Ever since the beginning of the game, an area that always fascinated me was the mines, a place where you could risk your life to get resources to use around your farm and also upgrade yourself so you don't risk your own hide as much. Over time, however, the mines just becomes a routine. Eventually you get to skull caverns and it may be a large challenge at first, but in the end, once you learn the mechanics of Skull Cavern, the challenge seems to fade away. I believe a solution to this area would be boss mobs. Similar to some of the creatures out there, but rarer, these mobs would have increased stats and health that made them tougher to kill and would have an indicator on them (such as an iridium sparkle used on both watering cans and hoes). To make up for their difficulty, they should have increased drop rates or unique loot. Here are a few ideas: Slime King Appearance: A slime with a crown matching the color of the ore typically found on the floor it is on. Behavior: Extremely aggressive. Floors: All (Mines and Skull Caverns) Floor 1-20 Health: 100 Floor 20-40 Health: 250 Floor 40-60 Health: 350 Floor 60-100 Health: 500 Floor 100-120 Health: 800 Drops: Glow Ring (20%), Magnet Ring (20%), Life Elixir (15%), 1-2 Slime Eggs (30%) (color based on how far down in the mines you are), 1-5 Geodes (15%). Abilities: Immune to the effect of Slime Ring (unless in your hutch), separates into multiple big slimes and normal slimes upon death. Boulder Crab Appearance: A rock crab that uses the 2x2 rocks as a shell instead of a regular rock (the crab does fit the rock like the regular rock crab does with theirs. Noticeably different from other 2x2 rocks. Behavior: Passive Aggressive (Will approach the player and attack as normal, but will retreat in its shell when attacked 2-3 times in succession) Floors: 20-40, 100-120 (Mines) Floor 20-40 Health: 200 Floor 100-120 Health: 700 Drops: 20-30 Stone (30%), 3-5 Crab (20%), Miner's Blade (A blade that does about 12-22 damage per swing but also can break rocks like an iron pickaxe, making it very useful against rock and lava crabs) (10%) Abilities: Will leap forward similar to slimes when players try to run from it. Lich Appearance: A skeleton draped in tattered, decaying robes Behavior: Tries to avoid the player and attack from a distance. Floors: 60-80 (Mines) Health: 700 Drops: 3-7 Iridium Ore (10%), 10-15 Gold Ore (20%), Glow Ring (25%), 5- 8 Multi Geodes (35%), Skeleton Head (10%) Abilities: Able to bring forth a bat swarm on the entire floor, casts spells like Jinx and Fireball Shadow Goliath Appearance: An abnormally large Shadow Brute that wears a mask similar to the void spirit but with an iridium sheen. Behavior: Very Aggressive Floors: 110-120 (Mines) Health: 1000 Drops: 10-13 Iridium Ore (10%), 15-18 Gold Ore (20%), Iridium Band (10%), 10-12 Multi Geodes (30%), Prismatic Shard (1%) Abilities: Able to leap and teleport similar to the slime and ghost respectively. Will try to retreat upon reaching 200 or lower health. Pharaoh Appearance: When entombed, it looks like a Pharaoh's sarcophagus, but when released, it looks like a normal mummy with an iridium sparkle, but holding a golden scepter. Behavior: Not hostile until broken out of his sarcophagus, but after being freed, acts like a normal mummy. Floors: All (Skull Cavern) Health: 1300 Drops: Iridium Band (10%), Prismatic Shard (5%), Solar Essence 5-10 (10%), 1-3 Iridium Bars (5%) Abilities: When attacking the player, he inflicts the weakness status, effectively halving the player's damage output, cannot die unless blown up with a mega bomb. Of course, with their high stats and drop rates, the appearance of one of these bosses would be rare to extremely rare depending on the boss that spawns. Due to this though, it would add more variety and make some players bring extra materials with this new threat to deal with.
In general this could be a good idea. However, I'm not exactly in line with the Iridium Band Drop. I think endgame equipment should always be got by crafting or questing like the Galaxy Sword, not obtained by mindlessly grinding monsters.
The iridium band as a drop is a chance to obtain it as an alternative to crafting, it wouldn't take away the crafting option of course, just make it to where there is another way to obtain it. And if I remember correctly, the Galaxy Sword wasn't a quest it actually was a grind for multi-geodes or farming skull cavern for a prismatic shard and taking it to 3 pillars in the desert.
That sort of is a quest, you have to do more than just grinding for it. But that's just my opinion. In any case, the drop chance should be very low. Again, I really like the idea of boss monsters in the mines and skull cavern. Maybe placed in maps where you have to kill all enemies to proceed?
Or there is a percentage chance of it happening on any floor, but the first run through the specific floor before an elevator checkpoint is just the boss. Say it is your first time on floor 79, so only the Lich is there with a few skeletons. In order to get a ladder you have to fight them.
I'd be delighted with bosses in the mines and skull cavern. I'd be even more delighted if there was some kind of boss battle at the witch's hut. Am I the only one that felt like that quest was exceptionally anticlimactic at the end?
I don't think a boss battle would have fit there, it's Rasmodius' ex and cursing your chicken coop isn't a death-penalty offense. But I'd definitely have preferred a more involved puzzle/obstacle set to gain entry and get the prize. Some sort of magical puzzles to overcome, perhaps. And why in the heck can't he just go there himself when there's a /teleporter/ from his basement to the hut and back again? I mean, I know you're avoiding your Ex, Rasmodius, but that's some serious high-octane lazy going on there.