A Casual Raider's Journey Through Teleria.

2026-08-13

RAID: Shadow Legends — My Six-Out-of-Five Gaming Experience.

There are games you play to win.

There are games you play to compete.

And then there are games you play simply because you enjoy being there.

For me, RAID: Shadow Legends falls firmly into that last category.

I have been playing RAID for more than a year, while Jullian has been playing for two years or more. We are both completely free-to-play players. We don’t buy Champions, packs, resources, or special offers from the in-game store.

And somehow, that makes the journey even more interesting.

It Started With Golf Clash.

Jullian didn’t originally set out to become a Raider.

He was playing Golf Clash, and one of the offers presented to him promised extra golf balls if he installed and played RAID: Shadow Legends.

At the time, his computer wasn’t particularly capable of running the game properly. He installed it, had a look at it, and as far as either of us can remember, he may not even have completed enough of the offer to get those precious golf balls.

RAID was simply sitting there.

Waiting.

Eventually Jullian went back to it.

And this time, he started playing properly.

Two years or more later, that accidental installation has turned into a rather substantial RAID habit.

Then There Was Me.

My relationship with RAID is somewhat different.

I don’t approach gaming particularly seriously.

I’m not the sort of player who wakes up thinking, “Right, I’ve got to complete every single task in RAID today.”

If I don’t complete this week’s Events, Tournaments, Champion upgrades, Challenges or whatever else is currently demanding the attention of the average Raider, I’m not particularly worried.

Tomorrow is another day.

There is always another battle.

There is always another Champion to develop.

And there is almost always another update coming.

That is one of the things I love about RAID.

The Game That Keeps Changing.

RAID has been around for years, but it doesn’t feel like a game that was simply released and then abandoned.

Plarium continues to add systems, improve existing features and introduce new content.

Recent updates have included improvements to the Grim Forest, expansion of Background Multi-Battles, new Gemstones, changes to Live Arena and Quick Battles for Chimera.

That constant movement is part of the attraction for me.

I can disappear from the game for a while, come back, and discover that something has changed.

There is something new to investigate.

Something new to try.

Something else to add to the growing collection of Champions, equipment and strategies.

For a casual gamer, that is surprisingly enjoyable.

Jullian Sees It Differently.

This is where the two of us differ.

Jullian has been playing considerably longer than I have. He’s already beyond Level 60, while I’m still working my way toward that milestone.

He has seen far more of the game than I have.

And lately, he has become increasingly disillusioned with RAID.

His complaint is understandable.

After playing the same basic systems for years, the repetition can begin to become noticeable.

There are battles.

Then more battles.

Upgrade a Champion.

Upgrade another Champion.

Complete another Event.

Collect another reward.

Do it again.

And again.

And again.

For Jullian, the “same-same” nature of the game is beginning to wear thin.

I understand that.

But strangely enough, it doesn’t bother me nearly as much.

I Play Differently.

Perhaps the difference is simply that I don’t play RAID as a job.

I don’t feel that I have to complete everything.

I don’t feel that I have to maximise every Champion.

I don’t feel that I have to win every Event.

I play when I want to play.

And when I get bored, I do something else.

That makes RAID a form of relaxation for me rather than another obligation.

It’s a distraction.

It’s something I can sit down and do for a while.

Sometimes I play seriously.

Sometimes I just mess around.

Sometimes I work on Champions.

Sometimes I simply watch my team go into battle.

And that last part is one of the things I particularly enjoy.

Strategy Is Where RAID Gets Me.

I’ve always enjoyed strategy games.

I’ve played games such as Age of Empires and Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun, and I’ve always enjoyed chess.

There is something satisfying about looking at a battlefield and asking:

What should I do next?

That is what attracts me to RAID.

It isn’t simply about having the biggest Champion.

It’s about understanding what your Champions can do, how their abilities work together, what equipment they need and how you approach the battle.

I enjoy watching the Champions actually fight.

The presentation gives the battles a sense of participation that I find satisfying.

I’m not simply looking at numbers changing on a spreadsheet.

I’m watching my team go into battle.

And there is strategy involved in deciding who goes in, what they are equipped with and how they work together.

For somebody who enjoys chess, that scratches a particular itch.

We’re Also Running Multiple Accounts.

