View Issue Details

IDProjectCategoryLast Update
0010436Valley 2Suggestion - Balancing IssuesJan 24, 2013 12:51 pm
ReporterMisery Assigned To 
Status resolvedResolutionfixed 
Product Version0.717 
Summary0010436: Remove bosses from caves
DescriptionMostly because it can make the caves extremely irritating, but moreso, extremely time-consuming.

The current boss patterns (which are a seperate problem also), particularly on higher difficulties, means that almost always the only viable way to kill them is to use a spell-class like Forgician that has an ammo spell capable of huge amounts of damage. Going into a cave with any class that DOESNT have such a spell and finding a boss means either walking all the way back out.... which takes forever.... or dying. Many spell classes are simply incapable of defeating one, particularly on higher difficulties when the bosses' bullet spam becomes too thick to shoot through (or move through) without one of those super ammo spells.

Caves though seem to be FILLED with this sort of problems right now; my current game, I think the last hour or so has been just trying to find even one cave that's not glitched out with clustered monster heaps or full of a boss.
TagsNo tags attached.
Internal WeightFeature Suggestion

Activities

tigersfan

Jan 23, 2013 11:42 am

reporter   ~0030121

I'm not sure that the problem is the existence of the bosses in the caves. I think that the problem might be some of the other things you mention, and if those get fixed (including fixing the bosses themselves) this might not be such an annoyance.

madcow

Jan 23, 2013 11:52 am

reporter   ~0030124

I do think that thematically, it seems very strange that the henchmen are bothering to defend every cave. The windmills makes sense, but caves don't. While it would be cool if caves had different boss fights, another idea is a battle arena crammed with lots of monsters instead of a traditional single boss fight. Just an idea to toss out!

Misery

Jan 23, 2013 7:42 pm

reporter   ~0030143

Part of it is because of the caves themselves, sort of. Even if the bosses are fixed, it'd still be pretty annoying to go all the way down into a cave... which are pretty long, and definitely difficult... and then unexpectedly hit a boss spot that you were not ready for. Typically I'll have specific classes from each tier that I prefer to take into caves because they work well for the downward scrolling sections and lightless areas, but often those arent good for dealing with a boss (not to mention that perks are often also set differently just for caves). Even with fixed bosses, some classes are likely to be good at dealing with them, and others wont be. Having to exit an area to change up your class selection and perk setup to reduce risk of defeat is just part of the game, and makes sense in most areas, but in caves specifically it can make things take a really long time, as it's very tough to get back out of those.

theqmann

Jan 23, 2013 10:43 pm

reporter   ~0030147

At this point, I end up taking anti-boss classes to every square, since so many squares have bosses (pretty much any square that is not a basic type). I then max out one regular attack damage for regular enemies, and then max out ammo attack damage for bosses.

Misery

Jan 24, 2013 1:02 am

reporter   ~0030148

I want to make one more point about this here:

There's one other big reason to remove these guys from caves (and some other areas), or at least have them only show up rarely, which is that even if you are capable of beating them with a spellset that doesnt have a boss-smashing ammo spell.... it takes FOREVER. They have incredible amounts of health, and you can only hit them for so much damage at once since they'll block most attacks. I did this just now in my current game; went into a farm tile to get the perk token, and ran into a boss there. Was using the Technozoologist set, which is very definitely not good against bosses. The room that was there for the fight made it so that I could (barely) beat the guy with even that set, but it took probably twice as long just to beat him as it did to go through the rest of the zone. This becomes even more reason why you HAVE to have the right setup for these guys, and it becomes that much more irritating when you run into one unexpectedly.

tigersfan

Jan 24, 2013 12:50 pm

reporter   ~0030161

From the changelog:

* Boss fight frequency reductions:
** Previously, there was a 20% chance of meeting a boss somewhere in a cavern. That chance has now been reduced to 5%.
** Previously, if there was a mercenary hotline or similar in a building (of which there is generally a 3% chance), then there would be a henchman guarding it 100% of the time. That chance has now been reduced to 20% chance of a henchman.
** In Deep Mausoleums, Salvage Yards, and Grounded Ships, there was previously a 20% chance of a boss. That has been reduced to 3%.
** In Skelebot Watchtowers, there was previously a 20% chance of a boss. That has been reduced to 2%.
** In Collapsed Skyscrapers, Lava Towers, and Thawing Towers, there was previously a 100% chance for a boss. That has been reduced to 5%.
** Skelebot Research Facilities previously had a 100% chance of a boss room, and now they have a 0% chance.
** Note that level up towers, evil outposts, and the overlord keep still have boss fights 100% of the time. But this makes it so that they are far less common and less likely to get tiring. It's more fun if they are rarer and thus more special and interesting, rather than being something that slows you up at every turn. That's actually what we had intended from the start, but we were a little too free with our random percentages!

Issue History

Date Modified Username Field Change
Jan 23, 2013 4:44 am Misery New Issue
Jan 23, 2013 4:45 am Misery Description Updated
Jan 23, 2013 11:42 am tigersfan Internal Weight => Feature Suggestion
Jan 23, 2013 11:42 am tigersfan Note Added: 0030121
Jan 23, 2013 11:42 am tigersfan Status new => considering
Jan 23, 2013 11:52 am madcow Note Added: 0030124
Jan 23, 2013 7:42 pm Misery Note Added: 0030143
Jan 23, 2013 10:43 pm theqmann Note Added: 0030147
Jan 24, 2013 1:02 am Misery Note Added: 0030148
Jan 24, 2013 12:50 pm tigersfan Note Added: 0030161
Jan 24, 2013 12:51 pm tigersfan Status considering => resolved
Jan 24, 2013 12:51 pm tigersfan Resolution open => fixed