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HIGH LEVEL BOSS BATTLE ARCHETYPES
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kentona
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CloseI could have sworn we had a topic where we discussed and threw out high-level ideas for common boss battles, but for the life of me I can't find it. Sure, we have plenty of boss idea topics that go into INSANE detail and skill names like Ultra Mega Wind Ultimecium Attack, and we also have some more general boss design articles, but I am just looking for a simple list of common boss archetypes. Things that can be described in a single sentence.
Like...
Tank Boss - has a lot of HP that takes forever to whittle away (usually an optional/post-game boss)
Multiple Form Boss - as the battle progresses, the boss mutates into more powerful forms.
Multilimb Boss - you can target limbs or the body itself, but it is the main body that has to die. the limbs usually have far less HP and special attacks.
Resistance/Vulnerability Shifting Boss - the boss is only vulnerable to a certain element, and that vulnerability changes (either over time, or in response to an attack)
Mana Boss - you have to drain the boss's MP (instead of HP) to kill it.
Phasing Boss - the boss has two phases, a regular phase that you can attack normally, and a "defensive" phase that is either invulnerable to attacks, or counterattacks powerfully when attacks (Whelk!)
Boss that attacks twice per round - pretty straightforward, he gets two turns per round.
Shield Boss - you have to destroy the boss's shield before you can damage it.
Boss with minions that revive/heal it - Usually a healer that will revive or heal the boss, while the boss dishes out big damage. Kill the healer first to win.
...and many dozens more.
Does anyone else remember that original topic? (it was months ago). Also, post other high level boss ideas.
Like...
Tank Boss - has a lot of HP that takes forever to whittle away (usually an optional/post-game boss)
Multiple Form Boss - as the battle progresses, the boss mutates into more powerful forms.
Multilimb Boss - you can target limbs or the body itself, but it is the main body that has to die. the limbs usually have far less HP and special attacks.
Resistance/Vulnerability Shifting Boss - the boss is only vulnerable to a certain element, and that vulnerability changes (either over time, or in response to an attack)
Mana Boss - you have to drain the boss's MP (instead of HP) to kill it.
Phasing Boss - the boss has two phases, a regular phase that you can attack normally, and a "defensive" phase that is either invulnerable to attacks, or counterattacks powerfully when attacks (Whelk!)
Boss that attacks twice per round - pretty straightforward, he gets two turns per round.
Shield Boss - you have to destroy the boss's shield before you can damage it.
Boss with minions that revive/heal it - Usually a healer that will revive or heal the boss, while the boss dishes out big damage. Kill the healer first to win.
...and many dozens more.
Does anyone else remember that original topic? (it was months ago). Also, post other high level boss ideas.
SnowOwl
5188
Obligatory Fire boss and obligatory Ice boss.
Boss that 1-hit K.O party unless you use a specific skill or have superb defense, usually optional.
Boss that 1-hit K.O party unless you use a specific skill or have superb defense, usually optional.
papasan96
1021
Final final final boss form that you can't really lose to and is purely a symbolic fight(ala Sephiroth FFVII)
Conversely, boss that you can't defeat (yet) and is merely there to progress the story.
Conversely, boss that you can't defeat (yet) and is merely there to progress the story.
Optional boss that requires you to not only be a crazy high level, but have the necessary abilities, equipment, and mostly luck to win. Usually gives an achievement in games with achievements. (Rockgagong in Tales of Graces f)
Talkative boss. Every hit makes it say something else, or has a voiceover as the battle is occurring in games with active or time-based battle systems. Sometimes you only have to survive long enough for it to stop talking and you win. (Basically every recent final Tales boss)
Joke boss. Basically the Mimic/Mime in FFV. Just wait long enough and the battle ends.
Epic BGM boss. Has an amazing battle track that will only be heard a couple times in the game, sometimes exclusive for this fight. Does not apply to final boss themes.
Self-destruct boss. Either kill it before it explodes (unlikely unless overpowered or New Game+), or survive the explosion. Usually has minions to eat away at your HP so that you won't survive the explosion.
Talkative boss. Every hit makes it say something else, or has a voiceover as the battle is occurring in games with active or time-based battle systems. Sometimes you only have to survive long enough for it to stop talking and you win. (Basically every recent final Tales boss)
Joke boss. Basically the Mimic/Mime in FFV. Just wait long enough and the battle ends.
Epic BGM boss. Has an amazing battle track that will only be heard a couple times in the game, sometimes exclusive for this fight. Does not apply to final boss themes.
Self-destruct boss. Either kill it before it explodes (unlikely unless overpowered or New Game+), or survive the explosion. Usually has minions to eat away at your HP so that you won't survive the explosion.
LockeZ
I'd really like to get rid of LockeZ. His play style is way too unpredictable. He's always like this too. If he ran a country, he'd just kill and imprison people at random until crime stopped.