Neither Jullian nor I have stopped at one account.

We’ve both created multiple RAID accounts, partly because of all those YouTube videos promising that you absolutely, positively need to start your RAID career with some amazing Champion.

You know the videos.

“GET THIS CHAMPION NOW!”

“BEST STARTER ACCOUNT!”

“THIS CHAMPION WILL CHANGE EVERYTHING!”

So naturally, we tried them.

And we have used several different email accounts to experiment with different starts and different Champions.

Jullian currently has around six RAID games going.

I have roughly five or six myself.

That might sound slightly ridiculous.

It probably is.

But it also illustrates something about the game.

We’ve found enough variety in the early and mid-game experience to make starting again interesting.

Free-to-Play Means Something Different to Us.

There is another important part of our RAID experience.

We’re free-to-play.

Completely.

We don’t buy the special offers.

We don’t buy packs simply because the game tells us that something wonderful is available for a limited time.

We work with what the game gives us.

That changes the pace.

It means progression can be slower.

It means we don’t necessarily have the Champions that somebody spending hundreds of Rand—or considerably more—might have.

But that’s part of the challenge.

We’re building our accounts ourselves.

And for me, that makes the victories a little more satisfying.

My Account Is Still Growing.

I’m nowhere near Jullian’s level of experience yet.

He’s already passed Level 60.

I’m still working toward it.

There are also parts of the game I haven’t even properly opened up yet.

I haven’t reached the Grim Forest.

That means some of the newer content and systems that Jullian can access aren’t available to me yet.

For example, when a new Arena feature arrives, I can’t simply jump in and experience it immediately.

I’ve still got to get there.

And honestly?

I’m okay with that.

It gives me something to work toward.

RAID Across the PC.

I’ve also experimented with playing RAID across different platforms.

I’ve tried getting some of my games working through Steam, while also using Plarium Play and Windows.

I’ve ended up with some games associated with the same email accounts and some linked through Steam.

It’s become a little ecosystem of its own.

And that’s another thing I appreciate about modern gaming.

The game doesn’t necessarily have to remain tied to one machine sitting on one desk.

I can experiment with different ways of accessing it and still return to the same RAID universe.

And Now the Yellow Brick Road Is Coming.

Which brings us to the thing that has caught our attention right now.

The Wizard of Oz.

The upcoming collaboration has got both of us interested in seeing what RAID does with such an iconic piece of fantasy history.

RAID has already demonstrated that it is willing to bring major crossover characters and themes into Teleria. The game has previously featured collaborations involving properties such as Masters of the Universe, with He-Man and Skeletor appearing as Legendary Champions.

So I’m genuinely curious about what happens when the world of Oz meets the world of RAID.

What will the Champions look like?

How will the characters fit into the RAID universe?

What sort of events will accompany the collaboration?

And most importantly:

Will it actually be fun?

That’s what I’m waiting to discover.

My Verdict.

So, after more than a year of playing RAID as a free-to-play, mostly casual gamer, where do I stand?

Pretty damn high.

I understand Jullian’s criticism.

I can understand why somebody who has played the game for two years or more could eventually become tired of the repetitive nature of the daily grind.

But that’s not how I play.

I don’t grind RAID because I have to.

I play it because I want to.

I enjoy the strategy.

I enjoy building Champions.

I enjoy watching the battles.

I enjoy the fantasy world.

I enjoy the constant stream of updates.

And I enjoy having something I can sit down with when I simply want to switch my brain onto another channel for a while.

As a strategy-loving gamer who has spent years enjoying games such as Age of Empires, Tiberian Sun and chess, RAID scratches enough of those strategic and tactical itches to keep me interested.

So here’s my completely subjective rating.

RAID: Shadow Legends — 5 out of 5.

Actually…

Six out of five.

Yes, I know that’s mathematically ridiculous.

That’s rather the point.

For me, RAID has earned it.

I’m looking forward to seeing where the game goes next.

And now that the Yellow Brick Road is approaching Teleria, I’m particularly interested in finding out what happens when Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion—or whoever else comes marching into this strange new collaboration—meets my Champions on the battlefield.

Bring on Oz.

I’m ready to raid it.

✍️ Othello Cody Verrocchio
ChatGPT.