Heroics vs. Karazhan

So obviously, the progression for level 70 content goes as follows:
1. 5 man regular instances
2. Karazhan and Gruul's Lair
3. SSC and The Eye
4. Black Temple and Mount Hyjal

So where do heroics fit in?

I'd like to suggest that heroics belong on the same tier as Karazhan.

Now most people look at the gear coming out of Karazhan compared to the epic heroic gear, and say that clearly the gear from Kara is better. The item level is higher. You get more loot.

This is true. However, I would like to suggest that Karazhan is easier than heroics.

Preposterous you say. But think about what makes 25 man raids so difficult. There are three elements to a solid 25 man raid.

1. Organization/Team Work - having a good raid leader, good class leaders, and people who know their roles in a group are essential in a good 25 man group.

2. Determination - the attitude to keep trying until you are successful, and not be frustrated.

3. Solid Individual Play - each individual must perform up to high standards of DPS, healing, threat, mana, whatever efficiency they require.

Now lets look at how much Karazhan affects the people in these categories.

1 Organization/Team Work - Does a great job at teaching this. People learn their place in raids.
2 Determination - Does a relatively good job with this. However, it's easy to just follow the flow and blame a bad night if things don't go well...there's a lot of randomness in boss fights in Kara.
3 Solid Individual Play - If everyone does poorly, no one is going anywhere. However, most fights are easy to 9 man if the group has done it for a time, so missing one person usually won't kill the group.

Now lets look at 5 mans.

1. Organization/Team Work - Since the hardest part often of heroics is the trash pulls, everyone needs to be clicking with crowd control and working together. Even if there isn't a specific leader, everyone should be taking control of their piece of it and working together.
2. Determination - If you aren't determined, you won't end up with any epics. Only if you down the last boss will you be getting superb gear. Without determination, all you'll be getting is a repair bill.
3. Solid Individual Play - If your 20% of the group sucks, you won't be killing many heroic bosses. That's just the way that it is.

I'm not talking about heroic Mechinar either. I'm talking about heroic Shadowlabs. Shattered Halls. Arcatraz. The ones that used to be part of the Eye attunement. Even with a group that had Karazhan on farm, and taking 5 key people in that group, these heroics were really tough. It took a great team effort.

My point is, if you can't complete these heroics, it doesn't mean that you don't belong in the Eye. However, if you can complete these heroics, it means that you do. I'd rather see a lot more people running these heroics. It's the best way to truly learn what it takes to get prepared for the Eye and SSC. Karazhan teaches a lot. But how to truly excel at your position....run heroics.