The most difficult boss encounter in a CRPG.

[Zed]

I'll add another tough encounter from DA:O. There's a room with a demon who mind-controls a Templar (fighter with some divine magic). Right after a cutscene the party is standing pretty close to the enemies, and the first thing the templar does is cast some centered blast that knocks everybody away and stuns, and at the same time some corpses rise up and the demon starts casting whatever as well.

The room is fairly small and I could never avoid that initial blast, which usually meant at least one of my guys gets killed by the zombies while still stunned. Both the two "bosses" are pretty damn strong, and even if I take the templar out of the fight with a force field (which doesn't seem to work on the demon at all) the other bastards take way too long to kill.

It was late at night when I tried that one and I wanted to get to the end of that particular mission, but right at that moment I was too frustrated and tired to do it over and over again and just went to Easy difficulty (down from Hardcore). And even then it took a bit of effort to finish that one.

The one in the Circle tower? I talked myself out of it

 

[VentilatorOfDoom]

I don't think the Kangaxx in the vanilla game is particularily difficult.
The Lich form can be waited out: have 2 skeletons there, he will go all out on them during his first timestop, afterwards summon a nishruu for him to play with, he'll cast a lot of spells in vain, just have a death spell ready should he summon Mordenkainens Swords. Should he kill the nishruu summon a new one. You could cast a flaming cloud where he stands - this won't hurt the nishruu but will disrupt his casting. Finally hack him down when his protection wore off.

The demilich only does 2 things: demilich howl (like wail of the banshee, so have your chars with shitty saves be under the effect of deathward, or drink potions of invulnerability until your saves are...invulnerable) and trap the soul (like imprisonment an abjuration spell, just use spell immunity:abjuration). If you do it with only a pure mage your best bet is to use DUHM (bhaalspawn power) and melfs minute meteors for 5 attacks per round, they strike as +5. If you have a fighter/mage or a blade just bash him flat with any +4 weapon.

 

[Demnogonis Saastuttaja]

Is there any reason to suspect that he will be instantly rape your party, while every other powerful named undead can't? To keep protection from undead/magic up, you would need 6 scrolls for the first part, then you have to wait till it runs out so you can talk to him, then use another 6 scrolls. And you still rely on metagaming knowledge to know ahead of time that he was the one to use them for. How is a player supposed to know that Bodhi wasn't the ultimate undead boss that could imprison at will and that they should use their scrolls for her?

If I had +4 weapons with me the first time, I would have killed him, since I had two protection from undead and two protection from magic scrolls with me (I usually have lots of all kinds of protection from whatever scrolls with me, because they are really useful), and you only really need one or two of these. He doesn't target your other party when your beefy fighter is whacking at him with his +4 weapon.

 

[hiver]

Final Bodhi fight is more difficult, especially improved Bodhi, especially if you took ... that drow fighter mage with you...whatshisname...

 

[lightbane]

@ Lighbane

You speak to the deepest and most private parts of my heart. I see your DoDonPachi Dai and raise a Hellsinker.

Stage 6 boss.
True last boss.
A diferent last boss.

You know, I think these shooters created bloom much before it was hyped to death. In any case, I reply with Raptor: Call of Shadows, a shooter where the main element is that instead of lives you have a health bar but you can upgrade your plane with better weapons, still, it's insane as you can see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gu5k6jL ... re=related


Also, I'm not sure if someone posted this already, still: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWJW4Chq-pM

 

[Azrael the cat]

Final Bodhi fight is more difficult, especially improved Bodhi, especially if you took ... that drow fighter mage with you...whatshisname...

Like all the vampire content, the difficulty of that fight is massively inversely proportional to to the presence of Viconia in your squad. Single-class cleric, whose alignment gives her control undead instead of just turn/destroy, and you've got a pretty trivial battle (mind you, I've only done it with the shadow thieves, paladins and Drittz all helping, and for amusement I always went out of my way to try to chast chaotic commands on them to stop them getting pwned by level drain).

I always found the first Irenicus fight harder, and the secret door that you go through with the rogue stone in your pocket. Having said that, the Irenicus fight is largely about coming up with a strategy to beat his imprisonment spam - once you've done that it's easy.

 

[VentilatorOfDoom]

Final Bodhi fight is more difficult, especially improved Bodhi, especially if you took ... that drow fighter mage with you...whatshisname...

solaufein, eclipse fight is not that bad either

for amusement I always went out of my way to try to chast chaotic commands on them to stop them getting pwned by level drain).

chaotic commands won't help much I'd wager

Having said that, the Irenicus fight is largely about coming up with a strategy to beat his imprisonment spam - once you've done that it's easy.

Irenicus spams imprisonment?


control undead: you still have to kill them and you'll lose control if you attack a controlled undead, if you let them kill each other you won't get XP, so Viconias Turn Undead can only be a last desperate resort

 

[A user named cat]

I got one:

Cyrion the beholder at the bottom of Iona's dungeon in Divine Divinity. Try taking it on without using a freeze weapon, next to impossible.

