While we are brainstorming (which is code for “please don’t bury this in the Suggestions forum”), we can also ponder future bosses and their twists on the mechanics. It’s rather important to ensure that new boss monsters present something mechanically new and different from the current selection.
To that end, I would suggest six additional types of bosses, expressed by the Corrupted Redwood Shepherd, the Kraken, the Auroch, an Ooze Oligarch, the Echo of Ascalon, and the dreaded Karkamari Dominancy. For insane rantings of a crazy man and/or details, please see the attached file.
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You may notice that the boss list described above is far from perfect, leaving out plenty of good possibilities for monstrous mayhem. There is a reason, however, and that is based upon boss variants. Creatures with similar body structures can use the skeletons and animations of the above bosses with alternate forms and new strategies or environments. Some variants will be extremely similar to the original, while others will appear wildly different yet still save the developers time and energy.
A Jungle Wurm becomes a Plains Wurm or Frost Wurm with a simple reskin. A Kraken’s tentacles can be replaced with carniverous plants to form the Mandragora, the earth elemental fortress can be reforged with guns and metal to create a Dredge Doom Device, or a pearly white statue can be redone as a Shadowed Colossus. Some variants are more exotic; the animations of a boss might be changed, but the underlying style might remain identical, making a new boss easier to design. By using this simple method, every zone can have its own world boss with less effort than designing them all from scratch.
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With the example section of the ramble done, let’s talk about a few general lessons when it comes to boss design and player psychology.
Building a great boss requires knowing your audience and what they enjoy. Unfortunately, MMO players are like a herd of cats, each with contradictory opinions on what direction they should be going. Despite this problem, there are a few general improvements that everyone can enjoy, which we can discuss forthwith…
Elaborate the Introduction
Several bosses have pre events, but these are generally quick affairs that end in a few minutes. Players rarely have any real warning about a world boss threat, relying on external applications and timers to track where to be and what to kill. The challenge should lie in the boss’s power, not remembering the appointment on your schedule.
To counteract this problem, pad the beginning of each fight. Add environmental effects (storms, blizzards, blights, etc) combined with unique events that occur during each boss’s window. More importantly, let participation in these events count towards overall participation against that boss for the reward chest (although the server still needs to win against the beastie before it is provided, of course). This will ensure that even in the worst circumstances (getting mauled in the beginning of the fight and unable to get in any whacks, disconnected, etc), a player putting in effort will still be counted as participating.
Everyone Believes They Are The Hero
Certain boss fights attempt to provide multiple things to do within the battle, creating a larger conflict. The problem, however, is that these optional jobs tend to be…..dull. You cannot expect people to be interested in protecting NPCs halfway across the battlefield when they could be attacking a giant dragon. One job is heroic and unique, the other is peon duty.
Multiple tasks are okay, so long as each is equally epic. Several distinct objectives might be necessary to survive an initial onslaught of a flying dragon, but the eventual rumble with the creature itself should feel heroic for everyone. Also, remember a crucial point: the NPCs should never be more important than the player. Escort quests are reviled for a reason, and watching someone else slay a boss is never as fun as sinking your blade into the heart of the beast.
Look Up More
This game is beautiful and magnificent, but the combat system relies too much on staring at the floor. To raise your player’s enjoyment, lift their vision upwards. Make sure that cues and telegraphs pull your player’s vision to the boss itself, relying far less on red circles on the ground. Supplement your animations with audio cues which trigger if a player is in range, close to, or away from a given attack (this is already in the game; the trebuchets in pvp trigger a warning shout if you’re about to be pulverized). Try to make these cues seamless and immersive (an incoming breath attack is marked by a loud inhaling sound, rather than someone yelling it is about to breath twelve times a fight). Make players embrace the sights and sounds of your bosses in order to fight more effectively, and they’ll soak up the beauty of the battlefield in the process.
