One word? Mixed.
On the one hand, I enjoy raiding, it can be really great to meet with a bigger group of players and get some challenging task done. It feels good to be able to do hard stuff that requires coordination and teamwork.
On the other hand, excessive raiding (too often and/or for too long for a single session) can get annoying quickly. For myself, I found that raiding three times a week is about the maximum, more and it feels like I don't have time for anything else in the game anymore. So I guess I'm more of a casual raider.
Ambivalent
I like raiding, but I don't like it when raiding becomes essential for progression or the entire game starts to be designed around the needs and wants of raiders. Raiding to me should be an extra, optional step, not a necessary step. It should be rewarding, but not in such a way it bends the reward structure of the entire game around it. A full-geared raider should be able to excel in group content, but not so much that group content now needs to be tuned to having full raid gear.
I can live without raiding, but I will happily engage the content if I am able. I think it would be a huge mistake to not have raid content. I think it is equally a mistake to treat a game as though everyone wants to or is able to raid. It is often argued that raiders are what carry a game, but I think the truth is more that raiders simply tend to be more engaged and vocal players, and so their voices sound more numerous (not that they aren't valid), so it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Ambivalent
Done thoughtfully, it can really enhance the game experience and foster community cooperation.
For me personally, what makes it undesirable would be that:
Its all there is to do at “endgame “
Its gated content that separates “hardcore “ from “casual “ gamers
Its possible for a guild to become “gatekeepers “ of the content
Its too time investment heavy (I don’t enjoy any raid that takes more than 2 hours)
That it has to be done ad nauseum to get that piece of ‘unobtainium ‘
It’s a tough job to make raiding relevant, challenging, exciting, and useful , but I have faith that Pantheon will deliver.
Community
I have been a member of a guild that was on the bleeding edge of content, raiding every night into the wee hours of the morning, making sure I was always there so I didn't lose my raid spot and taking part of the different loot methods out (DKP and so on). It felt like another word I already do during the day... job.
The best raiding experiences I had was with a group of people that felt more like a community. We didn't do the latest raids and always seemed to be behind the big named guilds but I always had more fun with those people for some reason. The loot was dispersed for those that needed it everyone wanted to see people get the gear. We joked and had a lot of fun even when we wiped. That is what I want my raid experiences to be like.
The Oxford English Dictionary defines the word as "a nonsense word, originally used esp. by children, and typically expressing excited approbation: fantastic, fabulous"
Kilsin said:In One Word - Describe your feelings towards Raiding? #MMORPG #communitymatters
Crave
I want it, I need it, I have to have it. The more the better.