 

[kris]

There's a named lich ("revenant") in DA:O. He was quite a challenge. He was actually impossible for me to beat the first time I met him.

Yeah. I was probably to low level though since I didn't even manage to take more than 10% of his health in my three tries.

 

[Freelance Henchman]

There's a named lich ("revenant") in DA:O. He was quite a challenge. He was actually impossible for me to beat the first time I met him.

Yeah. I was probably to low level though since I didn't even manage to take more than 10% of his health in my three tries.

There's several of these. The first one spawned alone in the Circle Tower, and it was a crazy tough fight. The next I met in the elven forest and he had some minions. I gave up trying to get through that for now, it was too much.

 

[kris]

There's a named lich ("revenant") in DA:O. He was quite a challenge. He was actually impossible for me to beat the first time I met him.

Yeah. I was probably to low level though since I didn't even manage to take more than 10% of his health in my three tries.

There's several of these. The first one spawned alone in the Circle Tower, and it was a crazy tough fight. The next I met in the elven forest and he had some minions. I gave up trying to get through that for now, it was too much.

I suspected that. I met one on a random encounter in Denerim. But he was avoidable.

 

[A user named cat]

Has there ever been a game where liches weren't hard as hell? I recall one in Arx Fatalis being an absolute pain in the ass too.

 

[Azrael the cat]

Final Bodhi fight is more difficult, especially improved Bodhi, especially if you took ... that drow fighter mage with you...whatshisname...

solaufein, eclipse fight is not that bad either

for amusement I always went out of my way to try to chast chaotic commands on them to stop them getting pwned by level drain).

chaotic commands won't help much I'd wager

Having said that, the Irenicus fight is largely about coming up with a strategy to beat his imprisonment spam - once you've done that it's easy.

Irenicus spams imprisonment?


control undead: you still have to kill them and you'll lose control if you attack a controlled undead, if you let them kill each other you won't get XP, so Viconias Turn Undead can only be a last desperate resort

Yeah I got the spell names wrong, it's been a while. Obviously I meant protection from negative energy (or whatever the fucking anti-level-drain spell is called) rather than chaotic commands. And yes, Irenicus does spam imprisonment, that and maze are basically his main weapons. First time I played it I kept on reloading because I'd be a sliver away from killing him, and then he'd imprison a member of my party - immediately after he'd die and we'd get ported to hell, and so I wouldn't be able to cast freedom to get the party member back. I've got no idea whether the party member would automatically reappear in hell if they were imprisoned when he died.\

Meh, I had Viconia's turn undead on the entire time, and pretty much every single time that I encountered vampires during the game. The xp loss wasn't that much, especially given the quest xp rewards. I'd still hit level cap easily, so I don't see any reason why you wouldn't leave it on.

 

[octavius]

Hardest boss I've encountered was The Butcher in Diablo, using the Hell mod. He has 9999 HP, runs as fast as your character and attacks as fast as a machine gun. Utterly impossible for a lvl 3 character, so this mod was a very shortlived one on my computer...

 

[Xor]

Has there ever been a game where liches weren't hard as hell? I recall one in Arx Fatalis being an absolute pain in the ass too.

There's one in Arcanum that isn't hard, but that's due to Arcanum's combat system more than anything else.

 

[Grunker]

Has there ever been a game where liches weren't hard as hell? I recall one in Arx Fatalis being an absolute pain in the ass too.

There's one in Arcanum that isn't hard, but that's due to Arcanum's combat system more than anything else.

I recall the liches of Might and Magic VII being more or less a pushover.

 

[A user named cat]

Don't remember one being in Arcanum, weird. Well, I guess it can be said then that liches are tough in most games. I even recall one being in Final Fantasy 1 that was pretty difficult when you came across him.

 

[Damned Registrations]

@ Lighbane

You speak to the deepest and most private parts of my heart. I see your DoDonPachi Dai and raise a Hellsinker.

Stage 6 boss.
True last boss.
A diferent last boss.

You know, I think these shooters created bloom much before it was hyped to death. In any case, I reply with Raptor: Call of Shadows, a shooter where the main element is that instead of lives you have a health bar but you can upgrade your plane with better weapons, still, it's insane as you can see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gu5k6jL ... re=related


Also, I'm not sure if someone posted this already, still: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWJW4Chq-pM

Either of you two ever seen the later Touhou stages? Most shooters require either insane reflexes for random quick attacks or preciscion and planning for slow walls of death being aimed at you. Touhou does both, often at the same time: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Nb5Ohbt1Sg

 

[Unkillable Cat]

Has there ever been a game where liches weren't hard as hell? I recall one in Arx Fatalis being an absolute pain in the ass too.

There's one in Arcanum that isn't hard, but that's due to Arcanum's combat system more than anything else.

I recall the liches of Might and Magic VII being more or less a pushover.

If you meet them with a powerful enough party, then yeah. But that's about the only place.