5958
I've got like ten pages of these. I won't post all of them in one post, though. I like to combine three or four of them per boss.
I'll separate mine into three main categories: defense, offense and neither/both. Usually I try to make sure every boss requires some defense and some offense.
Makes the player use defense:
Whittle and Slam - The boss uses weak area attacks and gradual damage skills like poison to deplete the party's HP, and uses one big single-target attack to attempt to finish them off. (this is, like, the most basic boss archetype imaginable)
Attack Telegraph - The player is informed beforehand when the boss is about to use its strongest attacks, and must use appropriate defensive skills to survive.
Cooldown Telegraph - The player doesn't know exactly when the boss is about to use its strongest attacks, but is informed when it becomes possible for the boss to use them.
Invincible Minions - The boss has minions that aid it during the fight, but they can't be harmed or disabled. The player must simply survive whatever they do.
Frenzy - The boss goes into a temporary high-damage mode, often by buffing its offense or debuffing the player's defense, and the player must concentrate on defense until it goes back to normal.
Eyes on Me - One of the player's party members becomes the target of all enemy attacks.
Get Out of the Fire - One of the player's party members is marked for death after a certain amount of time, but the player can do something to undo the effect, such as defending, switching rows, being healed of the ailment, or being healed to full HP.
Dispel - The boss removes the player's buffs, forcing the player to recast them.
Hallation - The player's HP is reduced to a very low amount, no matter how high it was before.
Defend - The boss defends, causing any offensive actions the player takes to be wasted for a little while. Make sure it doesn't wear off faster than the player can react to it.
Counterattack - The boss goes into a temporary counterattack mode, or counterattacks through the whole battle, against some or all types of attacks.
Reverse Timed Battle - After a certain amount of time, the player automatically wins. He must survive until then.
Reinforcements Have Arrived - After a certain amount of time, the player receives a new party member, a powerful spell, or some other massive benefit.
Soft Anti-Enrage - The boss gradually loses power or speed as the fight goes on, making the fight easier the more defensive the player's team is.
Makes the player use offense
Soft Enrage - The boss gradually gains attack power or speed as the fight goes on, making the fight harder the more defensive the player's team is.
Hard Enrage - After a certain amount of time, the boss suddenly gains a massive amount of extra power.
Timed Battle - After a certain amount of time, the player instantly loses.
Healer Minions - The boss's minions heal it faster than the player can do damage, so the minions must be killed first.
Attack Minions - The boss's minions attack the player, adding danger as long as they're alive.
Shielding Minions - The boss's minions make the boss temporarily invincible, so only they can be killed.
Ailment Minions - The boss's minions disable the party with ailments, preventing them from acting effectively.
Esuna Minions - The boss can be hit with ailments, but its minions heal them.
Bomb Minions - Boss summons minions that explode after a certain amount of time, instantly killing the player.
Respawning Minions - The boss's minions will respawn a certain amount of time after dying; the player must decide if it's worth killing them.
Unlimited Minions - The longer the boss stays alive, the more minions it summons. Eventually they will overwhelm the player.
Redirected Heals - When the player is healed, the boss is healed. Usually wears off over time or after the player does something.
Diminishing Heals - The player's healing becomes weaker as the fight goes on, eventually dropping to zero.
Anti-Heal Barrier - The boss inflicts an ailment that prevents the player from healing. Usually wears off over time or after the player does something.
Regen - The boss gradually regenerates HP, and must be killed faster than it heals by foregoing defense and using burst damage.
Neither/both
Dispellable Buffs - The boss makes itself stronger, either defensively or offensively, but the player can remove the buff.
Mana Burn - The boss reduces the player's MP, requiring them to either win fast or find a way to recover it.
MP Usage - The boss actually uses up its MP and must recover it; the player may have MP burning abilities to facilitate this, but if not they at least know when the boss isn't going to attack for a little while.
Blue Mage - The boss uses a powerful skill, which the player can learn and use back against it.
Reverse Blue Mage - The boss learns the player's skills as they're used, forcing the player to choose skills that are more useful to them than to the boss.
Partial Skill Lock - Some of the player's skills cannot be used, such as short-range attacks or magic. This may last the whole battle or be temporary.
Soft Partial Skill Lock - The boss uses an ability that makes some of the player's skills essentially useless; like enchanting the player's weapons to deal fire damage against a boss that absorbs fire.
Sneeze - One or more of the player's party members is removed from the battle.
That Wasn't Even My Final Form - The boss grows in power to become more dangerous, either by transforming midway through the fight or by resurrecting itself after being defeated.
Stance Dance - The boss changes between different stances periodically, using different skills in each stance.
She Deep Breaths More - The boss becomes more powerful when the player uses certain abilities or strategies. (Make sure this is conveyed fairly to the player.)
