• Intense combat system with endless customization
• A massive assortment of champions
• Stunning visuals with unique factions and zones
• Gripping fantasy storyline
• Tons of free “premium” level content

RAID: Shadow Legends is a collectible MMORPG by Plarium that pushes the boundaries of mobile gaming with beautiful 3D graphics and seamless lag-free gameplay. Players can collect over 300 unique champions to take on the diverse challenges available, from delving through dungeons to the PVP arena. A freemium game, RAID has plenty of microtransactions for players looking to speed through content. Still, Plarium does an excellent job of rewarding its free-to-play patrons for playing over time.

After the opening segment, players are brought to the Bastion, which serves as the primary interface players. Here you can summon and upgrade champions, purchase and craft items, and access the many features offered. Missions, quests, and challenges hold great rewards for those able to complete them. The weekly tournaments and events provide a constantly shifting objective to overcome. Once armed with your first champions, a player can jump into the battle modes of the game, starting with the campaign.

As a player progresses, champions level up through the various activities they participate in. Champions may be upgraded to through five ranks of power, improving their attributes with each evolution. Champions may be further ascended, using items from the tower dungeons for additional bonuses. To upgrade a champion’s rank, they must reach the max level for that rank (10 for 1 star, 20 for 2 stars, etc.), followed by a sacrifice of champions of the same rank for each star. (1 champion for 1 star, 2 champions for 2 stars, etc.). Each champion has a unique set of abilities that make them particularly suited to their specific niche. Several different team compositions will be required to overcome different modes of play.

RAID is a game best played with friends, and competing clans are plenty. The random nature of champion collection ensures no two players are alike. Making the best of what you have is essential to success. Guides are even built into the game and accessed from the champion panel. Players can browse the reviews and builds recommended for each character.

The primary currency collected is silver and is used for nearly every task of progression: summoning champions, upgrading equipment, purchasing items, and more. Gems are the premium currency and are available in reasonable quantities from the many achievement rewards and the gem mine. Players should find little trouble collecting either at a F2P pace, but of course, may be acquired by micro-transactions as well. Energy is also an essential resource that, in some sense, limits gameplay. Still, it is also commonly rewarded and may stack up well beyond its official limit. Many advanced players have thousands of energy points, but hefty players may run into deficits.

Finally, an important but somewhat contentious feature is the auto-battler. The AI is exceptional and does very well clearing content with no player assistance required. The difference comes when a player is particularly evenly matched, and every ability counts. It’s lovely for alleviating some of the grind associated with most MMOs. Still, it can take away from the immersion of combat to some degree. Even so, it’s a very welcome tool and does exceptionally well paired with the multi-battle feature that is limited to 30 battles per day. Overall, it does seem Plarium has done an excellent job of keeping it pretty balanced and delivering a superior gaming experience.

Game Modes

Campaign:

Players learn the lore of this exciting world while running through the base campaign, starting from the player’s first steps in the opening segment. Each chapter highlights a challenge their band of champions must overcome, culminating with a boss fight at the end of each. Each chapter features its own particular set of gear, which players may later farm for quality pieces. The campaign also offers four modes of difficulty to keep things challenging and offer greater rewards in return. Athel, one of the starting champions, is arguably the best for pushing late into the campaign, particularly when paired with the bloodlust set available in Chapter 8. Kael is another popular pick and does exceptionally well in all game modes.

Dungeons:

Dungeons are another important game mode where players are pitted against powerful creatures for the chance to obtain exclusive items. Each is geared towards different aspects of the game’s features, with some to upgrade champions and others to further diversify their sets of equipment. Rotating lockouts every few days also adds an element of planning required to develop desired champions.

Faction Wars:

An exciting mode in which squads are limited to a specific faction. This mode is an excellent play on the diversity of champions. Each race has its own healers, tanks, and damage dealers. This mode may be the most difficult to master by the sheer number of adequately equipped champions required. Still, it is a delightful challenge forcing players to make the most of their collection.

Arena:

Coming in the two flavors of Classic and Tag Team, the arena is a great place to see where your champions stand in the world of Teleria. Classic rewards players with medals used to upgrade the Great Hall for passive bonuses. In contrast, Tag Team rewards a gold currency for use in its dedicated shop.

Clan Boss:

Limited to two strikes on a recharging timer, the clan boss offers great rewards for those able to consistently deal heavy damage. In addition, completing this boss with your clan helps in advancing your clan level for additional bonuses.

Doom Tower:

The Doom Tower offers 120 levels of grueling combat geared towards more advanced players, with rewards every step of the way. If the normal mode proves to be no significant challenge, a hard mode is available for the strongest of players.