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One topic that crops up from time to time is that of adding Extreme difficulty to the game's Instanced areas. Impossible is sometimes mentioned as well, but we don't want boss fights that are impossible to win. What I aim to do here is outline some ideas on just what Extreme can entail for each Instance.

- First and foremost, the CL of everything should be 1.0 above the player. With the exception of Mayhem's house and DMP, Hard mode is +0.6, so nudging it a little higher fits the bill.
- Beyond that, different instances would each get a different modification, though I agree that adding a certain "randomized" flair to some of them would be a step in the right direction. As Red pointed out, removing some of the game's predictability is a good idea.
- I also have some ideas for new enemy recolors, as well as additional attacks and skills for the Animated.

- Since we're dealing with low-level players, I think the increased CL makes it challenging enough.
- Perhaps the fifth or tenth wave of Gnomes could use a stronger one in place of two or three weaker ones, but I have no idea for the recolor.
- EDIT - New Gnome: Colonel Calamity

- Still a low-level area, so I won't make any changes too drastic.
- Okay, maybe I will.
- Replace all the OMGs with OMFGs, and step up the old OMFGs to one of the Coliseum's new recolors. OMGBBQ or something.
- Add a second random patrol near Stoocie and the box.
- The OMGWTF can call for reinforcements during the battle.

- Kat's doll is too weak. She actually has less HP than the OMGWTF at an equal level. I'll address this momentarily.
- During the fight with KKD, she calls for backup, in the form of regular dolls, Collectibles, and...
- New enemy! Antique Kokeshi Doll

• More HP than the Collectible
  
• Melee attack: Serrated Fan: Does a strong hit, with 2-3 pulses of DoT. Think Hack.
  
• Ranged attack: Tripto Fan: Weaker, but causes a Speed Debuff. Makes kiting difficult.

- If raising KKD's health is not an option, I say armor and healing.
- New Abilities!

• Porcelain Glaze: Armor. 20% damage reduction, 100xCL Armor Pool.
  
• Doll energy: One time during the fight, when her HP falls below a certain point, she will absorb energy from all the dolls defeated up to that point. (Ones defeated before she spawned are not counted) The more minions you've killed, the more she recovers. "NO! I will not go gently into the Void! My daughters, your sacrifices are not in vain!"

- Two words: Chilling Howl.
- She Wolf's new ability will strike Fear into any players nearby.
- Another idea for new enemy: Outlaw Beta

• Black recolor of the other wolves
  
• Appears either during the last wave before She Wolf, or as her reinforcements, or both
  
• May be able to lick She Wolf's wounds, effectively healing her

- Changes are already in the works to make farming harder. I'll wait and see what happens.
- Also, Cuzzin' Buzz. The Buzz Saw recolor. Haven't thought it out beyond the name.
- So we have Ripper Saws now. Good, good.
- Sawdust Burst: At a random time during the fight, one player is targeted by an AoE Accuracy Debuff. Nearby players are caught in the blast. Their Acc is lowered by roughly the equivalent of RR2-3 Knife Sharpen for a minute or so.
- Sawdust Burst part 2: Using Hot Foot, Fire Rain, or any [Fire Element] Attack (once Elements are installed) may ignite the Sawdust Burst, causing AoE damage to players. Wait for the dust to settle or heal up for your foolishness.

- Already pretty challenging on Hard, unless you have a well-oiled crew.
- New Ability: Earthquakes! Duneslam's arrival "nearly knocks you off your feet" already, so for Extreme level, let's make it happen for real. His appearance will Root everyone, so you're suddenly exposed to any surviving minions. After that, he can create additional quakes to Root you again.
- Minions will continue to appear during the fight. Possibly generated by Earthquakes!

- New enemy: Tiny Shaman

• A recolor of the TWD, with slightly more HP.
  
• Ranged attack: Sleep Dart: Minor damage and causes Sleep. Remember when the TWD's could do this?
  
• Support: Healing: Unlike the existing TWD, which can only heal other Tinies, the Shaman can heal ANY Animated! And yes, this includes the Giant Stone Coatl himself! Luckily it only heals a single target at a time.
  
• Support: Battle song: Raises the Accuracy of all nearby Tinies.

- Upgraded enemies: Ixtli, Eztli, and Necali: Each time they lose a layer of their body, they generate an adverse effect. Sleep Cloud, for example. Or a damaging explosion.
- Coatl gets desperate, reignites one of the flames. This only happens once, but it makes him invulnerable until you kill off a certain number of minions. Maybe 5x Crew size?

- Again, with pending changes, I'll save my comments for later.
- Possible recolors:

• Nerd Clam (Can bore you to Sleep)
  
• Barnacles (Greek pronounciation - The champion of all Barnacle Fluffs)
  
• Labtech Mechanic (Heals self or Seacycles, not other Labtechs)
  
• Sea Chopper (upgraded Seacycle)

Further comments or suggestions?

Should we make this pretty and repost it in the z!F?

I like where you're going with this, Quint. Especially with regards to having Epic Recipes for beating EB Extreme.

But perhaps... there could be 3-5 different recipes that are granted both randomly and rarely. Each one would require different proportions of Extreme Loot and other crap. There's already a precedent for this, as the Stone Coatl drops the rare Otami weapon recipes now and then. Just keep the drop rate low and people will keep looking.

Loot list?
Mayhem's Coffee Mug - The best part of waking the General up too early.
WTFang - A pointy tooth extracted from the monster in Dead Man's Pass.
Ghi Whorl - Energy released from the Kokeshi Dolls, frozen into a spiral.
Sable Pelt - Jet-black fur from the mighty She Wolf.
Diamond-tipped Blade - Papa Saw's secret to success.
Enormous Bucket - Duneslam's helm. Almost big enough to park a car in!
Huitzotl's Crest - Ornate headdress taken from the Giant Coatl. Slightly worn.


Now, with regards to Hive Extreme, how will this work in relation to the proposed expansion and Bug Queen's lair?

And no, if you had to beat EB Hard first, I don't think anyone would question the lack of end-game content.

Okay... what if the player's first victory over EB Extreme gave a guaranteed recipe, chosen at random from the available set, with repeated victories granting the others at a low success rate?

Yep, I came up with those on the spot as I was typing the reply.

It was never my intent to eliminate one challenge in favor of another. I'd love to see Endless Hive coexist with Queen's Lair (for lack of better terms).

In the context of presenting these ideas to the z!F, how should we handle the question of the Hive? Since QL is somewhat ... detatched from all this at the moment.

(And I LOVE Kirby's boss-attack modes... really any boss rush mode is great. Excuse me for a sec.)

Can't wait to farm SSEBEX.

I feel like I'm talking to myself over here...

So this time, I've scaled back the colors and messed with the formatting a little more. I'm still not sold on the palette.

Inconsistent? You mean with the two different bullet types? It's an attempt at nested listing.
Open to suggestions on the matter though.