WRUP: The best old raid

In today's What aRe yoU Playing we ask the simple question, what's your favorite old raid?

Mine has to be the combination of the Black Temple and Mount Hyjal. Both fit so well together on a tier, and both provided some amazing fights. Archimonde and Illidan were guild killers, but both were doable. I really felt that they were the last bosses that took a month or more of learning just to get down.

But when you finally did defeat them? Man was it epic. You were the king of the world for a while. I don't think anything else has ever felt as grand in the game as that.

What's your favorite old raid? We ask our writers the same.

Adam Holisky (@adamholisky) This weekend I'll just be doing some dailies. Plan on lying low and trying to get over the last of this flu junk. It's been really bad this year.

Anne Stickney (@Shadesogrey) I am playing uh...well, nothing until I get my power supply -- but I'm housesitting for a relative, so I'm having fun playing with a bunch of fuzzy animals and making sure they're fed and kept company while the relatives are out of town! Best old raid -- my best memories come from Blackwing Lair, the old 40 man version. But I think that honestly, I had a lot of fun in both Black Temple and Ulduar. Oh, and Karazhan. Karazhan was as close to perfection as I ever hoped to see, and I hope they never change it!

Chase Christian (@madsushi) I will be testing out some of the rogue changes on the 5.2 PTR this weekend. I am excited to try some of the new abilities. Hopefully there will be some errant Alliance running around, just waiting to be ganked.

The best old raid is Trial of the Crusader. Blizzard threw everything at the TotC wall to see if it would stick. They tried the "no trash" model, they introduced some boss encounter randomness via the Faction Champions, they introduced formal heroic modes and the heroic toggle, they tried the 4-lockout model, they tried a class-agnostic gear token, they tried an encounter where PvP specs/trinkets were encouraged, they tried the portal inside of a PvP Sanctuary, they tried a "secret" last boss, and they tried not one but two Jormungar! It was the pinnacle of innovation, and failure.

Chase Hasbrouck (@alarondruid, @alaronmonk) I'm considering going back to solo some old content this weekend, so this question is quite timely. Ulduar is my favorite raid, but in the interest of saying something different, I'll toss in a vote for Tempest Keep. When I soloed it on my druid at 85, every encounter was interesting. Al'ar took speed to get from platform to platform; Void Reaver locked out my self-healing; and Solarian launched me 200 feet in the air, repeatedly. (Not to mentioned Solarian's trash, which is one of the few mobs that will MC you as a solo player; this results in you walking patrol with the trash until the MC breaks, which is hysterical.) Finally, learning and killing Kael'thas took several nights of wipes and learning before I pulled it off.

Dan Desmond (@Antigen_) I won't be playing much of anything this weekend, I'm going to a friend's cabin and drinking a lot of cheap booze. Lately, though, I've been playing some Crusader Kings II, Torchlight II, and a small helping of Dishonored here and there.

My favorite old raid, which isn't actually that old (though I suppose it was two expansions ago) was Ulduar. I pretty much cut my raiding teeth in that instance, and I'm not sure we'll ever see something so epic-feeling again. A man can dream, though.

Joe Perez (@lodurzj) Not much gaming for me this weekend, moving into a new place so that's pretty much all I'm doing.

As far as the best old raid, Kara is the obvious choice for a lot of reasons, but I'm going to have to go with Ulduar this time around. It's always a constant battle between the two for me. I've recently started going through Ulduar again, and the details, the scale, the feel of the zone is fantastic. It still makes me stop and look every time. It's simply amazing.

Lisa Poisso (@lisapoisso) Saturday night board games! This week, we're trying out a new Star Trek game we picked up over the holidays, and my daughter will make pumpkin poppers (like pumpkin doughnut holes rolled in cinnamon sugar). Best old raid: I know Kara will win the survey (and it should), but original Zul'Gurub has my heart. I miss my snake staff and my husband's Spiderman-colored warrior set, and I can still do Jeklik's rasping "Lord Hireek..." call with the best of them!

Matt Low (@matticus) Some League of Legends! Otherwise, I'll be on the 5.2 PTR myself hoping to see what's new to explore. Sadly, there isn't much to do just yet. That should change within the next while.

It's a tossup for best old raid between Karazhan and Ulduar. But the thing is, I don't like 10 man raids and Ulduar's been my favorite for a long time. Actually, I'm feeling particularly lazy at the moment. Trial of the Crusader had no trash. In terms of time, that's probably one of the best picks! I could clear it out in an hour and then carry on with other stuff!

Matt Rossi (@MatthewWRossi) I will be playing Baldur's Gate II and doing some WoW on the side because Baldur's Gate II has tendrils in my brain.

The best old raid is Black Temple cause I got my first Warglaive this week after what, six years? Also, BT is freaking huge and has some awesome art assets.

Matt Walsh (@Rhidach) I'll be continuing with my addiction to Crusader Kings II, attempting to build some glorious Empire of Wales, or something. Maybe some Torchlight II, if I can find the time.

The best old raid is and will always be Karazhan. There's just something timeless and magical about that place. It was also my first raid, and so the nostalgia surrounding is very powerful for me.

Megan O'Niell (@slowpoker) I'm playing the reinstall or copy everything onto a new hard drive game. I blame mages for what happened to my 6-month-old drive. Best old raid? Ulduar was cool on a current content level, but I particularly liked Naxx (2.0). I not only learned to raid there on my warlock (nostalgia reasons), but I led many an alt raid in there to learn how to raid in different roles. It was a great place to learn basic mechanics within a raid, like working with another tank, things a 5man couldn't offer you.

Olivia Grace (@oliviadgrace) this weekend I will be battling with technology! And I'll be leveling some more. I still haven't managed to shake the Cataclysm shackles of wanting a ton of alts, I really like the variety that having a lot of alts brings, to me it's better than having one character that does a lot of different things. I only do a few things, but on a lot of different characters!

Best old raid... hmmm... like Lisa I know Kara will get it, so I'm going to vote for Black Temple. I do remember being blown away by the sheer look and scale of that place, and the Reliquary of Souls was... wow.

The weekend is the perfect time to kick back, relax and enjoy some game time. Are you an achievement junkie? Can't get enough raiding? Rolling a new alt? Considering taking the leap into roleplaying? Whatever your favorite way to play World of Warcraft, let us know in the comments what you're playing this weekend!