Greetings! Cynicism here and before you ask, yes, the name is appropriate. I didn’t look up a random word in a dictionary and come across it like some people you see in game who have a name that looks cool but probably means ‘Sanitary Towel’ in Swahili. I’m here to write about the world-class raiding community from a personal point of view as most people have become tired of being curled in the foetal position in a darkened corner while I rant. Hopefully you will enjoy this rather mild introduction to these articles and will be prompted to read the next ones as they come out. Please be assured that it will most likely only get worse as it goes on so have a stiff drink at the ready and let us begin!

World firsts and what makes those who achieve them different?

World firsts are pretty much the ultimate accolade of the PvE part of WoW. They’re not only representative of being the first to achieve a boss kill but they also show the dedication and determination of the players who have achieved it.

As you would expect, not everybody can expect to get a world first. Primarily as only one first place can be claimed but also most/all of the players who achieve them have been subjected to the rather intensive application process.

One of the most striking parts of this process is when you begin reading the application form. Many, if not all, of the world-class guilds require their raiders to have ‘good control over their personal lives’. This level of dedication rules most players out there and then. Some may read this as being ‘you will have nothing in your life other than the game’ and that is simply not the case (it’s a very common misconception in fact), it just means that come patch release day you will have time booked off work (or something similar) so that you are available for a prolonged period to start clearing the new content.

Having control over your personal life is by no means a guarantee that you’re in, it’s merely preamble! As you fill in the form you will be asked very probing questions about your spec, gear choices and glyph choices as well as other things associated with the way that you play. Some guilds will even expect you as a raider to be an active member of the theorycrafting community (Ensidia being one example of such a guild).

Provided you have passed all of these initial hurdles and have made a good impression you are likely to be offered a trial with the guild. In the words of Nefarian; ‘Let the games begin’! As you raid with your new guild you will be watched by the class leader(s) for rotation as well as by everyone in case you make some subtle yet colossal mistake. As this is the world-class level, you will be held EXTREMELY accountable for mistakes and actions, particularly since the introduction of limited attempts.

If you do a good job and pass your trial then congratulations! You are now a world-class raider! As you would expect that is not necessarily an end to the proving yourself. As you’re now bearing the banner of the guild your behaviour etc. will reflect upon them as well as yourself as well as continually fighting with your fellow raiders for spots.

Just being in a world class guild doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to get a world first (shockingly it takes work) and leads to the interesting bit of world firsts; the race.

The best examples of world firsts are from the Wrath of the Lich King expansion as only recent kills are recorded on the various websites that track guild progression.

The obvious suggestion for a world first would be the Lich King 25 man heroic. As this fight was subject to the limited attempts it is not very fair to use it as so many factors could ensure an attempt was lost before it was started properly. However for the sake of those who may not know or keep tabs on these things; the first 3 Lich King heroic kills were claimed by Paragon (EU-Lightning’s Blade), For the Horde (EU-Nazjatar) and Ensidia (EU-Tarren Mill).

Ulduar was the final raid of the Lich King expansion that was not prey to limited attempts and so probably serves as the best example. Supposedly it took Ensidia over 300 attempts to get Firefighter on 25 man (which earned them the world first on it) which is impressive/demented depending on your view point. Throughout the Lich King expansion there hasn’t been one guild that has consistently been getting world firsts it has been a series of guilds. Some have come and gone, others have remained at the forefront and some have appeared from absolutely nowhere and stolen kills at the last moment! The table below very briefly sums up who got what world first (for hard modes) in Ulduar just to illustrate how varied the winners were.

As you can see it was very varied in the end and as far as I am concerned this is a good thing as it keeps things interesting. It would be pretty boring to just see one guild getting all of the world firsts, let’s face it. ‘No king rules forever’ being a particularly applicable quote.

Next time I will be writing about what some of these world-class guilds are prepared to do to get a world first. That’s right everyone! I am mounting my very high horse and will be speaking about cheating! Gareth, get my ruler! There are some hides to be tanned!

If you enjoyed this post, or if you hated it and want to flame us more often, consider subscribing to our RSS feed. Does that sound like gibberish? More infoz over yonder.