Raiding in World of Warcraft has been a mainstay of the MMO's end-game since the very beginning. It's long been a way to continue playing the game at max-level without losing a sense of progression, and the addition of the public raid finder known as Looking For Raid (LFR) opened up this content to more casual players.
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While raiding can be done by just about anybody nowadays at the regular difficulty level, raiding at Mythic difficulty is an entirely different story. When it comes to WoW best guilds that are dedicated to pushing boundaries and making a name for themselves, raiding isn't a side quest to casually pick up some better loot – It's a lifestyle.
Updated June 22, 2021 by Erik Petrovich: With the release of World of Warcraft: Shadowlands Patch 9.1 in late June comes a new raid to complement Castle Nathria – The Sanctum of Domination. Castle Nathria has been the only available raid in the game's eighth expansion since its release in November 2020, and it proved to be a game-changer for a number of guilds. Castle Nathria is where Echo, made up of former members of Method, made their first Top 5 finish in the world, and a number of other guilds proved themselves in this rotation too.
10 Practice (EU - Ragnaros)
- Placement in Castle Nathria: Tenth
- Placement in Ny'Alotha: Eighth
- Placement in The Eternal Palace: Tenth
Practice is one of the most recent guilds to break into the top 10 rankings of Mythic Castle Nathria. Only founded in 2019 on the EU server Ragnaros, the guild burst onto the scene out of nowhere and has since consistently placed in the top 10 rankings of each Mythic raid they have attempted.
In Castle Nathria from Shadowlands, they were the 10th guild in the world to defeat Sire Denathrius. Back in Battle for Azeroth, they placed eighth in Ny'alotha and 10th in The Eternal Palace.
9 Aversion (EU - DE - Blackhand)
- Placement in Castle Nathria: Ninth
- Placement in Ny'Alotha: Sixth
- Placement in The Eternal Palace: Seventh
Aversion is one of the best guilds in the EU, and likely the top raiding guild based in Germany. They have regularly placed top 10 in Mythic raids since the beginning of Battle for Azeroth and in Castle Nathria were only the ninth guild in the world to down Denathrius.
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After a recent server change to Blackhand, the guild is stronger than ever and has its sights on improving its placement in the world and recognition as the top raiding guild in Germany.
8 Memento (EU - Stormreaver)
- Placement in Castle Nathria: Eighth
- Placement in Ny'Alotha: 12th
- Placement in The Eternal Palace: Top 1000
Memento was founded in 2018 and, despite labeling itself as a semi-hardcore raiding guild, holds the number eight spot in Castle Nathria. They started out as a World of Warcraft Classic guild, and have since made the switch to Shadowlands after seeing the potential the guild had for success.
While the guild only placed 12th in the last raid of Battle for Azeroth, climbing into the top 10 for Castle Nathria shows the rapid potential for success Memento possesses.
7 BDGG (NA - Illidan)
- Placement in Castle Nathria: Seventh
- Placement in Ny'Alotha: Ninth
- Placement in The Eternal Palace: Top 50
BDGG, or Big Dumb Gaming Golden Guardians, is a guild formed from two former guilds Big Dumb Gaming and the Golden Guardians. Big Dumb Gaming and the Golden Guardians were both top North American guilds before the merger, and afterward became the number two guild in the NA region.
The guild boasts a seventh-in-the-world placement on Mythic Castle Nathria, a ninth-in-the-world on Ny'alotha, and multiple top 20s throughout the rest of Battle for Azeroth. The guild is a community-oriented one, hosting multiple events in-game and on-stream and offering guides and content to its members, and has its sights on the number one spot in North America.
6 Exorsus (EU - RU - Howling Fjord)
- Placement in Castle Nathria: Sixth
- Placement in Ny'Alotha: Fifth
- Placement in The Eternal Palace: Fifth
Exorsus is the top Russian guild bar none, and placed number six in the world on Castle Nathria. It has had its fair share of controversy in the past, though, as multiple members were banned during the Legion expansion for exploiting bosses. In their defense, they said they didn't understand why they were punished for their exploits when others went unnoticed.
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Since then, Exorsus has been a regular within the top WoW guilds for Mythic raiding. In Shadowlands, they even made the guild-wide decision to change factions from Horde to Alliance to deal with the new expansion's content. This was because the Dwarf and Dark Iron Dwarf racial ability removes bleeding, a common feature in Castle Nathria.
5 Method (EU - Twisting Nether)
- Placement in Castle Nathria: Fifth
- Placement in Ny'Alotha: Second
- Placement in The Eternal Palace: First
Method is a guild roiling in the wake of controversy. After a member of its upper leadership was accused of multiple sexual crimes the guild split, with many members forming a new guild and the Method guild leaders instating new policies to prevent something like this from ever happening again.
In the past Method was one of the best guilds in wow, with multiple world firsts under its belt over its 15-year existence. In Shadowlands, Method placed number five in the world in Castle Nathria, perhaps signaling a hopeful future for a guild wanting to rid itself of its negative associations.
4 FatSharkYes (EU - Kazzak)
- Placement in Castle Nathria: Fourth
- Placement in Ny'Alotha: Fourth
- Placement in The Eternal Palace: Sixth
FatSharkYes is a guild with a silly name whose ambitions are anything but. Proudly proclaiming themselves "the undisputed world number four ranked guild," FatSharkYes has multiple placements in the top 5 of Mythic raids dating back to Legion and has been around since 2013.
FatSharkYes placed number 4 for Mythic Castle Nathria in Shadowlands, number 4 in Ny'alotha, and number 6 in The Eternal Palace. At this rate, the guild is looking to break into the top 3 in the next released raid tier.
3 Pieces (EU - Stormscale)
- Placement in Castle Nathria: Third
- Placement in Ny'Alotha: Third
- Placement in The Eternal Palace: Fifth
Pieces celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2020, and after years of improvement have become one of the top WoW guilds for raiding. They had the world first on the Crucible of Storms raid in the Battle for Azeroth expansion and have been a mainstay in the top 5 raiding guild rankings since at least Legion.
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Pieces is solely focused on the Race To World First, an initiative to push boundaries and motivate players. They placed number three in the world in Castle Nathria and are looking to "put the #PiecesTogether" to break into the top spot once again.
2 Echo (EU - Tarren Mill)
- Placement in Castle Nathria: Second
- Placement in Ny'Alotha: Top 200
- Placement in The Eternal Palace: -
After Method split into two groups, the members who decided to leave the infamous guild formed a new group: Echo. As the name implies, the leadership of Echo is made up of former Method elites who refused to continue under the former leadership.
Echo has seen success as its own entity in ways the members couldn't have foreseen. The combination of decades of experience, incredibly knowledgable leaders, and a dedication to the game and guild community unlike any other secured Echo the number two spot in the world for Castle Nathria, three places ahead of their former guild.
1 Complexity-Limit (NA - Illidan)
- Placement in Castle Nathria: First
- Placement in Ny'Alotha: First
- Placement in The Eternal Palace: Second
Complexity-Limit is a guild like no other, and could more accurately be called an e-sports group than a straight World of Warcraft guild. The group has a litany of world firsts under its belt, most recently placing first in the world for Castle Nathria. They also secured the world first for Ny'alotha back in Battle for Azeroth against one of the most difficult end-game bosses in World of Warcraft history.
Complexity-Limit formed in 2015 when several of the WoW best guilds across North America combined forces to create a raiding team unlike any other. They have since branched out into other games' competitive scenes, such as Hearthstone and Counter-Strike, and their World of Warcraft raiding teams are undoubtedly the best in the world.