Which is the best boss?

[black_and_blue]

I voted for Monocolus.

[TTHREAZ]

For entertainment, I'd have to go with Merasmus. However, for playability, I'd go with Monoculus as well. I liked the increasing difficulty.

[Supreveio]

I've always liked the Horsemann. The "It" mechanic makes him feel more engaging than MONOCULUS! or Merasmus, plus it involves hitting the enemy team. The fact that the Horsemann doesn't despawn also helps him feel more like a mutual hazard rather than an "everybody stop fighting" mechanic that happens when the other two spawn (especially since the latter two disable the Point when they spawn).

In order of my favorite to least favorite:
#1 - Horseless Headless Horsemann
#2 - Merasmus
#3 - MONOCULUS!

[Will T.]

No love for Zepheniah Mann on Harvest? He wasn't exactly a boss, but his random scares were a riot. He certainly made that map more entertaining.

The Horsemann was hilarious for just how hectic he was, and the fact that the game could go on even with him in the arena. He was basically the ultimate griefer to both teams, but in a way that was fun for those being griefed.

Monoculus was nice for the more organized structure. His airborne nature made him a little less interesting though because one of the coolest things about the Horsemann was running up to him and melee-ing him until he noticed you.

Merasmus is basically Monoculus in hard mode. His voice clips are hilarious (as are the Bombinomicon's - that's one of my favorite features in this event ), but he simply doesn't stick around long enough. He's on the field for 2 minutes tops, which makes him hard to kill, and not in the "this guy is tough!" way - this is the "he's at 10% HP or less and randomly gets a free 'Instant Win' ticket" type of fake difficulty that happens in MvM with robots that get close enough to the hatch to jump in.

Overall, I think I liked the Horsemann the best, with Monoculus a close second. Not only was the HHH more fun to play against, but he gave two loot rewards (HHH's Head and the Haunted Metal Scrap) as opposed to Monoculus and Merasmus, who only give one hat apiece.

[Flaming Cheese Wheel]

Triple H, because the other two require too much team effort to deal with properly, leading to griefing and stupidity.

[Soltan]

Does Saxton Hale count as a boss? If so then that's my real favorite (at least you can play as him).

[The Domer]

I like the horseman, both as a boss, and because I like the map he is on the most. Double win.

[Boss Llama]

HHH by far.

HHH could be incorporated in normal gameplay, and could even be used strategically (kiting him to the enemy, transferring agro, etc). He could be defeated by one team, and was a good Halloween themed character.

Monoculus was acceptable, as the first level or two of him could be beaten without the whole server, and he could be kind of ignored if that's what you wanted. He couldn't be used strategically, and his rapid fire auto crit missiles of doom were pretty annoying, but no worse than an uber/kritz push.

Merasmus is obnoxious. He cannot be beaten without every single person constantly working together, even when he isn't there. If you don't want to fight him, he still comes and fights you, racing at breakneck speed across the map, and using huge AOE grav-flux and fire spells that mean he necessarily must be the focus whenever he is present. A normal game can't be had.

[TheCarpe]

The Horsemann was the best Halloween boss on the best Halloween map during the best Halloween event.

Truthfully, for me, every Halloween since has just been downhill compared to HHH. Man, that was a fun event. One of the best the TF2 team ever did, right up there with the WAR update.

[Fraulein Arztin]

Definitely the HHH. I remember the Monoculus being decent last year....but as other people have said, the Merasmus is way too difficult even for a full server.

[Buzzy Beetle]

The Horsemann was the best Halloween boss on the best Halloween map during the best Halloween event.

Truthfully, for me, every Halloween since has just been downhill compared to HHH. Man, that was a fun event. One of the best the TF2 team ever did, right up there with the WAR update.

I do love Merasmus' character and voice lines but in terms of mechanics it's a game breaking fight (EVERYONE! STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND SHOOT THE WIZZARD OR NOBODY CAN BENEFIT!). HHH wins for being fun and in line with TF2's mechanics. I don't even need to resort to nostalgia on this one!

[Zork Nemesis]

Gotta go with the horsemann, for the primary reason that his presence doesn't grind the game to a halt for two minutes.

[trilobite]

Headless Horse Dude is my favy. Makes me laugh every single time. It is just a kick to follow him around and try to tag him without getting beheaded.

Merasmus and the associated map are the most entertaining. Kudos to Valve for resurrecting Vincent Price to voice Merasmus. I don't know how they did it, but they are very clever over there at Valve.
http://vincentprice.org/audio/2%20Old%2 ... traits.mp3

I love the line dance bit and all the special effects from the spinning wheel. Fun as it is, I found it very hard to get everyone on both teams to focus on the boss.

Monoculus? I know I played against him on that KOTH map, but I can't remember much about him.