Who's behind Raiding With Dues, why the channel exists, and what drives the no-pay-to-win philosophy.
I'm Gary — the guy behind Raiding With Dues. I've been playing Raid: Shadow Legends since 2020 and launched the channel in February 2025 because I got tired of the same clickbait-heavy, pay-to-win-coded content that dominates Raid YouTube. I'm a PC gamer and avid Pokémon TCG collector based in Northern New Mexico, just down the highway from the mountains of Southern Colorado. I grew up on a ranch in Northern Montana, went to school in Billings, and eventually made my way south.
Outside the game I'm very family-focused — I have two autistic sons and a younger daughter who is my princess. That shapes how I think about this community: patience, clarity, and meeting people where they're at matter more than chasing metrics.
Most Raid content is either built for spenders or it looks F2P while quietly assuming you have top-tier champions. Neither helps the player who's grinding daily on a free account trying to actually improve. The goal with RWD is simple: honest, reproducible strategy you can apply to your actual account, with your actual roster, today. No "just pull 10 Sacreds" advice. No hidden assumptions.
I run two accounts — a fully F2P account (@RWDues) for beginner and mid-game content, and an endgame account (DuesXMac) for boss and gear deep dives. Both perspectives, no shortcuts. The Discord is built to be different too — community-focused first, not just a content funnel. A place where people actually help each other get better at the game.
I joined the UNG Cluster in 2024 as a member of Armiger, and became leader of Drillmaster in 2026. Drillmaster is the entry-level progression clan in the cluster — the starting point where players build their accounts and develop good habits before moving up through the 14-clan community. The UNG Cluster (Uncommonly Good) is run by fellow content creator Boozor and spans every level of play.
The cluster runs on the same values as the channel: United in Battle, United in Diversity. Play your way. No gatekeeping by wallet size.
After watching players make the same gear mistakes over and over, I built the R.A.I.D. Gear Formula — a four-step framework (Role → Aim → Identify → Dial In) that gives every gear decision a clear, repeatable answer. It's the teaching backbone of this channel and the most practically useful thing I've put together for this game. Free cheat sheet available on Ko-fi.
Account Reviews are ongoing and always open — submissions through Discord. I'm actively looking for more accounts to feature, so if you want your roster diagnosed on camera, get in the server. A Solo Champion Series is also in the works — deep dives on individual champions, what they're actually capable of, and how to build them without breaking the bank. Ko-fi now has example checklists and cheat sheets live, with more being added regularly.
Every guide is built around what a real F2P or mid-spender player can actually do. No "just pull more shards" solutions.
Titles say what the video is. Thumbnails show what the video is. No misleading promises, no bait-and-switch builds.
Reproducible systems — like the R.A.I.D. Gear Formula — over one-off lucky pulls or builds nobody can recreate.
The UNG Cluster is for everyone. All backgrounds, all play styles, all experience levels. That's not a marketing line — it's the rule.
