Pandemonium Warden... ... Secrets!

As most would guess, the original concept behind Pandemonium Warden was for Treasures of Aht Urghan to have its own "Kirin" or "Absolute Virtue."  The reason for its continual shape-shifting was due to the fact that it was intended to be quite a long battle, and it would spice things up compared to fighting one monster continuously.  However, the battle has since been shortened to two hours, and Suteki notes that there used to be more than the current 10 forms it cycles through.  Sase responds that at first there were 19 different forms, which included the Serpent Generals and Vampyr models.  This shape-shifting idea was born from their original intention to have the final boss be Asura.  Asura would have three facets matching the three beastman races in Aht Urghan: Mamool Ja, Trolls and Lamia.  Eventually, they settled on the Pandemonium Warden idea and included a wider variety of monsters.

Suteki explains that with 32 members, he was able to take down PW, although it took his team four tries to accomplish this.  Surprised, Sase reveals that he originally anticipated players would need between 36-54 people.  The spawn point of Pandemonium Warden was also intentionally placed close to town, so while one team fends off the monster, another team can return to Whitegate and change jobs or get supplies as the battle dictates.  Now, I know what you are thinking.  "Hey!  There was an interview in April and he said 18 people could beat it!  Look!" *copy, paste, rage*  I went back and checked that interview, and the best I can say is that 18 people was probably meant as a bare minimum for a single team fighting Pandemonium Warden, since now we know it was their intention to have people cycling in and out and going back to town.  

Even with Suteki's success, he still admits that Astral Flow can easily wipe an entire alliance with ease.  To combat this, Ito reveals that there is somewhat of a delay between when Pandemonium Warden uses Astral Flow and when the ability goes off.  "If you can do something about those avatars that appear," Ito says, "you just might be able to save yourselves."  He also adds, with a chuckle, that this does not mean you will come out unscathed.

Adjusting Monster Difficulty in MMOs

When designing a new monster like this, Ito states the most difficult obstacles to overcome are 1) making sure it cannot be monopolized by a single alliance, and 2) avoiding the need for players to resort to things like /logout in order to win.  Juggling these needs while maintaining game balance is the toughest challenge.  Sase adds that it is easy to simply create an unreasonably strong monster, but harder to really balance the difficulty in relation to the game itself.  Also, he admits it is tough to design the monster in a way where players have to really engage it head on.

When testing new monsters, such as Absolute Virtue and Pandemonium Warden, Ito says they use the equipment appropriate for the task.  Since AV and PW are the strongest class of monsters in the game, they test it out with the strongest equipment possible.  Paladins will wear Aegis, for example.  The development team does not test the monsters themselves, but rather there are special test players for the specific purpose of battle-related content.  They estimate the required amount of time and players beforehand, and run a test battle against the monster.

Suteki brings up a good point that if there are test players for these purposes, they might get used to battling these monsters, which would make it much easier for them.  However, Ito explains that they have a method to combat this.  In addition to simply testing if a monster works properly, they also check how effectively players can handle other aspects of the battle.  In some cases, they tell a number of testers about relevant tactics or weaknesses, and get them used to the flow of battle.  Then, they mix in another group of testers who will be fighting the monster for the first time.  This way, they can see how effectively such a group would fare, and also see if all the necessary information and strategy can be conveyed in the heat of battle through text chat within the game.

Pandy's Dead -- What's Next?

Now that Pandemonium Warden is officially "defeat-able," does that diminish the work put into his design?  According to the developers, much more than the shame of seeing their creation taken out, they are thrilled to witness what the players have achieved.  The fact that everyone worked so hard and finally came through with great success is said to really validate all the work the developers put in as well.  However, Ito also laments the fact that Absolute Virtue is still considered unbeatable, recalling how he often hears complaints of it being impossible despite the adjustments made.  

As for the future of ridiculously hard adventurer-obliterating super mobs, there are, in fact, plans to include a comparable boss within the Wings of the Goddess expansion.  Unfortunately, the developers are unable to give out any more details at this time.