For a massive online experience like Wold of Warcraft the raid, which is a large-scale group dungeon that requires coordination, scheduling, a high-degree of skill, is often seen as the most epic, hardcore, or grand bit of adventuring to be found in Azeroth.

“The philosophy of raiding in World of Warcraft is a big part of the game for us,” Lead Encounter Designer at Blizzard, Morgan Day, tells me. “Oftentimes it's where a lot of our stories lead up to and end, you've got this big epic bad guy that you're pursuing throughout the expansion, so how do you take him down. Obviously, it would take place in a raid, where the full force of our allies with all of us together, we can bring this villain down.”