Minecraft Forums

Quote from BobMowzie»

The issue with the last iteration of this suggestion wasn’t that it lacked a melee attack; a boss can have only ranged abilities. The issue was that the idea was underdeveloped.

In this iteration, I think you have the opposite problem. You’ve listed a ton of relatively generic attacks. Most of them are redundant, simply doing damage via a projectile or melee hit. For a boss like this, it’s not enough to just damage the player with pretty effects and cool animations, sometimes inflicting a status effect. Mobs, especially bosses, need a hook - a core gameplay and design element that makes the mob interesting. This can be a weakness or a strength or a special role in gameplay. All of the mob’s abilities and attacks need to play off of this hook and support it in interesting ways. Players should be able to learn and understand that hook and develop new strategies and ways of playing around it. A mob is not just new because it looks different and has a different name, it’s new because it makes players interact with the game in new ways.

Take the grottol for example. It’s hook is it’s a mob that you have to chase down to get a reward - something Minecraft didn’t really have before. It’s resistant to ranged attacks, forcing players to actually chase after it to hit it with a pick. It can hop into Minecarts to get away. It can burrow and disappear if chased too long. Its design is cute and its death animation is sad, making players feel a twang of guilt after chasing it down. All of these things support its hook. (It has a secondary hook too revolving around its living ore theme, which allows you to use silk touch and fortune enchantments when you kill it.) And that’s it! It has no combat abilities, because that wouldn’t support the hook.

Now take Barako. His hook is that he’s a powerful ranged opponent, but he can’t move. So he mainly deals damage from far away with sunstrikes and summoned Barakoa minions. Players will no doubt close in to hit him, so he pushes them away with a solar flare which has high knockback but barely any damage to put them back in his sunstrike gauntlet. The sunstrikes seem to be a basic ranged attack at first, but if you think about it, they come from the sky, allowing clever players to avoid the onslaught by hiding under or building a roof. This is a valid strategy, but once Barako loses some health, he gains new abilities that expand his hook and throw a wrench in players’ plans. His solar beam is line-of-sight based but slow to focus on a target, getting those players camped out in front of him under a roof with a bow but not those running quickly through his sunstrikes. His supernova move was developed specifically to counter players who wall themselves in next to him under a roof or below his throne. It deals massive damage around him, but only after a long charge up time that allows players that haven’t blocked themselves in to get away. It only lifts mobs up and towards him to damage players that dig far down beneath his throne and try shooting his butt with arrows. Every ability has a purpose that works together and supports the hook. It’s streamlined: only 5 abilities. If I gave Barako a big wooden club to wield, it might look cool but it wouldn’t support his hook at all - so I didn’t.

Designing mobs is hard and takes time. But I don’t need a full design from a suggestion. Some of the best suggestions I’ve received were just cool hooks I hadn’t thought of. Think really hard and find that hook.

I've never thought about that before. Honestly, my creation process is, "Hey, that's a cool idea, I'm gonna run with it!" Which is obviously not the best process. I'll try to take your advice to heart and improve upon the Emissary (because I'm quite fond of it's concept). All I can hope for is that it turns out good!

Quote from BobMowzie»

I'm up for a wind-magic boss, and even one that resembles a Quetzalcoatl. But I don't think these specifics will work. Is there a reason players would try to fly or build up to it while it is flying above them? If they can't interact with it while its in flight, why bother having it fly above the overworld in the first place?

The mod is designed so players can figure out mechanics and secrets without the use of wikis or guides. If a player with no knowledge of the mod found this structure and the boss wasn't there, they would assume it was an empty structure and just keep moving. Even if they did figure it out, having to wait for the mob is very frustrating.

I'd suggest picking one: it can be fought in its structure, or it can be fought flying above the overworld. The way it is now, it kinda can't be fought in either.

I understand. I simply wanted a wandering creature that would actually roam, unlike the Wandering Trader. But I see how annoying that would be. Let's do the temple/altar structure.

I have a concept for a sort of air deity boss, which doesn't currently have a name (Considering "The Djinnis").

The creature (Contemplating whether it'll resemble an air elemental, or more of a Quetzalcoatl style dragon) will mainly be found flying through the air, out of reach. If a player managed to reach it using an Elytra or a modded flying mount, the creature will blow the player (and the mount, if one is used) away using a gust of air, and fly off. The only way to fight it would be to find it's "roost", a ruined temple or altar dedicated to the creature, as evidenced by decorative blocks and items, that can be found in the mountains. You may have to camp out here, because the creature only comes here every 5(?) days.

When challenged, the creature will perform air-based attacks, like strong gusts or miniature tornadoes. I don't know what exactly it'll drop, but maybe something along the lines of an item that can push enemies back, or grant temporary flight.

Quote from Ddak4»

This sounds a little fun but I feel like it’s a bit much for Mowzie’s mobs, I mean an entire quest system sounds like it can be its own mod all together

Got it. I'll keep that in mind.

Quote from thejellyphishking»

dreadwalker9 has earned the respect of the jellyphish kingdom by using a Hollow Knight profile pic.

