I don’t know how many times I write for boss tweak suggestion. After I read many of yours also old mine, some parts of them I don’t feel right. So, here is my completed retweak boss program. (I swear this is the last time, unless there will be a new boss)
My main goal here is to make boss fights aren’t boring by adding more dynamicity. Good examples dynamic bosses are Sweater Chicken and Military Chicken (due to bug), they force you to move everytime, they act as threat everytime. I won’t suggest super crazy ideas and overbuff them into hyper-killer machine, only make you to move a bit more… Of course lazy moving players don’t like this.
Other goals are:
- removing benefiting blind spots
- maximizing available space
- balancing drops
- changing very monotonic pattern
- while keeping their “gimmick” still there
Let’s start from the old one.
- Show Them Who’s The Boss
Not really a problem here actually, but after you finish one of them, it becomes really easy. I suggest when one of them dies, they get raged by adding 10% movement and attack speed (15% for >100%), a slight delay (about 1-2 second) might be necessary to prevent sudden rampage. The effects are cumulative.
So there will be a strategy to not make them angry and kill them at once, or kill one by one but facing their wrath.
- U.C.O. #1
A very basic boss. Even with it most complex attack right now, it’s still very easy. I will keep all of its attack patterns until 70% difficulty. For >70%, red laser is now locking your current position. It does: red - green - red - green. For >100%, its delay between attacks especially green with green is faster. It does: red - green - green - red - green - green.
In addition (this is optional), I want to rub salt into wound by giving a random chance (10%) that U.C.O. will repeat attack pattern without moving first. It applies to all U.C.O. How do you think?
- Mother Hen Ship (CI3)
I have no problem with this guy. It does its job so well. But I have idea to give its barrage attack (like CI2) between its omnidirectional purple neutron shots for >100%, starting from 25% hp left (75% damaged).
Also make it drops coins too.
- Sweater Chicken
Hey, I made him for model here! So he’s fine, I mean he’s already annoying enough.
- U.C.O. #2
Only its initial attack directly targets the player, you can come back to under it after it shoots its intial attack with no worry. Here’s a simple fix, every attack with odd number targets the player, while even number slightly expand from the previous target.
For example, if it has 5 shots, shots number 1, 3 and 5 are fired at you directly, while number 2 and 4 are like 1 and 3 respectively, but slightly expanded.
- Mysterious Ship
It’s good it receives a nerf actually… No comment here.
- U.C.O. #3
I don’t have much for this one, how about adding red laser attack again at the end of pattern for >100%?
- U.C.O. #4
Also only slight addition here, add green laser attack at the end of pattern for >100%.
- The Yolk Star™
The first phase, I won’t complain, it’s hard enough. But ban the coward chicken here, it doesn’t do its job well.
However the second phase, it’s just a battle of patience. I would add blue neutron shot like security droid’s attack to give spice to the battle. It won’t that hurt.
- Super Chicken
It has 3 attacks, while the egg attack is the most useless. So I will merge it with its movement, so everytime it’s moving, it’s also raining eggs (not including when he appears and do its first attack). And an AI improvement, if it wants to shoot laser, it will fly directly above you.
- Space Crab A
Glad to see it coming anywhere. It has strict pattern of throwing: upper right, bottom right, upper left, bottom left. Make it has randomized sequence everytime it attacks! So you won’t do same strategy over and over.
- Mother Hen Ship (CI4)
If you die to it, then shame on you. It’s the easiest boss of CI history.
Here’s the rework: It has 2 attacks, the current triple shot, and wide spread shot. The spread shot consists of up to 13 red bullets (number always odd) travel slower than the triple shot. While the spread shot is constantly firing, triple shot randomly occurs. Given a random chance, its yolk will position itself parallel to you horizontally and shoot, after that it will immediately move out of the way you’re facing, like a peek and shoot strategy, then it will protect itself with remaining eggshells. If the eggshells have all gone, it will use its triple shot constantly.
Also I suggest a zoom in because it still can’t cover all of the area.
- Infini-Chicken
No problem here, it has been buffed and their coverage is good.
- Space Crab B
A very strictly patterned boss again. I propose a randomized attack sequence too for it. Also add king crab’s laser attack (that one which is using both lower hand and swipe to left and right). For opening sequence, it still follows the old one. Difficulty affects its speed and transition between attacks, so >100% may look like a dancing crab. You still can know what it is going to do by looking its arms position as each attack has unique position.
- Planetary Egg City
Actually I want this boss become a major one. I will (don’t know when) make its own post later.
- Alien Mothership
I agree with Orandza, it should be able to move to the most edge of the screen after losing its parts. It would let no permanent safe zone.
In addition for >70% difficulty, with remaining body it can go downward off screen and come back from above. It starts with 75% hp left (25% damaged).
And this boss is the only one that still can harm the player even after its defeat. When the last piece’s destroyed, every debris should disappear, including the last part.
- Apple Core
It appears to be difficult with its all of its barriers, you can clear them easily though, and then there’s nothing to compensate it. The core itself doesn’t pose as a threat that much.
