[Boss Concept] Grineer Biotech

[Aeshi]

An Idea for a new Grineer boss, Chief Biotech "Vullar Gar Scylla" (alt name: "Vullar Gar Acrid")

(The name was inspired by Vay Hek, who shares his name with a shotgun, which implies he probably designed said Shotgun. I was going for something similar.)

 

The Level:

Vullar's level is a Grineer installation built into a large Mesa/Plateau. The intro cutscene shows the Tenno "Drop Pods" swooping down while avoiding AA fire, latching onto the side of the Mesa/Plateau and the Tenno Jumping into the installation through a window. The Tileset is a hybrid of Grineer Settlement for the outside, and a more desert-coloured Asteroid base for the inside.

 

 

Control Towers:

The main gimmick of Vullar's level is that it involves the Grineer and the Infested (with the exception of Chargers, see "New Enemies") working together, as Vullar has found a way to control Infested (hence why Lotus wants her dead), this is done via special "Control Towers", hybrids of Grineer and Orokin tech (like Vor's Seer pistol) that are scattered throughout the level.

 

These towers can either be destroyed (causing the Infested to become hostile to the Grineer again) or hacked (which, while harder, causes the Infested to help the Tenno, while also opening a side chamber full of XP and mods to compensate for XP 'lost' by not killing the Infested)

 

 

New Enemies:

Two new enemies unique to Vullar's level are:

 

Infested Skate - Larger, more aggressive Desert Skates that have been mutated by the Infestation. They serve as the replacement for Chargers in this level (as I doubt Vullar would willingly let her brethren get mutated into Chargers.) They're also far smarter than regular Skates, burrowing into the ground and letting the players pass before coming up behind them when other enemies distract them.

 

Grineer Biotech - Vullar's lab assistants, they can usually be found in pairs or trios accompanying both Grineer & Controlled Infested squadrons. They resemble Sawmen (or Ballistas) who wear ceremonial robes over their armour, both of which are Dark Green with a Gold trim. They have the same health as a regular light Grineer (i.e. Not much), but carry an Acrid for self-defense, meaning they can pack a real punch if left unattended.

 

 

Example Lines (Lotus):

"We have information that suggests that the Grineer's Chief Biotech, Vullar, may have made a breakthrough regarding Biotech, I want you to try and find out what it is." - Mission Start

"Whatever Vullar is working on, it's important enough that this base went off the Grid to try and avoid detection" - Shortly after 'Mission Start' Line

"Strange, those were Infested, yet I'm not detecting any alarms from the facility." - After meeting first Infested group (which would have no Grineer back-up)

"Are those Infested... working with the Grineer?!" - After meeting first Infested & Grineer team

"I'm getting unusual readings from that Tower, try destroying or hacking it and seeing what happens" - Upon encountering the first Control Tower

"A Grineer Empire in control of the Infested is a possibility we cannot allow to become real. Make sure neither Vullar nor her work leaves this place" - After hacking/destroying the first Control Tower

 

Example Lines (Vullar):

"Ah... a Tenno? You will be very useful for my work, oh yes..."

"I've never seen an Infested Tenno, I wonder what makes you immune? I intend to find out!"

"When I bring your corpse and this army to the Twin Queens, I will be honored above all others!"

"I will be interested in seeing what makes that [Frame] of yours tick!"

"A little reverse-engineering, and my 'pets' will become even more potent when I give them your power, [Name]!"

"For this little intrusion, I promise [Clan Name] will be the first to know our new power!"

 

 

The Boss:

The Arena:

After fighting their way through the level, the players take a lift up to a large biodome at the top of the Mesa, where Vullar is. The Biodome is of similar dimensions - though a tad larger than - the Boss room the Asteroid base tileset uses.

 

At one end is a large automated loader that constantly brings (and then opens) cages full of Infested, at the other is a small Hangar where a Dropship periodically drops off Grineer, and in the center is a much larger Control tower (hackable and/or destroyable) where Vullar is.

 

Vullar Gar Acrid:

Vullar Gar Acrid uses a similar 'Chassis' to Vor, but with a few major differences:

 

1. Not as augmented/armoured as Vor, and her skin is much paler.

2. She wears a Gas mask around her mouth, and unlike Vor both her eyes are cybernetic (and resemble the "compound eyes" on Lech Kril's helmet)

3. Like her assistants, she wears Dark Green robes with a Gold Trim, though hers are worn under the armour rather than over it, and is partially tucked into her belt so she does not trip on the edges.

 

She is armed with an Amphis and an experimental Shotgun known as the 'Scylla'

 

 

Phase 1:

Vullar takes a very aggressive approach to combat, preferring to charge into close combat so she can wreck the players using her Scylla and Amphis. she has three special attacks:

 

1. Throwing a grenade that creates a Poison cloud (like a Torid shot, but thrown rather than fired)

2. Tagging a Tenno with a "Pheromone Dart" that causes all nearby Infested to focus on that particular Tenno.

3. Uses her cybernetic legs to perform a massive leap, similar to a Leaper's special attack. Vullar will use this to either close the distance or to escape if things aren't going her way.

