History BossInMookClothing / RPG

*** Dremora Lords appear identical to standard Dremoras, at least until they whip out a powerful Daedric or Ebony weapon. (Standard Dremoras typically carry Dwemer or Dreugh weapons.)

** ''Wizardry VI: Bane of the Cosmic Forge'', from a series known for random encounters sometimes being tougher than bosses, has a very, very low chance of the party encountering a Tyrannosaurus Rex in the final outdoor area of the game. It's unlikely you'll see one in six or seven games, but if you are that unlucky, it is game over. Nobody has ever successfully taken down a Tyrannosaur.

*** So you've just entered Old Yharnam, right? And some crazy old coot on top a tower warns you that if you proceed, then he's going to have to hunt you down, right? No biggie, right? Yes, it is. Especially when he opens fire on you from atop of the tower with his ''motherfifing [[GatlingGood Gatling Gun]]!'' Now that you've been introduced to Old Hunter Djura you struggle your way to his tower and climb it, really looking forward to tearing that gun-reliant coward a new one, right? Yeah, well, Djura is ten times as deadly at this distance, so have fun with that. The fact that you fight him [[NotTheFallThatKillsYou on top of a tall, narrow tower]] does ''not'' improve matters, though that means you ''can'' push ''him'' off, ''if'' you know what you're doing.
*** When you enter Byrgenwerth, you're confronted with Yurie, the Last Scholar. She's a wizard-type Hunter. The [[SquishyWizard squishy kind]]? Yes, but since she's also ''maximum level'' you won't notice that fact. What you ''will'' notice is that she's got [[CombatTentacles Augur of Ebrietas]] and ''[[BeamSpam A Call Beyond]]''. The former makes close quarter combat with her risky while the latter covers a ''wide'' AOE, each one of its dozen-or-so projectiles causes a small explosion on impact which, of course, causes splash damage, and it's powerful enough to one-shot you with just a couple of hits. Up close she also uses a fully upgraded [[WhipItGood Threaded Cane]] and a Rosmarinus, an unblockable sidearm which ''also'' saps your health within its AOE. Going on [[AttackAttackAttack a relentless offensive]] and praying for a miracle is honestly your best bet.

* In ''Eternal Ring'' there is a secret area [[spoiler:that is reached by going back through the starting cave and hitting the door on the beach with a dark or light spell.]] Inside are rats that are easily one-shotted, floaty orbs that die in three pokes of a sword, but go on a (long) self destruct timer, and the werewolves. They take several castings dragon summoning spells (dragon spells are as big as it gets here), and they take more than half the HP of a character who's already able to take on the final boss.

** Cosmic Monoliths proved so notorious in the third game that the fourth game made them the strongest summon in the entire game, and removed them entirely as enemies...unless you're willing to pay for the DLC level, where you encounter one as a BonusBoss. Attempting the same tactics that worked on the Cosmic Monoliths from ''3'' won't work on this one, since it now has a devastating physical attack if it gets Syphoned, and Doomsday now hits through your Dark resistance. And then when you beat it, '''three more take its place'''. It even gets battle music entirely unique to this one fight, an honor shared only with the FinalBoss!

* Pi'illodactyls in ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiDreamTeam''. They randomly spawn as a background enemy in battles on Mount Pajamaja or Somnom Woods (the latter of which gets their stronger recoloured versions), and can be mostly ignored. Except when you hit them with a Taunt Ball to bring them into the foreground, you realise the hard way they've got about three times the stats of anything else you fight in the area (except the boss), have about three or four hard to dodge attacks that can do plenty of damage and can theoretically wipe out your entire group. Heck, they're even harder than foes you fight about 10 hours later! Have fun. At least they get rid of other enemies in the area.

* The Amazee Dayzee in both ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' and ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'' wholly crosses over with MetalSlime. It might just look like a sparkling Crazee Dayzee, but it has 20 HP (most of any mook in the first game, and tied for second-most in the second game, behind the Dark Koopatrol), ''20 Attack'', 1 Defense (in a game where any sort of defense score is notable), and their attack can also cause sleep. It also has an attack that has unintuitive timing to defend against, and definitely needs a lot of strategy to beat...because, due to its MetalSlime nature, it's likely to run away first chance it gets. Especially in ''The Thousand-Year Door'', where if you actually encounter one on the map (completely by chance) the first time you go through that area, 20 damage will be almost enough to kill you from full HP. And then on the return trip from said first journey [[spoiler:you have no partners]], and have to pray that it ''will'' run. More than capable of murdering any unsuspecting player.
** ''The Thousand-Year Door'' provides a decent way to beat them once you get the Ruby Star and gain Art Attack. By concentrating loops around the Amazee Daisy, you can hit it for enough ArmorPiercingAttack damage to beat it (or at least leave it just one good hit away).
** The first ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' features the four Anti Guys. Take regular mooks, give them 12 attack (where par is 2 or so and your HP limit is 50, though you're more likely to have 30 or so) and maybe twice that in HP. Oh, and in the second fight you fight three at once. At least [[BonusBoss none of the fights are mandatory and you can skip the second fight if you answer the questions correctly]].
*** However, if you can beat the Anti-Guys, it makes Bowser feel like an AntiClimaxBoss.

** ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'' features an enemy called Mega Muth, a white mammoth like creature found in Castle Bleck. ''Numerically stronger than the final boss,'' you have to fight ''a whole corridor full of these things.'' In fact, [[ExpositionFairy Tippi]] outright compares them to gods. Luckily, they're slow and can easily be dealt with by throwing them at each other. But there's an even stronger subspecies in Flopside's Pit of 100 Trials...
** ''VideoGame/PaperMarioStickerStar'' has a Toad who gets beaten up once in each world. While most fights involving him are special, long time fans should be suspicious when a duo of Shy Guys are beating him up. Rest assured, they are a CallBack to Anti Guy and give themselves a massive stat boost when the fight starts, being one of the few, if not only, regular enemy fights to exceed 100 HP.

* The Bahamutt enemy in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG'' straddles the line between this and SubBoss, as it is only encountered when summoned by Chester or Magikoopa (a ChestMonster and Boss, respectively). It has a unique sprite, packs stats that are stronger than most bosses ''fought in the final area'' and is one of two non-boss enemies to have over 1000 HP. Finally, it has an attack that causes Fear, which halves a character's Attack and Defense.

