With WildStar's open beta in full swing, the team over at Carbine has seen fit to release a video preview for the raids in the game. With an already complex battle system where both you and the enemy “telegraph” your moves before they strike, simple PvE and smaller PvP combat requires increasingly agile fingers and movements so as to stay one step ahead of the enemy. Raid bosses, on the other hand, play more like recreations of the “bullet hell” genre, requiring you to not only dodge hundreds of incoming attacks, but also occasionally watch out for environmental hazards, and the room disintegrating as the fight progresses.

This is quite squarely aimed at taking down the standard raid methodology, which would appear to involve simply responding appropriately to bosses' attacks, and positioning well to survive the fight.  WildStar’s new approach, however, has not been universally received. Comments below the video and across the internet seem to decry the mechanics as more oriented around fighting the incoming shapes on the floor, rather than the monster creating them. As I haven't played the game, I can't say how true this holds up, but it does seem to hold some merit.

Carbine, quite clearly, is focusing a lot of effort into making their raids something entirely unique and challenging, while still incorporating the core elements of their combat system. While it remains to be seen how this content appeals to the casual players of their game, at the very least, WildStar’s hardcore players should have something to look forward to.