Quote:Past instance design like Kael and Vashj? Magtheridon? Razorgore and Vael? Pre WOTLK they didn't have a problem putting in serious blocks that completely halted progression, though they later nerfed those in BC for the bad idea they were. So maybe NOW they wouldn't do that but that's the point.:)Kael and Vashj come at the end of instances, not the beginning. Hydross started crazy, but got nerfed pretty quick. Lurker was easy, and so was Tidewalker. Leotheras and Karathress were probably in the middle somewhere. Alar was moderate, and the other two were easy. Most of the bosses in those two instances weren´t anywhere near up to the level of the current Hard bosses in Ulduar - except the end boss challenges.
Mags was way overtuned, and Blizzard has said as much. Gruul wasn´t, though. I note you didn´t even bother mentioning Hyjal and BT, neither of whch stopped the elite guilds for more than a few weeks, except for Archimonde. Illidan was easy enough they actually had to buff him. Both those instances started to drop like rocks once Blizzard pulled out the Vashj/Kael requirement.
Razorgore and Vael were pretty crazy, but that´s going back a ways. And once you got the gear, even Vael wasn´t that bad. The entirety of MC wasn´t very tough, and the bosses between Vael and Chrommagus were pretty easy, or at least not up to the level of the modern Hard Mode. (Okay, Firemaw was finicky. But not really brutal.)
Guilds I´ve raided with (conveniently, the ones here, KotD and Lurkers) brought down those earlier instances, although usually quite late in the patch cycle. These same guilds are getting seriously pounded on modern Hard Modes.
-Jester