[Boss Concept] A.e.g.i.s - The Ultimate Corpus Defense System

[Galactix]

EDIT 2/12/14

-Currently designing a new mode that involves AEGIS releasing smaller drones, preferably the new oxium drones, from within itself. I feel as if this would be a good way to implant the new boss in a bit easier with other enemies

 

EDIT 1/29/14

-Made changes to the previous Wing Reconstruction Mode, reworking it to the new "Behemoth Mode" (read the new description to see changes)

 

So while I was roaming through the Concept section, I came across a pretty decent thread that I have https://forums.warframe.com/index.php?/topic/159814-boss-concept-the-grineer-destroyer-a-boss-aimed-at-endgame/'>linked here and thought of a similar idea, or even a correspondence to it.

 

 

 

Background Story

 

BEGIN TRASMISSION...

"With the constant Grineer invasions and the construction of their newest war-machine, the Destroyer, our civilization has been left to cower before their empowering movement throughout the planetary system. Therefore, we began construction on our own titan - something that could hold its own, or even wipe out the Grineer in one swift motion. It was a masterpiece once production was finished, the grandest defensive system built since the Orokin Age. We called it "AEGIS," a name fit for a system that would save our people and protect us from even the strongest of enemies. But our leaders became overwhelmed with power and began using Aegis for the offense. It slowly transformed from our savior into our secret weapon. Tenno, your kin were targeted as well, and for that I apologize on my brethren's behalf. Aegis was never made for this corruption, and it deserves better! Please, I beg you Tenno, I am but a simple crew-worker so my words are meaningless to them. I'd rather see Aegis decommissioned than used for the wrong purposes, and you're the only force that can stop it..."

END TRANSMISSION...

 

So, System AEGIS is basically the Corpus' way of defending themselves against the https://forums.warframe.com/index.php?/topic/159814-boss-concept-the-grineer-destroyer-a-boss-aimed-at-endgame/'>Grineer's Destroyer. It was built underground in the lower depths of Eris, to ensure secrecy until it was fully functional. The design is similar to a giant armored manta-ray in the shape of a long shield, with several mounted cannons, lasers, and all that cool stuff. However, do not get it wrong - it is NOT a battleship of any kind; the entire thing can be considered a robotic structure, just like any other MOA.

 

 

 

BOSS DESIGN

EDIT: Well here is my super crappy sketch of what I imagined AEGIS to look like (spent like 4 hours looking at deviantart inspiration lol)

 

 

 

 

 

The closest resemblance I could think of in an actual game was BNK3R from Borderlands 2

(just to give an idea of the concept of the enemy) 

 

 

GAMEPLAY TACTICS

 

By using new gravitational-hover technology, the Corpus have designed AEGIS to be airborne, including many levi-wings than flow almost like a manta-ray's wings (or whatever they're called). These wings are not directly attached to AEGIS' body, but are simply held in stasis near its sides (just to give a physical image of what it will look like). Also, being the greatest defensive system and all, AEGIS has an impenetrable shield that must be taken down by shooting shield generators that show up somewhere on AEGIS' main hull. If all the generators are not destroyed in a small time window provided again and again, then AEGIS will just regenerate his shield to full and will continue to harass the Tenno. However, once the shield is down, AEGIS will require some time to construct more of the shield generators to replenish his own shield. From here I have devised several modes that AEGIS can enter to adapt to the fight. These are just some ideas similar to phases in the boss battle, and can be trashed if unwanted. If you can think of some better ones, then please leave a reply in the comment section

 

Behemoth Mode

Once shields are down, AEGIS will adapt to the battle and switch to ground mode. AEGIS will retract all of its wings into its hull, causing it to fall from the sky and hit the ground with a massive shockwave that can knockback Tenno if not jumped over. From here, AEGIS will neglect its shield reconstruction to conserve energy to support its massive weight in Behemoth Mode. In this mode, AEGIS will release three limbs on each side of its body (kind of resembling a huge armadillo or turtle with 6 legs instead of 4), while retracting all of his guns and lasers on itself to transfer leftover energy into its core for ground assault. From here, AEGIS can maneuver around using its six limbs, along with releasing a series of straightforward attacks, like heavy stomps, swift forward charges, gap closing leaps, and a huge laser beam released from its long central cannon located above its head (it's charge up will be pretty noticeable and therefore will give time to dodge). Because AEGIS has neglected its shield reconstruction, its entire body is open to damage, but just like any armor, shooting its armored top side (which takes up the majority of AEGIS) will reduce overall damage done. Therefore it is better to shoot AEGIS' large targeting eye or the underside of its hull, the stomach.

