How do you feel about 'run' through MMORPG content?

The news that Guild Wars 2 is nerfing player-led “runs” through Super Adventure Box made me sit back and ponder the whole concept. Power-leveling lowbies or bringing them along to content they shouldn’t be able to get to alone to snag loot or keys or what have you has such a long tradition in MMORPGs. Classic MMOs made the play a staple. As far as I can remember, it wasn’t until World of Warcraft that major MMOs started creating so many hard level locks on content and gear that runs started going extinct.

“Running” was a staple of classic Guild Wars in particular because of the way zoning ported whole parties. Players would pay each other to use specialized running builds to grab max armor or daily tokens. Some people made their fortunes this way, while others simply paid to get past a mission or quest that was giving them horrendous trouble. Let’s face it: Some content was easier with a solo build on the right class than with a whole group! I met amazing people on runs — it was quite social! — and learned a great deal about the game because the folks being run could observe the runner’s tactics.

So I was partly sad to hear the news about SAB. On the other hand, I just got a Kaiser Snake drop myself, the way the devs intended it be done, and it’s irritating to think that cheesers are out there stocking up and will literally be devaluing the value of my own skin on the market if I decide to sell it. I’m torn! So what do you guys think about running in MMORPGs?

TH