*** To be honest, all four chest monsters can be considered this, though there's only one of the other three types... but they respawn if you leave the area. There's Pandorite in the Kero Sewers, Hidon in the Sunken Ship, and Chester in Bowser's Keep in addition to Box Boy. All of them except for Pandorite also spawn special enemies that are rather tough. Luckily, the Chests are weak to one element. [[spoiler: It's Jump, of course.]]

** NPC Hunters in general can qualify for this. Since they are created using the same character creation system as your own character, they, too, have character levels and stuff, which of course limits just how powerful they can be, and they do not get stronger over NewGamePlus games, either, but those are weak comforts. Especially since [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard NPC Hunters do not play according to]] [[MyRulesAreNotYourRules the same rules as you]], having unlimited usable items, tools and Quicksilver Bullets for starters, which allows them to spam their guns and spells however much they want. (Though they've got a much more limited stock of Bloodvials than you, thankfully.) Some encounters, however, stand out:
*** So you've just entered Old Yharnam, right? And some coot on top a tower warns you that if you proceed, then he's going to have to hunt you down, right? No biggie, right? Yes, it is. Especially when he opens fire on you from atop of the tower with his ''motherfifing gatling gun!'' So you struggle your way to his tower and climb it, really looking forward to tearing that gun-reliant coward a new one, right? Yeah, well, he's ten times as deadly at this distance, so have fun with that. (The fact that you fight him on top of a narrow tower does ''not'' improve things, even though you ''can'' push him off, too, if you know what you're doing.)
*** When you enter Byrgenwerth, you're confronted with Yurie, the Last Scholar. She's a wizard-type Hunter. The [[SquishyWizard squishy kind]]? Yes, but since she's also ''maximum level'' you won't notice that fact. What you ''will'' notice is that she's got [[CombatTentacles Augur of Ebrietas]] and ''[[BeamSpam A Call Beyond]]''. The former makes close quarter combat with her risky while the latter covers a ''wide'' AOE, each one of its dozen-or-so projectiles causes a small explosion on impact which, of course, causes splash damage, and it's powerful enough to one-shot you with just a couple of hits. Up close she also uses a fully upgraded [[WhipItGood Threaded Cane]] and a Rosmarinus, an unblockable sidearm which ''also'' saps your health within its AOE.
*** Once you've triggered the Blood Moon phase of the game and venture into Yahar'gul, you may encounter a Hunter within the Hypogean Gaol. I'm sorry, did I say ''a'' Hunter? I meant ''three'' Hunters, essentially making this a WolfPackBoss in Mooks Clothing. One of the Hunters is armed with a [[WolverineClaws Beast Claw]] and a Hunter Pistol, the second is armed with a Threaded Cane, a [[FireBreathingWeapon Flamesprayer]] and a [[ShockAndAwe Tiny Tonitrus]], and the third is armed with a Rifle Spear and ''a motherfifing [[ArmCannon Cannon]]''! Both of which have, in case you forgot, ''unlimited bullets''! And what's worse is that these three Hunters are aggro-linked, meaning that if you provoke one of them, the other two will be on your throat faster than you can say "Paleblood," so taking them on one at a time is a no-go. The only mercy in this encounter is that the Hunters do not respawn, so as long as you manage to kill one of them, he'll remain dead for your next attempt.
*** And last, but certainly not least, we have the Bloody Crow of Cainhurst, who only appears at the end of [[CoolOldLady Eileen the Crow]]'s questline once the Blood Moon has risen. Like Yurie, he's a maximum level Hunter, but unlike her, he's got a ''huge'' healthpool, fully comparable to some bosses, ''two'' Bloodvials to restore 40% of his health with and three out of his four armor pieces are the Cainhurst armor set, which have the highest raw defenses in the game. The weapons the Bloody Crow uses are the [[KatanasAreJustBetter Chikage]] and a [[HandCannon Repeating Pistol]], both of them fully upgraded and both of them some of the highest damaging weapons in the game, which is made ''even worse'' by the items and tools he uses: Numbing Mist, which [[AntiRegeneration disables your own ability to recover health]], as well as the Old Hunter's Bone, which upgrades his dodges into outright {{Flash Step}}s, and he dodges so much, he's basically {{Teleport Spam}}ming at this point. Finally, unlike all other NPC Hunters, the Bloody Crow ''gets stronger with each NewGamePlus run,'' going from roughly 3100 HP in a New Game, to '9000'' on a NG+, capping off at a massive ''13000 HP'' on [=NG+7=]. Want a tip? [[MemeticMutation Try tears.]]

** ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' adds the Banshees, which are probably the prime example of Bosses in Mook Clothing in the entire series. They are presented as rare but regular enemies, but are easily the strongest and most dangerous of all Husk forms. Made from Asari with a rare genetic anomaly, they are not only very tough and durable but also possess extensive biotic abilities which allow them among other things to cover medium dinstances almost instantaneously to pop up right next to you. And did we mention they have an instant-kill melee attack? To make things even worse, they usually appear in groups of two or three. Accompanied by swarms of lower Husks. And then there's [[HellIsThatNoise their scream]].

** An {{egregious}} example would be the rainbow-colored Maya in The Answer (''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}''). It has ''high'' resistance to damn near everything except Almighty attacks plus can nuke pretty much any party member with Black Viper (single target Almighty spell). Woe unto you if it [[WeCannotGoOnWithoutYou hits Aigis]].

* The ''WildARMs'' series has many of these, which are usually farmed for experience points or rare items. The most infamous are the [[SpellMyNameWithAnS Hayonkonton/Hyulkonton/Creeping Chaos]], but there are others like the the Apeman Vargon and Jumbo Bearcat.

*** PoweredArmor Raiders can be encountered rather early on while you're still stuck with a weak pistol, sawed-off shotgun and/or hunting rifle, usually wield heavy weapons such as the Fat Man or Minigun, and take many hits to break through their armor.

* The NintendoHard RPG ''VideoGame/The7thSaga'' has a variant: ''every'' random encounter is like this. The bosses themselves are often significantly less likely to kill you than the random encounters in the dungeon that contains the boss.

* The unique monsters in ''VideoGame/{{Xenoblade}}''. All of them are tough enough to be considered bosses, and the sole distinguishing visual characteristic some of them have prior to being targeted is being slightly to ''much'' larger then the normal enemies in their vicinity. It's only after targeting them and seeing their level, odd name, and fancy info window that you can know for sure. They're also almost always aggressive, even if they're of a normally passive monster type, so one who has enabled the option to see monster info from a distance can potentially identify them in this manner, as well. They have a [[AutobotsRockOut unique battle theme,]] so if you suddenly hear it, '''run'''.