 

After taking significant damage, AEGIS will jump into the air, switching its limbs for its hover-wings, and will resume its normal flight mode. Its shield will also be fully regenerated and the shield generators will appear once again.

 

Bulwark Mode

Once shield reconstruction mode is entered, Tenno may shoot AEGIS anywhere on its body, with a damage reduction from shooting its armor and a damage increase by shooting its targeting eye, mounted guns/lasers, or its exposed underside. Doing so will provoke AEGIS, and will cause him to enter Bulwark Mode. As the name suggests, AEGIS will flip into a stance perpendicular to the ground, showing all of its back and resembling a giant shield or bulwark. As it does this, it will retract its head into its body and release all weaponry from the slots in its armor to shoot all Tenno in front. AEGIS will also harden its armor, deflecting any bullets shot at its front side. To damage AEGIS in Bulwark Mode, Tenno must make their way behind AEGIS to shoot the vulnerable backside (which was originally the underside) of its body. Be cautious though, AEGIS will move with its target so it can keep its backside away from the Tenno. However, AEGIS can only target one Tenno at a time, so while it will target the lure, the other Tenno can run around the back and shoot AEGIS for damage.

 

After taking significant damage, AEGIS will end Bulwark mode and will regenerate its shield, flipping back to a stance horizontal to the ground.

 

Heavy Artillery Mode

Once AEGIS enters shield reconstruction mode, it will also trigger Heavy Artillery Mode as a defensive combatant. During this, AEGIS will charge up its main cannon located above its head for a couple of seconds. After the charge, AEGIS will release an enormous, continuous laser beam (kind of like a "shoop-da-whoop") targeted at any Tenno on the ground. The beam will deal almost instantaneous death to anyone caught in it, but can be dodged like all other shots. The beam can last up to 7 seconds before AEGIS needs time to charge the next one. AEGIS will move to follow its target, but must move at a slower pace to control the immense power the beam takes to fire. During the heavy laser beam strikes, AEGIS will not fire any of its other mounted guns to conserve energy for the main laser, so all the Tenno have to focus on is dodging the laser beam.

 

After 3 or 4 Heavy Artillery strikes, AEGIS will return to normal assault mode with a fully regenerated shield, and will resume the production of shield generators once more.

 

Other Attacks

While in between modes, AEGIS will almost always be firing off series of homing missles, lasers, and any other artillery type it can from the weapon slots on its main hull (unless stated otherwise in the mode descriptions). He will also have a Tenno power dispel to make sure that players using warframes like Frost or Rhino can't use their invincibility function. These do nowhere near as much damage as AEGIS' more noticable attacks, but they still do enough to pose a threat to players. These artillery systems are meant to target every player in the group, not just one, so don't think you can give up your teammate for sacrifice - that's the whole point of an end game team boss.

 

 

 

STRATEGY

 

AEGIS is designed to be a very hard end-game challenge that will test even the strongest of players. Most of AEGIS' tactics require the entire team to cooperate together to survive and deal damage at the same time. For example, because of AEGIS' constant barrage of lasers and bullets and other artillery shots throughout the entire fight(unless states otherwise in the different modes), players will need to always be on the move while completing the objective in each mode. An easy way to cope with this is to have two team members complete the mode's objective, while the other two focus on shooting down AEGIS' regenerating gun turrets, cannons, and etc. This can lower the chaos going on by getting rid of a large fraction of the artillery barrage, which in turn can make it easier to end AEGIS' various modes.

 

Just like how https://forums.warframe.com/index.php?/user/28939-nugget/'>Nugget_ put it in https://forums.warframe.com/index.php?/topic/159814-boss-concept-the-grineer-destroyer-a-boss-aimed-at-endgame/'>his post...

