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Enemy Hierarchy & Pitch Review

December 21, 2025​

Focus​

Review proposed pitches before voting: Advanced enemy hierarchy, special room categories, loot framework, Rift objectives, and meta progression. Identify misalignments, overlaps, missing assumptions, redundancy, scope creep, and framework conflicts.

Advanced Enemy Hierarchy​

Three-Tier System

Elites:​

  • Stronger versions of existing mobs
  • Have skills/abilities (additional ability player would recognize)

Examples: Fireball, heal abilities

Could use player abilities

Make enemies smarter and more challenging

Champions:​

  • Mini-bosses teaching boss mechanics
  • Introduction to bosses (taste of mechanics on smaller scale)
  • Combine two existing archetypes for variation
  • Extra abilities or sequences players must learn (unlike elites)
  • Not confined to unique boss rooms (integrated into normal spawns)
  • Force players to learn counters before boss fights
  • Add uniqueness to Rift
  • Could use special spawners

Bosses:​

  • Room-specific encounters
  • Pattern-based attacks
  • Unique rewards
  • Own specific rooms

Design Considerations​

Visual Indicators:

  • Name tags and visual cues (purple text)
  • Skull icons on health bars
  • Champions: Auras or carry banners
  • Banners could be collectible drops

Core Questions:

  • Is three tiers enough?
  • Any overlap?
  • Clear gameplay purpose and niche for each?
  • Distinction apparent to players?

Agreement: Three definitions sufficient (elites, champions, bosses)

Champions as Teaching Tools​

Mechanic Introduction

  • Introduce gameplay mechanics later used by bosses
  • Example: Heavily armored mob taking one damage until mouth opens (weak spot revealed)
  • Champion introduces mechanic, prepares for boss with similar mechanic
  • Players learn counters before boss fights

Design Philosophy

  • Champions and bosses designed in tandem
  • Plan boss encounters with phases/mechanics
  • Design champions to teach those mechanics
  • Player abilities developed before elite abilities
  • "As we develop more player abilities, that's going to... one has to come before the other"

Framework Notes

  • Hierarchy provides framework but adaptable as needed
  • Reducing invulnerability (implements branch) increases game pace
  • Impacts boss/champion design

Special Room Categories​

Five Room Types

Rest/Guild:

  • Non-combat
  • Doesn't fit neatly into combat/loot/explore
  • Could be merged

Reward:

  • Primarily loot focused
  • "100% loot"

Puzzle:

  • Non-combat challenge
  • Mental or mobility-based
  • Doesn't neatly fit combat/loot/explore

Challenge:

  • Combat or time-based difficulty

Boss:

  • Specific boss encounter rooms

Three Categories: Combat, Loot, Explore

Observations:

  • Special rooms accessed through exploration
  • Provide rewards (link to loot)
  • Some rooms encompass all three categories

Discussion Points

  • Distinct player skills per room type?
  • Sufficient distinction between puzzle and challenge?
  • Methods to include or force certain room types in Rift?

Voting

Five separate yes/no votes (one per room type)

Loot Framework​

Components

  • Long list defining loot categories, sources, targetability

Supporting systems needed:

  • Minable POIs
  • Additional loot containers
  • Instant-use loot

Core Questions

  • Does framework reduce ambiguity and give purpose to each loot type?
  • Preserves player agency and understanding of sources?
  • Any categories too broad? (e.g., armor vs weapons)
  • Currently: Weapons and armor in single gear container

Minables vs Chests​

Mining POIs:

  • Essential to give players reason to use pickaxes
  • Suggestion to replace chests with mineables
  • Mining aligns with Minecraft theme

Floating Loot:​

  • Currently exists with rift spawners
  • Instant pickups (health, mana) work well

Rift Objectives​

Three Categories

  • Combat
  • Loot
  • Exploration

Core Question​

  • Can players understand expected gameplay from objective text alone?

