Is end-game/raids (and the like) worth playing?

[Yew Nough]

If you were to join a random team, would you usually be dealing with helpful people or tryhards most of the time?

[Xylion]

It depends on the group and the content.
When it comes to raids, some players tend to be a bit elitish.
When it comes to fractals and strikes (easier version of raids) most of the players are very chill. The worst that you might experience in those are annoyed players just leaving without saying anything (and even that it's not a common ocurance).

[Ashrala]

Originally posted by Yew Nough:

If you were to join a random team, would you usually be dealing with helpful people or tryhards most of the time?

If you want my advice I would get some Raid training from a group/guild that has more time to spare. Sometimes not even guide videos make you fully prepared for it. Raids can be difficult content for some people and if you are newbie just diving in, that not quite the smartest choice. They can be fast paced and overwhelming the first time you go in.
Not to be discouraging, its just considered endgame content, so its harder then most content in the game and the group needs to work together properly to complete a Raid.

[Nibbie]

Like most games, your average random group expects everyone to know what you are doing. You are looking for training groups to learn content. I know there was a recent resurgence in training groups because they introduced a mechanic to make raids easier in the last month or two, and there are guilds that focus on that sort of thing, but they will be rarer than 'normal' groups.

[PacoXI]

Look up Raid Academy if you want to get into raids.

[Tiberius]

Raid is full of tryhard. Fractal and strikes are more chill. Helpful players usually only play with their guild members, not with pugs.

[SinisterSlay]

Random raids is basically impossible. If you look at the LFG, it's exclusively people selling wins for real money. I have no idea why Anet allows that...

Raids usually happen with Guilds or specific raid groups. Many guilds run training raids. These are raids where there is no rush to finish. Your expected to die often and learn from your mistakes with no pressure. Raids love their instant kill mechanics so it can be hard to learn them all.
Are raids worth playing? Meh, I went 9 years without them. Only decided to get into them because my guild is running training runs thanks to emboldened buffs, so I figured why not.

[Razor]

Raids are hell hard (at least were) but dungeons and fractals are very fun with several tiers and easy to find a group. Mostly this game is a BLAST for its HUGE single player campaign and exploring and gear hunting, which i didnt feel grinding at all. Oh and soundtrack... pff Jeremy soule is a god.

((ps. And when you get to the griffin mount you have another entire game of fun there. basic Raptor itself is delightful... I really love GW, even if some things like animations, faces and home disctrict should have been long updated.))

[mysaga]

Although you are explicitly asking for raids I just want to make sure you are not falling for a typical misconception: Unlike other MMOs that kinda turn into a pretty lobby game for instanced gorup content at max level, GW2 keeps the open world relevant. There is a lot of stuff that you can and most likely will do at max level that doesn't involve raid groups, like additional world bosses and map metas. Since you get to max level in the base game, all the living world seasons and expansions are played while you are at max level.

Besides raids there are also Fractals of the Mists and Strike missions as instanced group content for the endgame. Both a little bit easier to get into (in normal mode), and kind of a step stone towards raids and challenge mode strike missions.

[Jokuc]

They are worth playing both for the loot and for the fun, yes. Whether or not you will find helpful and nice people is impossible to answer as this game just like every other game has some people who are rude and impatient.

The important thing to note is that you should learn what the group finder description abbreviations mean so that you do not join a group that only want exp players or is looking for a role you cannot cover. Either join a group in the training section, or make your own group. I recommend trying Strike missions before raids, more specifically Icebrood Saga strikes (IBS). They are great for beginners since you normally don't need much knowledge before doing them.