Latest WowProgress data shows raiders steadily progressing through Dragon Soul

A few weeks ago, we wrote about GuildOx data showing a 50% decline in raid activity. While that is to be expected to some extent with Mists of Pandaria looming on the horizon, there is a silver lining. New data compiled by WoWProgress shows a consistent and steady increase in the number of guilds that have defeated Heroic Madness of Deathwing, the final encounter in Dragon Soul.

So what does this mean? First, Blizzard's system of progressive nerfing is succeeding in its mission. Dedicated raiders are progressing and not hitting a wall like they did in Firelands. (See those initial two months on heroic Ragnaros, where the line is essentially flat? That's a progression wall.) This has served to keep interest up, and I expect we'll see this model of nerfs continued for future raid tiers.

Second, those who argued that Firelands was nerfed too late are likely correct. Only ~2000 guilds had killed heroic Ragnaros when Dragon Soul was released; while that number has kept increasing steadily, it's been rapidly eclipsed by heroic Madness kills. While it's possible that Dragon Soul is significantly more popular, I think it's more likely that many raiders just didn't have enough time to work on Firelands post-nerf and haven't had the opportunity to go back.

For more great analysis breaking down 10-man vs. 25-man and charts of progression for other bosses in Dragon Soul, check out the full article on WowProgress.