Add a new system for getting boss drops called Challenges. It would work as follows:
The boss no longer just respawns. Instead, you can walk up to the place where they used to be, where you’ll find the Challenge Menu of that boss. Here, all of the bosses’s drops will be listed, along will a series of challenges you can select. Using Calvus as an example, some challenges would be as follows:
- Calvus uses his Annihilation beam more often, and it takes half as long to charge. He’ll also try to break the player’s line of sight before beginning it.
- Calvus begins the fight by impaling the player, instead of Neviro, causing them to bleed heavily, reducing their max HP and regen by 33%.
- The two centurions from outside the Castello are added to the fight, albeit slightly nerfed.
- After a minute and a half, Calvus will charge an uninterruptible Annihilation beam which cannot be blocked. Best defeat him quickly.
In addition, the player will always be dropped to the level that they fought the boss at, with their armor stats adjusting accordingly. They can still use items and spells from higher levels, as otherwise, players could find themselves locked out of much of their moveset.
After each successful attempt at the boss, the player can select one of the boss’s drops, obtaining that item. The only caveat is that the player has to choose a different challenge next time to obtain anything, preventing them from mastering just one to farm.
Additionally, once the player has obtained all of the boss’s drops, the boss will gain a +15% to their health and damage in all future challenges. This doesn’t stack, it just means that farming them for the purpose of selling stuff will require some amount of skill, but no longer requires RNG.