It’s not about whether or not Veksar can be handled without an enchanter. However, the fact is that an enchanter virtually trivializes a couple of the encounters within the dungeon and thus becomes de-facto required. Ultimately, perception is reality and for many players, the perception is that without X class or Y gear or Z AA specs, the dungeons become that much harder. Let’s face it, when you’re already gambling on 4-5 strangers in your pick-up group, less variables you have to contend with is always a good thing.

I fully recognize that most zones could be handled with a full group of 6 Templars with fabled epics and Kunark gear, but would that be the pick-up group I’d really want to form up to hit Lower Guk with? Just because I CAN do a thing doesn’t mean I really want to do that thing. So yes, on the rare occasions I do form up a pick-up group, I’d probably state some minimum requirements for the group (and even if I don’t state the requirements, I’d probably have such expectations firmly in mind anyway).

One small comment, regarding those who mentioned time being a factor. While I do agree that this comes into play SOME of the time, I feel that it’s unfair to say that EVERYONE just wants mythical because of a time restriction. We know what we personally want, but not what everyone else wants.

On that same note, the point was not that people want to rush through and that’s why they require those pieces of gear – but the line that talks about those who say you simply CAN NOT complete a zone with a particular piece of gear, which is another frequent conversation (ie: must have enchanter, must have bard, can’t do Y zone without X class).

I can understand that people are in a rush, don’t want to be put out of their way, or take the time to be nice to a stranger when they’re just trying to accomplish their personal goal in their allotted time restraints. That still doesn’t mean it has to be the norm, or that we can’t all take a little time to remember when we too were that small person begging for a group because we couldn’t play with the big boys yet.

As a side note, personally, I have T4 and my mythical (on a few characters now) so I’m not coming at this from the underdog point of view. It’s just something that weighs on my mind every single time I see one of those looking for more messages in channels.

1 – If you’re looking for random strangers to fill out your group, a minimum gear requirements is a quick “resume”. In the real world, some of the best project managers I’ve met don’t have their PMP certification. However, when you’re weeding through X number of resumes for a new project manager, the PMP certification is a quick way of whittling the pile down. Sure, you might lose out on some great project managers who don’t yet have that cert and absolutely some of the guys who have their PMP are barely fit for the position, but it’s as good a standard as any to use. A mythical (or any other gear standard) may not be perfect, but it’s as good a standard as any to use.

2 – Sometimes it’s not about meeting minimum standards. Sure, any pick-up group can hit Scion of Ice with little worry about failure – mythicals or not. However, there’s a HUGE difference between a 5,000 DPS group and a 30,000 DPS group. It’s not about “can we do X zone?”, but rather “how fast can we do X zone?” Do you want to be clearing Scion in 20 minutes or 45?

3 – For some players, minimum gear standards don’t respresent your skill at the game so much as it might your dedication to a particular character. After all, why try hitting Lower Guk with a group of fourth or fifth generation of alts when you can blow through two or three dungeons in the same amount of time. Sure, it’s possible that you’re able to pull down near maximum DPS with a character you spend 1/8th of your online time with, but the odds don’t work out in favor of such a theory. Remember, we’re talking about pick-up groups here, not static groups of friends or guildmates. The people asking for groupmates don’t know you and may not even care to know you. They have a goal in mind and an expectation of how much time that goal should take.

Seriously DF run that took over an hour? That is not fun at all

Amen to that. I don’t know if this holds for games like WoW, but I’ve certainly seen it in EQ2 and while I’m not max level myself (nor ever likely to take part in that kind of content), I *have* seen quite a few more fighty-inclined friends do just fine without having specifically X, Y or Z gear.