History BossInMookClothing / RPG

* ''VideoGame/GenshinImpact'': Ninianne of the Lake and Vivianne of the Lake, two of Fontaine's Local Legends, look like [[EliteMook Tainted Water-Splitting Phantasms]], tricky but manageable with a good party setup. Many unsuspecting players found out the hard way that the two have over ''three million'' hit points and can pull off a near-OneHitKill on even the tankiest characters. Defeating each one for the first time nets an achievement.

** Once you've triggered the Blood Moon phase of the game and venture into Yahar'gul you may encounter three Hunters within the Hypogean Gaol, essentially making this a WolfPackBoss in Mook 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 [[ArmCannon Cannon]]''. Both of which have ''unlimited bullets''. And 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." 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.

** ''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, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VysHAnvt1cM until now]].

* The ''VideoGame/EpicBattleFantasy'' series: For multiple games:
** ''VideoGame/EpicBattleFantasy3'':
*** The game has the Monolith enemy class, which is nigh-unanimously considered ridiculous by any reasonable standard. All three of them have a ton of HP, resist virtually everything, have incredibly overpowered attacks in general, and have a move that is ThatOneAttack by that standard. The first one you encounter is the Viking Monolith, whose ThatOneAttack hits the entire party, can kill in a ''minimum'' of three hits, and inflicts the dangerous freeze condition at an obnoxiously high rate. Oh, and it can cause instant death with another attack. The second is the Ancient Monolith, which loves to pull out a move that heals 100% of the HP of the entire enemy party, including itself, right when you're on the verge of finally killing the damn thing. And then...there's the Cosmic Monolith. It can, and ''will'', abuse its Doomsday attack that nails the whole field for upwards of 10,000 damage. This includes itself; by the way, it ''absorbs the attack element''. ''And'' they have a random chance of spawning during the final battle. They also have their buffing spells. In a game where UselessUsefulSpell is largely averted, an enemy that possesses a max-level buffing spell with the ability to use it on the entire enemy party is a huge DemonicSpider for that reason alone. And the Ancient Monolith can remove your buffs, too. Your one saving grace is that they don't null Syphon (instead being ''just'' neutral), so if you can pull it off, they can't do anything while you wail on them.
*** The final area of the game contains a fight with 2 Cosmic Monoliths. They're damn hard in any circumstance considering their first attack is always programmed to be Doomsday, even without the limit cap during the first run. Thankfully, all of the encounters in that area before the final boss can be avoided.
*** 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 an OptionalBoss. 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!
*** The Cosmic Monoliths return as regular enemies in the fifth game, no less difficult than before. As in ''4'', they get their own song separate from the other enemies in the area - there's at least one battle where the Monolith doesn't show up until the second wave but you ''[[ParanoiaFuel know it's coming]]'' because the music's changed. Their status as this trope is even lampshaded; after you beat the first one you come across, Anna remarks that such a strong enemy must have been a boss and [[TemptingFate it's a good thing you won't run into any more of them...]]
** For ''VideoGame/EpicBattleFantasy3'', ''VideoGame/EpicBattleFantasy4'', and ''VideoGame/EpicBattleFantasy5'': GiantMook that has much more health than its smaller versions and many stronger attacks, and can [[MookMaker summon its smaller counterparts]] too, at will!

** When you enter [[AcademyOfEvil Byrgenwerth]], you're confronted by 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 makes long distance combat a death sentence, with each one of the Call's dozen-or-so projectiles causing a small explosion on impact with any surface, and it's powerful enough to one-shot you with just a few grazing hits. Up close she also uses a fully upgraded [[WhipItGood Threaded]] [[SwordCane Cane]] and a Rosmarinus, an unblockable sidearm which saps your health within its AOE. Going on [[AttackAttackAttack a relentless offensive]] and praying for a miracle is honestly your best bet.

* VideoGame/EarthBound: Final Starman in the Cave of the Past. Capable of ''spamming'' [[TotalPartyKill PSI Starstorm Omega]], which deals over 700 HP of damage to the opposing party (and ''only'' Ness even has that much HP when you encounter it); Brainshock Omega, which confuses everyone in the party; and [[ShootTheMedicFirst Healing Omega]], which fully revives any defeated enemy. Oh, and they start out with maximum PSI shields, which completely deflect PSI attacks. Couple that with the fact that they usually appear with Nuclear Reactor Robots (which spend their turns healing enemies to full health ''and'' explode when you kill them) and the {{Demonic Spider}}s that are Ghosts of Starmen, and you have a TotalPartyKill waiting to happen.

