Breakfast Topic: What makes a good raid?

The above screenshot comes from Kilrogg Deadeye’s room in Hellfire Citadel.  For whatever reason — possibly because I constantly hear a call to the Shadows — I found myself particularly drawn to these doors that outlined the encounter space.  You can’t actually get your character up next to them; they’re purely decorative to give the room more character.  Nonetheless, that didn’t stop them from grabbing my attention.  It might just be that I like creepy doors, but it’s symptomatic of a larger phenomenon I find myself noticing in Hellfire Citadel: a deep appreciation of the zone’s environment.  The place just feels alive.  Each area feels distinctive and the enemies all feel at home with their surroundings.

Outside of the aesthetic itself, I’m also enjoying the encounters.  There are a few that could be better but, by and large, each fight offers unique mechanics that prove not only challenging  but also fun.  Blackrock Foundry also had its fair share of these such encounters, but the zone looked looked and felt a lot more similar to Siege of Orgrimmar and as a result was less appealing.  So, while it’s still very early into the patch, Hellfire Citadel is already proving to be more my cup of tea than Blackrock Foundry ever was.  And I haven’t even mentioned the zone’s unique trinket offerings!

If you couldn’t tell, I like Hellfire Citadel.  But what is it that makes you appreciate a raid zone?  Do you care for encounter design over aesthetic appeal or are you just in it for the loot?  Or is there something else that makes a raid particularly stand out to you?