 

 

"The boss should control the pace of the fight, not the player"

 

And I completely agree with this golden rule 100%. I believe that Lephantis was DE's beginning step in a new age of larger bosses that require much more than just shooting something enough to kill it. These new "Titan Bosses" should pose a much higher threat to players than the average boss. For those individuals who believe that AEGIS may be a little too OP - in reality, each attack's damage can be increased/reduced regardless of the type of attack; that's what balancing out an enemy is all about. I purposely designed AEGIS' attacks to be intimidating, so that the boss will force players to make quick, decisive decisions in the heat of battle (a.k.a: posing a challenge).

 

 

 

SPEECH

Just like how https://forums.warframe.com/index.php?/user/225159-morec0/'>Morec0 did a wonderful job a voice-over for https://forums.warframe.com/index.php?/topic/105211-baphomet-%E2%80%93-the-betrayer-merihem-renders-by-arch111-and-voice-acting-by-morec0-11214/'>SilverBones' "Baphomet", I was hoping that someone could produce a sound teaser for some of these lines I have come up with. Please keep in mind that the voice will have to resemble something robotic...

 

[Prior to fight] AEGIS: "Scanning for external threats...[Number of players] located. Initiating defensive systems."

 

[Prior to fight] Lotus: "No, AEGIS has spotted you. You must hurry before it finishes initiating its defense mechanism - be swift [Player name]."

 

[Prior to fight] AEGIS: "Searching bio-signature...Race: Tenno, Type: [Warframe name], Threat Level: High. Increasing defensive procedures to maximum capacity."

 

[Fight cutscene] AEGIS: "Target...acquired."

 

[During fight] AEGIS: "Entering Shield Reconstruction Mode. Engaging all targets."

 

[During fight] AEGIS: "Entering Behemoth Mode. Switching the Ground Assault."

 

[During fight] AEGIS: "Entering Bulwark Mode. Closing all exhaust port gaps. Resistance is futile."

 

[During fight] AEGIS: "Entering Heavy Artillery Mode. Initializing power transfer to central beam cannon."

 

[Player downed] AEGIS: "Calculating success rate of enemy...0%. None shall withstand AEGIS."

 

[boss killed] Lotus: "You've done it. The Corpus have nothing to harass the galaxy with anymore. You have save our people, [Player name]. We thank you."

 

 

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

 

-I know my drawing is complete crap lol, this is my first time drawing a concept of anything like this, so please be gentle with me :(

 

-If you'd like to suggest anything, then please leave a post, PLEASE. I literally read almost everything in the Concept section, and I'll definitely keep up with my own post lol

 

-Creative criticism is a need; I need to know what's good, whats bad, and what can be tweaked to make AEGIS a better boss overall

 

-Yes, I don't have many posts on my forum profile, and I find it sad when people automatically label me as a "noob" or someone who "doesn't have any good ideas" because of this (have gotten this quite a bit actually when promoting my posts in game). Anyone can have good ideas, and to neglect someone or to overlook them because they don't match up with the others can cause a loss of some serious insight...

 

 

Thanks guys!

Edited February 12, 2014 by Galactix

[netherwarrior333]

awsome dude skipped 70% but it is awsome high 5

Edited January 26, 2014 by netherwarrior333

[Galactix]

Lol yeah, sorry about the word wall; I just had so much to say about AEGIS that I couldn't help myself :)

[Luminati07]

Hey, that's my thread :D

 

Anyway, I love the concept!

I had a Corpus one written up. but never got around to finishing it (probably will today)

 

The airborne nature of Aegis sounds fun, gives a nice aspect to cover, seeing as you have to actually look at Aegis to figure out whether your cover will be useful or not (vertical nature of an airborne target, and all)

 

Love the different modes and the positional gameplay. Constant movement, changing your tactics, and a boss that sounds like it can actually kill you!

Have my upvote. It's well deserved

 

*Edit*

Going to read over it again and provide you with some constructive criticism

 

Honestly, I really do like it.

Bulwark mode sounds great, with one player luring Aegis to turn so players can fire at him.

 

One thing I'm curious about, how would powers work in this fight?

In my concept, I was pretty adamant about some kind of dispel/energy sap simply because maxing power efficiency and having 4x Energy Siphon can completely trivialize a fight like this.

