I Became a Raid Boss

What elements contribute to creating a strong boss monster?

“Well, isn’t it high stats? Like Attack Power, Health, and Defense.”

“Monsters that summon a lot of minions.”

“Spamming debuffs is also a hassle.”

“AoE spamming.”

The answers may vary, but generally, people will talk about the boss’s abilities.

Like stats or gimmicks.

So, what makes a well-crafted boss monster?

“It needs to have a background story to be more appealing.”

“Concept is more important than that.”

“A difficulty that stimulates the challenge spirit.”

“No matter how well it’s made, if it looks bad, doesn’t it cool down a bit?”

“A pattern that, even if it’s hard, still makes sense.”

I’m pretty sure there will be more varied answers when asked about a ‘strong boss monster’ than if you just ask about it.

The reason is that being well-made means people feel attracted to that boss, and everyone is drawn to different elements.

Someone might find charm in the boss’s appearance, while others might be impressed by the boss’s past.

These elements come together, or sometimes conflict, to create a more attractive (well-crafted) character.

So if someone asks,

“Isn’t this boss well made?”

the rebuttal might be,

“Hmm… is that all?”

“Honestly, I could make something better than this.”

That’s just someone who enjoys trolling.

But in MMORPGs, especially in raids where many people come together to tackle a challenge, the standards for a well-made boss monster are roughly established.

Appearance, story, concept.

Of course, these elements are important.

If players feel attractive towards it, their immersion in the game increases, and with higher immersion, the chances of users settling into the game rise.

However, just because it’s absent doesn’t mean all users will be disappointed and leave the game.

Everyone enjoys the game differently, and some are just fine with simply repeating raids to clear for gear and strengthen their characters.

So, what does a well-crafted raid boss need?

In the eyes of a man with about five years of MMORPG experience, the most important thing is whether ‘users can think it’s reasonable.’

Let’s take an example.

Depending on the gimmick, things can vary, but most raids aim to withstand the boss’s attacks while not dying and whittling down the boss’s Health.

That’s why most RPG games have some means to recover Health.

In some games, it’s potions; in others, the role of the ‘Healer’ fills that need.

In other words, a Healer plays a logistical role and is crucial to sustaining combat.

Conversely, it means that if you just take out the Healer, you can easily wipe out the party.

So, it would be more efficient for the raid boss to ignore other roles and take out the Healer first… but would users think that’s reasonable?

The boss not targeting the Healer or spamming instant kill moves from the get-go isn’t because the boss is dumb; it’s because the game was designed that way.

Nobody would rejoice saying, “Wow! This boss is super strong!” if they just wiped the floor with the enemies from the back or instantly got killed upon entering the boss fight.

What if a boss depicted as a general summoned hundreds of minions to fight?

Attraction can only be felt if you can play around it, and if the game prevents you from playing due to unreasonable mechanics, you can’t feel any charm from it.

Thus, according to the man’s opinion, reason has to come before charm for a well-made raid boss monster.

A well-made boss can be attractive and strong, but being attractive and strong doesn’t necessarily mean it’s well-made.

“Ah, damn it!”

BANG!

In the man’s eyes, the boss monster he was challenging belonged to the category of ‘poorly made.’

No, to go further, it could even fit the description of ‘badly made’ or ‘why the hell is this like this?’

The boss room? It exists.

If boss room means a place with a higher probability of encountering bosses than other locations, sure.

But because it moves around everywhere, even the act of challenging it isn’t easy.

“Died again?”

“No, is this even reasonable? It ignores my taunt and comes straight for me, how can I survive?!”

“Who’s the one threatening to raise a Healer with a sword?”

“Isn’t that you who raised it but blaming everyone else?”

The aggro system typically found in monsters.

Also called enmity, this system builds up when you deal damage or use skills on a monster, and the monster will attack the one with the highest enmity.

Usually, tank roles have skills that greatly increase aggro or draw it.

However, this boss ignores even the ‘Taunt’ skill and rushes directly at the Healer.

Plus, its Attack Power is so high that even with a single hit, they’ll be off to a better place.

Not to mention the unreasonable elements like only one party being able to challenge at a time.

“Okay. From now on, when we raid, bring another Healer. I’ll go to a different party.”

“Ah, this is insane. If you’re not here, I’ll spend all day looking for another Healer.”

“Not my problem!”

“I didn’t say anything. Let’s just kick out the slanderers, bro. Or you can just take me to raids… heh heh.”

“Traitor!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Please don’t abandon us…”

The man smirked bitterly as he watched a party member quickly switch tactics like it was nothing.

While they joked around in a playful atmosphere, the man’s party steadily moved towards annihilation.

After he died, the next hit from the boss took out his fellow Healer as well.

At that moment, with a spin, the boss swung its sword and sent three rushing dealers flying in a single strike.

Following up, it shoved a tank aside and unleashed Sword Energy to finish off the last dealer, who had been far away.

Ignoring the relatively sturdy tank role, the boss took out the soft Healer and Dealers first.

What was left were just two hearty sandbags, unable to heal or deal any damage to kill the boss.

Soon, the tank fell, and only the tattered hooded boss stood alone on the battlefield.

Seeing the familiar light enveloping the fallen party members, the man mumbled.

“Trashy game level. Can’t deal with this, seriously.”

*

One, two, three… seven.

“And eight.”

Is there a guideline that says to gather exactly eight when raiding?

Today too, I might have taken out eight moths and sat down on a suitably large rock, limping over.

It’s not hard.

How taxing could it be to spend Health against foes that drop one by one with just a swing of a sword?

Yet those flying moths are irritating in their own way…

Especially since those moths swing swords and cast magic, right?

So it’s a bit tiring.

I pinched my eyes with my fingers and let out a long sigh.

It’s been… how many years since I started living in this other world?

Counting on my right fingers, I folded my hand twice and smacked it.

It feels like at least a dozen years, but what does it matter?

“I want to eat some chicken…”

Recalling today’s unachievable wish, I just licked my lips.

---