I honestly don't think raids have a place in a game like this. It's a PvP focused game, with PvE elements. The 'dungeons' they have planned are supposed to be little extra things a small group can do if they feel like taking a short break from PvP, I hope bE don't implement raids as it will take resources from the main focus of the game (PvP) to add a feature that has no real place in an online open world PvP game. Now, spawning large tyranid monsters on the surface that randomly attack bases and act like world bosses in MMORPG's would meet the needs of this small group of players that want a more detailed PvE experience to the one planned at the moment without taking anywhere near as much time/resources to developed in comparison to a full raid.
That's why I said after launch and why we are discussing methods of having them but have them simple yet brilliant enough to not cost resources. Also, the idea for the raids is that they do effect the war in some way. Also its a good way to get your guild together, more players, better rewards.
I can buy into it being an after-launch add on, but I don't like the idea of players gaining items from raids, it'd be better if you gained large amounts of in-game currency from raids so you can buy what you want rather than being forced into weapons you didn't really want to get anyway (since they'll be just as powerful as the stuff you'll already be using). Raids influencing the main map in anyway is a massive no, PvE should have zero direct impact on the PvP map unless you stage the raids in the main world where the enemy factions can intervene and stop you from completing the raid. And honestly, I don't like the idea of 20+ man PvE encounters. Maybes 5-10 terminators on a space hulk, but too many people will leave the raid playing exactly the same as the PvP part, except you are not fighting against players, so there would be little point in doing it in PvE when you can have more fun in PvP. But then again, they're already coding AI tyranids so I suppose it'll be fairly easy to implement some sort of wave survival mode, which is probably what will happen.
After reading all this... EC is 1 gigantic Raid. 4 Facrions raid Arcona and every part of conquest is a step of its own in this big raid. Kill teams will be there for sure, cause each squad wich goes hunting for objectives IS per se a Kill Team. It is self made. So its not a question of Raid or no Raid. Its a question of content.
Shortening my previous post so people actually read it. Devs have confirmed that large Tyranid forces will only be operating in areas where there aren't massive clashes between player factions (eg attacking otherwise 'safe' bases well behind the frontlines) due to the strain it'd put on servers. Therefore, I think instanced areas where you can have smaller battles involving both 'nids and enemy factions would be a great way of providing more diverse gameplay options. Fighting in an instanced area that could have a 10 v 10 v 10 v 10 battle involving Tyranids and dynamic objectives would probably be a very different experience to getting involved with the main war machines on the surface. The player caps in these battles would also mean that teamwork is key, not numerical superiority. If you could take a team of ten players and enter a Tyranid instance way behind enemy lines, you could potentially cause that faction a lot of trouble. I'm looking at this as a way of encouraging factions to make use of the Tyranids' balancing function to strike back at their foes. Sure, the steamrolling Space Marines own 70% of the world map, but the Eldar have sneaky little guerilla teams entering instances way behind their front lines to damage their supply lines and potentially cause them to lose bases to the 'nids. Of course, there's still PvP inside these instances, so it's not like there's nothing you can do about it. It's just playing with a different set of rules. Diversity is always the key to keeping players interested. I got bored in PS2 because all there was to do was hop on and join the war machine which could be: A) being steamrolled or B) steamrolling the enemy or C) sitting in a stalemate being bored, but sometimes I would've preferred it if there were other activities that could provide a change of pace. I'm not asking for crafting or fishing, but adding in different ways of fighting the war for Arkhona can't hurt.
If it affects the PvP it must NOT be instanced, otherwise there will be no way of stopping them from completing their sabotage mission. If it affects the main map, then it must be done on the main map where enemy players can stop you completing the mission.
Then there is absolutely no point in instancing it if anyone can hop into the instance to fight anyway. It's just another unnecessary loading screen.
