We're testing World War 1 today, a few of them are starting to pick up the game because they're curious. More on topic, I do think some server mergers could really help struggling groups infuse themselves with new blood. Yes, some guilds will die but for the longevity of the game - I personally think that's a "worth" trade. More importantly, people need to be willing to progress through TBM -> EoK -> RoS and not just assume they can jump in. I can remember guilds having to work up through VT and stuff during PoP before moving into Elemental Planes. Small guilds will always be inherently at a disadvantage for current content, that doesn't mean that EoK raid gear isn't worth going for - still incredibly strong when compared to group gear.
How hard should raids be? Well, non of us are devs outside of those who post a devs...so...conjecture and uninformed opinion time! If there is any cut and dry formula, raids are probably as hard as whatever is the acceptable percentage in terms of completion of the aggregate of player base determined by the dev team over some set amount of time. After that amount of time elapses, then there might be some penalties assessed or some relaxation. Such as the August nerfs etc. Then there is perceived difficulty to consider. That is, when your guild doesn't have the right mix of whatever to defeat something when it was designed to really only be bested one way. Its hard for your guild/force perhaps, because you don't have all the prereqs to begin with but others who meet or exceed those prereqs perceive there is no challenge at all. As another offered opinion, the raids should present a challenge to any team who has obtained 30% or less of the AA, spells and gear of the tier that preceded it. As in last tier of previous expac counting as preceding tier. How long it takes to beat the subsequent tier depends on how long it takes you to reach that 30% or better baseline. Past that, it should get easier. DPS check/Gatekeeper events are what determines if skill and resolve are present to move on, as in you have the gear, AA, and spells but do you really understand how to use it all or the attention span to see it through?
