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Why do we all agree spongey enemies are the worst, yet accept chip damage bosses?

cormack12

Gold Member
You know the score, you spawn into the boss room, and you know this is basically just try and whale on the boss for 7-8 minutes, while trying to manage stamina/mana resource, while the boss has big hitting attacks in return. And every hit you land, only does the smallest of top slices from the health bar
 

spons

Gold Member
I can accept it for boss enemies, but normal bullet sponges are the worst, especially if your attacks have zero impact and the entire thing just feels off.
 

lh032

I cry about Xbox and hate PlayStation.
the problem is boss NPC ai just isnt smart enough to behave like a "boss", so sponge bosses will be here for a very long time

I remember playing deus ex, and i just use stealth on the final boss to win the fight without a single bullet, that is amazing, no bullet sponges or anything.
 
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Three

Member
If the boss moveset has enough variety then chip damage makes more sense to experience it all but if it's limited with the same moves over and over then boss chip damage is just as bad as sponge enemies.
 

Portugeezer

Member
Dark Souls etc approach is preferable where common enemies die quickly but can end badly if you act foolish.
756031.jpg
 

cireza

Member
Once again a game like Razor's Edge come to mind. No chip damage here, you have to find the window when you can strike, and when you do, you will land meaningful damage.
 

Aion002

Member
I don't. The Souls approach that lets you one shot almost everything with the correct build is the best.

Unless, it's part of the spectacle, like in Sekiro, God of War or FFXVI.

Talking about FFXVI , S-E was really smart adding checkpoints between long boss fight stages.

Also, Ubisoft Sucks at this:



 
You know the score, you spawn into the boss room, and you know this is basically just try and whale on the boss for 7-8 minutes, while trying to manage stamina/mana resource, while the boss has big hitting attacks in return. And every hit you land, only does the smallest of top slices from the health bar
Sounds like all the boss fights In the current RoboCop game.
 

chlorate

Member
The LASO difficulty on the various Halo:CE remakes is interesting because despite the player facing nearly indestructible Covenant forces with very limited resources, it doesn’t feel like bullet-sponge gameplay, but rather a puzzle that requires excellent Halo fundamentals to solve and nearly perfect execution since death returns you to the start of the chapter.
 

Fbh

Member
With bosses at least it felt a bit more contextual, and they can have interesting movesets and mechanics. Also it's this one big fight you generally just have to play through once instead of an annoying spongy enemy you'll constantly run into.

That said, spongy enemies can be enjoyable when the game has good mechanics. Like in Doom 2016 and Doom Eternal there are some spongy bosses but since the game is fast, gives you high mobility and encourages you to move around during the fight it can be fun. It's not like some slower cover shooter where it feels like you spend 15 minutes hiding behind cover emptying clips into the enemy


Also, Ubisoft Sucks at this:



Yeah The Division was absolutely terrible because of this, it's some of the most unrewarding shooting I've encountered in any game. The spongy enemies made your weapons feel like literal peashooters
 
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Neff

Member
Because if there's quick-thinking strategy involved and enemy patterns to wiggle around, then it's fine.

If you're just circle-strafing idiot AI then it's not.
 

sigmaZ

Member
Both irritate me more and more every day. It’s getting to be a ridiculous filler trend. Spider-Man and FF16 are both recent big offenders I’ve played through.
Trigger Reaction GIF by MOODMAN


For real both of those games had awful boss fights for the most part (Bahamut gets a pass due to the spectacle and music lol)
The hardest things about the bosses in those games were how numb they made my hands go.
 
I don't know, if I see a boss or enemy takes more than a minute to be killed, I boot up wemod and kill it in two hits.
I finished sekiro massacring every single boss easily and killing the rest enemies with one hit.
 
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sigmaZ

Member
You know the score, you spawn into the boss room, and you know this is basically just try and whale on the boss for 7-8 minutes, while trying to manage stamina/mana resource, while the boss has big hitting attacks in return. And every hit you land, only does the smallest of top slices from the health bar
For the most part I've always preferred traditional boss fights were this a gimmick you have to repeat a few times to best them. I like Soulsborne stuff too because there's leveling involved.
 

DaGwaphics

Member
Depends on how long they draw it out. If the boss fights end up feeling more like a chore than a fun part of the game, that's probably worse than sponge enemies.
 
I’m definitely tired of hp bloated bosses, especially when they can kill you in 1-3 hits and have multiple stages.
I appreciate that some people enjoy the challenge, but spending an hour plus fighting the same boss to memorize patterns is the anti-fun to me.
It’s why I love From’s multiplayer aspects. If frustration sets in, I can always call in some help.
 

Heimdall_Xtreme

Jim Ryan Fanclub's #1 Member
I don't. The Souls approach that lets you one shot almost everything with the correct build is the best.

Unless, it's part of the spectacle, like in Sekiro, God of War or FFXVI.

Talking about FFXVI , S-E was really smart adding checkpoints between long boss fight stages.

Also, Ubisoft Sucks at this:




fuck!!, they shoot him in the head more than 15 times and the guy is still alive!!!

Not even S.T.A.L.K.E.R. goes that far.
 

recursive

Member
Both irritate me more and more every day. It’s getting to be a ridiculous filler trend. Spider-Man and FF16 are both recent big offenders I’ve played through.
The hour long boss battles in ff16 were too much. Felt like I was watching dbz. "Fucking lol, this is not my final form!"
 
Bosses are meant to take a lot of hits and it's fine because you dont fight them all the time like you do with regular enemies and they are a lot more difficult so its less mundane and more exciting trying to whittle down that giant health bar whilst trying not to get hit and die.

But there are instances where even bosses can be too spongey for their own good like in Tales of Arise.
 

Knightime_X

Member
If it's a big boss, it's ok.
They're supposed to be tough.

It's annoying when you have to several very tanky bosses in a row who hit like a truck.
I prefer multiple bosses but HP pool isn't that big

Damage sponge enemies that are very rewarding to beat are fine.
 
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poppabk

Cheeks Spread for Digital Only Future
I don't think bullet sponge enemies are automatically crappy but you have to design your game around them. Easy to kill enemies give you the opportunity to be a badass - do some cool slide maneuver while head shotting two guys with akimbo pistols. Not as cool if they are still standing and you have to empty an entire clip each to finish them off.
 

SmokedMeat

Gamer™
It’s pretty annoying really. Platinum takes the cake though with their seven colored health bars. Basically your character is shown to be a big pussy that can’t hit for shit.
 

justiceiro

Marlboro: Other M
The thing is that bosses can use up to 7 different attacks while at it, meanwhile the common enemy barely uses 2. I don't get tired of the enemy, I get tired of the moves.
 

mortal

Gold Member
Yea, I don't think I enjoy fighting sponges either. I much prefer it when enemies pose lethal threats, with exploitable vulnerabilities.
 
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