Edited January 27, 2014 by Nugget_

[Galactix]

^well I gotta give credit to my inspiration :) I just thought it would be a nice addition to yours and to the ongoing lore battle between both sides. Sorry for beating you to it :< didn't mean to

 

EDIT: As for frame powers-> I was imagining the tileset to be a large, outdoor area, obviously something that can host such a large enemy + room for maneuvering; since AEGIS is an airborne enemy, I had the intent to have it pretty far off (like, you'll have to actually zoom aim to get a clear shot), like just out of range of the majority of the Tennos' skills. I guess i didn't put that part in huh...I'll draw some sort of tileset that AEGIS can call home in a little bit

Edited January 27, 2014 by Galactix

[Luminati07]

^well I gotta give credit to my inspiration :) I just thought it would be a nice addition to yours and to the ongoing lore battle between both sides. Sorry for beating you to it :< didn't mean to

 

EDIT: As for frame powers-> I was imagining the tileset to be a large, outdoor area, obviously something that can host such a large enemy + room for maneuvering; since AEGIS is an airborne enemy, I had the intent to have it pretty far off (like, you'll have to actually zoom aim to get a clear shot), like just out of range of the majority of the Tennos' skills. I guess i didn't put that part in huh...I'll draw some sort of tileset that AEGIS can call home in a little bit

I was more thinking in terms of Snowglobe, blessing or invisibility.

 

Powers that can basically provide invincibility to attacks.

If players are able to spam these abilities, it would make the boss fight too easy, no matter what the attack patterns/mechanics are.

Edited January 27, 2014 by Nugget_

[Galactix]

I was more thinking in terms of Snowglobe, blessing or invincibility

 

Powers that can basically provide invincibility to attacks.

If players are able to spam these abilities, it would make the boss fight too easy, no matter what the attack patterns/mechanics are.

 

Yeah, then I guess AEGIS would have to have a dispel mechanism as well...but yeah, thanks. I probably would've never noticed that...

 

EDIT: Added Dispel under "Other Attacks" section, thanks Nugz :D

Edited January 27, 2014 by Galactix

[Luminati07]

Yeah, then I guess AEGIS would have to have a dispel mechanism as well...but yeah, thanks. I probably would've never noticed that...

 

EDIT: Added Dispel under "Other Attacks" section, thanks Nugz :D

The only thing with Dispel, is that most players hate it :P

 

However, given the nature of the game (spammable powers for example), there's basically no way for any boss to be considered difficult without Dispel.

 

Unless, he's immune to absolutely everything and can hit you while invisible. However, then Blessing just trivializes the fight.

 

It's a tough thing to overcome, but currently, Dispel is the way to go (which sucks, because there has to be another way to go about things)

[Madotsuki]

lol your drawing isn't crap, it looks cooler than anything I could draw at least XD

 

Now, unlike most forum-goers, I actually have the time to read walls of text (and yours is already significantly shorter than Nugget's Destroyer), so here's some of my own thoughts.

 

While a mid-air boss fight is certainly fitting of the Corpus, we do already have the Raptor. And since the Raptor is heavily in need of an overhaul anyway, it would be interesting to combine your Aegis idea with that, basically a massive upgraded osprey with Aegis attacks. I'm thinking of a giant osprey (twice the size of Jackal at least) with two pairs of levi-wings that switches between vertical hovering and horizontal speed flight. Think a vastly better looking version of this: https://forums.warframe.com/index.php?/topic/98838-raptor-revamp-concept-with-image/ mixed with BL2 Bunker.

 

As for mechanics, I would say that getting rid of ground mode would be appropriate. For one, I can only imagine that if people can shoot down its wings, which will vastly decrease its mobility,defensive AND offensive capabilities, 90% of the fight is going to be spent on the ground for Aegis. Then there's the fact we already have Jet mode (normal horizontal flight around the arena) and Bulwark mode (vertical hovering defensive mode). Two modes should be enough for a boss like this.