Dark Clone - The player must fight evil copies of the player's party members, with all the player's abilities and stats.
I'll separate mine into three main categories: defense, offense and neither/both. Usually I try to make sure every boss requires some defense and some offense.
Makes the player use defense:
Whittle and Slam - The boss uses weak area attacks and gradual damage skills like poison to deplete the party's HP, and uses one big single-target attack to attempt to finish them off. (this is, like, the most basic boss archetype imaginable)
Attack Telegraph - The player is informed beforehand when the boss is about to use its strongest attacks, and must use appropriate defensive skills to survive.
Cooldown Telegraph - The player doesn't know exactly when the boss is about to use its strongest attacks, but is informed when it becomes possible for the boss to use them.
Invincible Minions - The boss has minions that aid it during the fight, but they can't be harmed or disabled. The player must simply survive whatever they do.
Frenzy - The boss goes into a temporary high-damage mode, often by buffing its offense or debuffing the player's defense, and the player must concentrate on defense until it goes back to normal.
Eyes on Me - One of the player's party members becomes the target of all enemy attacks.
Get Out of the Fire - One of the player's party members is marked for death after a certain amount of time, but the player can do something to undo the effect, such as defending, switching rows, being healed of the ailment, or being healed to full HP.
Dispel - The boss removes the player's buffs, forcing the player to recast them.
Hallation - The player's HP is reduced to a very low amount, no matter how high it was before.
Defend - The boss defends, causing any offensive actions the player takes to be wasted for a little while. Make sure it doesn't wear off faster than the player can react to it.
Counterattack - The boss goes into a temporary counterattack mode, or counterattacks through the whole battle, against some or all types of attacks.
Reverse Timed Battle - After a certain amount of time, the player automatically wins. He must survive until then.
Reinforcements Have Arrived - After a certain amount of time, the player receives a new party member, a powerful spell, or some other massive benefit.
Soft Anti-Enrage - The boss gradually loses power or speed as the fight goes on, making the fight easier the more defensive the player's team is.
Makes the player use offense
Soft Enrage - The boss gradually gains attack power or speed as the fight goes on, making the fight harder the more defensive the player's team is.
Hard Enrage - After a certain amount of time, the boss suddenly gains a massive amount of extra power.
Timed Battle - After a certain amount of time, the player instantly loses.
Healer Minions - The boss's minions heal it faster than the player can do damage, so the minions must be killed first.
Attack Minions - The boss's minions attack the player, adding danger as long as they're alive.
Shielding Minions - The boss's minions make the boss temporarily invincible, so only they can be killed.
Ailment Minions - The boss's minions disable the party with ailments, preventing them from acting effectively.
Esuna Minions - The boss can be hit with ailments, but its minions heal them.
Bomb Minions - Boss summons minions that explode after a certain amount of time, instantly killing the player.
Respawning Minions - The boss's minions will respawn a certain amount of time after dying; the player must decide if it's worth killing them.
Unlimited Minions - The longer the boss stays alive, the more minions it summons. Eventually they will overwhelm the player.
Redirected Heals - When the player is healed, the boss is healed. Usually wears off over time or after the player does something.
Diminishing Heals - The player's healing becomes weaker as the fight goes on, eventually dropping to zero.
Anti-Heal Barrier - The boss inflicts an ailment that prevents the player from healing. Usually wears off over time or after the player does something.
Regen - The boss gradually regenerates HP, and must be killed faster than it heals by foregoing defense and using burst damage.
Neither/both
Dispellable Buffs - The boss makes itself stronger, either defensively or offensively, but the player can remove the buff.
Mana Burn - The boss reduces the player's MP, requiring them to either win fast or find a way to recover it.
MP Usage - The boss actually uses up its MP and must recover it; the player may have MP burning abilities to facilitate this, but if not they at least know when the boss isn't going to attack for a little while.
Blue Mage - The boss uses a powerful skill, which the player can learn and use back against it.
Reverse Blue Mage - The boss learns the player's skills as they're used, forcing the player to choose skills that are more useful to them than to the boss.
Partial Skill Lock - Some of the player's skills cannot be used, such as short-range attacks or magic. This may last the whole battle or be temporary.
Soft Partial Skill Lock - The boss uses an ability that makes some of the player's skills essentially useless; like enchanting the player's weapons to deal fire damage against a boss that absorbs fire.
Sneeze - One or more of the player's party members is removed from the battle.
That Wasn't Even My Final Form - The boss grows in power to become more dangerous, either by transforming midway through the fight or by resurrecting itself after being defeated.
Stance Dance - The boss changes between different stances periodically, using different skills in each stance.
She Deep Breaths More - The boss becomes more powerful when the player uses certain abilities or strategies. (Make sure this is conveyed fairly to the player.)
