty on Jergosh's head and a reward for the safe return of clansman's soul.

10 Changes:

1. Rising Magma - This is the biggest change. Much like Molten Core, you would be working your way down into the heart of Azeroth to free Maur of his confines. The magma seeping into the Chasm will destroy his prison and his soul in 25 minutes after you enter the instance. Possible Achievement or special mount here.
   
   
2. Rescuing Maur is a new Daily Heroic Dungeon quest.
   
   
3. Jergosh the Invoker becomes Jergosh the Cursed, twisted by his own evil magic. He no longer casts curse of weakness but rather has a new aura, reducing all attributes by 3% every 5 seconds. Jergosh learned Conflagrate to accompany his vicious Immolate. Conflagrate hits for a large (>15k) amount of damage. He will also summon souls of those that have died in Ragefire to attack as well.
   
   
4. Achievement for killing Jergosh in under a minute.
   
   
5. Bazzalan will have targetable parts much like Kologarn (only smaller in scale) and each different part, when destroyed, provides Bazzalan with a new ability as he integrates the destroyed part into his arsenal.
   
   
6. Possible Hard Modes on Bazzalan depending on the kill order of the parts.
   
   
7. Taragaman the Hungerer is resummoned by Jergosh upon the first encounter with Jergosh. Jergosh teleports himself to the gate of Maur's Prison after summoning. Fire Nova range increased to 100 yards to force damage on group. Taragaman also has an intercept and an enrage/focus for 10 seconds every 30 seconds. During this time he is untauntable and must either be kited or healed through.
   
   
8. Trash packs WILL require CC until massively outgeared. Many of the humanoids will have AoE capabilities and need to be controlled.
   
   
9. Troggs seem to be thriving on the demonic energies and have become much more powerful and aggressive.
   
   
10. The Lava Elementals have fused with the Earthborers to make what appear at first site to be worms made of Lava. Due to their fiery hot bodies, they cause durability loss on weapons at a slightly accelerated pace.

That's my quick list. I'd really like to see Ragefire Chasm rise up from the ruins of Durotar if it does get destroyed like I heard whispers about. So, adventurer, what dost thou think?