Grim Misadventures #8: Here there be Monsters

Welcome back to Grim Misadventures. This is Zantai with another community selected update. With a whopping 72.45% majority, hero monsters are making a valiant return to the spotlight.

The most difficult part of preparing this week’s post was actually getting to the right hero monsters. Nope…that is the Human aisle. Blast, I knew I should have turned left at the Flesh Hulk section. Our monster farm is getting big! When you last heard of hero monsters, we had roughly 66 of the beasties roaming the halls. We are now up to a whopping 115! That is a lot of monster. Each one is loaded to the brink with loot, like a deadly piñata that fights back.

Hero monsters have been roaming free in our spawn tables for a few weeks now, and the death toll is rising. You are going to have to earn that loot.

Let’s meet today’s contestants!

Disclaimer: the following names, models, textures, mechanics, concepts, disasters, piñatas, and sharp things are work in progress and may not reflect the final product.

Stare into the vast emptiness of Innugaru, Horror of the Void.

Remember those sweet [post=70159]void fiends[/post] Allminoxy showed off recently? We put them to work! Say hello to Innugaru, Horror of the Void, a fiend with a mean streak for draining your precious energy and using it against you. Abilities include draining energy, draining more energy, and killing things.

Energy Void: Creates a field of emptiness that hungrily devours energy from anyone standing in it. Additionally, deals periodic damage regardless of energy levels.

Nullify Energy: Unleashes a ring of void projectiles that burn energy and cause damage equal to a fraction of the destroyed mana.

Sap Energy: Innugaru passively leeches mana with each melee strike. In addition, Innugaru is immune to mana drain attacks.

Is this a caster’s worst nightmare? Innugaru likes to think so. Up next, we have Mesmer, the mesmerizing gazer. Mesmer had no friends, so he made his own. Science has shown that being friends with clones of yourself is not good for you, but what do those guys know anyway?

I will own you with science!

Mesmer is a lightning infused baddie with a habit of splitting into three copies.

Lightning Bolt: Stray too far, and Mesmer will stop you in your tracks by unleashing a bolt of lightning with a stun component.

Lightning Orb: Fires a massive slow-moving orb of lightning energy that passes through targets. Hint: don’t stand in a line with your friends.

Mirage: Mesmer creates two copies of himself and randomizes his position with them. These clones have the same lightning-based spells as Mesmer, but deal less damage and have considerably less health.

You might be wondering, if Mesmer splits into three copies, does that means three times the loot? (If you were not wondering this…too bad) The answer is, alas greedy adventurer, no. Only the permanent end of the real Mesmer will yield delicious loot.

Oh no! Looks like we have a rogue screenshot that has escaped! I wish there was some way to stop it from being posted here along with the rest.

Who is this guy? It is a water monster! Looks bossy…

And that’s all, folks! As before, please take a minute to select the next update in the poll. See you on 10/14/12!

Attachment: Innugaru.jpg
Attachment: Mesmer.jpg
Attachment: Viloth.jpg

115!? Madness!

I can’t wait to bust open these demonic flesh pinatas to receive the sweet reward of Lewt! Fantastic work here, Zantai, thanks for the update.

Innugaru reminds me of the cthulhu looking champions at the end of Act 1 in Torchlight 2. Especially with the mana draining AOE spell. I hate, but love those guys so much. The goo that pops out of them when they die is fantastic. I hope to see some awesome stuff like that with these monsters.

Wow… amazing screenshots and monsters. tear drop
(j/k about the tear. lol.)
Grim Dawn is looking great though. From what I have seen so far, I can see myself playing this game casually for 5 years. (That’s how long I played Diablo 2) - I’m not a gamer anymore. It’s the best I can do. :smiley:

You can drain enemies’ mana in this game? At last! Mwuahahaha! Ahahahaha! Hahahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
Now what do have to say for yourselves you fiends!

And also: Delicious monsters. Delicious. Mm-mm!