 

Occasionally when injured, she'll try and stand near an Ancient Healer (if any happen to be around and nobody's hacked/smashed the Control Tower) so she gets patched up.

 

Phase 2:

At 33% health Vullar's 'Scylla' cannon takes a hit and explodes, sending both her and anyone nearby flying. She draws her back-up weapon, an Acrid and half of her now-broken Amphis, tosses aside her (now burned and shredded) robes and starts fighting again. Now she is much more cautious, preferring to whittle away at the player from a distance, while knocking down anyone who gets too close with her Half-Amphis.

 

After dying, Lotus asks you to hack her computer and both disable the AA guns & grab her research notes before you go. The Tenno "Drop Pods" then fly into the hangar so you can leave.

 

 

Vullar Boss Fight Lines:

"I rarely get a chance to savor my work, so don't hold it against me if I enjoy this" - As the players enter the Boss arena.

"Enjoy your new "friends", [Tagged Player]!" - After tagging a Tenno with a Pheromone dart

"All units focus on those Rogue Infested! Leave these meddlers to me..." - If the Control Tower is destroyed/hacked

"Ack! Could've sworn I fixed that..." - After her Siren blows up

"Damn you! I could've... had it all..." -  Upon Death

 

 

The Loot:

EDIT: Siren is now called the Scylla instead

 

'Scylla' Disruptor Cannon:

"A product of the same Grineer-Corpus co-operation that brought forth Operation Arid Fear, the Scylla represents the Grineer's first foray into the realm of energy weapons. It fires powerful, yet unstable 'waves' of energy that dissipate after traveling a short distance."

 

The main thing Vullar drops are the 3 parts (Focus, Emitter & Frame) of her signature weapon the Scylla, an energy shotgun that can disorient enemies. It resembles a bulkier Boltor with various bits of Corpus & Grineer tech attached.

 

However, unlike regular shotguns (which fire pellets), the Scylla fires a single shockwave of energy (colour determined by the weapon's energy colour) that slowly grows larger as it travels further, finally disappearing after a short distance (about 75% of a Slash dash?). Damage done is based on how far the shot went, doing around 110 damage at point blank, and around half that at max range. The shockwaves pass through enemies they hit, and as a result each shockwave can hit multiple enemies, making it suited to taking on large groups.

 

It has a fairly small clip (3 shots), but has an above-average reload speed (2-2.5 seconds) to make up for it.

 

The Scylla's other unique feature is that it has a VERY high crit chance (20%-30%), but Crits don't do any extra damage, instead they either:

 

- Confuse the enemy, similar to a less potent, shorter version of Nyx's chaos, if used on NPCs.

- Cause the same HUD scramble effect as Ancient Disruptors (minus the Shield and Energy drain, obviously), if used on players

 

As the Scylla effectively already has infinite puncture, actual Puncture mods would either increase the distance the shockwave travels without disappearing or the rate at which damage degrades. Multi-shot mods work similar to how they do on non-shotgun weapons.

 

War Mace:

"The Grineer War Mace is a smaller version of the AMPHIS designed for cramped environments where the AMPHIS's longer reach could possibly result in it getting caught on something."

The other thing Vullar can drop is the War Mace, a skin for the Prova (or a separate weapon with similar stats) that resembles a shorter, one-headed Amphis. It differs from Prova in that it does a mixture of Blunt and Electricity damage (70-30 split) rather than pure Electricity.

 

Poison Mods(?):

Another thing that Vullar could possibly drop would be +Poison Damage mods:

 

Rifle: Serpent's Tooth

Shotgun: Wyrm Breath

Pistol: Sting

Melee: Toxic Blade

 

The mods would all have a V polarity and add 20/30/40/50% Poison damage for 6/7/8/9 points.

Edited August 16, 2013 by Aeshi

[Ezard]

I think it sounds awesome :D

[Skorpior]

I bloody hope this gets implimented.

[Raptorator]

Awesome really want to fight her, 

but why you don´t name her after her special shotgun?

[Aeshi]

Awesome really want to fight her, 

but why you don´t name her after her special shotgun?

"Siren" doesn't really sound Grineer-ish.

 

Although myth-wise a Scylla is essentially a monstrous Siren, and the Gorgon & Kraken prove Grineer name their guns after monsters...

 

EDIT: Changed the Siren to the Scylla, and Vullar is now named after that instead.

Edited August 15, 2013 by Aeshi

[Ariarch]

So cool....... Unfortunately they have hundreds of threads to read.

[Enguzrad]

Great idea, I like it. It's a shame that many good ideas gets lost in the huge amount of new threads which pops up every day.

[Aeshi]

Great idea, I like it. It's a shame that many good ideas gets lost in the huge amount of new threads which pops up every day.

Well to be fair, just about every idea here seems to be good in some way or another.

 

I also just added a backstory/description to the Scylla & War Mace, along with some special poison mods Vullar could drop.

Edited August 16, 2013 by Aeshi

[Madotsuki]

An interesting boss idea, hope DE takes a look at this :D Though i wonder if enemies wielding Acrids would be too lethal :/