When it comes to eSports sites and the best WoW guild, World of Warcraft is experiencing a second spring… precisely as PvE eSports. The World-First guild Method sees great potential in competitive raiding.
This is what happened: The best WoW guild in the world, Method, broadcast how they attacked the new raid Uldir.
Viewers from all over the world were able to follow the guild’s progress live on Twitch until the last boss was downed. The race took place from September 11 to the World-First kill of G’huun on September 19.
Excited WoW players could cheer along in the continuous stream or learn from the top players.
Why hasn’t anyone done this before? Actually, live streaming current raid content has not been common in WoW’s history. Because every raid guild protects its secrets.
One does not openly talk about the raid because one has developed their own tactics for each boss.
These tricks and tactics are meant to remain secret so that competitors do not find out and one maintains an advantage.
World First powered by Red Bull
Why could the raid be seen this time? It probably has to do with the sponsors behind Method. They have made this otherwise secret raid a public event:
- Red Bull invited 4 of Method’s most popular players to London and showcased the action – the other 16 players then joined the raid online.
World First Raid boosts WoW on Twitch
Did it work? As noted by eSportsobserver, the eSports event was a success:
- For the most popular player Scott “sco” McMillan: he peaked at 167,200 viewers. He had never had more.
- For the guild itself, their three main streams peaked at 226,000 viewers.
- And for WoW as a whole, they accumulated more viewing minutes in August than in any previous month.
World First elevates PvE eSports to a new level: Even back in 2017, Blizzard opened the doors to an eSports event in PvE with the “Mythic Dungeon Invitational”.
Method has now triumphantly walked through the door with the World First raid.
In terms of viewer numbers, the Method raid in 2018 was far above the figures that Blizzard could achieve with the Mythic Dungeons in 2017. The World-First raid reached peak numbers about 3 to 5 times higher, depending on how many channels are compared.
Method impresses
What does the guild behind it say: There is certainly a commercial intention behind the action. The co-founder and co-owner of Method, Sascha Steffens, says they have proven that competitive raiding in WoW can attract a large audience.
This is comparable to the largest eSports events.
So far, eSports has been viewed too “narrowly” as purely a PvP game. Steffens believes eSports can be more than that. Competitive PvE has enormous potential.
eSports site rejoices: According to “eSportsobserver”, raiding holds the next hype. The doors to a great future have been opened.
The advantages, also for sponsors, are clear:
- WoW has survived for 13 years – it is unlikely to disappear any time soon.
- Additionally, a World-First race lasts an extremely long time – so it’s very monetizable.
- And one doesn’t know exactly when it will end – the excitement remains high.
The next raid is coming at the end of the year. A new era of eSports could begin.
What do you think? Could WoW really establish itself as a PvE eSports?