MMORPG system deviates too much from this mod. Perhaps a beast that feeds off moonlight might be a more fitting idea.

This is pretty cool, but I'm not gonna turn the Moonlight Assassins into a bestial creature. You can submit this idea to Mowzie, though, Your Majesty.

And I'm glad I found someone who likes Hollow Knight, too!

You know what? I decided to improve upon the Fae Lizard. It now can summon illusory mobs and duplicates of itself, because fae are trickster creatures and masters of illusion. The illusion mobs deal no damage and disappear when hit, but still get in the way of the player. This allows the Fae Lizard to escape. If the player continues to give chase, the Fae Lizard will make illusion duplicates to confuse the player. These duplicates also deal no damage and disappear when hit. It uses magic blasts as an offense as well, but will sometimes use the poison clouds instead.

Quote from thejellyphishking»

I believe it's "fae"

Source: I'm a Dungeons & Dragons nerd.

Ah. I always thought I was spelling it wrong, but I had no idea how it was spelled. Thank you!

Well, I found some old drawings and decided to turn them into mob ideas. Ideas to improve them would be appreciated.

Fay Lizard:

The Fay Lizard is basically a lizard, but with six legs, a large under bite that curves at the tip, and three red flower buds along it's back and one on the tip of it's tail. I imagine it being able to spray the player with some sort of plant spore stuff, which could inflict nausea or slowness or something.

Nehal (NAY-hal):

All I can say is that it looks a lot like the Gobblewonker from Gravity Falls, but with a small smooth head, an under bite (again), six flippers (what was my obsession with six limbs?), and a webbed frill thing running down it's neck, body, and half it's tail. I think it could use some bubble attacks? I don't know. Like I said, these guys need some fleshing out.

Quote from BobMowzie»

I feel like the cavictul fills a niche that the foliaath already covers. Sorry, but I'm not interested in it at this time.
Stealing weapons from the player is much more frustrating than fun; I don't think it would work as a good game mechanic. Without that, it seems fairly generic. It's a poisonous melee mob. It can turn invisible sometimes, but that feature doesn't tie in to the rest of its design. I think you can get more creative than just a snake with arms.
When I think of mirage-themed powers, I think of making things appear that aren't really there. A mob that can conjure illusions or mind control others might be more fitting.

Ah, I see. I'll try going through my old mob journal one more time to see what I got. I appreciate the feedback.

Quote from boomphobia»

Yes, more lore would be fun. I've always wanted a lore aspect to the game, not only the one at the forums, but in-game as well. Like a story. Like mob connections here and there. So much could be done and it even might be planned. I can't wait for the future of MM

That, kind sirs, is why I was asking. Lore. Lore makes a game fun.

Quote from boomphobia»

Yes. A dark purple colour seems really cool

And maybe a smattering (actual word) of bone blocks to indicate what it's for. Hollow on the inside as well, like a Battle Tower. Maybe.

hi yes i return wassup
i, uh, finally have a non-nightmare fuel idea that actually sounds kinda fun
and doesn't involve any useless items that are solely there to craft one thing
AND serves as a cool miniboss if you decide to fight and completely neglect how the thing works
..and is still probably bad anyways lol

the Cantatumire Imp
a Thin, grey, slightly furry and very tall figure. has slick, narrow black ears, and 4 arms. has 4 green eyes; two on the front, and two on the sides of it's head. is often seen carrying two normal swords with it's lower arms, and a hulking greatsword with it's upper two. it's usually either crawling or crouching when moving around passively. while not sentient, very intelligent. Denizens of the End, though can be seen in other dimensions. fairly rare. Neutral.

the Cantatumire imp is a intelligent creature who collects and creates swords. that being said, it often seeks to forge a sword to replace it's greatsword with a more reliable weapon. should you provide it with the materials to make a stronger weapon (or the weapon itself), it may leave you it's own sword and run off to forge a new one.

they often crawl on their legs + lower two arms for increased mobility, but are capable of hunched bipedal movement and hexapod movement. they dwell within Imp huts, which are structures that can spawn in all 3 dimensions. these are Crude lean-to huts, made of different native materials. examples being trees + leaves in the overworld (or various stones if found in caves), biome mushrooms in the nether, chorus and endstone in the End. one Imp per hut.

Fighting AI
Should you decide to fight one, it's a force to be reckoned with. they're highly mobile, and are capable of dishing out a lot of damage.
-Can evade attacks
-can Block attacks with all 3 swords at once, if hit when it's not doing something else
-can sweep attack with lower swords
-can Slam with it's greatsword
-can Spin with it's greatsword
-can Lunge with all 3 at once
if you successfully defeat it, it will Retreat and disappear instead of dying. it will only drop the two Normal swords, rather than it's greatsword. it still despawns nonetheless.

