BOSS Health Bar

@mistuhmarz
This game has always tried to be as minimal in UI as possible, so I wouldn't ever expect healthbars.

But giving us ways to tell how far we are into an encounter are always great. Ashen Lords have 3 phases, so you know where you're at at a given time.
It would be great to see even effects to the boss model to show us how much damage they've taken, such as the clothing being gradually torn, or the bones cracking, or even sound effect changes at given health levels. That would help the monotony of the Gold Hoarder.

For those wondering "Why?" I point to the Soulflame Captain. The worst boss fight ever in SoT. Never have I stopped fighting an enemy in any game to check the internet if they are bugged with infinite health. So more things to tell us the health of the opponent would help a lot (along with health nerfs for encounters like the Soulflame Captain).

Ahoy!

I don't think this is a good idea. In case of conflicts between players near a boss, it would push players to wait, take the minimum risk.
They would rather let the others finish and attack them at the same time.
I think it would encourage a wait-and-see attitude.

I'd like a health bar for players so I know when I got hitreg'd lol.

But really...meh. I'm not sure what benefit having a health bar on these bullet sponge bosses would do to enhance the game. I also can't see how it would hurt the game.

It'd probably be helpful for newer players if nothing else.

No thanks. Takes away the mystery of how long the fight will be.

Why would you wanna know?

@burnbacon Considering how long certain bosses can be, it's rough having to leave a boss to fight someone, lose to them, and they finish your boss fight in 1 blunderbuss shot. (I've done that one blunderbuss shot before and I have to say it's a special kind of painful for the crew on the receiving end for sure)

The bosses lacking really easy signs that they're going to be defeated soon does make the monotony of the boss fights annoying and what make them infamously commented as "Bullet Sponges". Sure, the Ashen Lord's exposed heart beating very rapidly is a sign that the boss will die soon, and the other skeleton lords eating more and more bananas to "heal" themselves can also be a sign as well but regardless. It would be a nice QoL thing for there to be a noticeable sign that the boss is almost done.

@burnbacon said in BOSS Health Bar:

No thanks. Takes away the mystery of how long the fight will be.

Why would you wanna know?

Literally making better decisions in what to prioritise during PvP, that's a pretty solid reason

@mistuhmarz I see why you'd want it but rare seem to have intentionally tried to keep the immersion level high by reducing the on screen info being spammed at you so I doubt it's a direction they'd ever take

Currently I just go off whether they are eating bananas or not

But maybe a 50% health dialogue or something could be good

Booo UI clutter.

What if their eyes slowly changed colors to indicate health. Green full health yellow medium health red low health, no color dead

@mistuhmarz

Oof yes plz. Turn off/on button in whateve menu they want to bury it in. Defaults to off.

I am curious to visualize dps. Could help visual learners develop strategies for bosses.

I agree that for some encounters it can be a little frustrating not knowing whether you are making progress, but I'd prefer the idea of in-world indications rather than adding UI. Whether that's on the character themselves or a nearby object (such as candles/lanterns that go out as you lower the boss' health). It's one of the things I adore about Sea of Thieves - the lack of HUD clutter.