*** In a slightly more mundane example, it should also be noted that nearly every area in the game will have otherwise-regular monsters wandering around that are usually thirty levels above the party's level when you first enter that area ''at the very least''. At least you'll know where to go when you need to level grind later.

*** ''VideoGame/MassEffect1'' included the nameless Krogan Commander, who has two lines at best and is not much different than a normal krogan, but

** The Crocodilian is encountered in the marshy, swampy Court, introduced in the aptly named Crimson Court DLC. This lump of pure Hit Points and killing intent will abuse position swapping to duck in and out of attack ranges, and has an attack with almost guaranteed critical hits. And it can be encountered as early as your fourth expedition in a new game - expect no survivors if that's the case.

* ''VideoGame/TheDenpaMen'' series has several. In the first game, if it [[OhCrap looks like it's going to kick your ass,]] [[TotalPartyKill it probably will]]. There are many, many offenders (Golems, Windbugs, Dragons when at low levels), but among the worst offenders is the notorious Hydraplant. It attacks twice per turn, has tons of HP, can breathe various stat-affecting gasses, and absolutely ''loves'' to spam an Earth-type hit-all attack that can easily decimate all but the sturdiest Denpas in your party in one go--let alone ''two'' of them per turn! And they have ''upgraded versions.''

*** ''VideoGame/MassEffect1'' included the nameless Krogan Commander, who has two lines at best and is not much different than a normal krogan, but just catches the party at the right range to make him a very nasty encounter. He serves as a final boss for the level despite his build as a mook.
* In the ''Franchise/MegaMan'' games:
** ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork 3'' has an entire series of these in the form of the Omega Viruses. ''Every'' type of enemy in the game has a fourth [[UndergroundMonkey level]] of virus that is super-fast, super-powerful, and pack high HP (some Omega Viruses get up to ''500'' HP, about the same as an early-game boss). Some will even have additional effects added to their attacks (e.g., Mettaur Omega's shockwave now cracks panels). Thankfully, they're only found in set encounters late in the game.
*** There's also the Scuttlest. Normally, the Scuttles are DemonicSpiders, even being a spider. Their traits are elemental gimmicky attacks and an aura that needs to have 100 damage done in ONE GO before they can get damaged. Enter the Scuttlest, which usually comes with the Scuttles, and might even come along with the Scuttle Omega which is even worse. It has an insanely powerful beam attack that goes through and might BREAK every obstacle, has hp from 200 to 400, their aura takes 200 damage in one go to destroy (a trait only shared by the proper BonusBoss, Bass), the aura can come back AND their attack deals 200 damage (300 for Scuttle Omega), which is lethal as far as Viruses go and hard to dodge as the laser takes a whole row and you're likely dealing with the other Scuttle's attacks, and it also means if you have the LifeAura, which puts you on common ground with them, it'll go away instantly with a single attack, so you have to actively dodge them even with the GameBreaker defense chip.
** In ''VideoGame/MegaManLegends'', you can run into a Boss in Mook Clothing while exploring the tunnels connected to the subgates. After going through a bunch of rooms with nothing but [[DeathTrap Death Trap]]s, you enter a room. Immediately, there is a crashing noise that's almost louder then the 'Bee-Boop' warning sound. After you run for your life, you get to a big room to see an upgraded version of the very first boss in the game. However, there's a big difference - the first boss had one drill; this thing has TWO. Due to the somewhat cramped quarters, its smash attacks are difficult to dodge, and they take a good chunk of your life bar away. Not only that, but it also can [[RocketPunch fire both drills at you]] all the way across the one large room if you get too far away, and it takes a ton of punishment before croaking! Thankfully, this is a unique Reaverbot only found in that one area.
** ''VideoGame/MegaManXCommandMission'' has the Meltdown. If you play the game with frequent backtracks to Gaudile's Laboratory to [[LevelGrinding grind]] in the Eternal Forest, you might run into one at a moderately high level. However, if you play the game straight through, you'll start running into them in Chapter 7's Vanallia Desert. They have absurdly high HP, Armor, and Shield stats compared to other enemies, and have a [[OneHitKill One Hit]] TotalPartyKill that they unleash after three turns in the form of a [[NukeEm nuclear explosion]] that deals 9999 damage to your entire team. It's strongly advised to just run (meaning Zero is a bad choice to have in the party, as he hardly ever runs).
* The ''VideoGame/MightAndMagic'' series gives some spellcasters spells that can doom a party. Meteor Shower, Shrapnel, Dragon Breath, and sometimes Death Blossom are especially deadly; Finger of Death is a OneHitKill; and Eradicate leaves teammates DeaderThanDead.
* Some of the enemy monsters in ''VideoGame/MonsterRancher'' have a tendency to be much more powerful than other monsters, even of their rank--and it's not just the ones ''intended'' to be stronger, like those used for invitation matches. Enemy Gaboos in ''Monster Rancher 2'' tend to have ridiculously powerful moves, as do Golems--in ''any'' game.
* ''VideoGame/{{Mother 3}}'' - One word: Cattlesnake. It has more than twice as much HP as any other enemy in the area (it has almost 800 HP, and the nearest enemy in the area in terms of maximum HP only has around ''250'' HP), and has a ridiculously high defense - characters that do 50 damage to other enemies will only do 10 damage to the Cattlesnake. It also has an attack that can hit the whole party for 70-80 HP damage per strike - at a time when your characters will average about 140 HP. Before you first see one, [[LampshadeHanging there is a sign warning you to keep your distance]].
** Cattlesnakes are a threat in Chapter 4, when you have only two underleveled characters, but by Chapter 5, your now-fully-assembled party can eat it for breakfast. There's no reason to, however, because their experience yield is as much as ''other, easier to defeat enemies in the area'', or at least don't yield enough experience after dying.
** The volcano enemies in Fire Mountain before Saturn Valley in ''VideoGame/{{Mother 3}}'' are also this. Entering the dungeon means that you face enemies that chop off half of your HP with each shot, at ''your entire party''. And please don't get started on '''[[ThatOneBoss New Fassad]]'''...if he doesn't murder you, the enemies will.
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* ''Videogame/{{OFF}}'' has the Pastel-Burnt, which from outside battle looks just like any regular old Burnt, and confronts you like one. He also looks quite similar to most of the Burnts in the area, and even has similar attacks. The difference lies in the HP: It has tons and tons and ''tons'' of HP, which never seem to run out, perhaps more than one of the earlier bosses. Many lose a couple add-ons to this one after underestimating him, and get confronted with an enemy who [[WhyWontYouDie simply refuses to die]]. He also has a few [[MookMaker mook-making]] tendencies which can be taken care of with the add-on you got earlier, but will be your end if you don't.
* ''VideoGame/{{Opoona}}'' is ''full'' of these, as part of the game's general love of toying with the SortingAlgorithmOfEvil[[note]]As much as can be done without throwing off the game balance, anyway.[[/note]]. Although many areas have enemies in them who are stronger than usual, here are the most fitting candidates, in order of doomitude:
