Whenever Blizzard takes us into a story climate, this journey usually ends in one of the numerous and more or less large-scale raids. A corresponding number of these instances has accumulated over the years and expansions. We’ve picked out our personal favorites, but what about you?

In a little over half a year, World of Warcraft will be twelve years old and we’re already in the middle of the sixth add-on, having fought our way up to level 110, tearing down new dungeons and probably already cleaning out the first new raids. But until then, before the start of the closed beta, we want to reminisce about all the raids Blizzard has given us so far and choose our favorites – the five walls, palaces, and dragon lairs that we particularly like or simply remember. Who are your hottest candidates?

We didn’t want to come up with a real, official top 5, because as we found out in our conversations in the editorial office, personal tastes sometimes diverge completely – yours certainly do, too! My personal top 5? That would probably be the following:

1. Ulduar: A graphical, boss-heavy and varied hammer-raid with (at the time) umpteen new mechanics and probably the best built-in hardmodes ever! Being able to approach bosses in a certain way to lure them out of their shell (the heart of XT!) was genius. Also in first place because my progression time as a trial started with six hours of Mimiron hardmode. Too bad you could just switch modes in Trial of the Crusader.
2nd Throne of Thunder: Great raid with lots of different bosses and mechanics in an equally great quest area. 2nd place because hardly any other raid reminded me so much of my favorite raid Ulduar.
3. Zul’Aman: Great atmosphere and challenge, which can be increased if desired thanks to the bear timer. In 3rd place because our 10-person raid really fought its way to victory. What a celebration we had when the last two trolls were in the dirt – really nice memories!
4th Karazhan: My first raid and still not forgotten. Hardly any raid offered such a dense atmosphere as the Mage Tower of Medivh. Too bad there are no more quests for additional bosses like Nightbane.
5. serpentshrine cave: Lady Vashji’s musty living room was my first 25 raid and was a blast. And how proud we were to have actually killed the old scaly broad at the end, while most other guilds moved right on to the Black Temple or Hyjal. And hey, fishing for a boss – how cool is that?!
The best raids of all time – so say the colleagues:

Philip: 1st Throne of Thunder, 2nd Ulduar, 3rd Naxxramas, 4th Icecrown Citadel, 5th Karazhan
Sebastian: All Major Raids
Karsten: 1st Blackwing Lair, 2nd Naxxramas, 3rd Karazhan, 4th Black Temple, 5th Zul’Gurub
Veronika: 1st Karazhan, 2nd Naxxramas, 3rd Dragon Soul, 4th Highmaul, 5th Ulduar
Tanya: 1st The Sunwell Plateau, 2nd Tempest Keep, 3rd Naxxramas, 4th Icecrown Citadel, 5th Ulduar

So, now you are asked: Which raids in WoW are still at the top of your personal hit list and why? Tell us in the comments – tomorrow we’ll turn the tables 😉

What is WoW Classic?

World of Warcraft Classic is a true recreation of the original WoW as you know it from 2006. All parts of the game – from combat mechanics and talent trees to character models and zones – have been recreated, contributing to the authentic experience.

Getting Started

All players with an active World of Warcraft subscription or game time on their accounts have access toWoW Classic at no additional cost.

1. Open the Blizzard Battle.net Desktop App and select World of Warcraft from the menu.
2. Select World of Warcraft Classic from the Version menu. If you have more than one World of Warcraft account, you’ll see a second Account drop-down list. In this column, select the active account you want to play with.
3. Click the Install button. The progress bar will tell you when your game is ready to play.
4. Click the Play button when the installation is complete.

You will need to select the realm you want to play on from several different realm types. Make sure you choose the same realm as your friends – in World of Warcraft Classic, you can only group with characters that are on the same realm as you!

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