Let's Talk About Monsters!

[Certon]

My favorite are the Githyanki... oh wait... those aren't in this game...

Gelatinous Cubes. FOR THE WIN!

[Covered-In-Bees]

Which non-raid-boss monsters in DDO do you find the most memorable and engaging to interact with, and why?
If you think part of the reason for your answer is your class/build/playstyle, please include that![/QUOTE]

If you'll make this a squirrel thing a possibility, possibly for a special event, this, right here, will be my favorite.

[Covered-In-Bees]

Githyanki...now there's a foe I'd like to see show up in the future.

[Grosbeak07]

Yaulthoon from In The Flesh is very memorable. Its a hard boss fight and I like how he talks trash through out the entire quest. Makes killing him in the end very satisfying.

Yes Yaulthoon (or however you spell it) is one of the better non-raid bosses in the game. Challenging end fight to boot!

Wizard King I always enjoyed as well, something very DnD iconic about a lich.

[danotmano1998]

Dude, you so totally have to make a rare encounter out of the attack of the rabid squirrels. PLEASE!!!!

Please, make it so.
THIS is memorable.

[oradafu]

After viewing the video, it's safe to say that players can expect Skiurids in the future, right? No? Why not? It would seem like fun, like the way players used to encounter Chaos Orbs when I started playing the game.

Yes, Chaos Orbs, although not strictly a monster, used to be fun and unique. They were one of the reasons I like the Xoriat quests in the game. The lack of Chaos Orbs in the two Madness packs, especially the horribly dull "locked in a room" Sinister Storage, was very disappointing. Additionally, when FoS updated the Wonder Potions, I stated that the Chaos Orbs should have been updated with exactly the same positive and negative benefits to make their encounters less stale for older players (and of course that idea got ignored because it came from a player, unlike the original idea of updating stupid wonder potions that less than 1% of the players use).

Like others, the first time you encounter Beholders is very memorable. The original Beholders were one of the few mobs that Casters, unless they had Enlarge, would stay away and let melees and rangers deal with. But then we got Choas Beholders and other Beholders that weren't threatening to casters. And then Casters got SLA and now Beholders are mostly a joke. Very disappointing now.

(Aside: As I mentioned in a different thread recently, I'd love to see Gibbering Mouther added to the game because they could be kind of like the old Beholders. They could have an antimagic field around them because of their insanity and the same field would also cause a slow/chained effect. This would make encounters with them, especially if their are other mobs with them, more tactical and less brute force, so they wouldn't need a million hps.)

Thaarak Hounds used to be very memorable, when they would fall down for no reason. That made their encounters very eerie. But they no longer fall down, so they are just boring Hellhounds now.

When playing a WF, Rust Monsters are always quite interesting. I wish there were more mechanisms in the game like Rust Monster aggro to WF or the old Marut Aggro to Mechanic Capstone Rogues. When Beta MOTU was released, I stated that Forgotten Realms Drow should aggro on Drow players, since non-Evil Drow are considered outcasts.

Malandis used to be my preferred Red Name boss to encounter because he was easier to defeat as a melee. Unfortunately, he was removed because casters were complaining because they couldn't steamroll over him like they could with the rest of the Challenge content. Fortunately, Devashta was eventually toned down enough that melees weren't getting killed by her within seconds, but that toning down took almost as long as fixing the Challenges so non-casters could run that content.

The Iron Fire Bomber is another memorable and fun (at least the first few times) encounter. Everyone beat on him then scatter like roaches when the bomb comes. With a Rez shrine right there, it's one of the few encounters that if you die (and its expected that someone will die), only the most anal-retentive person throws a fit about it happening.

Personally, I like the idea of the fights with Auralace and Tyvrus. But I don't like the execution of those fights. Auralace would have been better if you encountered him with no other mobs, so players could adjust to the phasing tactics for the end fight. Both fights are unnecessarily overly long. But the idea of splitting your party into two so they can be fought in both dimensions is fine, although I also like it that players can just wait Tyrvus out to return.

[Enoach]

For me the "memorable non-boss" creatures

Gelatinous Cube - The feeling of being engulfed and slowly digested

Beholders - Eyes everywhere and no where to hide

Scrag (Sea Trolls) - Realizing we are beating them to a pulp but they won't die (pre-nerf where fire/elect/acid was needed to finish them off)

Griffons - Eagle/Lion claws coming fast and furious and almost forgetting to heal yourself because your thinking, WOWOHWOW Griffons!!!