** The Shredder, which is found only in one room directly before the boss in the Ruined Dome area. It has about five times as much HP as any other enemy in the area, and has more defense, too. However, because it's rare ''and'' in an area directly before a boss, most players will simply zip through the room without encountering it, and won't go back to it until an NPC encountered later on specifically clues you in that it's there.
** The White Monk, found in the Sage's Tower, has far more HP than a normal enemy (over a thousand, which is more than most ''bosses''), and its attacks, although not ''too'' punishing, are still something you need to be careful of. However, one of its RandomlyDrops items is a big defense-boosting equipment only otherwise obtainable through a ''lengthy'' CollectionSidequest.
** The Salamander has the most HP of any non-boss encounter ''period,'' and its attacks are murderous. To make things worse, it's often flanked with bombs (just about any attack that accidentally hits them will make them explode; one alone will ''more'' than halve your HP), and you can encounter it ''barely halfway through the game.'' There's quite a disparity in levels between when you can first encounter in and when you're actually ''ready'' to encounter it. Thankfully, it resides only in the optional BonusDungeon.
** Deadliest of all is the terrifying Apocalypse II, found only in one small room in the VeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon. It's insanely fast, and bombards you with laser attacks that knock off massive chunks of HP. Its defense is maddeningly high, and its HP is far too high for what its defense is at. And you have to beat it in under 2 minutes. Did we mention it's likely that you'll fight more than one at once, when one alone is more than enough for a TotalPartyKill? Thankfully, it does give out heaps of experience, and brings you closer to HundredPercentCompletion.
* The Amazee Dayzee in both ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' and ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'' wholly crosses over with MetalSlime. It might just look like a sparkling Crazee Dayzee, but it has 20 HP (most of any mook in the first game, and tied for second-most in the second game, behind the Dark Koopatrol), ''20 Attack'', 1 Defense (in a game where any sort of defense score is notable), and their attack can also cause sleep. It also has an attack that has unintuitive timing to defend against, and definitely needs a lot of strategy to beat...because, due to its MetalSlime nature, it's likely to run away first chance it gets. Especially in ''The Thousand-Year Door'', where if you actually encounter one on the map (completely by chance) the first time you go through that area, 20 damage will be almost enough to kill you from full HP. And then on the return trip from said first journey [[spoiler:you have no partners]], and have to pray that it ''will'' run. More than capable of murdering any unsuspecting player.
** ''The Thousand-Year Door'' provides a decent way to beat them once you get the Ruby Star and gain Art Attack. By concentrating loops around the Amazee Daisy, you can hit it for enough ArmorPiercingAttack damage to beat it (or at least leave it just one good hit away).
** The first ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' features the four Anti Guys. Take regular mooks, give them 12 attack (where par is 2 or so and your HP limit is 50, though you're more likely to have 30 or so) and maybe twice that in HP. Oh, and in the second fight you fight three at once. At least [[BonusBoss none of the fights are mandatory and you can skip the second fight if you answer the questions correctly]].
*** However, if you can beat the Anti-Guys, it makes Bowser feel like an AntiClimaxBoss.
** The Spunia looks a lot like [[TheGoomba Spinias and Spanias]] with [[SpikesOfVillainy some spikes on top]]...until you check its stats.
** A lone Elite Wizzerd in ''The Thousand-Year Door'' probably isn't tough enough to count (despite having both the "needs a lot of strategy to defeat", to some degree, and the "has a variety of different attacks" qualifications). Unfortunately, they generally come in [[WolfpackBoss groups of]] ''[[WolfpackBoss four or five]]''. A defense of 5 is almost insurmountable in this game, so you pretty much need to use defense-ignoring attacks (here's hoping you've got plenty of Star Power--Art Attack works well, but even from a full meter, you can only chain two of these). They have 12 HP each and have three different damaging attacks, one of which does 8 damage to one party member and one of which does 7 damage to ''both'' party members. They can also buff their attack or defense, become dodgy (attacks may miss), become transparent (attacks ''will'' miss), electrify themselves (deal damage if you try to attack them directly), '''heal''' themselves, and when only one remains, it will inevitably split into five, only one of which will actually take damage. And they only appear on the lowest levels of the Pit of 100 Trials, after you've likely worn out your items and star power fighting Piranha Plants and Dark Bristles on the previous stage and regular Wizzerds on the stage before that.
** ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'' features an enemy called Mega Muth, a white mammoth like creature found in Castle Bleck. ''Numerically stronger than the final boss,'' you have to fight ''a whole corridor full of these things.'' In fact, [[ExpositionFairy Tippi]] outright compares them to gods. Luckily, they're slow and can easily be dealt with by throwing them at each other. But there's an even stronger subspecies in Flopside's Pit of 100 Trials...
** ''VideoGame/PaperMarioStickerStar'' has a Toad who gets beaten up once in each world. While most fights involving him are special, long time fans should be suspicious when a duo of Shy Guys are beating him up. Rest assured, they are a CallBack to Anti Guy and give themselves a massive stat boost when the fight starts, being one of the few, if not only, regular enemy fights to exceed 100 HP.
*** The enemies that beat the toad up in World 2 are five paragoombas. As soon as the battle begins they merge into a 5-Fold Paragoomba which has 40HP (more than any other non-boss or miniboss at this point) and is capable of dealing a lot of damage for that point in the game.
* In the final dungeon of ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarIV'', you may run into a [[http://www.pscave.com/ps4/enemies/prophallus.shtml Prophallus,]] uber-monsters that bear a striking resemblance to the [[http://www.pscave.com/ps1/enemies/darkfalz.shtml final boss]] of the original game.
** ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarII'' had [[http://www.pscave.com/ps2/enemies/pulser.shtml Blasters]] in the Bio Lab and Nido Tower areas. If you met one, your best bet was to either run or nuke it with every single bit of firepower you had. Meet two? Pray you can run, OR ELSE.
** In ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarIV'', the first SandWorm you fight (usually) is a boss. However, when you get your first vehicle and cross the [[BrokenBridge sand pits]], you'll encounter them as regular mooks. That first sandworm is that it's an extremely difficult boss fight when you first get to where you can take the mission for it, often capable of killing or at least severely wounding a party member per round, before you have access to resurrection items-- and ''that one doesn't have all the regular Sand Worm attacks''. It can't use Earthquake, which will destroy an un-buffed party even twenty levels later. The kicker is that one of the types of little worms you fight in Motavia will run off and summon [[MamaBear another full-powered Sandworm]] if you even leave one of them alive. Surprisingly though, Sandworms do provide a hefty amount of Experience points, despite their difficulty, if you pull off the right combinations you can just set a Macro based off of that turn to toast it every time.
* ''VideoGame/RakenzarnTales'' has a rare encounter in the first region's overworld or Gallamus Plains in the form in the form of an allosaurus. It's significantly stronger than the first several bosses and it's advised to run from it until you've at least cleared the region and gotten stronger equipment.