Examples by Category Loot:

  • Scav objectives (primarily loot)
  • Anomaly objectives (submit looted essences)
  • Archaeology (exploration + loot)
  • Fishing (loot + exploration)

Combat:

  • Killing skeletons
  • Tower defense (enemies build towers, players survive/build)

Exploration:

  • Exploring rooms
  • Finding anomalies (exploration + combat)

Combination:

  • Guardian objectives (exploration + combat)

Design Strategy​

Permutations:

  • Start with three primary categories
  • Create permutations (eg. combat + loot)
  • Aim for ~7 unique objective combinations
  • Add variations within combinations (e.g., different mobs to kill)

Guidelines:

  • Focus on primary player engagement to improve completion chances
  • Pillars provide framework, not restriction
  • Analyze where objectives fit and why
  • Don't discard good ideas for not fitting
  • Avoid "cramming" into definitions
  • Objectives shouldn't feel like "elixir with added flavor"
  • Suggestions shouldn't be too heavy-handed aligning to one category

Use Framework:

  • Guide, not restriction
  • Vague enough to define any objective while maintaining cohesive plan
  • Reevaluate if becomes too limiting

Meta Progression​

Definition & Purpose

Meta Progression:​

  • Persistent, non-changing things
  • How presented to player
  • Tweaking between runs (how mechanics work)
  • Increasing available paths vs direct power
  • Typically choice-based (more meaningful)
  • Without choice = gating mechanism

Direct Progression:​

  • Directly making player more powerful (e.g., upgrading fireball)
  • Tied to player stuff (finding better gear)

Examples​

Meta Progression:

  • Guild and Hub upgrades
  • Unlocking ability to craft objective type in Rift
  • Rift complexity over time (unlocking portals to dead ends)
  • Vault Hunters knowledge system
  • Specializing in mechanic guilds (anomalies/objectives) for better spawns/loot

Not Meta Progression:​

  • Complex Rifts accessible day one (normal progression)
  • Requiring specific item for new Rift tier with no choice (regular progression)

Guilds Integration​

  • Perfect place to express meta progression
  • Could tie to different areas (abilities)
  • Engaging with guilds might be required for full end-game progression
  • Essence guild essential for expanding essences, accessing new essences/Rifts

Meta Progression Restrictions​

Should NOT Affect

Rift Completion Speed:

  • Should depend on player knowledge and skill
  • Shouldn't impede player directly

Loot Pools:

  • Don't lock specific items or tiers behind meta progression
  • Example: Don't force unlock to find maces in Rifts
  • Increasing drop chance acceptable

Player Stats:

  • Don't affect directly

Objectives/Themes:

  • Don't tie unlocking different objectives/themes to individual guild unlocks
  • Instead: Singular unlock grants access to all objectives
  • Players shouldn't choose objective until defeated

Specific Loot Types:

  • Don't unlock specific weapon/loot types
  • Example: Don't gate 90% of mod before accessing particular weapon

Should Affect Rifts First:

  • Should be first thing affected by meta progression
  • Come up with Rift-related ideas for Rift guild (possibly Essence Guild)

Alternative Approaches​

Crafting Integration:

  • Can't craft mace until finding one (Hollow Knight, Dead Cells system)
  • Contextual advancement trees: Skills/abilities for weapon hidden until acquired
  • Maces available but not fully usable until found in loot pool

Additional Topics​

Emerged organically through discussion

Referenced Games​

  • Backpack Hero
  • No Rest for the Wicked:
    • Good crafting implementation
    • Player housing mechanics
    • From developers of Ori and the Blind Forest

Next Actions Discussion Needs

  • Distinguish between meta and normal progression (specifically for Rifts)
  • Create discussion post defining both
  • Divide what fits better

Holiday Break

  • Suggestion to pause meetings, resume January 3rd
  • Break for recharging and generating ideas
  • Meetings paused, not full shutdown