Icecrown Citadel had once been the final frontier of World of Warcraft raiding, too dangerous for uncoordinated noob guilds to conquer. But last March, Blizzard softened the  challenge of ICC with new faction buffs, which has been scaling upward over the past months.

The Strength of Wrynn and Hellscream’s Warsong buffs which stood at 15% increased total health, healing done and damage dealt has been raised to 20%. The number of attempts allotted for all final ICC wing bosses on Heroic difficulty has also been increased to 50.

This has been the third 5% increase for the ICC buffs since it launched at a small 5%. At the monthly rate the increments have been released, the max 30% buff could go live by end-July.

With such a hefty boost in overall performance for all roles, it’s no surprise the buffs have become a fixture in ICC raiding.Turning them off will only gimp a group relative to their peers since there is no incentive for fighting bosses buff-free–no increased loot, gold or even acknowledgment in-game. But failure will punish them with lost progression ranking and time spent wiping.

While the initial complaint against the ICC buffs has simmered somewhat, hardcore factions still insist the buffs have “dumbed down” the encounters to tank-and-spank levels. Blizzard though seems contented with the increased participation among more casual raiders with the buffs’ help.

A trend seen nowadays is to clear content first with the buffs on, then switch them off to pump up the difficulty next time around. Some even expect the Lich King to be fully PUGgable when the max 30% hits, like it’s a magical pill that can substitute for non-fail coordination. We’ll see–but I doubt it.