MMORPGs are renowned for their brutally difficult, massive scale boss fights. One of the things that has historically enabled this difficulty and scale is the cooldown-based, optimization-heavy control scheme that became known as tab target combat. Despite being originally born out of necessity, enabling gamers on dial-up in 1999 to still engage in action-packed fights without having to manually aim their spells or swing their swords, it has become an acquired taste for a community of change-averse gamers, comparable to survival horror fans and their darling tank controls.

Recently, while waiting for the full release of World of Warcraft: Forever, I started craving for some new tab-target experiences. The feeling of mastering a rotation, learning every trick in your toolkit, and then applying them in exponentially more difficult fights… It was calling to me. But with the biggest MMO release of the last several years right on the horizon, I was hesitant to subscribe to a new game and do the whole leveling grind to scratch my itch. So I became curious; where are all the tab target games that don’t have a barrier to entry of dozens of hours? And it turns out, a few developers have tried to fill the niche.

Rabbit and Steel by mino_dev takes all of the beloved action of Final Fantasy XIV raiding, squishes it down to a 1-4 player roguelite formula, and adds in a little danmaku spice for good measure. This game captures the feeling of being part of a raid group better than any other game like it, with the constant scramble to stack up with and scramble away from your friends lest you get each other killed. Each of the whopping 14 classes has a simple four button kit that enables a just-complex-enough rotation that can change throughout a run based on the items and upgrades you find. Climbing up the scaling difficulties and trying to unlock the variety of skins, items, and new characters is incredibly satisfying, especially on hard and lunar where the XIV inspiration becomes increasingly clear. And plus, who wouldn’t immediately fall in love with the adorably sentimental storyline and chibi artstyle? There are very few games where you get to be a cute bunny and kill dragons.

Climactic and flashy raid bosses aren’t the only beloved part of MMORPG content, however. And as I played more of Rabbit & Steel, I started to miss the exponentially scaling mythic+ dungeons of modern WoW expansions. The never-ending gear treadmill that has you chasing a carrot on a stick, the difficulty curve of climbing higher and higher keystones, and the stress of pulling dozens of mobs at a time in a mad dash against the clock, it’s the one thing I would ever go back to retail WoW for. Thankfully, last year the developers at Chief Rebel tried to capture the same audience at a smaller scale.

Fellowship is a no-nonsense alternative to mythic+. It forgoes the open world and the time gating and the leveling process, and instead presents you with the beloved gear treadmill without having to wait or grind. Four player parties feel fantastic, with tanking and healing feeling just overwhelming enough, and the variety of DPS classes giving you just about every flavor of RPG character you could ask for. While originally built for a classic holy trinity system, the new “odd comp” mechanic allows and even attempts to balance parties with too many healers, tanks, or neither. Build variety is solid here, with top players for each of the 12 classes having 2-4 viable builds for all of the hardest content in the game. As for the actual dungeons, creative layouts and brutally hard boss mechanics left me feeling like I never left Azeroth.

Fellowship does currently suffer from a criminally small player count, one that all but demands you join premade groups in their Discord to make meaningful progress. This is something that can be hopefully addressed as they drop new seasonal content and approach the games full release, both of which always mean massive player count surges for this kind of game.

I seriously hope that in the future, more developers can find creative ways to use the limitations of tab target combat to create unique experiences. Managing cooldowns and mastering rotations will never get old. If you know of any similar games, or want to discuss the two I mentioned here, please feel free to check out our Facebook Group or our Discord.

Featured Image: Chief Rebel, mino_dev, Shutterstock

Boss Rush Podcast – A Podcast about Video Games

The Boss Rush Podcast – A Podcast about Video Games – is the flagship show of the Boss Rush Network and Boss Rush Media. Each week, hosts⁠ Corey Dirrig and LeRon Dawkins⁠ are joined by friends, fellow creators, indie developers, and industry veterans to discuss the latest in the world of video games, including news, rumors, new releases, and what they’ve been playing. They also answer listener questions, debate important industry topics and Boss Rush Banter discussion points, and feature a rotating weekly segment. New episodes post every Monday.

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