--------------------------------------
Monsters I would like to see:

Blink Dogs - packs of dogs blinking in and out a frustration for targeting

Doppelganger - What is more humbling then fighting yourself?

Hydra - Many heads of poison

Carrion Crawler - Just because it is "Classic"

[ThrakThor]

King's Forest will never be the same for me after that video.

Which non-raid-boss monsters in DDO do you find the most memorable and engaging to interact with, and why?
- Yaulthoon (In the Flesh) because of the minions he summons, his psionics (hint) and the story leading up to him.
- General Xanti'lar in Stormcleave Outpost is interesting due to having to get stuff to expose his weakness(es).
- The Spinner of Shadows in her self-titled quest is a fun boss because of the need to fight her in different ways, her minions and the lighting of the crystals to finish her.
- Marut in Jungle of Khyber because of the alignment need and his various attacks.
- Cochitlehua the Prison of Planes end boss because I like the way it relates back to the quest and can mean a change in tactics in the fight.
- I Dream of Jeets boss fight is a pain in the rectum due to regen and mobs, but it is memorable.
- Devourer of Dream in The Dreaming Dark because of his Cha draining, very annoying.

These are not necessarily hard (some of them quite easy) but they are memorable and/or fun. It's often when it requires a rethink in the standard, "Attack, murder, kill" approach but even if some of them are like that there are other things you have to consider when you are doing that to make sure you succeed.

Different or unique abilities make them stand out (Priestess Vicala Szind's sacrifices in Impossible Demands would be another example).

Cheers,

ThrakThor

[voodoogroves]

I'm going to go off-script.

I do not like MMO-logic-only attacks - things that can't be defended, blocked, saved, etc. through game mechanics. This is D&D. There is too much typical-MMO "monster does tell, you make reaction move" stuff leaking in. Monsters are more fun with things like trip, stun, etc. Sure, give it a huge save - but don't go outside the mechanics.

I like monsters that trip, stun, wail, finger of death, cast sleet storm, cast dispel magic, etc.

I do not like monsters that no-save hold you, traps that hit you with "spell ward slow" that isn't dispellable by haste.

My favorite monster is the Reaver in the High Road.

[PuppiesAndRainbows]

I love the spiders in DDO ...all of them.
Their ceiling drops - motion - attacks - stealth, all very well done.

I'm guessing it has to do with a natural fear of spiders.
I'd like to some snakes too.

I have a love hate thing with mephits.
Hate them because they spawn more mephits.
Love them because the mephit swarms are exciting.

Kobold make a wonderful satisfying crunch sound when killed; you can't kill just one.

Orthons and bearded devils teleporting keeps you on your toes.

Flying dragons for the crit my pants effect.

Vampires scream ranks up there with kobold crunch for satisfying slays.

...any monsters that kill me, I remember and look forward to adding them to the monster manual

[dunklezhan]

I completely forgot


I should probably PM that to NoDice.

[fool101]

- General Xanti'lar in Stormcleave Outpost is interesting due to having to get stuff to expose his weakness(es).

ThrakThor

I also like many of the others that people mentioned but this mechanic I really do like and feel that it is under-utilized.

I also like the end of A New Invasion. Not because of that specific mechanic, but it is a non-puzzle based fight that requires coordination. I've had lots of fun in there, even when things turn south. If only it was easier to re-try.

[Holybird]

I found myself that Lord Istharan in Twilight Forge is the best boss in-game. I have very good memory from one run with my two buddies when we were all total newbs and then went into the raid. Well it took us 30 mins with luck to get to Istharan and then we slayed him. we got huge, really huge xp for our level and then went into Titan..... its different story but after our 1st run we have ran it every 3 days and i still love all the puzzles and hard 'work' what it need to get to Istharan. Its the best raid in game and I hope you will someday bring Restless Isles to its real glory. (Upgrade to epic levels would work)



And P.S Istharan is not really a raid boss even its encountered in raid.

[No_Dice]

I completely forgot


I should probably PM that to NoDice.

Hahaha pretty much

[Thumbed_Servant]

Which non-raid-boss monsters in DDO do you find the most memorable and engaging to interact with, and why?
If you think part of the reason for your answer is your class/build/playstyle, please include that!