* ''VideoGame/{{Robopon}}'' has - erm, well, quite a ''lot'' of them. Perhaps the worst offenders, though, are [[SprintShoes Move-type]] [[{{Mons}} Robopon]]. They use attacks that [[StatusBuff increase their speed]] to insane levels, making it almost impossible to land hits on them. To make matters worse, they generally have either high Attack or Defense, meaning they'll either pulverize your team into the ground in seconds or take what hits you ''do'' land on them and shrug it off like it's nothing. To make matters more insulting, when ''you'' [[PlayerMooks use Move-types]], they often end up gimped because TheComputerIsACheatingBastard and has access to better moves and equipment than you do.
** Near the end of the second game, the Marvel Lab where Dr. Don and his assistant Sam take refuge contains a special group of Robopon in a certain room that appear at random. Defeating them may get you a medal that can be used at Play-Land to play extra minigames. The main problem is that the group is highly leveled and will wipe the floor with you the first time you run across them unless you come prepared. There is a Dragon Robopon in the past version of Delica Castle that is the same type of battle.
* Anything that pops out of the white [[MookMaker Monster Gates]] in ''[[VideoGame/RuneFactoryOceans Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny]]''. Thankfully, unlike other Monster Gates, they don't automatically summon monsters when you get near them. If you manage to destroy a white Gate, however...
* Abyss Bat in ''VideoGame/SagaFrontier''; granted that you have to wait around for him to show up, but he puts up quite a fight.
* The Black Rabbite of ''VideoGame/SeikenDensetsu3'' is just a palette swap of the conventional Rabbite. It's also the most deadly thing in the entire game.
* The Desert King, a breed of large, vicious sand whale randomly encountered only during Agan's Rite of Ascension in ''VideoGame/SandsOfDestruction''. You're playing as Agan alone, which makes it difficult enough, but it can [[TakenForGranite turn you to stone]] and nullifies fleeing (even including Agan's Quip), in addition to being tough and hitting just as hard as it takes.
* Too many enemies to name in the ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' series - fortunately, most of them have a [[OutsideTheBoxTactic Outside-The-Box]] way to defeat them, in an aversion of UselessUsefulSpell. ''Most''.
** Hell, it's practically a given that the random mooks in the last (and possibly next-to-last) dungeon in all Megaten games will all, without exception, be totally immune to every kind of attack save one. Don't have that damage type/status effect in your group? Why, I believe it sucks to be you right now. Have it, but the character is out of mana after running into one of them too many? Oh, but your tears of frustration are just yummy, my dear.
** An {{egregious}} example would be the rainbow-colored Maya in The Answer (''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}''). It has ''high'' resistance to damn near everything except Almighty attacks plus can nuke pretty much any party member with Black Viper (single target Almighty spell). Woe unto you if it [[WeCannotGoOnWithoutYou hits Aigis]].
*** The Avenger Knight, also from The Answer, will teach you not to mess with the tiny, red Shadows. Insanely high HP, blocks light and ''bounces back'' dark, reflects Aigis' physical attacks, and has no weakness. It also hits like a truck with strong Zio (electric) and Slash attacks.
*** Jotuns come with ridiculously high defense. Even if you're exploiting weaknesses the whole time, it'll take a while to kill one. Naturally, when you finally encounter one as a boss, it absorbs all damage except for one type.
** ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'' sometimes features random encounters ten levels above the norm for the particular dungeon they may be found in. These enemies will generally be able to kill anyone in your party in a single hit - and sometimes all of them in a single attack. Even then, there are encounters in which you'll be up against three or more enemies your own level who all cast high-probability instant party kill spells ''every turn''. Also, despite the fact that it's relatively forgiving for an Atlus game, if the AI lines up just right then a normal encounter you've blown through 20 of in that dungeon will suddenly become frighteningly competent and cause a near total party wipe, even on easy.
** There is a particularly annoying team in ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor''. The Leader: Some Magic-prominent reviver/healer. The other two? Berserkers. Who always have ''Endure'' as their one of their abilities, which allows them to always survive an attack [[LastChanceHitPoint with 1 HP left.]] Needless to say, it's almost impossible to take down even one Berserker AND kill said leader before one is revived, and the leader gains almost perfect defense again.
*** There's also the Decarabia. Offensively, they're decently strong with their fire spells, but nothing special. Defensively, on the other hand...they have Shield All which they abuse often, and have Sacrifice, giving them health and mana should they kill one of your demons or team leaders. Pair them up with two strong fighters, like Berserkers (mentioned above), and you have a group of monsters that are difficult to hit, deal high damage, and will end the fight with full health.
** There is a complete reversal of this is in ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga''. The final [[BonusBoss secret boss]] is the [[spoiler:Demi-fiend]] from Nocturne. His random encounter music plays during the battle, giving the impression that you're just a random bunch of mooks for him. And quite frankly, if you're not prepared, you ''are''.
*** For a more straight example, there's Samael in the [[TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon Karma Temple]] and Anahata Waterways. A Samael in this game has more than a thousand HP, [[NumberOfTheBeast 666]] MP, resists Physical, [[NoSell voids Earth]], repels Electricity, Expel and Death, and has some nasty skills like Vanity and Revelation. Two of them can appear as reinforcements if you defeat an enemy encounter in the waterways, but Samael is typically alone.
*** You can alternatively run into a pair of [[NighInvulnerable Arahabakis]] in the Manipura Waterways as reinforcements if you defeat an enemy encounter there. Special note about the Arahabakis, they ''null everything except for [[NonElemental Almighty]], [[KillItWithIce Ice]], and [[LightEmUp Expel]].'' Second, they can use [[ThatOneAttack Gate of Hell]], which deals massive Physical damage to everyone and has a chance to [[TakenForGranite turn you to stone]] [[NoSell if you are not immune to either death or Physical]]. And if everyone voids Physical? They don't use it and use skills like Last Word instead.
** ''Digital Devil Saga 2'', the [[VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga first game's sequel]], includes Narasimha and Parvati in TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon and they are always alone. Narasimha repels Physical attacks and guns while Parvati repels elemental magic, plus they can [[RandomDrops randomly drop]] key items that are required to fight [[BonusBoss Vishnu and Shiva respectively]]. Narasimha also packs [[ThatOneAttack Gate of Hell]] and he will use if given the chance to.
** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'' has a system of special battles in which you use a special visor to find rare demons and battle them. Most of the encounters found this way are quite strong, but drop valuable remains which can either be sold for a lot of money or used in high-end weaponry. However, every now and then, horrifically overpowered demons pop up. The finest examples are the Fiends, but there are plenty of others who occasionally come up with a hankering for your guts.
*** One very-often-deadly example: You're level 17, you just got the Enemy Search app, and you're happily wandering around Sector Bootes to test it out. Oh, hey, there's one! An unknown, but that storyline Enemy Search was just a Fomorian, so it probably won't be too ba- ''*level 27 Kishin one-shots the hero with Zan-Ei*''
** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'' also has the Fiends appearing as possible random encounters. However they are only found in a few locations, are exceedingly rare, and when one is around [[MissionControl Burroughs]] warns you. So it's more of an example where you will have to deliberately be searching for them to most likely find one.
** ''VideoGame/PersonaQShadowOfTheLabyrinth'' has the style of ''VideoGame/EtrianOdyssey'', which means there are large FOE shadows in each dungeon. All of them have much more HP than any other shadow and can act twice per turn (although they have a chance to waste an action).
** ''VideoGame/{{Persona 5}}'': Using your Third Eye ability lets you see how strong an enemy is compared to you before engaging it. If the enemy you scan is colored red, it's several levels higher than you and will likely make you regret thinking you could take it.
* The Sootie family in ''VideoGame/StarOceanTillTheEndOfTime'''s BonusDungeon Sphere 211. A single one can easily kill a level 255 party (which is downright absurd, considering the fact that the game's uber-BonusBoss [[VideoGame/ValkyrieProfile Freya]] can't even damage characters that the normal enemy Sootie Sister could kill in one or two blows), and they are a pain in the ass to even hit. DemonicSpiders much?
** ''VideoGame/StarOceanTheSecondStory'' has this pretty much at many points of the game. In many dungeons there will be enemies that will instantly petrify your party, and will require constant stunning to prevent the group-petrifying attack. Attacking so often the enemy can't do anything is a major tactic for most enemies. In the bonus dungeon, most of your characters will have a Star Guard, equipment that upon a successful block, will do an attack which releases multiple attacks that can do 9999 damage a piece, and even then, you will die if not careful.
* ''VideoGame/{{Suikoden}}'' occasionally likes to toss high-level monsters onto the overworld map just to mix things up. This is usually accompanied by a change in battle music.
* The Bahamutt enemy in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG'' straddles the line between this and SubBoss, as it is only encountered when summoned by Chester or Magikoopa (a ChestMonster and Boss, respectively). It has a unique sprite, packs stats that are stronger than most bosses ''fought in the final area'' and is one of two non-boss enemies to have over 1000 HP. Finally, it has an attack that causes Fear, which halves a character's Attack and Defense.
** A ChestMonster named Box Boy resides in Bean Valley. It packs really high HP, Attack and Defense at the point in the game you face it, a strong single-target magic attack knows as Blast, an attack that causes Fear, and an insanely powerful Carni-Kiss attack that can deal around ''90 HP more damage than your characters have''. It's also immune to fire, ice, and thunder magic. Alone, it's a force to be reckoned with, but it also has the need to summon a Fautso in every battle, which also has an immunity to fire and thunder (but not ice) and can use Boulder, a powerful non-elemental magic attack that hits the entire party; and Aurora Flash, which puts your entire party to sleep. Have fun with this boy.
*** To be honest, all four chest monsters can be considered this, though there's only one of the other three types... but they respawn if you leave the area. There's Pandorite in the Kero Sewers, Hidon in the Sunken Ship, and Chester in Bowser's Keep in addition to Box Boy. All of them except for Pandorite also spawn special enemies that are rather tough. Luckily, the Chests are weak to one element. [[spoiler: It's Jump, of course.]]
* The Cyclops enemies in ''VideoGame/SwordOfMana''. They each have a 5% spawn rate in a single area on the correct day of the week. They are huge compared to most normal enemies, possess an enormous amount of HP, have very high stats, and will richly reward you with their high drop rate on aerolites. They're also a great source for leveling up weapon and magic skills.
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* Slivers in ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', a slightly less powerful version of the Sand Worm (also technically not a boss, but not encountered randomly and guarding one of the Devil Arms). They appear very rarely in the snow fields near Flanoir. ''Very, very'' rarely. Will probably be the last monster you need to complete your Monster Guide.
** The second (optional) Card Key in the Iselia Human Ranch in [[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld the sequel]] is guarded by a group of tiny leeches...with ridiculous amounts of HP that they constantly heal, and that deal a ton of damage. If you don't have very strong {{mons}} with you, you are certain to get [[TotalPartyKill party wiped]] unless you use the run command. If you do have very strong {{mons}} with you, you are ''almost'' certain to get party wiped.
* Dactyls in ''VideoGame/TitanQuest'' only look a little different than other mooks in the dungeon where you find them, but they will paint the floor with your innards if you aren't expecting anything different. Then they'll do it again if you ''were'' expecting something different.
* ''VideoGame/TokyoMirageSessionsFE'': Touching the uncommon purplish-black Mirages (as opposed to the regular red ones) leads to Savage Enemy Encounters, which consist of Mirages you'd face in any dungeon, only scaled up in levels, stats and sizes. Any given set of Savage Enemies starts out being 6-7 levels higher than your highest levelled character, and when you approach that set's level (i.e. when you're two levels away), the game will switch to another higher levelled set. Even if you know what you're doing, these battles can take forever and there's the very real chance that one or more of your party members will die. As if that wasn't enough, you can't get a First Strike out of these encounters. You also need to win 10, then another 10, then 80 of these encounters to get certain achievements. On the bright side, they give out Detritus, which you can exchange for stat-boosting items.
* ''VideoGame/ValkyrieProfile'' has several examples.
** Dragon Zombies and their {{Palette Swap}}s have huge amounts of HP and nigh-impenetrable defenses. Most of the time, the only way to defeat them is by equipping the [[WeaponOfXSlaying Dragon Slayer]] weapons.
** The {{Palette Swap}}s of the Hel Servant boss, the "Eye" monsters hit hard, possess a nasty array of spells and attacks and will revive each other to full HP if encountered in groups of two or more and if they're not killed in the same turn. Thankfully, there are only one to two "Eye" encounters in most dungeons.
** In the final area of the [[BonusDungeon Seraphic Gate]], before the final BonusBoss, there are several {{Palette Swap}}s of end game bosses. Among them, the [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Carnage Beast]], a PaletteSwap of Fenrir, stands out for its ability to cast [[ThatOneAttack Frost Bait]] both at the beginning of a battle and at low HP, usually doing 50,000+ damage even with a well-equipped party.
** Right before the final BonusBoss of the Seraphic Gate, one of the encounters is ''usually'' a Loki Shade, a PaletteSwap of an end game boss. Tough, but doable. However, there is a small chance that you will fight ''[[KillerRabbit Hamsters]]'' instead. Normal looking, regular sized hamsters. Their small size means most attacks will simply whiff over their heads, and they possess an array of devastatingly powerful spells and attacks, including [[ThatOneAttack Furry One]], which unleashes a stampede of hamsters on your hapless party for a lot of damage. Prepare to die.
* The Hollywood [[AbsurdlySpaciousSewer sewers]] in ''VideoGame/VampireTheMasqueradeBloodlines'' are infested with monsters, worst among them a chimeric creature [[HumanResources formed]] from three people fused together in a quadrupedal form. They have a huge reserve of health, move quickly, and hit like a dump truck. The [[DegradedBoss first one]] is fought alone in a BossRoom. Later, they can ''gang up on you.''
