Welcome to the second Dev Diary for Superfuse! This time we’re breaking down the various enemies you’ll encounter in our game.
Common Enemies
Common Enemies help fulfill the role of a power fantasy. While all combat should be a challenge, we want players to feel like a superhero by having moments where they can quickly decimate a group of enemies.
We designed common enemies in different classes, and named each class after the enemy's main behavior or function, like Swarmers and Rangers. This allowed us to create consistent bases for enemy designs. With these, we could define rules for what classes can appear together, and in which quantities, to make encounters that are balanced and dynamic.
Where it gets a bit more complicated is with higher ranking enemies, which should provide extra excitement and challenge for players. These enemies are also the prime source of higher-rarity loot.
Elites
The first higher ranking enemy are Elites. These are based on common enemies and come in three different types with increased stats compared to their common version.
First off, we have the “Super Elite”. These come with a telltale blue color, and have a single Elite Modifier, which is generally more stat driven, and they come in packs of two-to-four.
The second type is the “Rare Elite” (yellow). Unlike the blue elites, their packs comprise one Rare Elite and three-to-five minions. They also roll two modifiers, instead of one, and roll from a different pool than the Super Elites. To make them even more distinctive, we filled this pool of stats with more passive effects, like sparking and auras.
“Named Elites” (purple) are the final variation. In contrast to the other two Elite types, these are custom designed and have unique names. They appear at fixed locations in the story, and they can appear in the endgame too.
Villains & Bosses
Our final, and highest ranking enemies, are Villains and Bosses.
Very early in the project, Villains leapt forward instantly from the superhero theme. These enemies are a natural counterpoint to Enforcers (our superheroes and player-characters). Villains give us ways to gate players, challenge them, and offer rewards for their defeat. With special abilities and powerful attacks, Villains offer unique and satisfying combat encounters.
Bosses fill a similar role, but are a little more traditional. Bosses fill a similar role, but are a little more traditional. We've made signature, large-scale fights with greater loot at the end and paired it with major story beats, bringing the Superfuse universe to life.
Until next time…
We hope you enjoyed this peek into the various enemies you’ll face in Superfuse. Come back soon for another Stitch Heads Dev Diary!