There is a very easy solution to Blizzard’s disappointement that too few players raid.
That solution is twofold : 1) get rid of the raid ID for mythic raid (make it like heroic raiding) and 2) open mythic raiding for cross-realm cross-faction groups from day 1 when mythic raiding is available.
Indeed, the reason while most players I know are not raiding is that Mythic raiding is unavailable to them, not necessarily because of skill, but because of calendar constraints and the necessity to belong to a mythic raiding guild. And if you’re only considering heroic raiding, then it makes no sense from a gear point of view. So you’ll outgear the heroic raid from doing mythic +15 and above and then do you heroic raid once for whatever reward there is.
If you get rid of the specific mythic raiding ID and make it available to cross-realm from day 1, you’ll get the following benefits. First, players will actually be able to try mythic raiding at the time when they are available for raid and outside of a raiding guild. Second, raid leaders will be able to easily find players for each role they need, kick the players who haven’t done their research and/or don’t know how to play, which means the group can actually try (and wipe at first) rather than be stuck, sometimes for weeks, for lack of a complete team. Thirdly, the player base will learn the tactics and tricks from day 1, and a common culture of raid strategy will be created.
Let’s not fool ourselves, gearing up is the engine of an MMO and the only reason people are gonna play a specific content on a long-term basis is if it brings them the best loot. If Blizzards implements these new measures, the number of players raiding will boom significantly.
Are there drawbacks to my plan ? Well three reasons were given to me why it shouldn’t be done, but I don’t think any one is valid.
First, it might give the opportunity to a cross-realm not guilded group the opportunity to get a first raid kill. While I doubt that such a group could beat an organized pro guild, well, what if they did ? Wouldn’t they deserve their victory ?
Second, it would kill mythic raiding guilds apart from the very top ones. That would probably happen indeed, but is it really a bad thing ? If the number of players actually raiding in mythic is increased tenfold, the loss of power of a few guilds isn’t really a problem in my view.
Thirdly, it could lead to more boosting mythic end bosses by reducing the price and making boosting available to the least populated realms. Once again, this might be the case but is it really a problem : if there are 10x more people raiding mythic and 10x more people getting boosted, that doesn’t really change the equation.
In conclusion : Blizzard if you want people to do your raids give them the actual logistical opportunity to raid mythic by removing the artificial barriers stemming from mythic raid ID and the absence of cross-realm mythic raiding for the relevant part of an expansion.