*** 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!

*** ''Far Harbor'''s Fog Crawlers have LightningBruiser stats that make Deathclaws seem like base Mirelurks, are able to very quickly get into InstantDeathRadius range, and have a ShockwaveStomp that causes major damage well above ground level. The Enraged versions have astronomical Damage Resistance that makes them nearly impervious to non-armor-piercing weapons and able to take multiple mini-nuke blasts without breaking stride (even the Mysterious Stranger [[ScratchDamage only puts a dent in its HP]]). One story quest has a mandatory confrontation, which may as well be an outright boss battle. Atom help you if you encounter a Legendary variant, especially [[BonusBoss Shipbreaker]].

** A series of random enemies in the bonus dungeon are ''tougher than any BonusBoss in the game''. They have levels of health normally reserved for bosses, more than enough power to KO your team, tend to gang up, and are ''much'' faster than regular enemies on the field map, so good luck running past. To top it all off, only a critical hit can deal significant damage to them. And by "significant," we mean "[[ScratchDamage more than one point]]". Fortunately, [[ItemCrafting there are ways]] [[UselessUsefulSpell to compensate]].

*** 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.

** 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.

*** There is a complete reversal of this with the final [[BonusBoss secret boss]], who is 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 if you're not prepared, you ''are''.

** ''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/ShinMegamiTensei Gate of Hell]] and he will use if given the chance to.

* 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.

** Mokura is nearly a BonusBoss (it uses the boss music and is one of the only enemies to have in-battle dialogue), but is morese this trope. In the late-game area Land's End, there's a chance that a greenish cloud will spawn on many screens, and touching it enters a battle with "Formless", an invisible enemy immune to physical attacks. Hitting it with any magic attack will reveal it as Mokura and allow it to be damaged normally. Mokura has higher HP than anything else in Land's End, uses powerful magic like the single-target Electroshock and multi-target Solidify, and gives a good amount of experience each time it's defeated.

** 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.

** And '''''[[SerialEscalation then]]''''' they supercharge one and set it as [[ThatOneBoss that one]] BonusBoss.
** 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]].

* ''VideoGame/EtrianOdyssey'', being a NintendoHard series of dungeon crawlers, has a ton of these monsters, designated as "[=FOEs=]" (officially short for [[GratuitousEnglish Field-On Enemies]] or [[GratuitousLatin Formido Oppugnatura Exsequens]], though fans like to call them "[[FanNickname Freakishly Overpowered Enemies]]") in game terms.

* ''VideoGame/EtrianOdyssey'', being a NintendoHard series of dungeon crawlers, has a ton of these monsters, designated as "[=FOEs=]" (officially short for [[GratuitousEnglish Field-On Enemies]] or [[GratuitousLatin Formido Oppugnatura Exsequens]]) in game terms.

** ''Future Connected'' adds Fog Beasts, which are monsters that have been corrupted by the Fog King and are several levels higher than normal enemies in the same area, just like Unique Monsters they also drop Arts Coins. Fog Beasts also have a mechanic that raises any enemies level closer if they're closer to them, making them very dangerous to fight. There's also Unique Monster versions of these enemies.

** ''VideoGame/EtrianOdysseyIIHeroesOfLagaard'', in addition to having a F.O.E on th first floor, takes this one step further. A specific random encounter in the final floor has 10,000 hit points, more than five times the number of hit points of the next strongest random encounter, and 3000 more than the strongest FOE the game has to offer. Said random encounter also has a multihit attack on your entire party what will usually OHKO any of the non-tank classes, as well as a skill that prevents you from using any of YOUR skills. Said random encounter also holds the dubious distinction of being the only FOE or random encounter in the game that is immune to Instadeath Skills (most Bosses are immune), and the ONLY enemy in the ENTIRE game that is immune to Stun. If you're particularly unlucky, this also appears as an ambush while harvesting. ''In pairs''. The ''Fafnir Knight'' remake retains this random encounter in all its overpowered glory, and made it ''stronger'', with over 30,000 HP, and a DesperationAttack that can destroy the party when it approaches death. A quest needs you to ''hunt one''. One of the guaranteed ways to get it to spawn also gives that enemy ridiculous ActionInitiative. And there's a ''conditional drop'' to boot.