Zantai, you know a short video would be even more enlightening. :wink:

I like the sword in his left hand. :slight_smile:

Inorite, Innugaru does remind me of those cthulhu at the end of act 1 to some extent. lol

Either way, thanks Zantai, for showing us another Grim misadventures. I cannot wait for the next misadventures. Hopefully by then, if you are obligated, to tell us the progress of the development of the game, and hint out what month Grim Dawn Alpha MIGHT be expected to be launched? Each of these misadventures is like a teaser to me in a way. :stuck_out_tongue:

Mmm… those are some wonderful looking hero monsters!

Mesmer does have me wondering something though. Will a knockdown skill (e.g. shield charge) have different effects on the copies than the original? I suppose if the chance to knock a monster down is based on damage dealt vs. health (current or maximum), then the copies might react differently. If they do, it certainly would make finding the original easier.

Being able to ragdoll monsters while they’re still alive has to be one of my favorite additions in Grim Dawn :smiley:

Good work, Zantai, it’s looking great!! =)

Sweetness!

115 is a hefty amount of murderously massive malevolent monsters and it’ll ensure that players will be running across new fights for a good long while. :smiley:

I’ma take a guess and say that boss monster is located in the Abandoned Waterfront! :rolleyes:

What is truly badass is that you can knock enemies into the air and then hit them again if you’re fast enough. It is ultimately satisfying to hit an enemy into the air and then smack them down. It is tricky to do though.

You are kidding, right?!? Oh my…AMAZING!!!

Nice stuff. Keep up the good work there!

That… that fills me with so much joy I… just don’t quite know how to put it into words!

Edit: Nice to see you’re still lurking around medierra. You seem to have delegated most of the updates to your post-monkeys, I mean, employees.

115!!! I mean seriously? 115 badass hero monsters? each with their own skills, this is too much, I’m afraid, very afraid, I am going to be real scared playing this game with so many badass monsters that might get in my way, (scared for them of course!!!) that is certainly a lot of monsters, some people certainly have been very busy, so congrats to all that are behind these baddass horrors

GD will be very, VERY! fun to play

what an awesome update, seriously, with each update, it seems the game is getting bigger, bolder, harder, more fun, full of loot and full of things to kill, what an ARPG should be about

so has the game really grown now? I know that GD was originally meant to be fairly small, but it seems from the updates, the size of the core game has increased by a great deal? I still hope we have an altha soon, but with so much extra content, if the devs need more time until the alpha is ready, we fans will understand, even if it will put a damper on our spirits a bit. but the game deserves as much time as it needs until its really ready for its public showing

but I’m amazed on how fast things are growing, I thought 66 hero monsters would have been the limit, but it seems that we are going to have a lot bigger game then we first thought

I kneel in front of you mighty Lords of Crate. as you really are making our dreams come true

what more can I say?

OOoo… I like snakemen, ever since I saw the introscene of Wishmaster (the crawling snakemen mind you, not the ones who stand up, those latter are too human). Thanks for another update!

That last, dare I say guy, there is absolutely terrifying, don’t tell us what he does I just got dressed. I want to find him in the wild and charge at him like I do all other enemies to get him into my dual wield range, then get owned, and owned, until it becomes an educational experience.

Ooooo 115 badass monsters to date? Sound like a Monster Menagerie!

I could just see players paying an entrnance fee to go in and look (and possibly fight) various hero/boss monsters just to see how they fair against your character.

you know that isn’t a bad idea, when in co op, they could pay a fee, then you are indeed pitted against the badass hero monsters, it would be a life, especially if you die a lot!!!

I’m really intrigued by Mesmer’s ‘Lightening Bolt’ skill because it seems to negate my default play style, which is to kite everything and run away if the situation looks forlorn. Very few developers appear to genuinely study and consider various gameplay styles and then incorporate challenges that encourage players to develop new approaches. My perception is that often, the game is set up entirely to the developers taste and then I adopt my tactics to beat their creation. To have someone consider ‘my’ methodology and then cunningly stick several puzzles (mobs, heroes) that will require me to act differently feels at once endearing and intimidating. There is nothing that is more immersive and involving than a game that is trying to beat me as much as I am trying to beat it.

I continue to think this game might be very special indeed.