Trials and modern-day normal Raids: what do you see as the difference?

This is a genuine question that I feel I don't necessarily have the answer to, so I'm curious what my fellow players think. When it comes to...

• non-Extreme Trials (especially those introduced at the expansion's level cap)
• modern-day non-Savage Normal Raids

...I've been pondering what the meaningful difference is between them, and unable to come up with an answer.

In both types of content, you fight a single encounter with 8 players. In my experience, it seems like the difficulty and complexity of the fights is roughly the same on average, so it doesn't feel like one or the other is intended to be higher-end content. All Normal Raid content is associated with a linear story, but then there's Trial content like Four Lords and Werlyt that function similarly so that doesn't feel like a genuinely distinguishing feature.

Anyway, that's just my own subjective reckoning. I'm curious to hear what my fellow players think the difference is between these two types of content; let me know your thoughts!

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Originally Posted by LilimoLimomo

All Normal Raid content is associated with a linear story, but then there's Trial content like Four Lords and Werlyt that function similarly so that doesn't feel like a genuinely distinguishing feature.

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My hot take: Raids are about a place and its story. Trials are about a people (interpreted broadly, c.f. the Waring Triad) and their story.

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Originally Posted by AmiableApkallu

My hot take: Raids are about a place and its story. Trials are about a people (interpreted broadly, c.f. the Waring Triad) and their story.

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I was hoping for something a bit more mechanical, but I can't disagree with that hot take because you're simply right! ^^

Real hot take, there is no difference. They could be the same content now. Once upon a time in HW and ARR raids had trash packs before the boss, and that was the difference. SB changed that, and now they are basically the same thing.

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Originally Posted by TheOperator3712

Real hot take, there is no difference. They could be the same content now. Once upon a time in HW and ARR raids had trash packs before the boss, and that was the difference. SB changed that, and now they are basically the same thing.

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Mostly because players just skipped the trash anyway.

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Originally Posted by Valkyrie_Lenneth

Mostly because players just skipped the trash anyway.

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Still it evokes a sense of place, for example first coil really felt like you were raiding a physical space over the 5 turns

1) infiltrate a garlean research base
2) take the elevator down through the defence systems
3) reach the elevator to take you to the core of the ragnarok class ship
4) fight the defences on the elevator
5) reach the core and fight the ultimate guardian

Raids used to believable physical spaces, now eden and panda just send you wherever on a random story and have absolutely no discernible connection, hell P1-8 and P9-12 don’t even happen in the same time period