Since the emergence of MMORPGs, almost every aspect of our favorite form of entertainment has undergone a massive transformation. Getting into games has become easier, the graphics are getting more attractive, and the endgame content is constantly changing.
What started with heavy 40-man raids like “Molten Core” and “Blackwing Lair” in World of Warcraft has long been transferred and adapted countless times to other games. Almost always, there are game contents that require a small, manageable group of 3-6 people, alongside the “big” tasks for 20-40 players.
While coordinating 19 teammates often tests the nerves of everyone involved, this is almost guaranteed with the double player count. This chalice seems to have rolled coldly past WildStar, the upcoming MMO hope, intentionally by the developers!
So we ask ourselves: Are 40-player raids still relevant?
The players of the past…
Let’s be honest: When most of us started with World of Warcraft around 10 years ago, many were either students or pupils. They had plenty of time, could spend several evenings undistracted in front of the PC, and could participate effortlessly in extensive raids.
After school, one would spend half an hour in the guild’s forum updating on the latest tactics and today’s lineup, deciding whether to farm potions and buff food or leisurely clear a few smaller dungeons.
Current raids were only for about 5% of the player community, and patience played a major role. It often took several months with 2-3 raid nights a week (each lasting 4-5 hours!) until the latest boss was defeated. However, the feeling of success was immensely greater.
… are not the players of today!
Today, things look different. Subjectively speaking (read: I am right, unless it’s not that way!), the “younger generation” of players is more spoiled and lacks endurance. MMOs are no longer the one big hobby for many, but one of many that all demand time – and all significantly less.
As a result, it is only right that many games now offer comfortable solutions to experience challenging endgame content nonetheless. For instance, WoW splits its raids into several wings and offers different difficulty levels, from “I play without a keyboard and with my eyes closed” to “The boss doesn’t lose HP before the 50th attempt”; there is something for every player.
Additional tools, like the equally celebrated and hated “Dungeon Finder,” allow players to dive into battle without commitments and manual group searching; WildStar also offers such convenience features, but not for the most challenging aspects of the game: the raids for 40 or 20 crazy players.
40-Person Raid Planning: A Course over 6 Semesters
The drawbacks of large raid groups are obvious: For the leaders, it becomes a chaotic ordeal days in advance when trying to assemble a balanced group from a pool of 60 or more players, ensuring no one feels unfairly treated. Whether all 40 people are actually online fully equipped and ready for action by 7 PM is a whole other matter. Even during the fun of killing and dying, the raid leader often becomes more of a counselor and liaison than anything else.
“Why did Lauryll get an item again today, and I didn’t?”
“Nagrivai is standing in the fire for too long; tell him, he will listen to you!”
“Cortyn hasn’t popped a potion again!”
Additionally, there are interpersonal dislikes. With 40 people, it is inevitable that some will clash, complicating planning further. “If Noires is coming, then I’m staying home!” and “If Remson isn’t allowed, then I don’t want to be there either!” are just two of many possible configurations that can drive your leader to the brink.
The more players, the greater the success
However, not everything is bad with large groups. The sense of achievement is intensified the more people are involved. When the boss is finally brought to its knees after weeks of steady progress, the cheer erupts in TeamSpeak, and one is awarded one of the rare items – it’s all worth it! Absolutely everyone who has fought hard for such a victory will understand what I mean – and therein lies the target audience that a new game with classic raids aims to reach: WildStar.
The hardcore target audience of old-timers and aspiring young ones
Many MMORPG players of the “first generation” miss the challenging tasks, the large groups, and the long raid nights. Not everyone can deal with the new systems, where everyone can choose their own difficulty level and ultimately everyone is more or less handed success by the game.
If you are such an “old-timer” and tell the younger generation about it, it feels like Grandpa recounting tales from the trenches. Few can imagine that everything was truly that hard back then – the “old ones” only want to present their achievements in a better light.
However, some get inspired by nostalgia and want to be part of such an “elite” group of players overcoming those challenges and relying on those victories, without simply being able to lower the difficulty level when motivation falters after two failed attempts. The raids in WildStar will not be a piece of cake and should never be. A tough test for all those who are bored in the sameness of endgame content – let’s hope the developers at Carbine remain true to this line!
Who still has time for that?
[pull_quote_right]WildStar: World of Warcraft 2.0[/pull_quote_right]
It is a bold step to resurrect such an “old” concept regarding raids and present players with tough challenges. Many guild leaders are no longer accustomed to coordinating a group of 40 or more people, yet the interest is steadily growing.
Because these bitterly difficult raids are one of the core elements that many players wish to see return. It’s often criticized that the camaraderie in the “Molten Core” was significantly better, and social structures were somehow more solid – despite high frustration risks. WildStar aims to bring these social obligation components back to the forefront. This impacts not only manual raid planning but also other contents, such as the war bases.
And of course, the factor of time plays a significant role, because while as a student one could easily game freely on 6 out of 7 evenings, when desired, this is hardly realistic in professional life anymore – but is that really a major obstacle?
From my personal experience, raiding can still be integrated into free time even during professional life – it is often used as an excuse not to attempt it at all.
Everyone just has to be clear that the endgame contents of such a game cost time, and there is no hiding that. The recurrent argument “I pay just as much for a game as the hardcore raiders, I want to see it too!” just doesn’t hold anymore, because just because one buys an expensive tennis racket doesn’t mean one can automatically play at Wimbledon. Whether it ultimately matters enough to a person to invest 5-10 hours a week into this hobby, everyone must decide for themselves (read: Yes, it does, don’t be so dramatic!).
WildStar – What we know so far
As has been repeatedly emphasized, the 40-person skirmishes on Nexus will not be an endeavor that can be completed in a day or two, and the same goes for the smaller 20-person variant. It will require a lot of brain power, nerves, and endurance to send the last bosses of the previous two raid instances into data nirvana.
The telegraph system enables complex fights with only very difficult-to-predict abilities, and yet one will always know why they have just met their demise. Additionally, the loot system promises to be significantly simpler and fairer than in many other games: Everyone gets something. Not necessarily what they wanted, but all players will be rewarded in some way. Long debates about item distribution or even a classic DKP system will thus fall by the wayside as an organizational factor.
Already read? WildStar – Raid Bosses: Only real with 252 teeth!
Conclusion: It will be fun – but not for everyone
I am confident that WildStar, with its classic raids and dynamic combat system, will reach precisely the target audience it aims for: the old MMO veterans who reminisce about the good old days and the new generation who feel increasingly mocked by the “anyone can achieve anything, regardless of their talent” mentality in a game. These two groups are present and are continually growing. Whether they are large enough to give the classic raid system a rebirth remains to be seen in the coming months.
Some will undoubtedly watch their raid teams painfully succumb to the organizational challenges, for perhaps not everything was better back then – but a lot was good and can be good again if the motivation is strong enough and if the programmers of WildStar manage to regularly deliver exciting game content worth maintaining such a large group.
Even though the hype-o-meter for WildStar is steadily rising, there are still plenty of gamers who have yet to engage with the upcoming MMO hope. Do you feel addressed? Then we recommend this article: 10 Reasons Why WildStar Ruins Your Summer…!
![WildStar - [PC]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51RT4pexrxL._SL160_.jpg)
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