Enemies and hazards.

Simply put, enemies are a large part of what makes RPGs (or really any game for that matter), fun to play. But, like with most things in life, balance is important. If you can kill every enemy in the game with one attack then the game will lack challenge. If every enemy in the game can kill YOU in one attack, it's the exact same problem, just at the other end of the spectrum.

When developing enemies in LifeWeaveR (especially the bosses) I used a three-tier approach to help me with any fine-tuning of enemy attributes:

1: Fight the enemy using the worst equipment possible.
2: Fight the enemy using at least some weapon/armor upgrades.
3: Fight the enemy with the best possible equipment.

 Take Ageus here for example. As the very first boss enemy of the game, I wanted to keep the difficulty factor a little on the easy side. Thus, I tweaked the settings until he was possible to defeat at about level 5, even using the bare minimum equipment. Note that I didn't say EASILY defeat. It took a lot of adjusting and re-adjusting, but the end result is that it is possible to beat him using the basic sword and leather armor you are given before you even step outside of Ami's house.

This helps me ensure that the difficulty level never soars into "Excessively unreasonable", because you shouldn't have to spend four hours gaining levels plus thousands of coins in weapons/armor/items just to defeat the very first boss of the game.. If you grind until you're level 15, buy the best gear possible, and STILL can't beat him, then I feel the problem is with the player, not the game.

Some enemies, though dangerous, are highly sought after because of the potential rewards.

For example, this one.

This is called a "Melancholy", and gives a whopping 37,000 experience when defeated. The Melancholy is similar to the Metal Slimes and Metal Babbles that you're probably familiar with if you played the Dragon Warrior series of games. The Metals in those games offered huge experience points, but generally were extremely tough to kill due to a combination of ultra-high defense, and the fact that 99% of the time they'd run away in the first round. The fairy-like Melancholy also have high defense, but will not run until the fourth round, giving the player a much better chance at defeating them (which is still going to be hard since they tend to be fond of the instant death spells Flatline and Genocide).

Enemies, however, are not the only things that can kill you in LifeWeaveR. Most RPGs have some form of "damage zones" (places you cannot walk or enter without taking damage) but this isn't just a hazard for RPGS or even for older games (Alien: Isolation, for example, has areas you cannot survive in without proper equipment). Aside from the traditional "damage floor" that deals damage with every step, LifeWeaveR has places (such as the appropriately-named "Death Marsh") that are fatal if the player even comes into contact with them.

The Ice Cavern of Alistine.

Then there are places which pose a hazard no matter what the player does or equips. The Ice Cavern of Alistine is a good example. Regardless of what equipment the player is wearing or what spells might be known, the sub-freezing temperature of the Ice Cavern causes a very slow but steady drop in Hit Points that, if not addressed. will eventually lead to the death of all party members.

I realize that such a mechanic forces players to continuously expend either items or MP in order to survive, even though they're not in battle or being attacked. However, the damage suffered is very small (if I remember correctly it's set to -0.5%) and it's appropriate for the setting. In other words, one would expect that being in an environment with sub-freezing temperatures would have a negative impact on ones health. LifeWeaveR may be a fantasy game with fantasy elements, but in my own opinion, a game mechanic such as this adds a little bit of fun and creativity.

Enemies and the environment aside, players also must be weary of one of the most time-honored and desired features to ever appear in RPGS; the treasure chest. Enemies hiding in treasure chests are nothing new or original, but I'm not talking about that sort of treasure chest (though, again, LifeWeaveR does have them). I'm talking about the sort of treasure chest that might be a bomb in disguise, or might literally rob the player when it's opened.



There are some that will pilfer an item upon being disturbed, some that force the player into a battle, and some that inflict a status ailment such as paralysis or "Soul Bleed" which is similar to poisoning, only instead of health, it's MP that gradually decreases. Staying at an Inn or using items will replenish the MP of the affected character, but without the proper countermeasure their MP will just self-deplete down to zero again.

There are many more hazards and obstacles in LifeWeaveR that I haven't mentioned, but not everything should be publicly divulged ahead of time. Some of them the player will just have to discover for themselves once the game is finally complete.