Raid Story mode is the perfect solution for World of Warcraft's casual vs hardcore conundrum

World of Warcraft’s The War Within expansion will feature the Raid Story Mode. This new feature is going to be incredibly helpful for the more casual fanbase of WoW. While the details of this mode are still unknown—as in, we don’t know if players will get any currency or loot from this mode—it is still an idea that I’m very excited about as a player. Even though I’m perfectly fine with raiding, and have done it for many years, I think it’s going to help a certain subset of players.

This Raid Story Mode will be available later in the first season of World of Warcraft The War Within Season 1 Raid Schedule. After learning about this mode, I was very excited about it, but I understand that not everybody is going to take advantage. Here’s why I think it’s a great idea.

Note: Some aspects of this article are subjective and reflect the author's opinions.

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What is Raid Story mode and how can it help casual World of Warcraft players?

If you just want to experience the story without all the boss grinding, Raid Story Mode is for you (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

Raid Story Mode will be available on September 17, 2024, in World of Warcraft. This will show up alongside Mythic Raids, Mythic+ dungeons, and Raid Finder Wing 2. Interestingly, it launches alongside Mythic Raids, because the Raid Story Mode is the exact opposite of what Mythics bring. Instead of an intense challenge that tests the limits of what you know, Raid Story is a different experience altogether.

In the Raid Story Mode. World of Warcraft players will just fight one boss instead of all eight. Specifically, they’ll fight the final boss of the raid—Queen Ansurek. Instead of being a 10-25 person raid, it will be done between 1-5 players. That’s right, you can solo this if you don’t want to deal with other players.

Instead of grinding through the entire raid to see the next part of the World of Warcraft story, Raid Story Mode gives players an instanced version of that boss, with fewer mechanics, and an easier overall experience.

Queen Ansurek is the final battle - being able to safely experience the fight for yourself is a great idea (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

This version of the fight is all about enjoying the narrative of World of Warcraft as compared to knowing a ton of complex mechanics. That’s why I think it’s so important. Not everybody in WoW cares about grinding through raids. Some people just want the story beats, and to experience that part of the game.

On top of that, it’s so easy to get new, powerful gear in WoW without having to do raids at all. You can do the new Heroic dungeons, introduced in Dragonflight, or take part in World Quests.

Some players don’t even want to do the Raid Finder difficulty either. Whether they find it challenging, boring, or simply don’t have the time, this is a great chance for World of Warcraft.

Raid Story Mode is only going to be available for the upcoming raid in The War Within, but it would be nice to see it appear in future raids throughout the expansion. It allows players to enjoy the game at a speed that fits them, which is something Blizzard has been pushing for over the past few years.

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