* Anyone who got any ways into the story of ''VideoGame/VanguardBandits'' will remember the horrors of the Sharking. Each one is nearly a match for your strongest units and they will outnumber you. In-universe, they were designed to kill ''pilots'', and everyone is horrified to see them.
* This happens in the [=SegaCD=] game ''VideoGame/{{Vay}}'' near the end, since Creator/WorkingDesigns "adjusted" the difficulty to the point where killing a dragon enemy was boss level difficulty and yet would when killed only give the experience of a weak enemy.
* The ''WildARMs'' series has many of these, which are usually farmed for experience points or rare items. The most infamous are the [[SpellMyNameWithAnS Hayonkonton/Hyulkonton/Creeping Chaos]], but there are others like the the Apeman Vargon and Jumbo Bearcat.
** The Leprechauns in the second game's Holst Mine have 2500 HP when every other non-boss enemy until then has had maybe 200, tops, and your party members are probably still barely breaking triple digits in damage without spamming ARM attacks or exploiting elemental weaknesses.
* In the ''VideoGame/{{Wizardry}}'' series:
** In ''Wizardry V'', there is an optional level. If you go down there, the enemy strength widely varies. You might get some ghosts, which do almost no damage and have very low HP...or you might get enemies like Dark Lords and Arch Fiends who have several times more HP than even the end game boss and spam the best magic in the game, including a spell that can kill your entire party at once if you're unlucky and another spell that does around 100 damage to everyone when triple digit HP is a big deal and healing is hard. They might attack you normally instead, in which case the target, if not killed by raw damage is probably instant killed anyways, and drained about 5 levels. They also spawn with lesser (but still powerful) demons, who throw in more firepower. Worst part is while you aren't technically required to go down there, it's the only way to get the best equipment in the game, which among other things gives you the magic resistance you need to not die in 1-2 rounds against...nearly any late game enemy. Especially the aforementioned end game boss. To be fair though, it does play the boss music to warn you...but it's still a random encounter, and you might not be able to escape.
** ''Wizardry VI: Bane of the Cosmic Forge'', from a series known for random encounters sometimes being tougher than bosses, has a very, very low chance of the party encountering a Tyrannosaurus Rex in the final outdoor area of the game. It's unlikely you'll see one in six or seven games, but if you are that unlucky, it is game over. Nobody has ever successfully taken down a Tyrannosaur.
* The elephants in ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou''. They spam an annoying attack - a stomp creating a slowly widening shockwave - that can interrupt any attack. Easy enough for Neku to dodge, but you might have to actually start paying attention to the top screen so your partner doesn't end up making you die. Even if you're using the partner that can float in mid-air! The damn ground stomp ''knocks him out of the air''!
** And '''''[[SerialEscalation then]]''''' they supercharge one and set it as [[ThatOneBoss that one]] BonusBoss.
** Also, the final two Pigs, Pig Butoh and Pig Mazurka, are the toughest Pigs by far. The former is the only Pig who actually attacks you, and is quite powerful. Beating him unlocks Pig Mazurka, the king of the Pigs. He's a Flunky Metal Slime who uses the Frogs he attacks you with to get away. Oh, and for both fights, you're limited to Gatito and Unbranded pins only. Oh, and your reward for beating them besides unique pins? The chance to fight the strongest BonusBoss of them all: [[spoiler:Panthera Cantus]].
* The unique monsters in ''VideoGame/{{Xenoblade}}''. All of them are tough enough to be considered bosses, and the sole distinguishing visual characteristic some of them have prior to being targeted is being slightly to ''much'' larger then the normal enemies in their vicinity. It's only after targeting them and seeing their level, odd name, and fancy info window that you can know for sure. They're also almost always aggressive, even if they're of a normally passive monster type, so one who has enabled the option to see monster info from a distance can potentially identify them in this manner, as well. They have a [[AutobotsRockOut unique battle theme,]] so if you suddenly hear it, '''run'''.
** The most jarring example is [[spoiler: [[KillerRabbit Despotic Arsene]], a level 108 bunniv that looks no different from the far weaker level 28 bunnivs in the same area, and is capable of smacking your party for over 10,000 damage (HP caps at 9999).]]
** The worst example of how powerful these can be is [[spoiler: Magestic Mordred. It has almost equal stats to something 29 levels higher then it and it's gigantic. It's got multiple dangerous attacks that can cause status conditions and do a lot of damage. In terms of its level it's stronger then the Unique Monsters in the next area of the game and is as high in level as the boss of the area when you have to visit that same area again. It wouldn't be a surprise to think it's a boss in itself.]]
*** In a slightly more mundane example, it should also be noted that nearly every area in the game will have otherwise-regular monsters wandering around that are usually thirty levels above the party's level when you first enter that area ''at the very least''. At least you'll know where to go when you need to level grind later.
* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChroniclesX'' keeps up the tradition with the Tyrants, which function much like those in the first ''Xenoblade''. Most of them are at least kind enough to be the same level as the other indigens in the area, and not all of them attack on sight or proximity. The game also continues the tradition of having indigens thirty levels higher than your party at the time you first enter the area. Nothing like getting smacked for 7,000 damage by a level 50 Immortal Inctus when you're trying to fight level 8 Scirpos. Given the limited multiplayer elements of the game, you can even see just how many other players have fallen to them. Sirens the Lost, a simple Level 13 Lepyx[[note]]a normally-docile giraffe/slug creature[[/note]], has a gold crown next to her name, meaning over ''300,000'' players have fallen to her.
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** Titanite Demons, also known as Prowling Demons. They are gigantic (in a game where size is a very good indicator of a monster's strength), there's only a handful of them and they don't respawn, and they are devastatingly powerful. Cruelly, the first one you encounter will be the one beneath the Undead Parish (unless, of course, you find the one in The Catacombs first), who is in a humongous room that allows you to take advantage of his slow, telegraphed attacks. The rest? They're all in tight, cramped areas.