** First appearing on the second floor of the first tratum of [[VideoGame/EtrianOdysseyI the first game]] (Emerald Grove), F.O.E. appear as arrows on your map, and most of them look exactly like the normal enemies in the dungeon... but have vastly higher HP and attack power. Some follow set movement patterns, while others will rush your party when you get in their line of sight. Others, once they sense blood (such as the Wolves and Skolls in Emerald Grove itself) will actually ''join other [=FOEs=]'' mid-fight to make your life even more of a living hell.
** ''VideoGame/EtrianOdysseyIIHeroesOfLagaard'', in addition to having a F.O.E on the first floor, takes this one step further. A specific random encounter in the final floor has 10,000 hit points, more than five times the number of hit points of the next strongest random encounter, and 3000 more than the strongest FOE the game has to offer. Said random encounter also has a multihit attack on your entire party what will usually OHKO any of the non-tank classes, as well as a skill that prevents you from using any of YOUR skills. Said random encounter also holds the dubious distinction of being the only FOE or random encounter in the game that is immune to Instadeath Skills (most Bosses are immune), and the ONLY enemy in the ENTIRE game that is immune to Stun. If you're particularly unlucky, this also appears as an ambush while harvesting. ''In pairs''. The ''Fafnir Knight'' remake retains this random encounter in all its overpowered glory, and made it ''stronger'', with over 30,000 HP, and a DesperationAttack that can destroy the party when it approaches death. A quest needs you to ''hunt one''. One of the guaranteed ways to get it to spawn also gives that enemy ridiculous ActionInitiative. And there's a ''conditional drop'' to boot.

** First appearing on the second floor of the first game's first stratum (Emerald Grove), F.O.E. appear as arrows on your map, and most of them look exactly like the normal enemies in the dungeon... but have vastly higher HP and attack power. Some follow set movement patterns, while others will rush your party when you get in their line of sight. Others, once they sense blood (such as the Wolves and Skolls in Emerald Grove itself) will actually ''join other [=FOEs=]'' mid-fight to make your life even more of a living hell.
** ''Heroes of Lagaard'', in addition to having a F.O.E on the first floor, takes this one step further. A specific random encounter in the final floor has 10,000 hit points, more than five times the number of hit points of the next strongest random encounter, and 3000 more than the strongest FOE the game has to offer. Said random encounter also has a multihit attack on your entire party what will usually OHKO any of the non-tank classes, as well as a skill that prevents you from using any of YOUR skills. Said random encounter also holds the dubious distinction of being the only FOE or random encounter in the game that is immune to Instadeath Skills (most Bosses are immune), and the ONLY enemy in the ENTIRE game that is immune to Stun. If you're particularly unlucky, this also appears as an ambush while harvesting. ''In pairs''. The remake retains this random encounter in all its overpowered glory, and made it ''stronger'', with over 30,000 HP, and a DesperationAttack that can destroy the party when it approaches death. A quest needs you to ''hunt one''. One of the guaranteed ways to get it to spawn also gives that enemy ridiculous ActionInitiative. And there's a ''conditional drop'' to boot.

** Moving out of the "enemy Hunters" category of boss mooks, venturing further into The Hunter's Nightmare you are soon sure to run afoul the Nightmare Executioners, hulking {{cthulhumanoid}}s either wielding [[AnAxeToGrind axes]] made from broken church bells or {{Arm Cannon}}s. And if you don't finish these guys off really fast, they [[TurnsRed empower themselves]] so that their axes leave lingering shockwaves that both disrupt your LifeDrain ability ''and'' effectively double the Nightmare Executioners' damage output. Getting into a straight-up fight with one of these guys is ''never'' considered a good idea, no matter what level you're at.

* ''VideoGame/{{Albion}}'' brings us The Fear (article included in the German version), and the Animal, as boss fights halfway through the second major dungeon in the game. They are quarding a key and a passage to the next level respectively, and have a lot of buildup to their respective fights, with the characters actually commenting on them. The Animal especially is considerably powerfull and fast, and can deliver massive blows and even critical hits. It's a standard enemy in all dungeons. In fact, the one you first fought is actually a lot WEAKER then all later variants. Thankfully, being supernatural creatures, means that they can be instantly removed from the field with a spell that is unique to the caracter who joined you prior to first encountering them.

