HOW POWERFUL SHOULD BOSSES BE

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Hey so iv been messing around with making bosses. And Iv got it so they hit as hard as a player and fast. I was wondering if anyone had any quick guides on how hard a boss should hit based on player hp and how much hp they should have based on player attacks. My characters hit for roughly 1/3 there max hp, having a boss that hits like that and is twice as fast of then feels like you need twitchy fingers.

Wanna get the basic maths down before I start adding in status effects.

I like hard bosses and played hardmodes of ff7-9 etc on an emulator so not sure if im ok with these bosses because of these reflexes I have etc.
pianotm
The TM is for Totally Magical.
32347
If only there was someone who would design a boss battle for you.
https://rpgmaker.net/forums/topics/16391/
Thanks not quite what im lookong for though. Im more after some basic algorithms to apply and asking what works for you.

I had a quick look on google but not found much.
As someone who loves making boss fights...

I can't actually give you hard numbers or formulas here. Boss battles require a lot, and I do mean a LOT of testing and tweaking and forethought.

In fact, by focusing on raw stats before things like Status Effects or other "gimmicks" might lead to a less interesting boss fight.

While it's true you can make boss fights that are just beefier normal monsters, I find it's much more interesting to make the boss fight be more strategic, kind of like a puzzle you solve via battle by having the correct counter-strategy.

I'd advise you to think of what kind of attacks or strategies the boss will use. What status effects it will use, what kinds of attacks (double hits, party-wide hits, super powerful hits, magic, statuses) and on what intervals you'd like the boss to use them, to hit the player hard but give them the breathing room they need to plan around it.

After that, just come up with a decent estimate for stats, then test, test, test. As long as your boss is threatening enough to the player that a prolonged fight is difficult, and as long as they have enough HP and defense that fights take long enough for long term strategy to be important (but no so long they get boring), you're going to have an excellent boss on your hands.

The boss stats are secondary, for me. What weapons the boss will use on you, and what tools your player has to combat those strategies is far more important, in my eyes.
pianotm
The TM is for Totally Magical.
32347
Yeah, I really have to agree with Aegix. Formulas are an odd thing to ask for because why would they be different from the formulas used by standard enemies? The math doesn't change because you're fighting Hell Beast instead of a slime. The numbers may get bigger depending on how you decide to do it, but you don't even really need to do that. What goes into making a boss different from a standard enemy and harder is going to have very little to do with any kind of difference in combat formulae.

Give them buffs. Give them skills that debuff the PCs. Give them minions that support the boss and hinder the PCs.
Sooz
They told me I was mad when I said I was going to create a spidertable. Who’s laughing now!!!
5354
Powerful enough to challenge most players, but not so powerful that they'll give up in frustration.

How powerful that is depends greatly on who is playing.
Cap_H
DIGITAL IDENTITY CRISIS
6625
I think that making boss fights little unfair and really difficult unless you employ certain strategy, which counters their attacks and strategy and suddenly makes it way more manageable. Basically breaking the monster always feels good to me. It shouldn't become easy, because that would render your effort worthless.
Marrend
Guardian of the Description Thread
21781
Would tend to agree that what makes a boss "hard" or "interesting" isn't necessarily raw math. It can include raw math, but probably shouldn't rely too heavily on it. In so saying, I will admit to creating an entry in the actor portion of the database to represent an "average character" to base various boss-stats on.

I think LockeZ said, maybe even in the thread paino linked earlier, that a boss fight should be a benchmark of where the players should be in the game. To make the players use the skills that they've earned over whatever levels/equipment/whatever the characters have acquired over the course of the game up to the point of the boss.

Knowing what stuff the characters have acquired/achieved will help, in that you know what statuses they can remove, what they can apply, and how much healing/damage might be possible.
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