SCORPIONS!

They can be killed, for sure, but if one ignores them and gives them a moment they will tear down the toughest toon..FAST! And talking of fast, ever try to outrun the really big ones? I call them *jack-hammers-on-legs*.

Why are they stuck in my memory? My very first visit EVER into The Vale of Twilight with my 28 point dwarven sword and board rogue [yeah, not the most potent build but VERY survivable]. I was trying to get to Meridia with her...and one of the HUMONGOUS green scorpions got to attacking her..and would NOT let her run off no matter how hasted...had to jump into the moat. DDO scorpions are just TOUGH dps monsters. I respect them

[ArcaneArcher52689]

Which non-raid-boss monsters in DDO do you find the most memorable and engaging to interact with, and why?
If you think part of the reason for your answer is your class/build/playstyle, please include that!

Killer squirrels!

As a guy that plays mage-killers (Monks), I'll start with my personal favorite: Beholders.

By just saying that name I'm sure I just caused half of the readers to pee in their armor and robes a little bit. No matter who or what you are, these multi-eyed beach balls of doom always give you pause. It's why we don't see throngs of players partying up for "Invaders!" (and I'd love to have a camera to watch those that do!).

Thankfully, a prepared Monk just stuns these things, envelopes them in lovely jade stone, or returns the favor of disintegration with a solid Touch of Death or Quivering Palm strike.

On the plus side, when a party starts clicking up their Shards of Xoriat and rolls up an army of allied beholders, you know that quest is going to get real, fast.

This:

Beholders are probably the only monster that I almost universally go "S***" when I see. I remember the first time i saw one in threnal... Neg level, neg level, 100 damage, neg level, dead. I've since learned to fight them, but it's still all down to luck... It may also have influenced how i judge classes. Every time I enter character creation, I still ask myself "how will i kill a beholder?"

and since you opened the can of worms by posting, i'll leave some other feedback on monsters:
favorites:
OWL BEAR- cause it's an owl bear
trolls- that hp regen is a pain until you learn how to deal with it
Ogres- my first "O* S***" monster. they are pretty much the bane of newbies in the 3-5 content.
Dragons- very fun, very realistic, very dangerous

Annoying mobs:
Drow Necromancers- While i'm fine with the raise mechanic, I really don't like the decreased damage they take.
Shadarkai- Chain debuff builds too quickly/stays too long. It also makes hirelings more of a burden than a help.

[darksol23]

Favorite Non-Bosses:

Beholder - Classic D&D deadly monster, the pumpkin versions in October easily put it at number 1
Griffon - Beautifully done
Mimic - I just wish each normal chest spawn actually had a .01% chance to randomly be a mimic
Dragons - Classic, the AI is getting better, but IMHO they should be more deadly and smarter then they are

My favorite classic D&D monsters still missing:

Displacer Beast
Githyanki
Basilisk
Cockatrice
Chimera
Hydra

[Cleanincubus]

Which non-raid-boss monsters in DDO do you find the most memorable and engaging to interact with, and why?
If you think part of the reason for your answer is your class/build/playstyle, please include that!

Animated Objects. It was interesting to see how the boxes, chest, and barrels came together to form Crateos in The Snitch. First time I played it, it was very unexpected. However, I don't share that affection to most other Animated Objects. I pretty much loath all the Animated armors. I'd prefer to see something much more clever.

Hags. The game needs more Hags. Actually, it just needs 1 or 2 Hags; Sora Katra and/or Sora Kell. I enjoyed the fight with her in Siegebreaker, because it wasn't purely simply hack and slash. The traps and puzzle made it exciting, challenging, yet kind of a pain, all at the same time. At the end of Siegebreaker, she leave, wounded, and is never seen again. I'd love to see this storyline buttoned up.

[Panzermeyer]

In future posts I think I’ll do some fun behind-the-scenes videos of how we design and put together monsters. For this post though, here’s a fun video of what happens when there’s a bug that causes squirrels to trigger combat music and I decide to flip a couple switches before we fix it : )

That was awesome!!

ANd as a side note LOVE the -5000 hit points. Where Can I get that?

[dunklezhan]

Displacer Beast

I believe there actually IS one of these, in the Vale. Or is that an invisible stalker? Either way, I love that it's there, and think there should be more of them.