Dark Clone - The player must fight evil copies of the player's party members, with all the player's abilities and stats.
Byah
1097
Yay, got one that hasn't been mentioned yet! :P
The Twins - If one of them dies, the other becomes insanely strong, wiping the party in just a few turns.
One could also combine this with a boss that summons minions and gets stronger for each one killed.
The Twins - If one of them dies, the other becomes insanely strong, wiping the party in just a few turns.
One could also combine this with a boss that summons minions and gets stronger for each one killed.
Addit
6394
- Status Inflicting Bosses: These guys just LOOOOOVVVVEEEE to spam “Stone,” “Paralysis,” and any other status altering crap that you gotta spend turn after turn removing it (unless you were smart enough to bring an item that nullifies all this, which I usually forget to bring).
- Particular Item Needed Bosses: Goons that won’t take a single scratch unless you happen to equip the right item to hurt it. Otherwise, you might as well just kill yourselves.
- Particular Puzzle Needed To Solve Bosses: Same thing like the particular item needed, but you need to complete a certain puzzle / objective in order to harm this boss. Well…better start KOing yourselves!!!
- The “I May Look Tough But I’m Really Not” Bosses: He's incredibly badass...only to fall in one or two regular hits.
- The “I May Look Harmless But I’m Really Not” Bosses: Aw...it's so cccccuuuuuttteeeee!!! Just look at h...!!! Instant KO!?!?!? WHAT THE F...!!!
- The “I’m Going To Explode When You Kill Me” Bosses: Automatic auto-death unless you happen to bring something that protects you from auto-death.
- Quick Chit-Chat Bosses: 10 seconds of fighting only to have the battle immediately end. (I guess he / she wanted to say “hi!?”)
- The “Come On, Use Your Super Move On Me” Bosses: Don't be a grade A sucker! Once you fall for its trap, it's going to break your neck!
- The Cowardly Bosses: A couple of hits and they’re running for their lives! What a pu…
- The “You Can Hit Me But I Can Hit You Even Harder” Bosses: He / she just keeps standing there… Why? Hey, it’s still standing there, not doing a thing… Enough of this crap! *hack* *slash* *status buff* *forward slash* *eats a sandwich* What’s this…??? It’s finally attacking us!!! Well, shit s… Y-You gotta be kiddin’ me!!!
LockeZ
I'd really like to get rid of LockeZ. His play style is way too unpredictable. He's always like this too. If he ran a country, he'd just kill and imprison people at random until crime stopped.
5958
Here's some more of my giant copy-pasted collection, from the previous thread and from a couple similar threads on other sites from several years ago. Imma just paste this here unedited because hey who doesn't love a good text dump:
Part 1: one-liners
Part 2: three-liners with examples from squaresoft games
Part 1: one-liners
Need poison or demi attack/skill: enemy has high def, mdef, and HP.
Need mute: self-heal spamming enemy.
Need blind: High P.dmg enemy.
High atk / low def enemy + low atk / high def enemy: defeat the low def enemy first.
Defeat/mute AoE enemy healer first.
Enemy's power/stats decrease when first defeating 'energy source' enemies.
Need AoE: large amount of weak enemies.
Defend when the enemy gives a message saying it is about to use a powerful attack.
Defeat enemy ASAP before it spawns more enemies.
High def enemy + poison-casting enemy: good enemy battle formation.
Enemy transforms after x turns: must defeat ASAP.
Need def piercing attack: high def enemy.
Must defeat 'shield' enemy so other enemy is no longer immortal (can be done with multiple shields at different % HP levels).
When your party's HP is low or when you have characters dead, the enemy gets stronger. Or weaker.
If enemy X HP is below a certain %, enemy Y starts to attack (or attack stronger). Can be done visa versa.
Enemy casts powerful DEF+ spell at low HP.
Enemy party has damage dealer + buffer.
Enemy party has high DEF/HP healer in party: mute ASAP.
Immortal/100% evasive sand enemy until a water spell is cast.
Unkindly Treated Beast: You have two enemies, a beast and its trainer. The beast is a pawn in this man's scheme. He will deal damage to the beast via a whip. When the beast is below 90%, he attacks you. The more HP the beast loses, the more damage he deals. You can finish the battle without killing the beast. The trick is to keep the beast healed above 90% while killing the trainer.
Thief Battle. Kill an enemy before its turn or it'll steal an item from you and run away. Generally annoying. Do not use if the player does not have a way to kill it before it gets a turn.
Character (un)friendly battle. If you have a specific character in your party the enemy will respond positively or negatively. For example, it may concentrate attacks on a certain party member, or refuse to attack a certain party member until all others are dead, or it (or your party member) may become confused and switch sides. Generally related to the plot.
To the Death. An enemy will engage one hero. Optionally, all other heroes will become unable to act. Until one of them dies the two will have buffs/debuffs on them.