** The Bloody Crow of Cainhurst 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 Blood Vials to restore his health with, and three out of his four armor pieces are the Cainhurst armor set, which have some of 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, making him capable of killing you in two-three hits with either one of them, a fact made ''even worse'' by the items and tools he uses: Numbing Mist, which [[AntiRegeneration disables your own ability to use Blood Vials]], and the Old Hunter's Bone, which enables him to use [[FlashStep the art of Quickening]], which he does so often he's basically {{Teleport Spam}}ming. 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 a whooping ''9000'' on a NG+ run and capping off at a massive ''13000 HP'' on [=NG+7=].

** There are two enemies with not only boss-level health and damage, but other boss characteristics (such as dropping a boss soul) but who are still not ''technically'' qualified as bosses for mostly aesthetic reasons (no fog wall, boss theme, or "Heir of Fire Destroyed" victory message), making them near-literal versions. The first is the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Fire Demon]] found in the Catacombs of Carthus: a huge demons wielding a giant axe similar to the Taurus Demons from ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsI'', but stronger and with fire-based attacks. The second is the Stray Demon in Farron's Keep, which is basically the same as the Stray Demon from ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsI'' with the addition of a grab attack and a ranged boulder-spitting attack that is impossible to dodge. There's also a second Fire Demon in the Undead Settlement, which is identical to the one in Carthus in all ways other than that it doesn't drop a boss soul.
** Sulyvahn's Beast is a giant three-eyed crocodile dinosaur monstrosity that [[GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere literally materializes out of nowhere]] on the bridge towards Irithyll. It attacks ferociously with fast bites that deal massive damage and can also charge at you with its mouth open and grab you with it, [[OneHitKill killing you instantly]]. Should you choose to flee into Irithyll, it will later drop down as you pass through the swamp below, forcing you to fight it [[MuckingInTheMud while wading around in the muck]]. In other words, you'd better kill it on that bridge. Later on there is an area hidden behind an illusory wall where you fight ''two'' of them! Even though it's pretty easy to aggro one at a time, either one of them is even tougher than the one on the bridge, and they even seem to have smarter AI. So how bad do you ''really'' want that Ring of Favor?

** The Shambler is designed to punish players who neglect their light levels; if you seek it, it can be called forth from special altars. It will always surprise your party and reshuffle their positions, forcing you to waste a turn getting everyone back in formation. It has low direct damage but it gleefully spreads Blight, Bleed, and Stress across your entire party -- not to mention its CombatTentacles quickly stack buffs and must be killed before they're too strong to eliminate. If you flee the Shambler, it will forcibly replace your next random encounter, so the only way to be truly rid of it is when one side dies, or you abandon/complete your quest.

* VideoGame/EarthBound: ''Final Starman'' in the final dungeon. Capable of ''spamming'' [[TotalPartyKill PSI Starstorm Omega]], which deals over 700 HP of damage to the opposing party (and ''only'' Ness even has that much HP when you encounter it); Brainshock Omega, which confuses everyone in the party; and [[ShootTheMedicFirst Healing Omega]], which fully revives any defeated enemy. Oh, and they start out with maximum PSI shields, which completely deflect PSI attacks. Couple that with the fact that they usually appear with Ghosts of Starmen (see DemonicSpiders) and Nuclear Reactor Robots (spends its turns healing enemies to full health AND explode when you kill them)...can you say TotalPartyKill?

*** Giants and mammoths. Sure, giants look intimidating, but they are encountered out in the wild as soon as you reach the Whiterun plains (so possibly long before you even reach the double digit levels) and seem to be quite common, so a new player is likely to take them for a FakeUltimateMook... [[ATwinkleInTheSky and get forcibly enlisted into the Skyrim Space Program]]. At high difficulty levels, especially Legendary, even a high-level player with maximum armor would do well not to underestimate the giants' crushing blows. Mammoths are possibly even worse, because while they don't hit quite as hard, they have more health and most importantly move and attack much faster. A low-level player can conceivably kill a giant by peppering it with shots or spells from a distance and avoiding its enormously strong, but telegraphed attacks. Not so with mammoths. To make matters worse, they are commonly found in groups, so attacking one giant or mammoth is likely to pull at least one or two more to you. At least both are quite valuable kills to compensate - giants drop over 100 gold and occasionally valuable items. Mammoths drop fairly valuable ShopFodder, but most importantly they are the most common creature in Skyrim to have a Grand-quality White Soul, invaluable in Enchanting.

