HOW DO YOU BALANCE YOUR MONSTERS?

I will have a post for this topic with charts and graphs once we get to this point in deeper. I am actually implementing a refined mathematical system for exactly this. : )

I follow guidelines.

-Monster parties should contain archetypes that become immediately recognizable
-Monster parties should be designed to work together; a buffer, tank and mage works well for a basic encounter
-Monster parties should wear away a certain amount of the party's HP/SP at a certain level, usually 1/4-1/3 for me; stocking up on items allows a player to combat his loss of HP/SP beyond those 3-4 battles
-Monster parties should be made in VX so that your monsters aren't extremely limited (XP is good but doesn't have note boxes)

author=Relyt link=topic=3869.msg77388#msg77388 date=1243552013
1 - How do YOU keep battles interesting?

Each area has 9-12 enemies and 25 groups of those enemies to prevent fighting the same groups over and over. I try and make each enemy different from the others in some ways even if they have a stupid gimmick (examples: One enemy only throws low success death spells, another transforms into a palette swap that uses different attacks, one has no attacks and just uses negative status to kill people). When the enemies start getting weak then the POWER ENEMIES show up (anotehr 8-12 enemies and ~15 groups) which are palette swaps of the original enemies that are stronger and have different AI to spice up battles again. They also give better EXP, $$$, and loot (including loot/chest only gear).

To keep battles moving I limit 95% of the monster groups to three or less enemies. There are some four enemy groups but no fives. I also avoid having battles with the same enemies so all the enemies don't go on the same 'tick' so there is hopefully more happening while gauges are filling up instead of blowing it all in one go.

I spiced up the regular attack button by having weapons use a mess of elements. The element of a weapon is an important consideration at the start of the game where its your primary source of damage and you don't want a party that can obliterate Enemy A but be completely useless against Enemy B because he resists the element of the weapon all your characters have equipped. During fights the player has to pick his attacks a bit more effectively than confirm-mashing, even if it is just "Well Dick has Enemy A's weakness so he'll target them and Jane has Enemy B's weakness" with regular attacks.

Buyable gear is available when you pay merchants to upgrade their inventory and you can use a cheap item to go back to town (it can be used again to back to where you first used the item!) so you can always upgrade gear when you want if you've got the $$$ and try out some new gear on the enemies. I try and make gear interesting and do more than just increase attack: Slap on some other attribute bonuses or be more generous with those Other options or add a status effect.

To avoid the player getting sick and tired of random encounters I cut the useless default encounter roller and put in my own. After an encounter/entering a floor the player gets several free steps where it is guaranteed there won't be any encounters. After that the chance of an encounter grows with each step taken (starting at < 1%). There are items that can de/increase the rate this chance grows too if the player wants to run around/grind.

author=Relyt link=topic=3869.msg77388#msg77388 date=1243552013
2 - How do YOU balance your enemies so that it's fair, yet challenging?

Lots of playtesting and fucking around, trying to approach the game with a player's starting ignorance and not the creator's know-it-all (so I don't cheese every enemy to death). For each group of enemies (Power Enemies are their own group) I tally up their elemental weaknesses and resistantances and try to avoid having an element that is very (in)effective, especially to the weapon teirs the player might have. Early on its possible to have an enemy that resists most weapons a player has so all characters have a skill that has an element the player doesn't have access to so if they end up with a bad build against an enemy they can at least use that skill. It won't save them if they put all their eggs in one basket though, but I see that as the player being an idiot (plus the starting enemies aren't that rough anyways).

The first floor of a dungeon is limited to two-enemy groups so the player can ease into who they're fighting and aren't overwhelmed by the tougher groups. The last floor removes the two-enemy groups so there is a small increase in difficulty. Like regular enemies, I gradually introduce Power Enemies. One the player hits the level requirement for them to start appearing, there's a chance each encounter will be of a undefeated power enemy and their regular version. I don't want to overwhelm the player with a sudden difficulty increase. Once all the power enemies are defeated for the first time they replace their regular counterparts completely.

I don't make most enemies resistant to status effects and there's a few ways a player can dish them out. Skills, weapons that inflict status effects, and the player can purchase one-use skill items and most of them cause status effects. They're unlocked by unlocking a power enemy tier and only cost $$$.

And then there's even more playtesting to weed out overpowering enemies. Silly anecdote: I was testing a late-game enemy encounter when I noticed the following things:
1) The enemy only has one move: An unresistable massive damage absorb HP attack that generally kills the character it targets
2) An encounter had three of these guys together
3) The party only has three characters in it

author=Relyt link=topic=3869.msg77388#msg77388 date=1243552013
3 - How do YOU go about creating monsters?

I check out my folder o' sprites, find somethign that fits the theme of the dungeon I want them for (like something with a variety of undead for the Underworld) and pick enemies that I like. Then I eventually get ideas of AI and put 'em in. Rewrites occasionally occur.

author=nickad link=topic=3869.msg77459#msg77459 date=1243579117

author=AznChipmunk link=topic=3869.msg77452#msg77452 date=1243576087
How do you balance... you monsters...

W-What?

Just being a little grammar nazi =P. The topic title says "How do YOU balance you monsters?" instead of "How do YOU balance your monsters?"

Craze when did your user name become so fucking awesome?

1 - How do YOU keep battles interesting?

I always have at least 4 or 5 different enemy parties for one area. Running into the same party of two beasts, like, 4 times in a row is pretty uninteresting

2 - How do YOU balance your enemies so that it's fair, yet challenging?

I test play enemy battles ALOT. Seriously. Also, I make sure EVERY enemy has something more than just a normal attack. Maybe I'll give them a spell or two, or I'll give them a combination of skills that work well together. Point is, each enemy is unique; this is important.

3 - How do YOU go about creating monsters

First off, I choose the graphic. :) Then, I determine how easy/hard I want the monster to be and set it's stats accordingly. I want to make sure it's a challenge to the player, but not hard enough to utterly destroy them.

One important thing to note: I make the boss fights extremely difficult. Spamming your best spells of 'my' bosses, and occassionally healing yourself, isn't going to get you a victory, bud. :)

okay.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzGzGXg4n2M&feature=channel

(Pro-____ makes the party weak to an element)