 

For Heavy Artillery mode (I prefer just calling it Ion Cannon and describing it as an attack instead of a full-on mode), I really like the concept, a sustained death beam seems interesting as a sort of "ult" attack. A few minor alterations though. For one, there will need to be a warning as to where the laser begins, as it'll probably be really difficult to judge just by trying to look at the cannon. Having energy crackling at the initial lock-on point would be enough. It shouldn't be able to move the initial lock-on point once the attack initiates, though the lock will be on a random player. This is to make up for a wide beam (think 1.5 rhinos as a radius), which would also add to the spectacle. Also when the laser impacts it should release a shockwave (jumpable, of course). The Ion Cannon should be an attack used only when Bulwark Mode is activated.

 

For regular attacks, it should have dual Supras as its main assault guns (due to this being a flying boss, the fight will mostly be mid-long distance, so the spread of the guns will make it reasonably dangerous without being rediculous). And of course there's the homing missile barrages, and I think it should add osprey deploying to its arsenal. Also during Jet mode it should do "bombing runs" where it drops a line of Raptor energy mines (these expire and auto-explode after enough time if not stepped on).

 

All in all, a pretty solid concept, though perhaps not quite at "end-game raid boss" level like the Destroyer. I was thinking one such raid boss for each faction, with the Corpus one being a massive 3-headed robot hydra.

 

Prior to reading this thread I already had my own Raptor overhaul concept in mind (it's far upgraded from that ancient thread I posted above), and this has given me even more inspiration :D If you want to read the new concept I'd be happy to write it down here.

[Tali]

nice idea +1 

it makes me think of soul rippers from SC2

[Galactix]

As for mechanics, I would say that getting rid of ground mode would be appropriate. For one, I can only imagine that if people can shoot down its wings, which will vastly decrease its mobility,defensive AND offensive capabilities, 90% of the fight is going to be spent on the ground for Aegis.

 

Yeah, I thought that too, but if all the wings have to be shot down for Wing Reconstruction Mode to initiate, and each wing has a significant amount of health, then I think it would be a lot harder to shoot down all the wings before AEGIS finishes repairing his shield. Either way, there's a higher chance of AEGIS initiating Bulwark or Heavy Artillery Mode in the time frame between the shield down and shield up time, than there is of all the wings being shot down by the player team.

 

I do, however, agree that a change should be made to Wing Reconstruction Mode, as I noticed that this is the only mode that is dependent on the players to initiate, while the other two modes are initiated by chance while AEGIS' shields are down.

 

 

While a mid-air boss fight is certainly fitting of the Corpus, we do already have the Raptor. And since the Raptor is heavily in need of an overhaul anyway, it would be interesting to combine your Aegis idea with that, basically a massive upgraded osprey with Aegis attacks. I'm thinking of a giant osprey (twice the size of Jackal at least) with two pairs of levi-wings that switches between vertical hovering and horizontal speed flight. Think a vastly better looking version of this: https://forums.warframe.com/index.php?/topic/98838-raptor-revamp-concept-with-image/ mixed with BL2 Bunker.

 

While I do find this idea interesting, I'd rather have AEGIS a standalone boss rather than a rework project. I intended AEGIS to be one of the first of the new boss generation which I've nicknamed the "Super Bosses" which would be significantly more challenging than the batch of bosses out now. I believe Lephantis was only the beginning in DE's next big-boy steps into the "Super Boss" era in Warframe. That was the whole point of AEGIS' and the Destroyer's design - to give ideas of what the next generation of bosses might be like.

 

 

lol your drawing isn't crap, it looks cooler than anything I could draw at least XD

 

<3

 

 

Now, unlike most forum-goers, I actually have the time to read walls of text

 

<3 <3

[Galactix]

designing new mode for AEGIS, will update the main thread later today

[The_Sharp_Demonologist]

Another good Corpus threat forgotten by the cruel Fan Concept constant flow of Threads.

 

LIVE! YOU SHALL LIVE ONCE AGAIN!

 

Heh pretty nice concept bro, i luv it! i have been working on a Corpus update thread if your interrested:

https://forums.warframe.com/index.php?/topic/207583-krauserlols-ultimate-corpus-update-threat-the-corpus-shall-rise/

Corpus supporters must stay together, we arent many apparently.

[ValkyrTheSoviet]

Its a nice idea, but it needs to be in a large room to have its full potential, after all, the boss is larger than Jackal, and look how much room he needs.

[HunterFenrir]

Just call it Raptor Mk10 for lotus's sake.