Dev Blog: World Boss Revamp

22 Jun 2012
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Good-bye, World Bosses! Hello, Ultimate Bosses!

As formally announced in our recently published 2012 Development Roadmap, we’ve been hard at work revamping end-game boss fights due to community feedback for a much more enjoyable experience. And as these changes will arrive in our up-coming Content Update, we thought to share with you some of the high points to look forward to.

 

Greetings Adventurers of the World of Twelve! I am WAKFU Game Designer Zeorus.

I am excited to announce an important part of gameplay that will soon be introduced to WAKFU. This project that I have worked on is very close to my heart and I believe this will also affect all of you greatly, as well. I’m proudly presenting the next generation of World Bosses! We’ve taken the time to highlight some of the amazing changes we are bringing to the game. This is an entirely new system for WAKFU and we hope that this will help encourage you and your friends. Currently, the system is still undergoing development, so it is possible that things may evolve as we progress through further testing, but our drive to complete this mission is still burning strong.

The current world bosses will no longer exist in their current form; soon to arrive will be the Ultimate Bosses!

The world bosses will now be part of an instance for several reasons:

  • Gives everyone a chance to challenge them.

 

  • Removes the ability for players to “spawn camp.”

 

  • Facilitate teams and guilds to strategize without being observed by competitors. In turn, this gives you the opportunity to create walkthroughs for other players of the community, or instead keep the winning strategy a secret for yourselves. This is WAKFU; the choice is up to you!

The world bosses are going to become, what we currently internally call them, “Ultimate Bosses.” (Note: Names may change.)

Hardcore and Epic Content

These dungeons are meant to become hardcore PvE content in WAKFU. These Ultimate Bosses will contain epic gear that is sure to be high in demand. However, only the bravest adventurers will be able to take home the glory and the prizes! The level of difficulty will scale proportionally to the level of each boss. So expect a real challenge!

Magical and Wonderful Places

Each Ultimate Boss will have a specific location in the World of Twelve (in the same was that Black Crow and Moowolf), making them more visible as markers will be placed on the map. Their lairs will have a particular visual design; Black Crow Epic Peak, for example, already has an atmosphere which blends adventure and mystery to the adventurers who dare approach.

Major Quests Initiation

The lairs of these Ultimate Bosses will be accessible by keys. In order to obtain those keys, players will have to undertake a quest that must be completed by each player. The theme of the quest will vary according to the Ultimate Boss you wish to challenge. These quests will be a challenge in and of themselves, but they will be fun and thought-provoking. A word to the wise, these quests will only be available once a week, to help ensure that the Ultimate Bosses can’t be repeated often. After all, if you and your team beat these Ultimate Bosses, you want the chance to show off your spoils, right?!

Easy Access

New elements will be implemented into the game in order to facilitate access to the Ultimate Bosses. Markers on the map will display the location of the Ultimate Bosses lairs, information on the areas’ ecosystem will have further information and the new quest system (which you will learn about in the near future) will be added to help you and your groups or guild to fully enjoy this new system while maintaining the aspect of a sandbox. The journey players must undertake to defeat the Ultimate Bosses will take place in two parts. Players must venture out and obtain the key for the boss they want to defeat. After acquiring the key players will travel to the “antechamber” of the Ultimate Boss. Access to this area does not require a key! These “antechambers” will allow you and your team the ability to find others to join you in your mission, should you have suffered casualties along the way. After your group is ready, you all continue together into the lair itself. This second area is the actual combat room where the epic battles take place. Entrance to this room will cause the keys to become destroyed, so choose your battles wisely and only enter when you intend to start a courageous battle.

Mythical Achievements

To make the Ultimate Boss more mythical, each boss has its own achievements giving players more opportunities in their quest for glory. When all achievements are completed, the player will unlock a title indicating that he has “mastered” the Ultimate Bosses.

Example: Black Crow Feather Plucker, Moowolf Slayer, etc..

Revamped Unique Extended Gameplay

After a lot of playing and testing, of the Vampyro dungeon and the boss himself, as well as observing and listening to players about the current World Bosses, I have had the greatest opportunity in designing a new Ultimate Boss system. Rules of gameplay will be introduced so that every boss is really charismatic and unique, enough to give you a real experience of tactical game and a real challenge.

With this system, a difficulty and gameplay revamp will also be done on the three current Bosses: Moowolf, Black Crow, Lord Gobbsage, and a fourth Ultimate Boss will also arrive on this occasion, especially for Brakmar. This new boss should bring back some memories! I wish I could share more, but it’s a surprise…

Hopefully you will enjoy this new system!