Something I’ve been thinking about regarding boss fights in general is that I think it’s a mistake to put Lords at the end of maps. Nurgloth is the first example of this, but also feels like the first true boss fight - I think they built a really fantastic boss concept, taking a lot of ideas from MMO boss fights (which are the best part of that genre of games, from a gameplay standpoint, I think).
But rather than stick boss fights onto the end of maps, I think they should be in their own mini-level. Shorter than most maps, but this allows them to be very challenging without being quite so punishing; there’s a big difference between having to do just the fight from the beginning and having to do the whole map from the start.
We could also get more involved, multi-phase boss fight, which I think might be an interesting concept. I’m mostly thinking about Vermintide here, but I think this also would apply to Darktide.
I’d quite like to have some JRPG elements to boss fights in that I’d like the boss to show up a couple of times before the end event and do some shenanigans. Skarrik is a perfect example of a boss who could harrass the heroes as they made their way to him. Appearing and calling a couple of patrols, ordering some globadiers to bomb the players, hoping down to fight for a bit before escaping and so on.
Plus I feel bad for Skarrik as he gets a complete beating in seconds almost every game I play. Give this guy some kind of armour boost FFS>
I find the current system alright and quite charming, being a throwback to the feeling of old dungeon crawlers and pen&paper fantasy campaigns. Overly involved villains and shenanigans tend to become a touch too bombastic and tasteless in my opinion.
Might be kind of fun to have an instanced boss fight that could be framed as a training arena. You still get the crazy boss fight (or not so crazy if you consider any boss other than nurgloth) but have us teleport to the staging area just before the boss fight. It could be a simulation concept like playing horn of magnus and garden of more etc.
You still need to complete the map as normal to finish any challenges but it would be a great place to learn mechanics and build confidence for when you do eventually try the actual fight.
Also I love the concept of a boss constantly harassing the party as they make their way through the level and I hope this gets implemented eventually.
I feel like this was a bigger issue in VT1 than it would be in 2, but that is an issue. It’s likely an issue that could be overcome, though. Killing bosses could give coins, for example, to help people get cosmetics. Or it could just give a guaranteed Soldier or General’s-tier chest, no rolling, allowing it to give you something decent, even if not top-tier. Or it could give you some dust, with a chance at red dust or something. Honestly, the problems with the loot system is kind of a huge issue to itself.
@Argonaut14 Skarrik is such a weird fight - I dunno why he doesn’t just jump out of the arena during the add waves. They don’t even give him a warp bubble like the warlord we fight in VT1’s DLC. If he did jump out, it would be a great opportunity to have some 4-5 gas rats start throwing into the arena while we fight the waves.
As much as people seem to dislike the Nurgloth fight, I think it’s a great execution. I hope they continue to build on having these more involved fights. But maybe not at the end of really long maps . . .
I don’t dislike the Nurgloth fight, just the last bit where he knocks you about and I get killed by the floor, or by getting hit while I’m in the air. Everything else is a great ending to the map.
I think people’s sole problem is that the fight is so hard at the end. While people kinda want exciting finales, people kinda hate huge difficulty spikes at the end, and I can get it. I still think boss fights should be hard, though - which is why they’d be great as their own level. Maps leading up to bosses could still have finales - something like fighting the bosses’s body guards or a gauntlet or something like that.
I honestly wouldn’t mind maps without books… Or just put books in boss levels, no opposition there either.
Actually even just an idea that sprang into my head : why not change the boss’s mechanics depending on grims carried instead of just reducing HP ?
