For an 8-man or 16-man group to get ~ BiS? Not counting implants (and earpieces[?]) because those seem to have horrible drop rates.

Lol

 

/derp

Ignoring "chance" drops (like ear/implant this tier), it take 8 weeks for set pieces, and then 4 more for optimal enhancements for most classes. Some fringe classes (Sorc DPS comes to mind, I think) may need an additional set piece, and Assassin tanks (as well as a few others) need just 1 or 2 additional set pieces.

 

tl;dr: discounting good enhancement luck on mk-2s and chance drops, it should take 10-12 full clears to BiS a raid group.

Clearly the best DPS and healers on each boss should get the loot first, so I would say about 2-3 weeks for me, maybe 16 weeks for players like Hope and Lancard.

Honestly, BioWare should make NiM fights different from Hard Mode in my opinion. If you're talking about "...how long does it take" in General, then I would say as much as like a month or two to clear the content.

 

Yes, I am crazy to think about this, but at least make Nightmare fights even more of a Nightmare than people thought of. Make the fights different, make the fights more mechanically challenging, and make the fights more rewarding (Yes, BioWare. That means remove the stupid belts and bracers from the first bosses of the two Operations).

 

This idea dawned to me from playing FFXIV. Their fights are pretty different per difficulty and the new mechanics got me on my toes I just wish BW would make any effort and time to do the same...

 

And if that were the case, then the time to BiS your main raider would be at least another month of farming.

Edited January 4, 2014 by DieGhostDie

Depends on how fast they can clear the content, as well as whether or not the loot gods smile on them with the random drops. Tanks actually tend to do pretty well from Random Drops assuming a tanking piece drops. Rest is usually crit/alacrity which is going to be of varying usefulness depending on class.

 

Some groups may very well manage to beat it the first week but very few groups play at that level. Obviously a group that can clear a complete tier of content in the first week can anticipate being BiS much quicker.

 

For most classes, head and hands have awful enhancements, so people will need to get correct enhancements from legs, boots, offhand, chestpiece, and mainhand. So yeah call it 12 weeks total if you clear on week one, not accounting for BS like Implants, Earpieces, and whether or not BW can manage to code their 16 man loot tables completely. For other guilds, 12 weeks may be how long it takes them to clear the entire tier, and of course others may never bother to attempt it. For guilds which take longer, they may actually be well on their way to finishing enhancements long before they have things like mainhand or chest piece.

Clearly the best DPS and healers on each boss should get the loot first, so I would say about 2-3 weeks for me, maybe 16 weeks for players like Hope and Lancard.

 

Hmm 2-3 weeks huh.. maybe around at least a month is a good approximation. thanks Rik!