Destiny 2’s Raids Are The Pinnacle Of Teamwork In Video Games

I mentioned a while ago how Helldivers 2 was the perfect cure for my recent FOMO problem with Destiny 2, but let’s be real: I wasn’t going to miss out on the new Into the Light content update to prep for the Final Shape DLC. Playing the game religiously again after a short break made me realize something: my everlasting adoration and appreciation for its 6-player Raids.

Now, I’m not trying to say that Bungie created the whole concept of Raids since these activities are the golden apple in plenty of other critically acclaimed MMORPGs like Final Fantasy XIV and World of Warcraft.

But my goal of today’s discussion isn’t any discourse on Destiny 2 or its overall IP but to discuss how fundamentally unique its Raids feel, how challenging and rewarding they are, and most of all, how they bring the community together for a World’s First Race, among other things.

Six Warriors Against Gods, Monsters And Kings

Destiny 2’s Raids comprise a few to several encounters depending on the Raid, ranging drastically from puzzle-based solutions to challenging boss fights. As a team of six, while you each have different assigned roles and a ton of firepower at your disposal, you can also equally fail in several ways by not meeting DPS checks, progression checkpoints, or just flat-out miscommunication during encounters.

I somehow managed to get a day 1 clear of Destiny 2's new Vow of Disciple raid 🙏 without a doubt one of the best raid's that Bungie has ever put together pic.twitter.com/TGZVue6Xq9

— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) March 7, 2022

Bungie spares no effort when designing Raids with complex and challenging mechanics—well, most of the time, if you exclude the Lightfall DLC’s Root of Nightmares Raid.

The Vow of the Disciple from The Witch Queen DLC is a fantastic example of a truly mechanically creative one that has you memorizing upward of 27 symbols featured throughout the Raid’s mechanics; what’s even crazier is that the community has their own hilarious spins on the symbol names at times.

to all the people who asked me if i thought crota's end was gonna be harder than root of nightmares, i can confirm the answer is yes

— Datto (@DattosDestiny) September 2, 2023

The creativity of Destiny players is also seemingly unending since most LFG Raid groups and clans have their own methods of completing encounters, from brute-forcing certain mechanics to just ‘cheesing’ through certain boss fights. It’s not something bad per se, but it’s one of many things, along with coordination and team chemistry, that makes Destiny’s Raids an enjoyable experience, even better when discovering secrets within them.

I could go on and on about how fundamentally complex Raids are, even dating back to the likes of King’s Fall to Wrath of the Machine, the latter of which is my personal favorite. While it’s a nostalgic journey dating back to the OG Destiny, where I’ve tackled this activity countless times with my best friends, I also understand that they’re not approachable by any means for new or casual players.

A Backyard For The Hardcore But A Leap Of Faith For The Casuals

Now, before you raise your pitchforks at me for mentioning anything remotely related to filthy casuals in gaming communities, let’s understand why Raids may appeal to a majority of the playerbase. Destiny’s Raids offer the best rewards, including meta weapons, Titles to show off (for bragging rights, of course), and most of all, who doesn’t want to tune into the World’s First Race?

Destiny’s World First’s Raid Races have become a prime franchise staple, evolving from a not-too-crazy annual event to a full-fledged cornerstone on Twitch and other social media platforms for all kinds of players to watch together. Whether you were there for Clan Redeem being crowned the winners for Last Wish or how Clan Elysium is making records for multiple Ws, These World’s First competitions are a sight to behold for new Raid releases.

Given that Raids offer the most therapeutic experiences for me personally, with the dopamine rush from encounter completions or even their brilliant environmental aesthetics, to name a few, most casual audiences can find it daunting to jump into Destiny 2’s Raids, a major problem since the OG Destiny.

Learning raids is fun and awful at the same time
byu/oostrommaik inDestinyTheGame

And hey, I get that Sherpa Raids exist, and Bungie has implemented things like Guided Games for new players, but from what I’ve seen, I can tell you that groups can be mildly toxic to several casual players.

However, there will always be a fine balance in that regard, and the toxicity of hardcore players in Destiny 2’s community is something everyone has different perspectives on, so that’s a possible discussion for another day.

A Look Into The Rich Past And Promising Future Of Raids

Whether you love them for the grandest stage feel or dislike them for their restrictive learning curve as a casual player, Destiny’s Raids are the greatest in the live-service gaming industry and are up there with the other MMORPGs for being illustrious in design, mechanics, and execution by the playerbase.

From slaying Gods to corrupted mechanical abominations, only the best have what it takes to do it, especially on Day 1 Contest Mode for Word’s First, but who knows? One can also expect sudden upset victories from underdog teams amidst the chaos.

Bungie’s Raid designer developers are nothing short of intuitive, and I’m only hoping they and the rest of the team continue to make Raids feel more welcoming for players because, as challenging as they are, everyone should get an opportunity to learn and complete this franchise’s most engaging endgame activities.