Which villain groups are fun to fight, which are boring to fight, which are annoying to fight - and why?

[Lost Ninja]

Don't like Freaks, due to the need to wait out their bodies despawning.

 

Don't like Illusionists due to their phasing.

 

Most Fun: Found a Tsoo Boss in TI with the name "Dreadful Wind", I was in vent/TS with some friends when we found him and I think we all laughed for about five minutes over that one. (In the UK where we were all from Dreadful Wind is probably the equivalent of a US Bad Gas.)

 

Oh and the few Vanguard mobs you have to fight are a pain.

[Bastille Boy]

Sometimes I just want to crush things, and then anything difficult is annoying. But sometimes I'm in the mood for a dangerous fight. I actually enjoy fighting enemies that sap endurance, blind, or stack holds, if they're not too overpowered. Getting temporarily disabled while my HP is still high gets my adrenaline going. I'm in danger, but I could still win.

 

The threat has to be dramatically visible or audible. The sound of my toggles shutting off. A cloud of smoke and enemies vanishing. My toon stuck in a Tesla cage. Debuffs aren't fun to deal with because my toon is ineffective and I don't viscerally understand why. Sure, I can see the little icon in the corner.

 

The most annoying enemy groups are the ones that can teleport away, like Sky Raiders. Chasing them down is an annoying grind.

[Shred Monkey]

Runners are annoying.

 

 

[Gulbasaur]

Red Caps in Croatoa win my vote for most annoying, as many of them have a chance to upgrade to a harder version, like minions to lieutenants and lieutenants to bosses, which means that fights end up taking far longer than they need to if you don't instant-kill all the minions, which at that level is a challenge. 

[Shred Monkey]

1 hour ago, Gulbasaur said:

Red Caps in Croatoa win my vote for most annoying, as many of them have a chance to upgrade to a harder version, like minions to lieutenants and lieutenants to bosses, which means that fights end up taking far longer than they need to if you don't instant-kill all the minions, which at that level is a challenge. 

This is true... but they're so adorable!

[DougGraves]

2 hours ago, Gulbasaur said:

Red Caps in Croatoa win my vote for most annoying, as many of them have a chance to upgrade to a harder version, like minions to lieutenants and lieutenants to bosses, which means that fights end up taking far longer than they need to if you don't instant-kill all the minions, which at that level is a challenge. 

 

Is that worse than freakshow self rezzing?  I find mopping up Freakshow after they have all been defeated once annoying.

[quixoteprog]

2 hours ago, Gulbasaur said:

Red Caps in Croatoa win my vote for most annoying, as many of them have a chance to upgrade to a harder version, like minions to lieutenants and lieutenants to bosses, which means that fights end up taking far longer than they need to if you don't instant-kill all the minions, which at that level is a challenge. 

Are they like Freakshow in that you get second-zies on XP when they do this? If so I would not have much problem with this, in most cases.

[Odhinn]

Annoying are any mobs that you have to hunt down because they keep running away. I had a Council Lt the other day that kept running back and forth constantly. Even when taunted he kept running.

 

Rikti Monkeys. Who decides to invade a planet and says to themselves ,"Let's not forget to pack the psychic monkeys"?

 

That said, my live Invul tank hated Psi. These days it is not so bad. I actually like fighting Psi baddies on my Bio tank as he is nearly damage type agnostic.

[tidge]

Until a toon gets ToHit/ACC buffs, the Circle of Thorns are very frustrating. After that (and Knockdown) is overcome, they are mostly chumps... Except when hiding their 8 objectives.

 

I don't mind the villains that phase/MoG/shield nearly as much as I do those that simply flee for the hills at Mach 6: Slag Golems, WarWolves, and CoT Spectres. With enough Perception you can at least track down the Spectres... But those others don't suffer speed suppression like PCs.

 

The only villain group I actively avoid are Nemesis, because of the Snipers/Comets. For me it is the combination of spotting/sniping from across the map with the AoE damage. In concept I like the challenge (especially for squishies and MMs) but in practice it makes me run through missions faster than I like. I suppose we never got long range spotters that charge in for Melee because it would make farming too easy (a la old school DE swarms).

 

I enjoy Carnie missions a lot. I like that their different classes have both different looks and different powersets.

[Trademarked Name]

With my broad sword scrapper, I like fighting Cimerorans solo. The Neg Defense makes them challenging in mobs. An there's something satisfactory about fighting sword vs. sword.

Also soloing some AVs (any faction) or a GM. When I got back into this months ago, I forgot that some story arcs ended with you facing an AV and I would get my butt handed to me a on a plate by them. Some of them are plain brutal to face solo. But going back with a fully IO'd toon and facing off against Nosferatu or Black Widow by yourself and winning by the skin of your teeth is VERY satisfying. I feel like I should subsequently smoke a cigarette.

