Enemy System Design Document - UQcsse3200/2026-studio-3 GitHub Wiki

Inspired by Slay the Spire's Intent system, physical/magical attacks, and enemy-synergy mechanics.

1. Design Goals

This design retains the previously completed JSON enemy configuration, EnemyFactory, and EnemyScaling approach, while redesigning the combat-level enemy roster. Enemies are divided into three categories by their encounter role: Normal enemies, Elite enemies, and the final Boss. Attack methods are further differentiated into physical and magical attacks. Predictable Intent cycles and enemy synergies create turn-by-turn decisions similar to Slay the Spire.

• Physical attacks: Deal direct physical damage, emphasising heavy hits, multi-hit attacks, armour break, and similar effects.
• Magical attacks: Deal magical damage and can provide buffs, debuffs, curses, and similar effects.
• Intent: Before acting, players can see an enemy's approximate action for the next turn and decide whether to attack, defend, or prioritise a kill.
• Synergy mechanics: Some enemies are not dangerous alone, but create combined pressure when paired with specific enemies.
• Boss: Uses phase transitions so the final encounter is not simply a Normal enemy with more health.

2. Three Enemy Categories

Category	Count	Core Purpose	Design Characteristics
Normal Enemies	2	Basic encounters / teaching	Simple mechanics that introduce physical and magical attacks separately
Elite Enemies	1	Mid-game build check	Stronger attack cycles and synergy with summons/allies
Final Boss	1	Chapter finale	Physical + magic hybrid, phase transitions, and a holistic test of the player's deck

3. Normal Enemies

3.1 Blade Disciple

Tier: NORMAL
Attack Type: Physical
Role: Consistent front-line pressure

Background: A low-ranking guard formerly responsible for patrolling the outer perimeter of the archives. After corruption, it retains only the attack and blocking routines repeatedly drilled during training.

Suggested Base Stats: HP 26 | Attack 6 | Armour 1

Intent Cycle:

• Turn 1 — Slash: Deals standard physical damage.
• Turn 2 — Charged Heavy Strike: Displays a high-damage Intent, then deals higher physical damage on the following turn.
• Turn 3 — Defensive Stance: Gains Block / Armour.
• Then repeat the cycle.

Design Intent: The most straightforward physical enemy. Players can defend in advance when the heavy-strike Intent is shown, or prepare resources during its defensive turn.

3.2 Arcane Apprentice

Tier: NORMAL
Attack Type: Magic
Role: Back-line damage dealer / self-buffing

Background: A young mage who studied the archives' magical records. After corruption, it still follows fragmented research procedures to gather arcane energy and cast spells.

Suggested Base Stats: HP 22 | Magic Attack 7 | Armour 0

Intent Cycle:

• Turn 1 — Arcane Bolt: Deals magical damage.
• Turn 2 — Focus Energy: Buffs itself, increasing its next magical attack.
• Turn 3 — Arcane Impact: Deals high magical damage after the buff.
• Then repeat the cycle.

Design Intent: Has relatively low health but becomes increasingly dangerous if ignored, making it a clear priority target.

4. Elite Enemies

4.1 Abyss Hound

Tier: ELITE
Attack Type: Physical
Role: Burst damage / synergy with magical enemies

Background: A corrupted hound from the deep fissures of the archives. It can sense magical Marks and pounces on targets weakened by arcane energy.

Suggested Base Stats: HP 72 | Attack 11 | Armour 3

Intent Cycle:

• Turn 1 — Rend: Physical attack.
• Turn 2 — Frenzied Charge: High physical damage.
• Turn 3 — Hunting Stance: Prepares its next attack. If the player has a magic-related Debuff, that attack gains additional damage.

Elite Design Intent: It creates substantial pressure alone; when paired with magical enemies, it becomes a clear combination threat.

5. Final Boss

5.1 Fallen Archivist

Tier: BOSS
Attack Type: Physical + Magic Hybrid
Role: Final all-round challenge

Background: Once the deepest guardian of the Astral Archives, it mastered both knightly combat techniques and the archive core's magic. After the Eclipse Ritual failed, its body fused with the archive core. It continues to execute its final command: any intruder into the core area must be eliminated.

Suggested Base Stats: HP 260 | Physical Attack 12 | Magic Attack 10 | Armour 6

Phase 1 — Magical Control (100%–60% HP)

• Arcane Imprint: Applies a visible Debuff / Mark to the player.
• Shadow Spell: Deals magical damage.
• Summon: May later summon Arcane Apprentices or weakened minor enemies.

