Boring of Animal Enemy

[xChapx]

yep totally not a fantasy game (magic mammoths,trolls, speaking rocks etc.. don't count)

[Boas]

yep totally not a fantasy game (magic mammoths,trolls, speaking rocks etc.. don't count)

I think HnH is seen as low fantasy. High fantasy is set in a different, magical world. Low fantasy is set in the "real" world, with some magical elements.

[strpk0]

I actually thought the "darkness" mechanic in salem was quite nice.

Basically it's a zone near the borders of the world map (I think) where animals spawn as a much stronger version of themselves (Bears as darkenbear, deer as furfur, beavers as wishpoosh, etc). These monsters are quite more challenging than their counterparts, and can kill someone who isn't prepared properly.

I think haven could benefit from a similar concept, doesn't need to be high fantasy, just something as simple as a larger, twisted version of your average bear (for example) that has strong AoE attacks, is more likely to murder players that decide to fight it, and as a reward offers higher quality / more expensive and useful materials would be pretty fun end-game content to break the monotony of farming the same weak animals simply by chop spamming them, and to give your titan another way to die and purpose rather than the current wonderful PvP system (botted archery yay).

Does certain stuff like lizardmen and whatnot fit the game? No.
Do I think it needs stronger and more varied animals, that could pose even more of a threat / reward than fighting other players? Heck yeah.

[Adder1234]

We definitely need something to break the monotony of quality grinding, though what that something is is entirely up to the developers.

[GenghisKhan44]

Not to be a pooh-pooher, but doesn't hunting bigger and bigger animals eventually become a quality grind in the end, anyway?

What we need is an animal guaranteed to be impossible to defeat without cooperation between at least three people. Perhaps something that can threaten houses and villages. A real challenge that even skill grinding can't solve.

[Boas]

Not to be a pooh-pooher, but doesn't hunting bigger and bigger animals eventually become a quality grind in the end, anyway?

What we need is an animal guaranteed to be impossible to defeat without cooperation between at least three people. Perhaps something that can threaten houses and villages. A real challenge that even skill grinding can't solve.

I like this idea. Could even be something like making a normal animal much larger than usual, or even color-shifting it for some added effect. Out hunting, seeing a gigantic bear and knowing you won't be able to take it alone would make it necessary to cooperate. Maybe make them never despawn like trolls... you spot one of these monstrous beasts in the wild, and it could end up terrorizing an area until it's taken care of.

I heard something about wolves being added to the game, and a hostile pack would represent a threat that many Hearthlings would hesitate to take on alone.

But then, that kind of further penalizes hermits like me. Sure, it's my choice to play the game casually with just a few friends who aren't always around when I am, but it puts me at an even greater disadvantage when a village is able to hunt much higher quality animals. I'm not really sure how to mitigate that disparity or if it would even be fair to try, since in an MMO, cooperation should be rewarded.