Disable X. In this battle X type spell is disabled, such as resurrection, healing, fire spells, earth spells, buffs, dispels, etc. The type of disabled spell might change mid-battle.
Zombify. If an actor dies, it will be unable to be resurrected for the battle. Instead, the enemy will resurrect the actor to fight for him. Killing the zombie actor will enable resurrection once more.
Reverse Shield. YOU are protected by a shield from a very dangerous foe. If this shield should be destroyed you will be in an extremely difficult battle. You must defeat this foe last.
Every Status Under the Sun. Two words, Malboro Breath. If you don't have an Esuna spell, this can be worse than instant death.
I wouldn't do that if I were you: Certain actions on an enemy will make them react with greater hostility.
Shapeshifter. The monster is a shapeshifter/mimic. It takes on the abilities and attributes of other enemies. During the fight it may transform more than once. It may transform every time it is damaged, or after a set amount of time. You can cycle through the enemies until you get to one you like, or it can be so random you're never sure what to do in fear of it transforming again.
No Kill Zone. A force field causes everything to be ressurected, including your actors. After X turns or alternatively if you kill the force field, ressurection is no longer enabled. Thus, you have to set yourself up to be at a strategic advantage when this happens. To make this even more dire, you could make it so the enemy can 1 to 2 shot your heroes, so when the field drops, you have to have him as close to death as possible or you're in for a beating.
Enemies with high damaging counter attacks. Focus early turns on buffing up your characters offense and defense(Can sacrifice speed if need be). Since these guys won't be as dangerous until you attack them.
Kill enemies at same time, they enrage (get stronger) if they are by themself.
Monsters surrounding boss give him different buffs.
Boss has phases where he is weak to magic, then weak to melee.
Enemy has attack that must charge up, so buff defense or magical defence right then to prevent dying.
At 25% the enemy will fully heal after a period of time (save skills for 25%)
Boss drops party to 1 HP, and then follows up with a weak AoE attack, so heal up party quick
In council raid bosses, there are 4 bosses with a shared healthpool. One randomly becomes active, and has certain abilities, and periodically loses energy. At 50%, he throws up a shield and it's generally not a good idea to attack the shielded council member. At that point, another one becomes active and starts attacking as well. Again, at 50% he throws up a shield, but the other council member then becomes inactive.
enemy takes control of a party member - party member must be defeated
enemy takes control of a party member - wears off after some time, or when enemy takes enough damage
enemy adds move visibly towards a certain spot, probably they move towards the main boss, something bad happens when they reach their destination
boss uses a self-buff to massively increase damage for one round, but is stunnable at that time
boss goes into a charge-up phase and then uses a big attack, but if you do enough damage before he finishes charging, he never uses his attack
banishes one player into a separate battle that they must fight on their own
Aire Tam Storm (DO NOT USE, HOLY SHIT)
Boss fires missiles. If you attack them immediately you can destroy them before they hit you.
intelligent debuffs: boss lowers your highest stat to 10%, and you must use skills based on other stats
equipment break or passive ability break, removing the player's special bonuses
adds explode when killed, but do something worse when left alive
enemy dies only if his mana reaches 0
after death, a bigger enemy splits in multiple smaller ones
Variable defenses: once you hit the enemy with something, they develop a resistance against this method of attack and you have to find another opening afterwards. They can eventually forget a previous method too.
Enemy that hides underground or in a shell. Poison him just before he becomes unattackable. This will damage him from the inside since you can't attack him outside.
Elemental barrier shifter with misleading colors casts barrier's elemental spell before switching barriers. Absorbs any other elements. Cast slow while you still know his weakness.
Monk that needs one turn to use focus power for energy blast. Stun him or use sleep before he does. Preferably stun
Enemy uses elemental fields to power up an element (affects actors too).
Enemy attacks become more powerful over time (must end battle quickly).
Disable healing ability.
Disable special skills, or items.
Reflecting Forcefield: damage inflicted to the target is inflicted back to the attacker.
Reflecting Heals: heals cast on one or all party members are also granted to the enemy
Need mute: self-heal spamming enemy.
Need blind: High P.dmg enemy.
High atk / low def enemy + low atk / high def enemy: defeat the low def enemy first.
Defeat/mute AoE enemy healer first.
Enemy's power/stats decrease when first defeating 'energy source' enemies.
Need AoE: large amount of weak enemies.
Defend when the enemy gives a message saying it is about to use a powerful attack.
Defeat enemy ASAP before it spawns more enemies.
High def enemy + poison-casting enemy: good enemy battle formation.
Enemy transforms after x turns: must defeat ASAP.
Need def piercing attack: high def enemy.
Must defeat 'shield' enemy so other enemy is no longer immortal (can be done with multiple shields at different % HP levels).