 

I really "like" most of the villain factions in the game, especially after reading the Wiki back stories of each. CoH has great back story write-ups of factions IMO.

A lot of factions have special abilities that make them a force to contend with (Psi attack, highly resistant, slow you etc.) But Tsoo, specifically the sorcerer are 100% the most annoying. 1) Multiples will heal each other back and forth or whomever the 3rd individual is that you're attacking making combats drag on. 2) they will TP away from you when you target them directly (like a sky raider) and 3) they have that hurricane power that does -Acc like a CoT spirit. I swear whomever made the Tsoo sorcerers was thinking "What other annoyance power can I give them to irritate people?"

 

 

[ShardWarrior]

5 hours ago, Marine X said:

Sappers are just something that you have to Identify in a crowd and make sure they go Bye Bye right quick.

Yep.  Easy enough if it is Malta you're up against.  What I find annoying is the person who thought it a great idea to have 4 or more Mu Strikers in a single mob at once. 

[quixoteprog]

The Tsoo Kinetic guys are kind of a pain, if only because their debuffs last for so long after they are dead. Not sure how long they last but it is usually long enough that I carry it through to the next spawn unless I sit around for a while to wait it out.

[Gulbasaur]

2 hours ago, DougGraves said:

 

Is that worse than freakshow self rezzing?  I find mopping up Freakshow after they have all been defeated once annoying.

 

1 hour ago, quixoteprog said:

Are they like Freakshow in that you get second-zies on XP when they do this? If so I would not have much problem with this, in most cases.

They vanish and replace themselves with a higher tier - it's not a defeat, just a gruelling meatshield army.

[Broken_Prey]

4 hours ago, Gulbasaur said:

Red Caps in Croatoa win my vote for most annoying, as many of them have a chance to upgrade to a harder version, like minions to lieutenants and lieutenants to bosses, which means that fights end up taking far longer than they need to if you don't instant-kill all the minions, which at that level is a challenge. 

Dont they also have one that throws a red cap at you and it blinds you while it beats in your head? Haven't fought them years so I can't remember. 

[ShardWarrior]

23 minutes ago, Broken_Prey said:

Dont they also have one that throws a red cap at you and it blinds you while it beats in your head? Haven't fought them years so I can't remember. 

Yes, the bosses do.  They're a walk in the park compared to the Arachnos Fortunata's whose blind seems to last forever.

[Xeres]

On 11/5/2019 at 12:11 AM, SaintD said:

Vahzilok in the 1-10 range. Disgustingly overpowered. Some idiot was all, "So lets make their attacks do way more damage, and apply a DoT, and be unresistable. Oh, oh! Then give the lieutenants a massive recharge debuff!"

 

If you don't think they're OP as shit, make a Necro Mastermind. At level 6 the zombies are literally just a copy/paste of Vahzilok zombies, and they absolutely obliterate everything you look at at that point in the game.

Yeah let's not overlook this.  I've had missions where there were 12 potentially in aggro range.  2 are enough to kill you if everything hits within 2 "salvos".  These guys are the main reason when I play a melee toon I keep the Throwing Knives or Apprentice Charms on my bar so I can (hopefully) pull one at a time.

[Gulbasaur]

4 hours ago, RialVestro said:

 

Ambushes! This also includes enemies that spawn from portals or that have been summoned by other enemies. They're not so bad when I know they're coming and can prepare for it but when I'm dealing with something for the first time I always end up getting killed and/or overwhelmed by too many enemies because I wasn't prepared for it.

I actually think ambushes are one of the few things that challenge me at higher levels. They add a dynamic quality to missions that I quite like.

 

Then again, if you don't build for survivability (armour, control, debuff etc) they can hammer you so I know what you're saying.

[RikOz]

7 hours ago, RialVestro said:

As a villain my favorite thing is Mayhem Missions because that's when I feel the most like an actual villain

"Skull Hoodlum has defeated Cardboard Box!"

"Skull Hoodlum has defeated Parking Meter!"

 

Ooo, we got some real badasses over here!

[Bossk_Hogg]

On 11/5/2019 at 12:16 PM, DougGraves said:

 

Is that worse than freakshow self rezzing?  I find mopping up Freakshow after they have all been defeated once annoying.

Way worse. You get no exp and have to kill them again. Plus they turn into bosses even if you have "no bosses" selected as your solo option. They also deal an insane amount of damage. I really grew to hate them struggling through those arcs on a few of my defenders. 

 

[biostem]

I dislike fighting Carnies on a melee character - I wish there was a little more of a delay before their PBAoE end drain effect goes off, so you can at least move out of range.  As another poster mentioned, the Illusionists are also quite annoying, as they seem to phase on a timer, so you can't even lock them down.  The decoy phantasms they summon are also quite annoying.

