Raids In MMOs — Why We Keep Coming Back Despite The RNG

Back in the 2000s, MMORPGs were the talk of the town, and understandably so, considering large-scale online gaming was a pretty exciting thing. But why is it that the genre continues to go strong even now? Is it the consistent sense of progress? Seasonal content and social aspects? Hardcore challenge and stats min-maxing? I’d say it’s all of these; World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy XIV today are the perfect examples of what makes an MMORPG great.

And you can’t really talk about MMOs without mentioning raids, the staple of the genre. I still remember the good old days of hardcore WoW raiding with friends. Everything from planning the session to the eventual screaming at each other when something goes wrong during the game is a pretty treasured memory. Of course, life happens, and I can’t really commit to it now as I did back then, but the concept of raids and what makes them appealing hasn’t changed. So boot up World of Warcraft once again, consider a WoW raid carry to make up for lost progress, and let’s see how raids shape this interesting genre.

A Social Event Above All

Today, there’s no shortage of single-player RPGs with a strong storyline, character progress, and challenging content. Yet people still go towards MMORPGs, and that primarily has to do with the social aspect of the genre. MMOs are all about enjoying a fantastical game world with a couple hundred other people. It won’t be “Massively Multiplayer” otherwise after all. It’s all about socializing in a virtual world, making new friends, growing together, and coordinating gameplay efforts.

Using MMOs to Socialize
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If you look at it this way, raids are pretty much the epitome of this concept. Unlike regular content, where you can take it easy, raids require serious effort, immaculate teamwork, and understanding of the quest’s mechanics; they’re not for the faint of heart. Raids deliver challenging, end-game content that practically demands you cooperate or forget about clearing it. Every MMO handles the minor details differently, but the overarching concept of raids is to band together to conquer the hard dungeon.

More than a gameplay task, raids are more of a social event. Players from all over the world come together in a guild and tackle the raid in groups. You meet new players, talk strategy with them, assign roles, study the enemy mechanics, and help each other clear the content. Then comes the division of loot, and praying you get the right stats. At the end of the day, you have fun playing with friends and strangers alike, and that’s what MMOs are all about.

Raids Test Your Skill

Beyond the desire to socialize, raids also present an effective blend of testing your builds against tough enemies, comparing stats and skill level with other players, and farming for stronger gear, the trifecta of endgame content. A long-running game is only as good as its endgame support. Consistent seasonal content with tougher enemies and better loot is pretty much the main driving force behind playing an MMO for a long time.

There are all sorts of endgame content, but multiplayer raids still stand out as the most complex and challenging ones. Since high-level raids have entry requirements and a minimum number of players, the content scales based on player count and level. Essentially, the whole quest is designed with the idea that a dozen or more players will tackle it. This means the challenge is reasonably hard and requires serious gear and player skill on top of multiple people working together.

The thing that MMOs do better than other games (aka the reason i still play even if the genre is stale)
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Of course, playing seasonal raids for better gear is probably the main point, but it’s also a good way to test where you stand in the game. You’ve spent hours perfecting your character’s stats, learning the combo rotations, and investing in various classes. If you wish to see how far you’ve come, raiding with other players is a good experiment. At the end of the day, whether it’s a social or personal vendetta, raids remain a solid content choice for MMO players and a major reason for sticking around.