** Heide Knights are the sequel's answer to the Black Knights. They aren't as big or strong, but they are more agile. One can be found in one of the game's earliest areas. Defeating this one nets you a decent sword for the early-game that can still be viable in the end-game if it's properly upgraded.

** Outrider Knights. Part knight, part beast, wielding [[KillItWithIce frost weapons]] which they also drop upon defeat.
** [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Demons]]. Huge demons wielding giant clubs similar to the Taurus Demons from ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsI'', but with fire-based attacks.
** The Stray Demon from ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsI'' returns with an additional grab attack and a ranged boulder-spitting attack.

** ''VideoGame/{{Persona 5}}'': Similar to ''Persona 3'' in Tartarus, you can end up in a random encounter with the insanely powerful Reaper any time you sit around a floor in Mementos for more than 5 minutes.

* ''VideoGame/SeventhDragon III: code VFD''[='=]s post-game dungeon. You know how throughout the game, there are dragons as PreexistingEncounters that are somewhat more powerful than the RandomEncounters within the same area? Well in this dungeon, ''all random-encounter enemies are dragons!'' And the dragon battle music from Chapters 6 and 7 plays for these encounters rather than any random encounter theme, just to hammer the point ni.

* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChroniclesX'' keeps up the tradition with the Tyrants, which function much like those in the first ''Xenoblade''. Most of them are at least kind enough to be the same level as the other indigens in the area, and not all of them attack on sight or proximity. The game also continues the tradition of having indigens thirty levels higher than your party at the time you first enter the area. Nothing like getting smacked for 7,000 damage by a level 50 Immortal Inctus when you're trying to fight level 8 Scirpos. Given the limited multiplayer elements of the game, you can even see just how many other players have fallen to them.

* In Franchise/TheElderScrolls games:
** Vampire ancients from [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall Daggerfall]] attack much more aggressively (and accurately) than any other enemy in the game. They attack with high-level shock magic [[CycleofHurting that can instakill even high level players in one or two hits and frequently paralyzes you, preventing you from moving or fighting back.]] Combine this with the fact that [[CharacterSelectForcing they can only be killed by characters who specialize in magic]][[note]]Spell Reflection and shock-resistance magic spells are the only way for even high level characters to survive their high damage output, but the casting cost for these spells is so high that the only way to afford them is by selecting a class with the increased magic perk during character creation.[[/note]], and the fact that one of them is guaranteed to be encountered in a required storyline quest, and you have one of the most difficult mooks in video game history.

** The ''Broken Steel'' expansion DLC adds Super Mutant Overlords, Feral Ghoul Reavers, and Albino Radscorpions. All 3 enemies have incredibly high boss-level health and massively damaging attacks. Even high level characters can find that an entire VATS cycle of high-end attacks that can kill all other enemies in just a few hits will barely scratch their health meter. They can appear in any location where their lesser brethren spawn, even if you had been there at a lower level. As early as Level 13, in fact.

** Speaking of [=DLCs=], ''Point Lookout'' had the Swampfolk. They look like normal (if slightly deformed and deranged) people, yet their attacks hit for much more than you would suspect. This is because they, like Deathclaws, have the ability to ignore your damage resistance. But unlike Deathclaws, they do not have sharp claws or other special abilities. The developers have said that they made the Swampfolk so strong because they wanted ''Point Lookout'' to be the hardest DLC and also because they wanted to create the "Lovecraftian" feeling of having to run and hide from mysterious enemies; instead of just running in and slaughter everyone with your minigun. The aforementioned Reavers are also a common occurence. Swamplurks look like a palette swap of the base game's Mirelurk Kings, but have almost twice the HP, twice the melee damage, and spit armor-eating acid that does as much damage as a Deathclaw.

*** The aforementioned Sentry Bot, which was already plenty dangerous enough in previous games, gets a massive boost in ''4''. It's bigger, tougher, more heavily armed (minigun, rocket launcher and occasionally ''dual mortar'') and if you manage to damage it enough it'll rush you in a suicide attack that has the power of a mini-nuke (which basically implies instant death). And if it's a legendary variant even triumph can kill you, since it explodes on death with the power of '''two''' mini-nukes. At this point most players are probably thinking that the only effective strategy is to run like hell... but the Sentry Bot is faster than you are, and can climb obstacles better. Its only [[AttackItsWeakPoint weak point]] is that it overheats every now and then and needs to pause and vent, which is when it becomes vulnerable. But you have to survive until that happens, and it's easier said than done.

** ''VideoGame/PersonaQShadowOfTheLabyrinth'' has large shadows in each dungeon, which have much more HP than any other shadow and can act twice per turn (although they have a chance to waste an action).