Raids Q+A with Development Team

Hello Summoners!

We are excited about the introduction of Raids, so we put together this Q/A with our Development team to answer some questions!

**Why did you choose Ursula as a Raid Boss?**

Ursula is one of the most prominent and popular Disney villains. We’ve always known that she is the perfect candidate to showcase within the Raids feature. Adapting some unforgettable Ursula moments from Disney’s The Little Mermaid into the game has been a large, fun challenge and has really been captured within the game.

**Will all Raids be a similar format with a new boss to chase?**

Raids offer an extremely difficult challenge for a Club to work together on. There may be other formats so long as it satisfies the depth, scale, and overall epic feeling of a Raid battle.

**Do you have a predefined timing for launching Raids?**

We’ve always known that Raids were going to come to the game, but there’s not been a definitive, set-in-stone, timeline in place to do it. We always want to make sure that the rewards for completing a Raid are desirable – whether it be new gear pieces or, something very flashy, a completely new character. We keep our finger on the pulse to identify a window that makes the most sense for a Raid to be released.

**Once Raids is released, what is the next big feature you’d like to create or work on/improve? **

There’s always something we’re looking to add or improve upon. In general direction we have our eyes looking toward some PVP modes as well as Club modes.

**What are you most worried about with releasing your first Raid? **

There’s a lot of moving pieces involved in creating such a large feature as Raids so it’s the unknowns that worry most. The things that can arise from critical mass that are very difficult to replicate internally through testing. Beyond that, simply ensuring that Raids as a feature really captures the awesomeness that is Ursula!

**What are you excited to learn about the game and the community from releasing Raids? **

We’re all really excited to hear peoples’ first experience within the raids themselves. We’ve put a number of unique mechanics into Raids – even one or two secrets to be discovered.

**What happens if the last level of the Ursula Raid is too easy to complete? What will you do? **

IF it were too easy then we’d have to take steps to correct it – the Raids feature is intended to be a challenging experience for everyone involved. Rewards are more impactful when they are legitimately earned through effort, so capturing that feeling is of the utmost importance.

**How many times a week do you expect a top tier Club to attempt the highest level of the Raid? **

We don’t want any Club to feel obligated to play a raid over and over and over without any breathing room. We have mechanics in place to throttle it so every Club will have a period of time to collaborate, talk about the next raid attempt, and strategize.

**How will we get Raids to launch? **

Clubs will have an item that is earned by the Club’s members throughout various game modes. Each player will have a maximum amount they can contribute to the Club’s total, but once a required amount is reached, a Club Leader or Co-Leader may spend the item to initiate a Raid battle.

**Are there any hard requirements for Raids? **

There will be, yes. Now’s a great time to work on increasing the Star Rarity of your collection so you have many Team compositions at the ready! There will be multiple difficulties of the raid as well – meant for mid-level Clubs as well as top tier ones.

**Are there any characters that have benefits for using them in Raids? **

Yes, there are. Whether explicitly called out, such as Prince Eric and King Triton, or more subtle – such as some effects which may prove invaluable within the raid.

**Does character health persist in Raids? **

Generally speaking, a Character will either emerge victorious or will have done as much damage as possible to a Raid Boss before becoming defeated. If a character successfully escapes from a Raid battle, via a new mechanic within raids, their Health value will persist.

**Is there a way to leave a Raid battle you thought you could do more damage in and retry with the team you went in with? Or will you lose that team? **

If you leave a Raid battle, such as through the forfeiting option, all Characters in that battle will be usable again – but that will have cost you an attempt for the day.

**How did you balance Raids? **

This is a bit of a loaded question! At a high level, we know where every character exists on a spectrum at every point within a character’s progression. With this data, we can target specific goals that a Raid battle is intended to have within reason. There is admittedly a lot of variability that exists within the game through synergies, chance mechanics, and other factors.

**Will Raids have multiple tiers gated behind star levels or other? **

That is the current thinking, yes. Each tier will have certain requirements in it to encourage bolstering up one’s collection, but also it’s simply not a fun gameplay experience to be instantly defeated without any chance of survival if able to bring in significantly underpowered characters.

**Will Ursula be a playable character apart from a Raid Boss? **

Yes. Yes, she will!

**Where will Ursula’s character fit in the current Meta? **

Ursula will have some devastatingly powerful abilities that match the effort to attain her. She definitely takes matters into her own tentacles in battle. Rather than spoil the fun, we can simply say to hang tight and review her character details once she’s available in the game.

**I like that there are characters that are better in Conquest and Raids. Do you think this will be a trend? **

We want every character to be useful somewhere – or in multiple places. We realize that this is an ongoing task as some of the early characters may need a refresh as well as a more comprehensive identity as it exists within the game.

**How important will Raids be for Gear and resource flow into the player journey? **

Raids will be a large part of the game economy across different player levels, but especially for players working on T6+ gear. It will be one of the primary sources of T7 materials, and there are several ingredients that can only be obtained through Raid rewards and the new Raid Exchange.

**Will players get mini-rewards for participating in Raids, or will resources only be given at the end of a Raid? **

Players will be rewarded at the end of a successful raid. However, raid points that players accrue will count towards a series of seasonal milestone rewards!

**What are you most excited about with Raids coming to DSA? **

This will be the first major PvE feature that will rely on Club cooperation. We’re very excited to see what strategies everyone comes up with, and how players strategize around the new mechanics unique to this feature.

**Do you believe the rewards from Raids will justify the resources and time needed to participate in it? **

Absolutely! We’ve got some very exciting exclusive new gear pieces, and a playable version of Ursula will be a brand-new character exclusive to the Heroic Tier within Raids.

**How often will the rewards for Raids change or are they set in stone? **

The rewards for the Ursula Raid will be relatively constant- we’d love to give players a reliable source for gear and tokens so they can feel confident in investing into the feature. That said, we’re always open to feedback and may adjust the reward balance from time to time as we do in other constant parts of the game, like campaigns or Summoner’s Challenges.

**Will reward drops be static or will there be a random component? **

There will be a random component to some of the factions or attributes of gear materials (whether you get a Downtown Villain or Kingdom Illusion for example), but the amount of rewards will be very static. You won’t be guessing on whether you’ll get 2 Dream Fragments or 20.

**Will there be runes to be gained in Raids? **

At the moment, we don’t have any plans for the Ursula Raid to be a primary source of ability upgrade runes.