*** The final area of the game contains a fight with 2 Cosmic Monoliths. Considering their first attack is always programmed to be Doomsday, they're damn hard in any circumstance, even without the limit cap during the first run. Thankfully, all of the encounters in that area before the final boss can be avoided.

*** The Overlords and Albino Radscorpions are at least used ''like'' bosses, in that you rarely fight more than 1 than a time (2 or maybe 3 at once in certain very specific situations, including Vault 87 if you're above Level 20, and GNR Building Plaza at Level 15+). However, there are multiple free-roam dungeons(e.g. Red Racer Factory, Franklin Metro Utility, and Dunwich Building at high levels) and one main plotline mission (Presidential Metro) near the end of the game where you're expected to fight ''several'' Feral Ghoul Reavers ''at the same time''. Bear in mind each individual Reaver is about 1/2th as tough as a Behemoth, and hits almost as hard.

*** The [[WickedWasps Cazador]], although very small and having the appearance of a much weaker enemy, the Bloatfly, can decimate low level players with its poison within a couple of hits and as nimble. Not to mention, they come in ''packs'' of up to five. They are often used [[BeefGate to wall the low level player in]], forcing them to take a specific route in order to level up first.

* The Nazgul in the GBA version ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' The Return of the King. They spawn alone or in a group of 2 or 3 if the Eye of Sauron on the upper right corner fills all the way , which means they can be faced very early in the game. They are easily the strongest enemies in the entire game, being tougher than even the Witch King, their own boss. Not only do they have a very high HP, they also have a ridiculously high defense, causing almost every attack against them fail, unless the player is of extremely high level. Top it off with the extremely high damage their long reach attack does and you'll find any attempt to melee them is [[TooDumbtoLive suicide]]. Their drops are not exactly worth the effort for "killing" them either, running away from them is usually the best option. On the other hand, at max level, they are the only enemies in the game to provide any challenge.

** Pi'illodactyls. They randomly spawn as a background enemy in battles on Mount Pajamaja or Somnom Woods (the latter of which gets their stronger recoloured "R" 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.

*** Harbinger would be a literal example, but is not actually that particularly difficult. He randomly [[MemeticMutation assumes direct control]] of Collectors, making them a lot more stronger and durable than normal and adds the ability to launch explosive projectiles that can hit you even behind cover. And even if you kill him, [[DemonicSpiders he'll just find another body if any are still present.]] Usually you have to kill him three or four times in a single fight with Collectors. In basically every fight with Collectors.

** ''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 distances 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]].

*** In the [[VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork3WhiteAndBlue third game]], there is 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.

* ''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.

** 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.

*** 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'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.

* 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?

** 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.

** 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]].

** 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. One that has become a staple for the entire series is a giant Level 70+ unique KillerGorilla that wanders a circuit around the game’s first wide-open area, set intentionally so that inattentive players may have it walk in on them while fighting more level-appropriate enemies.

** The prequel DLC game, ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2TornaTheGoldenCountry'', shares a similar set of Unique Monsters that can challenge the player, though there's not as many due to the games comparable short length. The big difference between the Unique Monsters (and even some bosses) in this game compared to the base game is that certain elemental orbs will put them in a state where their stats increase dramatically, and only destroying the orbs via a chain attack will revert the monster to its weaker state. This is likely to counter balance the fact that elemental orbs are much easier to place on enemies in this game, so the player will be required to set up a full burst and chain attack fairly quickly before the fight gets too dangerous. There are normally 16 unique monsters to encounter in the game, but finding the Nopon Halfsage (and paying him) unlocks 4 golden Unique Monsters. These four are not only completely golden versions of other monsters, they are all [[{{Superboss}} stronger than the final boss.]]

** A series of random enemies in the bonus dungeon take this UpToEleven, being ''tougher than any BonusBoss in the game''. They have levels of health normally reserved for bosses, more than enough power to KO your team, tend to gang up, and are ''much'' faster than regular enemies on the field map, so good luck running past. To top it all off, only a critical hit can deal significant damage to them. And by "significant," we mean "[[ScratchDamage more than one point]]". Fortunately, [[ItemCrafting there are ways]] [[UselessUsefulSpell to compensate]].