When your party's HP is low or when you have characters dead, the enemy gets stronger. Or weaker.
If enemy X HP is below a certain %, enemy Y starts to attack (or attack stronger). Can be done visa versa.
Enemy casts powerful DEF+ spell at low HP.
Enemy party has damage dealer + buffer.
Enemy party has high DEF/HP healer in party: mute ASAP.
Immortal/100% evasive sand enemy until a water spell is cast.
Unkindly Treated Beast: You have two enemies, a beast and its trainer. The beast is a pawn in this man's scheme. He will deal damage to the beast via a whip. When the beast is below 90%, he attacks you. The more HP the beast loses, the more damage he deals. You can finish the battle without killing the beast. The trick is to keep the beast healed above 90% while killing the trainer.
Thief Battle. Kill an enemy before its turn or it'll steal an item from you and run away. Generally annoying. Do not use if the player does not have a way to kill it before it gets a turn.
Character (un)friendly battle. If you have a specific character in your party the enemy will respond positively or negatively. For example, it may concentrate attacks on a certain party member, or refuse to attack a certain party member until all others are dead, or it (or your party member) may become confused and switch sides. Generally related to the plot.
To the Death. An enemy will engage one hero. Optionally, all other heroes will become unable to act. Until one of them dies the two will have buffs/debuffs on them.
Disable X. In this battle X type spell is disabled, such as resurrection, healing, fire spells, earth spells, buffs, dispels, etc. The type of disabled spell might change mid-battle.
Zombify. If an actor dies, it will be unable to be resurrected for the battle. Instead, the enemy will resurrect the actor to fight for him. Killing the zombie actor will enable resurrection once more.
Reverse Shield. YOU are protected by a shield from a very dangerous foe. If this shield should be destroyed you will be in an extremely difficult battle. You must defeat this foe last.
Every Status Under the Sun. Two words, Malboro Breath. If you don't have an Esuna spell, this can be worse than instant death.
I wouldn't do that if I were you: Certain actions on an enemy will make them react with greater hostility.
Shapeshifter. The monster is a shapeshifter/mimic. It takes on the abilities and attributes of other enemies. During the fight it may transform more than once. It may transform every time it is damaged, or after a set amount of time. You can cycle through the enemies until you get to one you like, or it can be so random you're never sure what to do in fear of it transforming again.
No Kill Zone. A force field causes everything to be ressurected, including your actors. After X turns or alternatively if you kill the force field, ressurection is no longer enabled. Thus, you have to set yourself up to be at a strategic advantage when this happens. To make this even more dire, you could make it so the enemy can 1 to 2 shot your heroes, so when the field drops, you have to have him as close to death as possible or you're in for a beating.
Enemies with high damaging counter attacks. Focus early turns on buffing up your characters offense and defense(Can sacrifice speed if need be). Since these guys won't be as dangerous until you attack them.
Kill enemies at same time, they enrage (get stronger) if they are by themself.
Monsters surrounding boss give him different buffs.
Boss has phases where he is weak to magic, then weak to melee.
Enemy has attack that must charge up, so buff defense or magical defence right then to prevent dying.
At 25% the enemy will fully heal after a period of time (save skills for 25%)
Boss drops party to 1 HP, and then follows up with a weak AoE attack, so heal up party quick
In council raid bosses, there are 4 bosses with a shared healthpool. One randomly becomes active, and has certain abilities, and periodically loses energy. At 50%, he throws up a shield and it's generally not a good idea to attack the shielded council member. At that point, another one becomes active and starts attacking as well. Again, at 50% he throws up a shield, but the other council member then becomes inactive.
enemy takes control of a party member - party member must be defeated
enemy takes control of a party member - wears off after some time, or when enemy takes enough damage
enemy adds move visibly towards a certain spot, probably they move towards the main boss, something bad happens when they reach their destination
boss uses a self-buff to massively increase damage for one round, but is stunnable at that time
boss goes into a charge-up phase and then uses a big attack, but if you do enough damage before he finishes charging, he never uses his attack
banishes one player into a separate battle that they must fight on their own
Aire Tam Storm (DO NOT USE, HOLY SHIT)
Boss fires missiles. If you attack them immediately you can destroy them before they hit you.
intelligent debuffs: boss lowers your highest stat to 10%, and you must use skills based on other stats
equipment break or passive ability break, removing the player's special bonuses
adds explode when killed, but do something worse when left alive
enemy dies only if his mana reaches 0
after death, a bigger enemy splits in multiple smaller ones
Variable defenses: once you hit the enemy with something, they develop a resistance against this method of attack and you have to find another opening afterwards. They can eventually forget a previous method too.
Enemy that hides underground or in a shell. Poison him just before he becomes unattackable. This will damage him from the inside since you can't attack him outside.