Phase 2 — Physical Pressure (60%–30% HP)

• Armour Reinforcement: Gains substantial Block.
• Greatsword Slash: High physical damage.
• Pursuit: If the player still has a Mark, Greatsword Slash gains an additional effect.

Phase 3 — Hybrid Frenzy (30%–0% HP)

• Physical and magical Intents alternate.
• Reduces purely defensive turns and increases attack frequency.
• The final phase does not rely on random one-shot kills. Instead, it tests player resource management through a continuous sequence of readable, high-pressure Intents.

6. Enemy Synergy Mechanics

Synergies should follow the principle that players can understand and respond in advance, rather than using hidden random bonuses.

Combination	Trigger Condition	Synergy Effect	Player Decision
Arcane Apprentice + Blade Disciple	Both present	The Arcane Apprentice applies a magical Mark first; Blade Disciple's next heavy strike gains a small amount of additional damage against a Marked target.	Prioritise the mage, or prepare defence for the next heavy strike.
Arcane Apprentice + Abyss Hound	Both present	After the Arcane Apprentice applies a Mark, the hound's Hunting attack is enhanced.	A typical support + burst combination; the mage is normally the priority target.
Boss + Summons	Summoned in Boss Phase 1	Summons apply pressure or Debuffs; the Boss exploits these states in subsequent attacks.	Choose whether to clear the minor enemies or race the Boss's health.
Two Physical Enemies	Two physical enemies present	One charges/breaks armour while the other attacks on the following turn.	Use Intents to determine which turn requires defence.

7. Recommendations for the Physical and Magic System

To ensure that physical/magic is more than a textual label, future code should add attackType to EnemyConfig or attack Intents. If the current project does not yet use separate defence calculations, the damage formula should not be changed immediately. The type can first be used as configuration and UI information, then integrated after the combat-system interface is confirmed.

• Suggested enum values: PHYSICAL, MAGIC, MIXED.
• Physical enemies should focus more on heavy strikes, multi-hit attacks, and armour break.
• Magical enemies should focus more on buffs, Debuffs, Marks, and ranged burst damage.
• Bosses can use MIXED and change their primary attack type across phases.

8. Compatibility with the Current Code

The completed Task B configuration and scaling do not need to be discarded. Retain health, baseAttack, armour, tier, and behaviour; add fields such as attackType, intentPattern, and synergyTags later, once the team interfaces are ready.

Example of suggested future fields:

{
  "id": "arcane_apprentice",
  "tier": "NORMAL",
  "attackType": "MAGIC",
  "behaviour": "arcane_cycle",
  "synergyTags": ["ARCANE_MARK"]
}

9. Scaling Recommendations

Tier	HP Growth	Attack Growth	Notes
NORMAL	+8% / progression	+5% / progression	Maintain the rhythm of basic encounters
ELITE	+10% / progression	+7% / progression	Continue serving as a build check
BOSS	Configure separately per phase/chapter	Configure separately per phase/chapter	Bosses should not rely only on linear scaling

10. Final Four-Enemy Structure Summary

Enemy	Category	Attack Type	Role	Core Mechanics	Synergy Direction
Blade Disciple	Normal	Physical	Basic front line	Slash / Heavy Strike / Defend	Strengthens its heavy strike after receiving a magical Mark
Arcane Apprentice	Normal	Magic	High-priority back line	Spell / Focus Energy / Burst	Creates damage windows for the hound or other physical enemies
Abyss Hound	Elite	Physical	Burst elite	Rend / Charge / Hunt	Uses magical Marks to strengthen its Hunting attack
Fallen Archivist	Boss	Hybrid	Final all-round challenge	Three-phase physical + magical cycle	Summoning, Mark, phase transitions

11. Implementation Priorities

1. Confirm the final names, base values, and Normal / Elite / Boss classifications for the four enemies.
2. Confirm with the Behaviour / Battle team which actions Intent can support: Attack, Defend, Buff, Debuff, and Summon.
3. Confirm whether physical and magical attacks require genuinely different damage calculations. If not, initially use them as configuration and UI labels.
4. Implement the simplest synergy first: Mark → enhanced next attack.
5. Implement Boss phase transitions and summoning last, to avoid over-expanding Task B.