I never raid, well like the big majority of the MMO players I don't raid and since only the minority raid in every MMO I doubt its a reason to say that ESO will fail.

Also since their is no raid I won't be looking at player who can do tricks that I can't not because I'm not good enough. But simply because I can't get the items they do own.

Now I can hope that with enough time spend and some works, someday I'll be top geared.

:-)

I thought there are 12 men raids ?

Also MMOs live and die by their end-game content, especially PVE content, which most people are interested in. No MMO can afford not to have pve raids, if TESO really doesn't it goes f2p within the next 6 months and I'm not even saying this as some hater, this is how I genuinely feel.

Adventure Zones will be what most MMO players know as 'raids', they will be large group level 50 content and that is all we know.

They are probably still working on them and don't want to reveal too much about them until ZOS feel they've got it right, but it's all speculation until they officially reveal more information.

where did this, no raid talk come from?

Seem alot of rumours are going around atm.

I'd rather see well-polished smaller group content than half-assed raids. The huge raid group stuff from EQ which rolled over into WoW vanilla (some of EQ's creators worked on WoW, too) seems rather pointless to me. You have a couple tanks, some healers, and a ton of people that just sit on the sidelines and mash random buttons. I suppose it is to feel more epic or something, but aside from that you still get comparable experiences with smaller groups. Tank, heals, just a lot less extra people on the sidelines.

The challenge was often more of finding enough people of the right class ratio and getting them all to stand in certain areas at certain times than trying to actually take down whatever you are fighting. I already have a job managing people, I don't want my hobby to be managing people as well. I just want to play the damn game.

True, but when your not raiding, highe end raiding content give you no reason to sub for. Kinda why I stoped to play WoW long time ago.

For the little we know about it, its seems to look kinda like public quest in EQ2 and WHO. But well, like you said its all speculation.

- Oops, wrong topic. -

As long as they're inviting everybody who ever applied to beta, and giving out half a million additional keys to people who DIDN'T apply, I don't think it matters whether they have something called an "open beta".

The beta is effectively open.

As for the OP: there will be top-level gear available from PvP, from Adventure Zones, from crafting, and probably even from 50+/++ content and the high level small group dungeons.

Ideally, the gear from all those sources is different but equally good.

I did a lot of casual kin centred raiding and 6 man grouping in the late and great LOTRO (not to be confused with the online store that is the new LOTRO-LITE). The experience was nothing like that. Good raids and good group content does feel epic. It brings people together and bringing people together forms the bonds that keep people playing and paying.

There are lot of people out there who are not looking for a simplified but more expensive single player rpg. They have money burning in their pockets for something that alongside delivering a great solo experience also allows them to have fun playing in groups with their friends. These people, people looking for a new long term MMO home, are potentially valuable customers.

With LOTRO essentially dead as a serious game there's a lot of interest in my kinship. But they are looking for husband and wife to easily play together and looking for challenges that groups of friends can have fun together in. Things like Neverwinter and GW2 can be great solo experiences but they're all lacking that extra social dimension.

I'm a big fan of TESO so Zen have my money. I just want the broadest spectrum of MMO player possible to join me so they have even more money.

you are in luck, 12 man raids is what this game will have. i also have more fun in smaller group content and always had more fun in the ten man raids of wow. i think 12 is a good number for raids and 4 is good for dungeons. though it might take a little time to get used to 4 instead of 5

Yes, I did play WoW for about 6 months longer than I normally would have only because of the guild I was in. But 40 was overkill and we rarely ever could fill that amount (still did all right, we were a smaller guild but focused and a lot of good players). When the raid number was reduced to 25 (I think? Been a while)... those were all right and a bit more manageable.

I don't know what they did after that. Apparently all kinds of options for raids, and veteran hard-mode raids and whatever else. I hear the game went downhill fast after that.

I don't know, I don't have the answers I just know that getting 40 people to log in at the same time, same day of week was a headache I'd rather not experience again.

the days of 40 man raids are done i think and i for one could not be happier about it

Yep. I'd be happy with 4/6/8 man adventures of various sorts.