Feedback:User/Stigtrix/BOSSES

The major problem with the bosses in Guild Wars prophecies was that most of them were just normal enemy models with an aura thrown on them, which made it a bit monotone and uninteresting in the long run. They didn’t have special areas around them or abilities which engaged the players in doing more than just DPS, heal and interrupt. Later, in the expansions, more unique boss models were presented, but still the variation of the game play when engaging them remained the same.

Therefore, I suggest adding unique skills and areas to the bosses that force the players to interact with the environment in order to kill the boss. An example could be a boss in a dungeon with traps surrounding him. In order to damage the boss, the players will have to trigger the right trap at the right time to stun the boss so they can attack him without suffering massive damage.

Another example could be the wurm that is in the “Uncertain Allies” trailer. To damage him more, the players will need to freeze the water surface so it’s easier to get to the boss and hit him. After a short stun period, the boss could break the ice surrounding him and go under water. He will then swim under the ice and suddenly strike through it while targeting random players. As a warning, the player should get some kind of indication that he/her is targeted (e.g. A shadow beneath him/her).

Of course, you don’t need to interact with the environment etc. on every boss, but on several of them, to make it all seem fresh and different than just button mashing (especially the more epic encounters with big bosses). To make it even more interesting, you could introduce siege weapons in some of the boss fights e.g. Firing big harpoons at a giant squid boss while being on a ship. This has to be done with the right timing with X harpoons to force the boss in a position where the controllers of the cannons can hit him. Things like this would be EXTREMELY cool and totally new in the MMO genre. Interacting with ships in boss fights has not been done well so far by other MMOs.

So, the bottom line is: make boss encounters engaging and unique! Instead of auras you should add unique models with different shapes, sizes and features(e.g. a bull boss could have bigger size, different horns and different colours).