Greetings,
With World of Warcraft: Cataclysm housing bosses that are seemingly more dependent on more specialized mechanics than most encounters in Wrath of the Lich King, one can only anticipate what is in store for us, yet my idea may go a bit overboard, though I would like some thoughts on it.
Those who have played Metal Gear Solid for PlayStation are certainly familiar with the boss Psycho Mantis and probably know what this is all about. For those that haven't played this masterpiece, Psycho Mantis is a boss that can read your memory card, alter your controller in some ways and even turn the screen pitch black. And an encounter with such features in World of Warcraft is what I am proposing.
As an example:
Shalim, Master of Dusk
Race: Ogre
Level: ?? Boss
Health: 157.05M
Location: Deathwing's Lair
Status: Defeatable
25-man abilities
Melee: on plate ~12k
PHASE 1
Gravity Lapse - Reverses gravity. Lasts 30 sec.
Glimpse of Madness - Disorients the target, causing it to wander aimlessly for up to 10 sec.
Backlash - Inflicts 8500 to 10000 damage to all enemies in front of the caster and knocks them back.
Dust Field - Knocks nearby enemy targets back and inflicts 15310 to 19685 Nature damage over 5 sec.
Hand Snap - Disarms a target as well as dealing 36 to 44 damage over 8 sec.
Sluggish Mind - Assault the target's mind with Shadow energy, causing 0 Shadow damage over until cancelled and slowing their movement speed by 500%.
PHASE 2
At 50 % of health, Shalim enters a state of meditation where he loses his previous abilities but gains three new:
Aura of Desire - Damage dealt when damage taken. Healing increased by 100%.Decreases maximum mana over time.
Friendly Fire - Applies debuff "Friendlies are hostile to you" to random targets. Lasts 10 sec.
Possess - Takes control of a humanoid enemy up to level 100 for 2 min. and increases its maximum health by 2000%.
Phase one lasts five minutes. During this time, Shalim must not fall below 40 % nor above 55 % of health as he enrages and gains following abilities:
Blade Dance Targeting - Allows the caster to move at extremely high speeds and perform devastating weapon attacks for a short time.
Disconnect - Disconnects a random target.This effect cannot occur more than once every third minute.
Word of Mass Recall - Returns all raid members to their respective <Hearthstone Location>.
PHASE 3
Shalim loses all previous abilities, but gains these:
Enervating Brand - Brands an enemy target, siphoning power from the target and any allies within 12 yards of the target. This effect occurs every 2 sec, and reduces affected enemies' damage and healing by 2% per application, while increasing the caster's damage accordingly.
Focused Bursts - Inflicts a random spell on an enemy for until cancelled.
Column of Frost - Marks the location under a random player target. After 2 seconds a column of frost errupts from this location, dealing 11310 to 12690 Frost damage to all enemies within 3 yards, knocking them into the air.
Disconnect - Disconnects a random target.This effect cannot occur more than once every third minute.
Illuminating Darkness - Reduces the screen brightness of a random target by 80 % for 5 sec.
Due to the complexity of the fight, it has to be an optional Algalon the Observer like encounter, perhaps best suited for heroic 25-man. Disconnect and Word of Mass Recall may be something that many players find dreadful, but it is something that Blizzard not yet has implemented, and something that could create very entertaining encounters. Inverted controls, jumping hurts you etc. are more examples. What do you think?