Why do we raid?

It's a question that comes up more and more as I talk to my friends in the game. Why do we raid? The topic comes fairly close to home because I am in a situation where raiding is not quite on the horizon. Sure we have our Kara keys, but the coordination of an actual run has been far from successful. In addition to whatever challenges we have in my guild, there is the fact of my class. I am a mage, and currently the best gear I can reasonably attain is crafted, not found in an instance. So why am I pushing to raid Karazhan when I can get gear made that is better than what I'll find? Quite simply put, I want to know.

I want to know what it is like to experience the instance. The more I see of the Warcraft universe, the more I come to appreciate the complex beauty of it as a whole, with rich and deeply laid foundations of story and lore that intrigue me. If the game were a novel (and I've read the novels too, this is just a metaphor) I would sit down at the beginning and read until the end. Raiding is the climax to the story as it has been told, since the pivotal plot points are told in the raid instances. It is in Mount Hyjal that players finally face Archimonde, and in the Black Temple where they can best Illidan, providing they are uber uber leet. In order to read to the end of the story, you must raid.

I guess what I'm saying is that I want to raid not only for the chance for sweet gear, and I'm sure there is some still out there for me, if only in the form of weapons. I want to raid because of experience itself. But many are disillusionedwith the game since TBC, and some say raiding is broken. Why still do players charge out into the 25-man instances, if they feel that the accomplishment has lost its grandeur despite the game elements becomin more difficult to overcome? Why do we raid?

[via James]