 

It would be nice if they added a way to deal a "killing blow" to downed Freakshow, as a way of preemptively taking out any rezzers.

 

Whenever you're fighting a bunch of darkness using enemies, you can be assured that many whiffs are in your near future, (unless you can reliably take out or lock down the group before wading in).

 

A similar situation arises when fighting groups of Arachnos and all their psi attacks - many stacked slows make for a sad panda...

[RikOz]

40 minutes ago, RialVestro said:

Not just minor property damage. Robbery, Arson, Kidnapping, jail breaks, oh yeah and did you know you can murder civilians now? I seem to recall on live you could attack them but they wouldn't take any damage and ambushes would just spawn to protect them. Now they actually die if they don't escape through a door before you can hit them.

Yeah, the NPC mobs can do it, too. I was doing a safeguard and had to do a double-take when this big Lost guy shot a civilian, and down he went. Was not expecting that!

[EmmySky]

I enjoy Council because I can mow through them.  I enjoy most enemies because its just fun, maybe use a little strategy, good times.

 

I hate CoT because ...blue caves where I invariably get stuck on a wall/rock at least once every time.  Plus they gank you.  And Vahz vomit...eeew.  And those triangle shield dudes, corsair maybe?  I dunno who they are but I never seem to notice their shield up.  And quants.  My PB is scarred for life.

 

Other than those I enjoy the different challenges, or not challenges, of most enemy factions.

[TraumaTrain]

I enjoy fighting just about every faction. I think they're all cool. Different factions have really neat background stuff. Some are tougher or easier depending on what time playing.

 

My favorites are 5th Column and Council due to the dynamic and story stuff between them. Love the Freaks, especially when they rez and offer me their XP a second time. Carnies are fun. Goldbrickers are cool. Sky Raiders are cool. I love when Council dudes turn into werewolves (I saw a vampyre turn into a werewolf once!)

 

What I find annoying are any mob that can teleport away. Carnie illusionists are annoying and neat at the same time. Malta sappers are annoying. Knives of Artemis are annoying when I'm playing a stalker. The CoT ghosts...

 

I love fighting giant monsters. I love fighting other named heroes and villains. Named bosses from different factions are cool. I love fighting the leaders of the Council. I wish we could fight other faction leaders as easily. The new ("new") Skull leaders you fight in the newer Kings Row arcs are awesome.  The Praetorian heroes are really cool. Epic even. 

[Akki]

Fun to fight.

• Tsoo (dear CoH gods, please let us have Tsoo hats, masks, and belts at Icon. Thanks)
  • So many different unique bosses. Every fight feels different.
  • Double sorcerer can be very annoying though. 
• Luddites
  • Where to start... Luddism is such a foolish idea and what better way to make fun of them than in a video game. I guess I just like beating them up on moral grounds. 
• Skulls
  • Got to Kill Skuls!  I still remember the first time loading into Kings Row and murdering arresting skulls. Good times....
  • Skulls > Hellions.  Yeah I said it! For a low level gang they are more interesting than their competition. I really wish there was more Skulls content. 

Hate to fight.

• Knives of Artemis (would also like all the extra costume pieces they wear TY) 
  • Just annoying. Caltrops, web grenades, poison, huge lethal damage potential, and if you try to sneak past them... perception.
• Legacy Chain
  • What's up with these magic dorks? They go on and on about how they are so great and protecting things from the bad magics. Then you show up wreck their party and they swing their ego around by spamming Knockback and rock golems till you get tired of them. 
  • Difficulty of the fight isn't very high but I just can't stand them on principal. 
• Red Caps
  • First off, I love their animations. I laugh everytime I see a gnome used as a projectile. But when it hits you and you're blinded it is a different story. 
  • Also when you are about to kill them sometimes they get bigger. Minions come back as lieutenants and the LTs even have a chance to come back as bosses. Each time they do this they restored to full health and you get no exp for killing the lesser form. BS!

Fighting to stay awake.

• Council / 5th column
  • Who doesn't like punching a neo-nazi? well that's where the fun stops. The huge body count mobs supplemented by the din of machine gun fire. 
  • The only time I get excited is when a wolfman focuses me when playing a squishy. Else it is standard rotation with little chance of failure.
• Practice Dummy
  • I can't count how many times I have tried to kill these bastards in the Vanguard base to no avail. Just attack attack attack. Nothing.... ever.... happens.... 

[Shred Monkey]

9 hours ago, Akki said:

Practice Dummy

• I can't count how many times I have tried to kill these bastards in the Vanguard base to no avail. Just attack attack attack. Nothing.... ever.... happens.... 

You have the practice dummy cornered in an ally.  You beat him down and smash his face in the dirt like he's Hitler's kid sister.  Then, as you're about to walk away, he gets back up, puts up his fists, and says, "I can do this all day."