*** Giants and mammoths. Sure, giants look intimidating, but they are encountered out in the wild as soon as you reach the Whiterun plains (so possibly long before you even reach the double digit levels) and seem to be quite common, so a new player is likely to take them for a FakeUltimateMook... [[ATwinkleInTheSky and get forcibly enlisted into the Skyrim Space Program]]. At high difficulty levels, especially Legendary, even a high-level player with maximum armor would do well not to underestimate the giants' crushing blows. Mammoths are possibly even worse, because while they don't hit quite as hard, they have more health and most importantly move and attack much faster. A low-level player can conceivably kill a giant by peppering it with shots or spells from a distance and avoiding its enormously strong, but telegraphed attacks. Not so with mammoths. To make matters worse, they are commonly found in groups, so attacking one giant or mammoth is likely to pull at least one or two more to you. At least both are quite valuable kills to compensate - giants drop over 100 gold and occasionally valuable items. Mammoths drop fairly valuable VendorTrash, but most importantly they are the most common creature in Skyrim to have a Grand-quality White Soul, invaluable in Enchanting.

** 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. One that has become a staple for the entire series is a giant Level 70+ KillerGorilla that wanders a circuit around the game’s first wide-open area, set seemingly intentionally so that inattentive players can have it walk in on them while fighting more level-appropriate enemies.

* ''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.

** Upon entering Old Yharnam, an old coot on top a tower warns you that, if you proceed further into the hamlet, then he's going to have to hunt you down. No biggie, right? Yes, it is. Especially when he opens fire on you from atop of his tower with a ''[[GatlingGood Gatling Gun]]!'' Meet Retired Hunter Djura. So, you struggle your way to his tower and climb it, really looking forward to tearing that gun-reliant coward a new one... 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 this also means that you can subject him to a DisneyVillainDeath, ''if'' you know what you're doing...

** In the Fishing Hamlet, the last area of the DLC, another unwelcome hulk of an enemy pops up in the form of the [[SharkMan Giant Fishmen]]. Aside from the fact that they've got a very dangerous grab attack and a lunging attack that puts them square into the LightningBruiser category, there's also an even tougher variant that's armed with an {{Anchor|sAway}}. Oh, and if you go down the Fishing Hamlet's well you get to fight two of them at once. This fight is considered harder than most actual bosses in the game.

* The Boreal Brutes from ''VideoGame/CodeVein'' are huge, hulking abominations that can take more damage to down than some ''bosses'', have the ability to armour themselves with ice that reduces all damage to them by 90% until you melt it with fire or shatter it with a hammer, attack with brutal, massively-damaging combos that keep you constantly on the defensive, can roll at you with blinding speed that can almost one-shot you or hurl gigantic ice pillars that ''explode,'' and are almost completely impossible to stagger. Oh and [[KungFuProofMook they can't be backstabbed]]. The hardest fight in ''the entire game'' (and as a SoulsLikeRPG it's [[NintendoHard not an easy game to begin with]]) is generally agreed to be a miniboss encounter against [[DualBoss two of them at once]] in the Depths map ''Silent White.''

* The Boreal Brutes from ''VideoGame/CodeVein'' are huge, hulking abominations that can take more damage to down than some ''bosses'', have the ability to armour themselves with ice that reduces all damage to them by 90% until you melt it with fire or shatter it with a hammer, attack with brutal, massively-damaging combos that keep you constantly on the defensive, can roll at you with blinding speed that can almost one-shot you or hurl gigantic ice pillars that ''explode,'' and are almost completely impossible to stagger. The hardest fight in ''the entire game'' (and as a SoulsLikeRPG it's [[NintendoHard not an easy game to begin with]]) is generally agreed to be a miniboss encounter against [[DualBoss two of them at once]] in the Depths map ''Silent White.''

* In ''VideoGame/Haven2020'', Shifuta, a GiantSpider-type enemy found in Rust-heavy areas, is far more resilient than standard mooks, along with dishing out massive damage, and can dodge and counter attacks if you use the wrong type when the enemy is in a particular stance, or your timing is slightly off. [[ScaryScorpions Sukopi]] similarly has the durability of a tank, can only be hit with Impact attacks, and frequently uses its devastating tail sweep that strikes both Yu and Kay at once.

* In ''VideoGame/Haven2020'', Fulare and Shifuta, two enemies that are only found in Rust-heavy areas at night, are far more resilient than standard mooks, along with dishing out massive damage, and can dodge and counter attacks if you use the wrong type when the enemy is in a particular stance, or your timing is slightly off.