A single lich in Arx Fatalis was a pain in the butt to deal with...and then the game tries to throw two at you at once. :/

Another lich that's a pushover is Achwellan in Eye Of The Beholder 3. Besides being the only monster sensible enough to cast Mirror Image, he's a piece of cake. On average a fight against him lasts about 20 seconds with all members of your party still alive.

 

[Kaanyrvhok]

Its out of Frank Horrigan in FO 2
If your PC cant hack the turrents, and cant bribe his men then you are in for it with that guy.


Nah nah screw Horrigan
The toughest was this bitch from Pools of Darkness

Kalistes was tough on her own but her Drow henchmen were just unbeatable especially with party that actually included dimihumans. You know how 2nd edition treated them. My party wasnt nearly as tough as the one in that pic.

Listen to this guys walkthrough
http://www.the-spoiler.com/RPG/SSI/pool ... ess.1.html

TIP: The first battle is impossible at the veteran level. After you have saved
the game, you should alter the level of the game to NOVICE. I have never
succeeded in getting through this section of the game without going to the
novice level, and despite all the defensive spells cast on my party, even the
Novice level is hard. You fight 6 Drow Wizards, 5 Drow Champions, 5 Pets of
Kalistes, and Kalises herself. This group casts spells like they are going out
of style (especially Hold Spells) and the Pets of Kalistes are especially
accurate at poisoning (and killing) characters. I have used every defensive
spell in the spell book and every fighting formation possible and I still get
wiped out. Try it at the Veteran level for yourself and when you have reached a
level of frustration I have (many times), you will go to the Novice level if you
want to get past this section.

 

[foobie-bletch]

The lightning-dragon from BG2TOB. Bastard healed himself whenever he got hit with Horrid Wilting. He's a dragon, so he threw party members across the place. I hate dragons.

 

[Kaanyrvhok]

Mulmaster Beholder Corps (sp?) .

Granted, not really a boss battle. And, granted, it was ages ago.

Thankfully optional. That was one of the things I liked about the Gold Box games. If you really wanted to do something stupid and fight an unwindable battle they let you.

benezia - mass effect

I have heard so many talk about how tough she is. I beat her by running and hiding. My companions did something to kill her while I wasn't looking.

 

[Stabwound]

Did anyone mention Demogorgon from Nethack? I'd say you stand about a 0% chance of surviving a fight against him unless you read strategy spoilers. Even then, if you aren't prepared to take him (he generally shows up randomly), you're probably fucked.

There's an old spoiler FAQ about him here: http://www.steelypips.org/nethack/demogorgon_faq.html which probably won't mean much to you unless you know Nethack, but rest assured he's brutal, especially considering if you die, you're dead and have to start from the beginning of the game again.

 

[Carlos' Bitch1]

Its out of Frank Horrigan in FO 2
If your PC cant hack the turrents, and cant bribe his men then you are in for it with that guy.


Nah nah screw Horrigan
The toughest was this bitch from Pools of Darkness

Kalistes was tough on her own but her Drow henchmen were just unbeatable especially with party that actually included dimihumans. You know how 2nd edition treated them. My party wasnt nearly as tough as the one in that pic.

Listen to this guys walkthrough
http://www.the-spoiler.com/RPG/SSI/pool ... ess.1.html

TIP: The first battle is impossible at the veteran level. After you have saved
the game, you should alter the level of the game to NOVICE. I have never
succeeded in getting through this section of the game without going to the
novice level, and despite all the defensive spells cast on my party, even the
Novice level is hard. You fight 6 Drow Wizards, 5 Drow Champions, 5 Pets of
Kalistes, and Kalises herself. This group casts spells like they are going out
of style (especially Hold Spells) and the Pets of Kalistes are especially
accurate at poisoning (and killing) characters. I have used every defensive
spell in the spell book and every fighting formation possible and I still get
wiped out. Try it at the Veteran level for yourself and when you have reached a
level of frustration I have (many times), you will go to the Novice level if you
want to get past this section.

This would have probably gotten the cup but for the fact it could be passed without buckets of sweat on a lower difficulty. Deathlords final battle (and others) didn't have that option, you either made the cut after 50+ attempts or you gtfo basically. This is probably the reason it has taken some people literally years to finish this game: difficulty.

 

[Kaanyrvhok]

This would have probably gotten the cup but for the fact it could be passed without buckets of sweat on a lower difficulty. Deathlords final battle (and others) didn't have that option, you either made the cut after 50+ attempts or you gtfo basically. This is probably the reason it has taken some people literally years to finish this game: difficulty.

If I could have made that far... I couldnt take Kalistes.

I played the first three games with the same party on the Com 64. I couldnt use another party on the Mac so I used the same under powered party from the first three games. PoR was my first RPG. There was sentimental value. I had a human Fighter and a human cleric. Every other character was dimihuman and couldnt crack the high lvls . I didnt dual class a Fighter/Mage Hero character either. The last Dragonlance game was a bitch too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUKAkMJS14c
Even on novice that type of party couldn't handle such an onslaught.