You see this on a matured server (I have some chars on the servers who started at the beginning). I don't know if horde already reached the critical mass of bored players to get this thing started (the problem is: you need skilled bored players - a complete random raid will fail - obviously).

These raids normally drived by some experienced players who are raiders. There is no limit on invitation (beside you must be Level 60 but normally no gear requirements. My Level 60 Hunter has participated on a onyxia run with randoms and got the epic for the hunter epic quest but have only 5 pieces of T0 ).

Normally all items will be rolled with random 100 while before is discussed who is allowed to roll (speak: which classes not which players).

Sometimes this PUR work very good and sometimes not - completly random ;-)
 

ZG/AQ20 get "pugged" a fair amount by the Horde on my server, by what amounts to a loose consortium of guilds filling in the cracks with pickup healers/tanks.

More interestingly, I have also heard about / read about an Alliance guild on this server that does "pug" MC raids, which are in reality a core of hardcore raiders that let in a half-raid's worth of pickup folks. In exchange for the hardcore raiders coming along, only the guild members get to roll on Rag loot, and the guild gets all the core leather / etc. Some people seem to think the guild is screwing all the pug folks by denying them a shot at Rag loot, but most seem to think it's a fair trade for a shot at MC loot.
 

I've participated in a pug raid on UBRS, but that's about it. I've had nothing but bad experience with pugs as a whole, so I avoid them out of hand.

I have attended a few ZG and AQ20 raids with our server's semi-uber guilds simply because they were down a priest. Not quite a pick up raid since besides myself, it was 99% another guild.
 

The last guild raid I attended had so many alts (that I'd have to have a list to know who's mains they were) and guests it felt like an organized pickup raid.

I personally didn't care for it. Especially since I've long gotten everything out of MC I wanted long ago and it is boring to keep attending over and over again - but I'm a healer and of course I get asked to come help out.

It sounds selfish, but attending a 4 hour raid where I have no hopes of getting anything and the people who get geared up are strangers isn't very appealing.

I joined a guild so I wouldn't have to "pug" anymore.
 

I've done the pug MC. On my server (Cenarius) there are at least 3 guilds that host pug MC runs every week. They all finish every week. Basically they provide an main tank and probably an offtank, and hopefully a few healers, then pick up alot and alts too. They work out REALLY well. I finished my hunters tier 1 set from the MC pug I ran with, i got like 5 or so pieces, bought the 2 boe's and got 1 piece from my guilds MC run.

I've never seen a problem with loot. Everyone comes into the affair understanding that anything is fair game for any class that can use it, and everyone is very mature about it. The host guild usually has a stipulation that they would take any legendaries, but all epics are open for roll. Given the hosting guild usually provides a couple tier 2 or 3 geared tanks and healers to make the run succesful, this is a very fair tradeoff.

MC pugs on my server are a regular thing, and very fun and successful.
 

I have a raiding main in an established guild, and like many others I have alts. The guild raids weekdays, as for some odd reason it's difficult to get 40 of us on during weekends. The guildmembers usually organize 20-mans on weekends.
The guilds 'farming' BWL and working on AQ40 and Naxx tend to not bother with MC as an official raid destination, yet some members from those guilds still need their T2 pants, bindings, and cores for craftable gear. These members therefore organize MC pugs on weekends, and start with a base of players in BWL+ gear. The rules for these runs are usually:
- T2 pants, cores, EoD, bindings go to the sponsoring guild. No rolling.
- Open class rolls on T1
- Open rolls on non-class gear, and/or /random 40 on blues by the leader
- Nobody loots, skins or mines, that is done by the sponsoring guild's designate.
- Listen on vent, pay attention, read chat, have decursive, bring reagents you need.
- Repair costs are yours to bear
The best runs are those where half the raid is very overgeared and the other half is less geared but just as experienced at the content (alts).
The raid is led, dictator-style usually, because it works: those in MC for the first time are frankly overwhelmed at it all, and function best when given clear instructions that are not questioned or 'interpreted'. Experienced raiders also appreciate a 'no-nonsense' approach, as we know these runs will certainly take longer than a guildie run, and as the gobbies say 'time is money, friend'. Strategy is reviewed generally in /raid and vent, with specifics to particular members depending on the fight.
As loot is rolled on, there is no interpretation of the result, or DKP sites to consult - its pretty straightforward. Sure there may be sour grapes but no drama per se.
If the raid gets to Luci/Mag in a half hour you have a good chance of getting to Garr. If you have 4 locks, there's a good chance you'll see Geddon. If people have decent FR you'll see Sulfuron. If you're at Sulfuron with 4 mages or more you'll make it to Domo. Get that far, and the raid sponsors will whip out the FR pots for the raid and see if Rag is willing to give up his pants.
As for your chances on getting zomg epix, I'd say they were pretty good frankly. 8 bosses before Domo and BoEs from trash should put anywhere from 20-26 epics up for grabs, which isn't too shabby for the effort involved (compared to pvp and rep rewards). Doubly so if you play an underrepresented class: in my case with my current main (warlock), I started gearing him up this way (I played a raiding priest at the time). On my first such run I was 1 of 3 locks, the other 2 in 7/8 T2. By default I got 3 T1 items in one afternoon, and immediately after the sponsoring guild asked if I would help them in BWL. I got my T2 boots an hour later.
This last Saturday I hit 60 on my pally. Sunday afternoon I went on an MC pug that ultimately wiped 3 times on Luci and disbanded. But. 1 epic dropped off the trash, and I won the roll. My lawbringer belt cost me 45 mins and 1g 26s in repairs.
Needless to say next weekend, I'll be pugging it up again.
 

I'm a reformed raider aka hate it now, so I don't do it. However, my son is a loot whore and often wants to raid when the guild isn't. He's done many of them, along with other guildies who, like he, can't seem to get enough purple items to satisfy.

His toon is on Illidan, so it's a matured server where people are on their 3 or 4th level 60. Many of the guilds have restrictions about raiding with alts because of guild progression. *Insert hurl here* So he's epic'd his alt via raid PUGs. He does PUG MC, Ony and BWL. The BWLs don't get passed a couple or three bosses. Onyxia seems very successful as a PUG on Illidan and MC goes fairly well.

A few weeks back he happened to do a PUG MC where two other guildies joined up and they all got an epic. They were laughing about it in /g chat. I wonder how the other players felt. But what can you say when people win /rnd? LOL

I wish Gul'dan had some raid PUGs. I'd at least try a couple on my priest. I won't join a raiding guild on this toon. I don't want the whole you must raid drama again. But it would be fun to try it. Unfortunately, Gul'dan is low pop so it's not happening there.
 

"The only thing I've ever seen on offer on my server was a guild offering spots in their MC raid, but if you received an epic you would have to pay them 300 gold. That didn't look attractive to me, you would have to both pay and work for the epic, effectively paying it twice. And of course the guild in question had first pick rights on everything."

No offense, but have you even been in a raiding guild?

Those that are in it don't consider doing one run with them as earning an item. Everything else aside asume they are using dkp, you've earned maybe 30dkp for doing an entire MC run, where as items will be bid off at around 70-100+ . Now, think of how rare some items can be, and how a lot of the people in the raid have done Molten Core so many times it's not even funny just to get the rare piece that they need.

Putting all that into account, does it really seem like you've worked twice for the item you recieve? What if you've been in an Mc guild before, have five pieces of your Tier one, join their Mc and get the chest. In my guild they would charge us 120dkp i believe. So really, spending the 300g and the cooldown for MC would be saving yourself the dkp, i did that with my Tier2 helm, but didn't pay gold because the group was a full pug not a mainly guild run with a few pugs ect...