‘Destiny’ Raids Require You To Bring A Friend And Have Plenty Of Spare Time
The Destiny beta introduced 4.6 million PS4, PS3, Xbox One and Xbox 360 players to the basics of the sci-fi shooter, but kept some details under wraps. Bungie released details on Raids on Wednesday via IGN and revealed some unique requirements in the process. You’re going to need friends and plenty of spare time.
Raids are MMO-like experiences geared towards players who have completed the Destiny campaign and have reached level 20. Considered one of the “pillars of the game,” they provide endgame content meant to give players a reason to keep coming back for a reason other than the competitive multiplayer in The Crucible.
If you’re familiar with the concept of Raids in games like World of Warcraft or Everquest, the idea for Destiny is much the same without the heavy concentration on who fills what role. It’s a co-operative experience for two to six players, but it’s only something that can be played with friends. Matchmaking will not be available. Additionally, Raids can take multiple hours to complete versus Strikes, which may only take up to an hour.
“The activity is going to take you and your group of five buddies into a place that you’ve never been,” Bungie’s Luke Smith explained to IGN. “A place that you will return to frequently. And [it will] demand of you things you’ve never even really been asked to do in a shooter before.”
Smith admitted that the structure of Destiny Raids comes with its share of risk for Bungie.
“Raids are a really big bet for us,” he said. “It’s a bit of a risk. Because the activity requires you to have a group of five other friends to play with.”
Destiny players that are able to form parties are in for a challenge. Smith describes them as “extremely crafted” experiences that require communication and cooperation. That’s the reason that Bungie is nixing the idea of playing Raids with strangers. For example, a Raid may start at level 22 but the end of it will be a much higher level that will require you to pick up the gear and weapons along the way to complete. In fact, it may take a couple of attempts to finish a Raid in Destiny.
“Like, if the worst thing that happens is you get your group together and you all have a great time, and make your way through the first difficulty level of the raid? Wow, that’s going to be awesome. I bet you’ll want to come back. Hopefully the gear makes you want to come back,” Smith added.
And if that doesn’t pique your interest, Smith said, “The raid bosses are different. They have a bunch of abilities that are unlike anything you’ve experience in a shooter before.”
I previously criticized Destiny for being a social game that had some rather anti-social limitations put on it by Bungie meant to reduce the impact of trolls and griefers. Raids may be a little different however and reactions from fans are mixed. Aside from contentious debate in gaming forums such as NeoGAF and the official Destiny forums, there’s also differing opinions on Twitter as well.
I’m glad there’s no raid matchmaking. Trust me, you don’t want to do raids with random people.
— Datto (@DattosDestiny) July 30, 2014
Destiny doesn’t do matchmaking for raid content. What year is this? Lmao forever
— Carlos Revollo (@Sai__kun) July 30, 2014
For those concerned about not being able to participate in Destiny Raids because of the difficulty of getting together with friends, my suggestion is to find clans and groups to join. They are forming on Bungie (and can be used in the Companion App), Reddit and probably on your favorite gaming forums.
What do you think of the decision to limit Raids in Destiny to friends only? Is it an odd decision or the right design choice? Let us know in the comments below.
