Which type of Instance do you prefer?

Ohh, I can't decide since I'm still learning about raids.  But this is a great poll!  I hope people post reasons why they like one over the other.

I enjoy raiding, 10 man mostly, I dislike 25 man but I go for the loots.

However, I choose 5 man because it's more of a tight knit thing, the tone is lighter (I don't like being 'hardcore' ie freaking out when there are hiccups in a run), is easier to RP in, and I really feel like I'm doing something. In raids I'm just 1 of many, we are legions of bodies to through at the bosses.

In 5 mans, I am the ONLY tank, or the ONLY healer, or 1 of only three dps.

To be honest, what I really miss were the long low level 5 mans, those were great. I still remember vivdly the personalities of the people who I remember adventuring in Uldaman with or adventuring in Scarlet Monestary. (And wiping on herod's first bladestorm!!!) This was largely during vanilla, I was a far worse player, and it was a lot more challenging. There was so much lore to experience, dozens upon dozens of quests, and I really experienced it with people, rather than robot raiders.

Things have changed, but my heart still lies with 5 mans. I suppose simply put, I prefer going on an adventure than going on a raid.

Well, as many know by now I  refuse to PUG.  I  love gathering friends and folks I  know well and who mesh together into a team and taking the fight to the baddies.  

It is hard to find 5 consistently and apparently impossible to find 10, let alone 25.  See the deth of this thread here: http://wyrmrestaccord.net/content/rp-raids

So I  put down 5 mans, but 10 mans can be equally nice.   I  just don't see me ever getting into 25s.

Feh, I PvP, tyvm

xD

I like 5 mans though... Course, my highest level character is Akemi, who is only level 65 at the moment, lol

5 is enough. Any more than that and you're herding cats. 8|

25s or more make my computer cry. :( But I really do enjoy raiding, and 10 people is a small enough team that most of the time, it's easy to be fairly casual, with silly chatter between bosses and an open /roll sort of loot distribution, with discussion. I don't find 10s to be herding cats too badly - 25s is where that starts to really pick up and get painful.

Of course, encounter design is a factor too... in most 5-mans, you can drag a DPS through even if they have no idea what they're doing and spend most of the time dead. Naxx, you can still drag one or two people through 10 or up to about 5 through 25, if the rest of the group is competent - but starting with Ulduar, you really need everyone to pull their weight and not be dumb. It's easier to find 10 not-dumb people than 25. ;)  (And by dumb, I mean "making the same stupid mistakes week after week," not screwing up occasionally or while learning the fight.)

My two copper got long. >.>

While I like nearly all of those (excluding 40 man raids, man what a gong show those were) 5 man raids have always been my favorite.  In my opinion, you get a better understanding of your class and really feel like you're contributing more than in a 10 man or above.  DPS classes get to use abilities they normally wouldn't, like Sap or Enslave for rogues and warlocks.  Not to mention, less rolls for your loot!  But besides the technical reasons, I feel that 5 people going into an abandoned cavern to clear out the 'bad guys' and get some shiny treasure is pretty much the most awesome thing ever.  Get more than 5 people and it begins to feel like an excavation, not some daring adventurers that are pitting their lives against unknown enemies.  Just my 2 copper.

I like 10-mans, myself.  With friends, of course.  There's a good number of people, without it feeling crowded.  Five-mans feel... small to me, most of the time.  With ten, there's more variety of people, more people to chat with, but not so many that it gets headachey.  Plus, it's not as laggy!

*adds a new option*

O - Whatever Math happens to be running at the time. *checks off*

10mans are my favorite! :D

40 mans... NEVER AGAIN PLEASE.

Yay 40 mans.