Elemental barrier shifter with misleading colors casts barrier's elemental spell before switching barriers. Absorbs any other elements. Cast slow while you still know his weakness.
Monk that needs one turn to use focus power for energy blast. Stun him or use sleep before he does. Preferably stun
Enemy uses elemental fields to power up an element (affects actors too).
Enemy attacks become more powerful over time (must end battle quickly).
Disable healing ability.
Disable special skills, or items.
Reflecting Forcefield: damage inflicted to the target is inflicted back to the attacker.
Reflecting Heals: heals cast on one or all party members are also granted to the enemy
Part 2: three-liners with examples from squaresoft games
Counter attack stance
Heckran(Chrono Trigger)
Mist Dragon(FF4)
Whelk(FF6)
Scorpion Guard(FF7)
You have to pay attention to the boss' stance and cease damage dealing if he enters a "counter stance", or else face painful retaliation. The punishment may vary in size, but insisting on attacking will surely kill you sooner or later. Best used early on to make the player get used to how the game deals with turns. Do NOT implement this in a turn or wait based system unless all characters have a "defend" or "wait" command.
Barrier change
Mellusion/Merugene(FF5)
Magus(Chrono Trigger)
This one is used best right after the players get access all kinds of elemental magic(Spekkio's training), or right after obtaining a Scan spell. A skill like FF6's Debilitator which gives an enemy a new weakness can provide an interesting twist as well. The barrier change is almost always visible, but the player may not necessarily be informed what element the new barrier is.
Countdown
Magus, Black Tyrano(Chrono Trigger)
MomBomb (FF4)
Once every few turns, the boss starts counting down - once he reaches zero, he unleashes a very powerful attack, and goes back to his usual routine. If the party is caught unprepared, it's dead. The variations of this strategy include a way to interrupt the impeding doom (especially if it's nearly guaranteed to kill you), and lowering the enemy's resistance/defense for the time of countdown. ("Magus risks casting a spell")
Sequential part boss
Dragon Tank (Chrono Trigger)
CPU, Magus Sisters (FF4)
This involves defeating the other parts in a sequence. One part generally protects, heals, or even revives the other parts. Other parts might counterattack, usually using a combo tech. Attacking some parts may be harmful, they're not meant to be attacked and die automatically (or very quickly) at the end of the fight.
Boss with Minions
Arris Guardian, Giga Gaia, Zeal's Head, Lavos Core (Chrono Trigger)
Killing all the minions turns off one of the boss's abilities, such as invulnerability, counterattack, or countdown. Attacking the boss before the minions are dead is at least suboptimal, and often useless or even counterproductive due to powerful counterattacks. The minions may be revived during the fight.
Speed-run
Garuda, Zande, Dark Cloud (FF3)
Bahamut, Odin (FF4)
Some late game bosses in Xenogears
This boss has ridiculous firepower or maybe even a one hit kill ever few turns, but also very low health or some sort of weakness, or perhaps means to partially avoid his attacks. (Jump) You're supposed to use every turn you get to deal as much damage as you can - healing yourself is probably a waste of turns if you're going to die anyway. Kill it before it kills you.
Endurance
Atma Weapon (FF6)
Aps (FF7)
Dark Cecil (FF4)
You may or may not be supposed to beat the boss - but sooner or later, it kills itself if you last long enough. (Atma dies when it runs out of MP, Aps damages himself with his Tsunami, Dark Cecil only dies if you don't attack it for several rounds in a row)
One-hit exploit
Phantom Train(FF6)
Jinn (FF3) //provided you saved a SouthWind
This one can be hard as hell - but guess what? It has a weakness that makes it die in one turn, sparing you the inhumane battle. This is generally to be avoided, as even when the game gives you a hint about the weakness it still feels stupid and cheap, but there are situations where it might be a good idea.
Lose/Escape/Avoid
Beatrix (FF9)
Golem, Lavos(Chrono Trigger)
Guardian (FF6)
You're not supposed to win this one. It's typically a plot device. You may be allowed to die without getting a game over, or you may have to escape to keep from getting a game over. In some cases, winning may be technically possible for a highly skilled/overlevelled player, resulting in a reward.
3-Way Battle
Many battles in FF13
Two groups of enemies that attack each-other and also attack you. Choose wisely which one to focus on first. In a game without threat, killing them at the same time is ideal. In a game with threat, you want to make sure one group doesn't attack you until the other is dead.
Escort
Protect Algus/Alma/Rafa (FF Tactics)
Golem (FF5)
Banon (FF6)
Many escort quests in countless games
An ally appears either for a single battle or a series of battles. The ally may or may not be controllable. If the ally dies, you lose.
Illusionary Copies
Poe Boss in Forest Temple (Ocarina of Time)
Son of Sun (CT)
There are multiple targets, but only one can take damage. Attacking the wrong one typically causes it to disappear, and may incite a counterattack. Every so often (sometimes after each successful hit, sometimes after a set period of time) the illusion resets and a different target becomes the real target. Area attacks are ineffective.
