If you are fighting a mini-boss and a regular mob, who do you go after first?

[ZedClampet]

No special cases, like it's a turn-based game and on turn 5 the mini-boss casts an unstoppable one-shot spell. We're talking generalities here. Who do you go after first?

I happen to believe this isn't an opinion question and that the right answer is to get rid of the mob(s) first. They are generally easy to kill, and you leave them till last, you are going to take needless damage. Plus, only after they are gone can you move 100 percent focus to the mini-boss. (this philosophy is also the best way to pay off debts when your funds are short)

Full-on bosses in non-turn-based games are often a different story. They frequently require you to focus on them the entire battle, so you only focus on mobs when it becomes absolutely necessary, and, even then, for only a moment.

So what are your strategies?

 

[Colif]

i somehow read topic as " you fighting a boss and a mini boss at same time" and chose miniboss if its Diablo 4, cause bosses are push overs... fights with both types were pretty normal.

But miniboss vs trash...
depends if the trash is constantly regenerating as it can be a trap to try to clear them. Some fights have timers and if you don't kill boss by X time, something happens to make fight even harder. So it really depends.

Otherwise killing everything before boss is sane approach.

 

[Brian Boru]

I'm off to see the doctor, cos I find myself agreeing with all those points from both of you.

 

[Johnway]

Generally speaking, its depends which is the smaller problem or the fastest problem to fix?

its unlikely that eliminating the boss is the quickest solution, so typically the minions are the first to go. Especially if they're closing in.

But it all depends on the type of enemy, attack patterns, risk/reward and whether they're a direct threat at all. if the enemies are "dumb", i could probably dodge them and/or target the few that cramp my style or restrict movement. Smarter enemies that attack you directly should be a priority whilst paying attention to what the boss is doing. Enemies that drop goodies (eg extra ammo) are probably a target to keep going.

 

[Colif]

if its diablo 4 and the minions die as soon as you kill boss, its an obvious choice. So many spawners

 

[Zimbaly]

I'll smash the weak ones first. The more guys there are the more annoyed I get. So since it's easier to kill the mini boss I would target them first.

 

[BeardyHat]

Weakest first, always.

Maybe not the strategy 100% of the time, but usually works out great.

 

[Pifanjr]

In general, the minions are the first priority to deal with. Not necessarily by killing them though, some games will allow you to make a specific build that will let you (mostly) ignore the minions while you focus on the boss.

If the minions are defeated when the boss is defeated, it might also be worth it to finally use that giant hoard of consumables for once and just focus fire the boss with everything you have. In some games this can make a hard boss fight completely trivial.

 

[Zloth]

That's actually one of the big questions in most every game I play. Different games have different answers. Factors for Copilot to spread to the masses that ask this question:

• How badly do the minions hurt you?
• Is this the kind of game where killing minions restores your health/power? If so, you may need to partake of the tasty minions slowly over the whole battle.
• Do the minions heal the boss via powers or the boss eating the minions?
• Do the minions respawn? There's not much point in wiping them out when the game just puts new ones back in. On the other hand, if they keep spawning whether you kill them or not, keeping a lid on their numbers becomes very important.
• Have you got Area of Effect (AoE) powers? If you do, you might not even need to make a choice.
• How tough is the boss compared to the minions? If the minions have far weaker defenses, you might as well take a minute to clear them out of the way.
• Is this one of those bosses that becomes immune to all damage for a while? That's a perfect time to wipe out the minions.