Trading
by providing a Imp with enough materials to forge a powerful greatsword, or a valid substitute, it will give you it's current greatsword as a collectible weapon. each one having it's own perks and downsides.
Variants + Drops
Overworld Imps will drop their greatsword, the "Formidolosus Terra" (Terrifying Land) when given 10 diamonds. they use 2 iron swords for their normal weapons. when traded with, they will instead have a Diamond Greatsword.
Nether Imps will drop the greatsword "Hell's Bulwark", when given 10 Netherite Ingots. they use Enchanted Golden swords for their normal weapons.
when traded with, they will instead have a Netherite Greatsword.
End Imps will give you the "Endgoal" greatsword when given a Axe of a Thousand Metals. they use Enchanted Diamond swords for normal weapons.
will use the A.o.a.T.M instead of the Endgoal when traded with.

all 3 Greatswords have the same ATK speed, resembling that of the A.o.a.T.M. they're also two-handed weapons, meaning offhand weapons and items cannot be used. (totems and food are still useable.) they all will cease functionality when they break, and will stay unusable until they regenerate to a useable state again. because of this, they are unbreakable. even if you somehow get it to 0 durability, it will not break.

Formidolosus Terra
a Hulking mass of various Rocks (Cobblestone, granite, andesite, diorite), with the backside of the blade having grass growing out of it. has a Emerald embedded near the handle.
This greatsword draws upon the power of the Overworld to strike down opponents. it has the innate passive of acting like it has Smite V. however, it cannot be Enchanted. it passively regenerates durability when within the overworld, has 500 durability. 9 Damage. can be used after regenerating at 250 durability.

Hell's Bulwark
a massive Conglomeration of Gold and Netherite Scrap, used to make a rudimentary netherite alloy. not nearly as effective as the real thing.
this greatsword calls upon the Nether for it's strength. it can be enchanted with one level past a normal enchant's levels (and has a passive high enchantability), as well as being able to have multiple incompatible enchantments at once on it (sharpness + smite, etc), but it will lose 2 extra durability points per use with every teir 3 or higher enchantment placed on it. having incompatible enchantments on it will also cause 2 extra durability to be lost each use, per set of incompatible enchantments. 600 durability, 8.5 damage. regenerates Durability when in the Nether. must regenerate to full if it breaks.

Endgoal
a heaping tower of Endstone, with Chorus tangling around the blade. has 3 ender pearls embedded in each side of the blade, and a End Rod for a handle.
Using the End's energy for power, the Endgoal is capable of parrying attacks with right click for a short time. enemies that hit you during this will be warped backwards 10 blocks and take 7 damage. however, if you mess up this window, there's a 25% chance that the parry will backfire, teleporting you randomly instead + dealing 6 armor-ignoring damage. this sword is also bigger and heavier than the others, inflicting a passive slowness 1 debuff while holding it. has 750 durability, deals 10 damage, and regenerates durability in the End. must regenerate to 250 durability to be useable when it breaks.

note that unique abilities from these swords CAN be triggered by the imp as well, if you choose to fight it
though, the only one that really matters is the Endgoal's parry, unless you have a mod that makes you undead or smth

also, the Diamond Greatsword + Netherite Greatsword the imps craft when traded with are unobtainable in their entirety.

ae
feedback is nice

Not to interrupt the interesting discussion about these archenemy mobs that put the player in crossfire

But I gotta say BobMowzie, thanks so much for making and sharing Mowzie's Mobs.

On a whim, I remembered this mod and decided to check how it was going, and you've really added a lot to it.

It's been years already since I last played this mod (and Minecraft in general) but it has remained the standard for what peak-quality should feel like. Of course, I've tried other peak-quality mods like Betweenlands and those from the team MinecraftAbnormals, but Mowzie's Mobs still has a special place in my mod folder. From reading your comments on this forum and playing with the mod itself, it's served as a standard for great game design in general, with hooks and implementations and etc. and I've really gained a greater understanding of what makes mechanics interesting to players. I'm definitely able to incorporate these things into my own little coding projects.

It's awesome that you still work on this mod (in your free time, of course) and still occasionally respond to comments on this thread.

I just want to encourage you and let you know that your work is great, inspiring, and helpful beyond simply being fun. Have a great day!

Quote from dreadwalker9»

It wasn't my intention to be rude. I was simply trying to point out that the mob wasn't finished, but chose a poor way to do so.

Quote from BobMowzie»

Woah, woah, asking me to understand something I may not have considered is not rude. In fact, I found his choice of words to be very cordial.
I'm asking for discussion here. If dreadwalker9 forgot to disclose that he came up with his idea quickly, I'm happy to hear it as a response.

No, it was a perfectly fine message. Don't worry at all.

Oops, I misinterpreted his message then. I apologize, I got the wrong vibe from it but dreadwalker wasn’t trying to be rude so my bad.

Quote from dreadwalker9»

Understand that the Withered Emissary concept was made in under an hour. As previously mentioned, I don't have their spell-set figured out. Melee spells and attacks are possible.

...understand? Understand what? You need to realize that he isn’t obligated to add or even read any of your ideas dude. He’s being nice enough providing feedback, that’s not really a valid way to respond.