As the title suggests, Starbound needs boss battles that are less just avoiding damage, healing and attacking with everything at your disposal and a bit more strategic. Don't get me wrong, I love the current bosses, but I think something that requires a more thought-out and complicated (though not necessarily difficult) strategy would be a great addition. The Erchius Horror is already sort of like this, but I'm thinking even more For instance, TrevorH7441 had a great idea in this thread- http://community.playstarbound.com/threads/matter-manipulator-support.100793/ -to use Matter Manipulators and their various functions in boss battles. This, and a lot of other things such as helpful items found in the dungeon LoZ-style and various terrain elements could add another layer of strategy to boss battles that we didn't have before. If, for instance, you needed to defeat a giant snake monster, you could lure it in with bait (which could be yourself!) and then quickly close a massive door, trapping the head and then moving around to a less dangerous part to do some damage before it manages to break free. While this isn't a very elaborate strategy, I'm sure that the devs could come up with some pretty fun, awesome (and possibly ridiculous yet amazing) strategic boss battles. If you have any feedback or ideas, please tell me in the comments.
I remember the first time I fought the erchius horror in Starbound. I was awe inspired because when Starbound meant slaying a dragon to go to the next sector, every fight was just slashing away and hoping not to die. For once, the player had to do something different. It meant the player had to do more than just slash away with his steel sword and hope for the best; it meant players had to think. Making more strategic boss battles would be very useful and not just with the matter manipulator. It is just the thought that when bosses have variety, not only in their looks and reason for being there, but actually in the methods of killing them, it brings out the beauty, elegance, and creativity of Starbound.
Here are some ideas I had for some fights, some of which I had in earlier threads, but they are ideas nevertheless. 1) Using the matter manipulator's mining function to break away shells or stone based boss parts 2) Defeating one half of the boss to get to the head. (Like a serpent, the head would be separate from the tail, and the tail will attack and keep you away while the head would use ranged attacks. Defeating the tail would allow the player to attack the head...for a brief period) 3) Bosses that react to how you fight (Ex: Upon a certain distance, it uses ranged attacks, but if you get up close and personal, it would use attacks that deal devastating damage in a short radius) 4) Using the matter manipulator's wiring command for some instances (Creatures sensitive to light in the dark worlds could have reactions to players being able to light dungeons) 5) Bosses that open themselves up to unleash a devastating attack 6) Bosses who use a devastating attack that opens themselves up for higher damage potential for a brief period 7) Bosses that nullify the use of tech or use tech like the player 8) Bosses that drain energy 9) Mining Obelisks in the arena to weaken the boss (Maybe in health regeneration, abilities, protection, damage potential, or in combinations of the previous options) 10) Bosses using the environment to their advantage 11) Summoning minions 12) Devouring said minions to regenerate health 13) Fighting in different ways dependent on health (Ex: Boss flies until reaching 1/3 health, then fights on land using a different attack set) 14) Summoning minions upon death 15) Bosses manipulating weather events These are just a few ideas, but there is certainly a lot more that could prove more unique. Opinions welcome.
Some more ideas for boss battles (not just to make them more strategic, but more interesting as well) 1) Need the boss to attack themselves (by deflecting attacks or doging at the last moment so they hit themselves etc) in order to break their shield/armour/concentration 2) Need a cannon/turret/other weapon that is part of the terrain to help in the boss fight 3) Boss weak points (I know it's been done heaps but come on, they don't even have to be huge and glowing) 4) Bosses that need to be trapped in order to deal a lot of damage 5) Fighting a boss where you aren't on normal or safe terrain (instead under water, in the air, escaping a flood of poison/lava, among a huge minefield that can be proverbial or literal etc) 6) Stealth bosses 7) Bosses with more mobility, such as grappling hooks, teleports, flying, going through the ground or even being able to break through walls 8) Bosses that begin firing from a long distance and their shots need to be avoided until the player gets within range 9) Falling in the boss battle with limited movement options 10) Bosses that can be stood/walked on and the player needs to utilise this (perhaps with a Matter Manipulator to break the hard armour as previously suggested?) 11) Bosses that fire blocks and can create walls and barriers (also Matter Manipulator support opportunity) 12) Bosses that self destruct and can damage the player (Okay, this one is just a d**k move, but still)