Heckran(Chrono Trigger)
Mist Dragon(FF4)
Whelk(FF6)
Scorpion Guard(FF7)
You have to pay attention to the boss' stance and cease damage dealing if he enters a "counter stance", or else face painful retaliation. The punishment may vary in size, but insisting on attacking will surely kill you sooner or later. Best used early on to make the player get used to how the game deals with turns. Do NOT implement this in a turn or wait based system unless all characters have a "defend" or "wait" command.
Barrier change
Mellusion/Merugene(FF5)
Magus(Chrono Trigger)
This one is used best right after the players get access all kinds of elemental magic(Spekkio's training), or right after obtaining a Scan spell. A skill like FF6's Debilitator which gives an enemy a new weakness can provide an interesting twist as well. The barrier change is almost always visible, but the player may not necessarily be informed what element the new barrier is.
Countdown
Magus, Black Tyrano(Chrono Trigger)
MomBomb (FF4)
Once every few turns, the boss starts counting down - once he reaches zero, he unleashes a very powerful attack, and goes back to his usual routine. If the party is caught unprepared, it's dead. The variations of this strategy include a way to interrupt the impeding doom (especially if it's nearly guaranteed to kill you), and lowering the enemy's resistance/defense for the time of countdown. ("Magus risks casting a spell")
Sequential part boss
Dragon Tank (Chrono Trigger)
CPU, Magus Sisters (FF4)
This involves defeating the other parts in a sequence. One part generally protects, heals, or even revives the other parts. Other parts might counterattack, usually using a combo tech. Attacking some parts may be harmful, they're not meant to be attacked and die automatically (or very quickly) at the end of the fight.
Boss with Minions
Arris Guardian, Giga Gaia, Zeal's Head, Lavos Core (Chrono Trigger)
Killing all the minions turns off one of the boss's abilities, such as invulnerability, counterattack, or countdown. Attacking the boss before the minions are dead is at least suboptimal, and often useless or even counterproductive due to powerful counterattacks. The minions may be revived during the fight.
Speed-run
Garuda, Zande, Dark Cloud (FF3)
Bahamut, Odin (FF4)
Some late game bosses in Xenogears
This boss has ridiculous firepower or maybe even a one hit kill ever few turns, but also very low health or some sort of weakness, or perhaps means to partially avoid his attacks. (Jump) You're supposed to use every turn you get to deal as much damage as you can - healing yourself is probably a waste of turns if you're going to die anyway. Kill it before it kills you.
Endurance
Atma Weapon (FF6)
Aps (FF7)
Dark Cecil (FF4)
You may or may not be supposed to beat the boss - but sooner or later, it kills itself if you last long enough. (Atma dies when it runs out of MP, Aps damages himself with his Tsunami, Dark Cecil only dies if you don't attack it for several rounds in a row)
One-hit exploit
Phantom Train(FF6)
Jinn (FF3) //provided you saved a SouthWind
This one can be hard as hell - but guess what? It has a weakness that makes it die in one turn, sparing you the inhumane battle. This is generally to be avoided, as even when the game gives you a hint about the weakness it still feels stupid and cheap, but there are situations where it might be a good idea.
Lose/Escape/Avoid
Beatrix (FF9)
Golem, Lavos(Chrono Trigger)
Guardian (FF6)
You're not supposed to win this one. It's typically a plot device. You may be allowed to die without getting a game over, or you may have to escape to keep from getting a game over. In some cases, winning may be technically possible for a highly skilled/overlevelled player, resulting in a reward.
3-Way Battle
Many battles in FF13
Two groups of enemies that attack each-other and also attack you. Choose wisely which one to focus on first. In a game without threat, killing them at the same time is ideal. In a game with threat, you want to make sure one group doesn't attack you until the other is dead.
Escort
Protect Algus/Alma/Rafa (FF Tactics)
Golem (FF5)
Banon (FF6)
Many escort quests in countless games
An ally appears either for a single battle or a series of battles. The ally may or may not be controllable. If the ally dies, you lose.
Illusionary Copies
Poe Boss in Forest Temple (Ocarina of Time)
Son of Sun (CT)
There are multiple targets, but only one can take damage. Attacking the wrong one typically causes it to disappear, and may incite a counterattack. Every so often (sometimes after each successful hit, sometimes after a set period of time) the illusion resets and a different target becomes the real target. Area attacks are ineffective.
Final Fantasy XIII had a particularly brutal boss (the Proudclad) where it would have a defensive mode where you couldn't do shit to it, but then it would go into an offensive mode where you were able to damage and eventually stagger it, but it would be so strong you'd be busy trying to balance keeping yourself alive and trying to mount an offense.
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