I think it really depends on what power sets you're giving them. Some power sets can get absurd when ramped up to certain enemy levels.
That sounds like something to try with a few very understanding super-group mates some time.
Honestly though, if your elite bosses are getting steamrolled too easily, then there is no reason not to upgrade them to archvillain status and go from there. If the group size is too small, the system will automatically downgrade them back to elite boss status, and everything should be fine.
On the flip side, something that is naturally elite boss or simply boss isn't supposed to downgrade itself unless the player is running solo on difficulty 1. That means if your mission has 5 elite bosses in it, most people are going to get 5 elite bosses even solo. That is probably excessive, and is likely to contribute to frustration and low ratings from less-than-perfect solo players. I would recommend for the general public that you keep 4 of the bosses as bosses and just upgrade one at the back of the mission to elite boss status.
But that's just my opinion. Do what you feel is best.
Just remember that making them an AV always gives them the Purple Triangles of Doom even when downgraded to EB. Those things make life hell for a Controller or Dominator.
Not sure. I'll usually take the concept of the custom foe into greatest consideration, and tend to reserve EB status for tough ones (that are supposed to be tankers/brutes), and AV for end-of-arc foes. When I've got something like a defender boss, I'll force-spawn his/her/its guards at higher ranks (lts/bosses) so that the 'boss' becomes that entire group, which the main boss will buff while all fight the player(s) in tandem.
I've also done the reverse - force-spawned buffing guards to a boss to make him significantly tougher than a regular boss - and I'm fairly sure using debuffing guards would work just as well. Plenty of methods to do this, IMO.
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
The only "problem" is that if you play on heroic, bosses become lieutenants and elite bosses become normal bosses.
With that in mind, I find "Elite Boss" to be the best setting for say, the final arc big baddie. Heroic diff. he is a normal boss, on higher he is an elite boss.
Only exception is if they have a particularly hard powerset. As a controller though, if the boss is a lieutenant they are immediately held and I never see what powersets they have - makes it a bit less interesting.
I prefer EB bosses myself for the following reasons:
1) as an arc writer, I found my EB beatable - but often only after sending me to the hospital a few times, and stacking up on inspirations. (By the way, I was the one who stacked up on inspirations ... she was the one who seemed to heal herself by the time I returned, so maybe she stacked up on inspirations as well.)
2) As someone who solo MAs (and as a Gemini), seeing AVs in missions are one of my turn-offs.
3) Since mobs in MAs, seem to be overpowered to begin with, an overpowered AV seems like the opposite of an oxymoron, which might leave only one moron left, the person fighting him or her.
4) If an AV scales down to your level, it seems rather insulting. I mean the whole idea of "stooping down to your level" is rather offensive, isn't it? And now you have an UNDER-POWERED AV, which really is an oxymoron, which means you may now have at least two morons in the arc.
5) To see how tough an EB can be without being an AV (which is clearly impossible for an EB2B) please visit and play my arc "Wicked, Wicked Wonderland" (arc # 1224).
Mt arc will probably SHED (no) LIGHT on this issue at all, but would make me rather happy, and by "me" I really want to say "you" but that may not be true nor appropriate. However, you could leave feedback to tell me whether you think that my one and only EB (in the final mission) would be better or worse if the EB was an AV.
Then decide for yourself. Or simplly skip all the above steps and decide for yourself.
Or simply flip a coin. (There's even an animation for that, I believe ... althought that animation does NOT appear in "Wicked, Wicked Wonderland." However, an interesting use of a soap box animation DOES appear ... but I really don't see how that has any relevance to the subject of EBs vs. AVs, so it really isn't worth mentioning, at all, is it?
it really depends on what you want.
I avoid arcs with EBs and AVs - and I play on heroic so they are scaled down anyway. I have no interest in being defeated or chewing a stack of inspirations.
I want to see the story, not how tough someone can make their villains.
As someone who runs arcs solo, in my experience more than one or two EBs ruins the arc. Even if they're at a level that's beatable, having too many seriously detracts from the storyline and fun of the arc; EBs are supposed to be somewhat rare, and when they're not I start thinking how the author must have simply given up on being creative (whether that's true or not), and forget about enjoying the story and play. As a result, such arcs usually receive a lower rating from me.
In regard to AVs, they're OK occasionally. But they should probably be the big bad at the end of multi-arc story; just as every mission doesn't need an EB, every arc shouldn't have an AV. Use them sparingly, and be sure folks know when they first load up the arc that an AV's waiting for them; if I can't complete an arc due to an AV, but I was given fair warning, I don't count it against the author when I rate the arc. If I wasn't given warning, it gets a rating of no more than 2.
In your case, I'd recommend buffing the EB at the end if you feel it's needed. But the bosses don't necessarily need to be a huge barrier to the player's progression. You want they EB to be the climax of your story, so the bosses shouldn't impede play, but should be used where appropriate to build the plot. Occasional you can use a tougher boss as a mid-boss, as seen in several popular games over the years, but generally bosses shouldn't be too challenging.
You know, EBs are so not created equal (almost said 'evil,' more coffee...)
I use Adamastor a lot in some of my missions, and he's actually a big wuss. I'd rather fight him than, say, a CoT Arch-mage of Death (who is 'just' a boss).
And those are just standard guys.
Because I want people to enjoy my story over PWNING BIG BAD BOSSES, I stick with bosses, not EBs or AVs. I think this may also help lower-level toons choose the mish - but I can't say for sure.
In other words it's up to you.
It depends whether you are interested in having solo players see your story or not. If you're mostly making something gameplay oriented, with the story as a lightweight wrapper around reasons to go out and kill things, you may want to upgrade the challenge (while noting very explicitly in your arc description how many EBs / AVs there are in the missions). If you're focused on story, I'd recommend sticking with normal bosses. (Among other things, a player who has to fully focus on trying to kill the darn thing without dying is much, MUCH less likely to read either your boss dialogue or descriptions.)
I am currently working on a 4 mission arc. The 2nd mission has a fight with a custom boss, the 3rd mission has 5 fights with different custom bosses, and the last mission contains a custom EB. The bosses are mostly melee classes; MA, DB, BS, SS, etc... with mostly passive secondaries; Regen, WP, Shield, etc... The EB is a Bots/FF mastermind.
I recently tested this with a friend, me on a Katana/Regen Scrapper, him on an ice/ice Controller (both 50's), and the boss fights were not really that challenging. Now I don't want them to be ridiculous, but a little bit of a challenge would be nice.
So what I'm wondering is this, would I be better off making all the custom bosses EB's, and the EB an AV? That way for single players they would still be bosses and an EB, but teams would get the harder challenge. Would having 5 EB's in one mission just be annoying?
Thanks in advance for any help.
Arc 180901: Flight of the Dreadnought