First, I want to buff the gun barriers’ hp to match egg barriers’ hp, they feel so fragile. Then make the core able to detect how many gun barriers left, the less barrier it has, the more aggressive it becomes. I don’t know which approach is better to make it “aggressive”, I have two options: either make it shoots more projectile or make the gap between attacks shorter. And lastly, the more it lose barriers, it becomes unstable, shaking and moving around aimlessly.
And reduce its firepower droprate. It’s ridiculously too much.
- King of Crabs
It becomes the easiest among other crabs due to available space. So it needs to zoom in to match other crabs. Projectile speed should be adjusted, and delay between attacks could be shortened to make battle more intense.
- Iron Chef
Nothing to comment here, good enough.
- Chicken Multiplicity
The most complained thing here is the Super Chicken is only being a merry-go-round. It should bring its “super” attacks here too. I will give it its egg rain (see Super Chicken above) and multidirectional red neutrons. Also, allows it to rotate the laser either direction, clockwise or counter-clockwise. Infini-chickens may also get their 360° attack for >100%.
Variety in Chicken Multiplicity And I still insist to add this, of course Chicken Exponentiality is good, but it’s a new boss! I want the old one get some variety for its every encounter.
And reduce its firepower droprate. It’s also too much.
- The Egg Cannon (not the cannonade)
I made a post already, Tweaking some bosses please see the last part.
- Military Chicken
Its bug made it more dynamic, it’s a good example of good boss. No change here.
- Party Chicken
It actually has a cool opening pattern, I wish that it can be mirrored, so there’s a chance you can see it appears from top right corner. And for >100% it can do its omnidirectional waste shot again.
- Henperor’s Apprentice
I don’t like this boss, he’s just another merry-go-round. Back then I made this Henperor Apprentice Duel Rework and I guess it’s still relevant for now.
- Brother Reunited
Not much here, because each if them are already covered. It’s not my original idea (I forgot who said this, but there’s someone who suggested it), if one of them dies, the other one will be angry, attack and move faster.
- Space Crab V2
It’s almost identical with the first crab, so same change for it. Faster and shorter duration for its force field means less rest time.
- Henterprise
I won’t change the first and second (boldly) encounter. But, the Hend Game encounter could do more things.
It always appears from top, left, down, right and top again. So a randomized sequence can make use here. But the last phase always comes from the top or bottom only (the purple lasers are very thick, that’s why). Big laser will take less time to charge now, less charge time + random coming direction = a surprise, but still manageable to avoid easily. After the big laser, I also want to give straight purple lasers too just like the first encounter. It will force you to step aside, but not a lethal attack though.
And I want to talk about some weapons that even don’t have a chance to fight Henterprise, they’re Lightning, Plasma and Positron. They struggled with a lot of targets, consisting chickens and the indestructible feathers. I suggest they should have WAY MORE KNOCKBACK POWER to clear the way. Absolver also has similar issue, even though it can damage the Henterprise, I think it should get knockback buff too, depending on its charge power.
- Master Squawker
The only boss who can leave the battle, I think it shouldn’t. I don’t like this one, I prefer Chicken #2147483647 from anniversary mission to replace it. Maybe it only lays egg, but its movement pattern is potential. In anniversary mission it has 5, and it could do more.
- Henlley’s Comet
One of newer boss, doesn’t pose any threat except you’re got misfortune and trapped at the last phase. That’s not good.
Here’s my change: It will still have 4 phase, but current second phase become the first, and current third phase become the second. The reason why, is that it won’t do anything (unless goes up and down) for 1/4 of its battle, that’s boring! Now, for the third phase, it will spawn single smaller, faster comets. And the last phase, it will immediately go up too (never goes down again), but it start shaking and crumbling, its debris is just as much as Alien Mothership’s shots.
In addition, when the difficulty is hard enough to allow it to go up and down, it can shoot debris horizontally.
- Bossa Nova
Slight tweaks can make difference. It wastes a lot of space, so zoom in is necessary. Then make it attacks more frequent, means less turtling time, and you can destroy it faster. The debris should be scaled due to zoom in though.
- Magnetic Manipulator
Its attacks are cool, but it’s not a good fight due to too many repetitive movement. Let’s tweak it a bit. First, remove the shielding, like Bossa Nova, it slows down the battle, without giving any fight. Then, one of boring part of it is the fact it doesn’t move anywhere (except that asteroid drop part). It should move, but not necessarily brutal like Sweater Chicken, just barely able to move. While moving, it use the asteroid ring to try to attack you. It chases after you for some period. It still has asteroid rain attack and the asteroid drop. Asteroid drop can be started from either left or right. The sequence is completely random, but won’t repeat same thing twice in a row.
- Chicken Exponetiality
Herperor’s Apprentice and Party Chicken already have their own rework (see above), and it should be implemented here too. Someone already suggested to make chicken gatling gun able to move, and rotation issue is going to be fixed.
- The Cannon³ Cannonade
I only want to talk about its first phase because the second is getting a blind spot fix and third one is already punishing enough. The zigzag yellow beam isn’t exciting. My solution is make it like yellow beams attack from original one, but accompanied by triple red bolts at the same time. I think it’s more fresh than repetitive pattern.
Tell me what you think, and what to change/improve.
