[SUGGESTION] The One Mechanic That Could Fix Boss One-Shots in PoE2

I have an idea to solve one-shooting bosses, please copy into the game!!!

Spillover Damage Mechanic

Concept:
To prevent bosses from being instantly defeated by extreme burst damage while still rewarding powerful builds, a damage-per-hit cap is introduced. Any damage beyond this limit becomes Spillover Damage, which does not directly harm the boss but can be collected, converted, or used for secondary effects.

Mechanic Details:

Each boss has a maximum damage cap per hit (e.g., 5% of its total Life).

When an attack exceeds this cap, the excess amount becomes Spillover Damage.

Spillover Damage is not applied to the boss’s Life total, but is instead redirected into special interactions.

When this occurs:

The boss emits a brief energy-shield flash to indicate that the damage cap has been triggered.

A “soul fragment” or “essence spark” bursts from the boss and travels to a Spillover Collector.

Spillover Collector Options:

Arena Totem: A totem anchored in the boss arena that absorbs Spillover Damage and triggers effects such as temporary player buffs, area bonuses, or phase transitions.

Loot Reservoir: Stores accumulated Spillover Damage and releases it as bonus rewards (currency, crafting materials, or boss-specific loot) once the encounter ends.

Passive or Item Integration:

Certain passive skill nodes or item affixes may enhance Spillover Damage efficiency, alter what it produces, or grant additional benefits such as temporary charge generation, flask recovery, or regeneration effects.

Gameplay Impact:

Prevents instant boss eliminations from excessive burst builds.

Keeps high damage output meaningful, turning excess power into a reward or progression layer.

Adds strategic depth, letting players specialize in how they manage and convert Spillover Damage.

Provides visual clarity and satisfying feedback during boss fights, emphasizing the power ceiling and the rewards of surpassing it.

no, damage caps are bad

balance just needs fixing

It is bad if there's nothing more than the damage cap.

If the Spillover Damage is rewarding enough, it is fun!

Broken builds are fun! There should always be a way to make an unbelievable amount of damage.

Stop boring "balancing" argument. Bosses have very interesting mechanics, they should last a "minimum" duration. I was on purpose not killing them during my first run on the latest patch so that I could get to see them.

If every time we get a dopamine with an Spillover hit, and we know there will be controlled events with this outcome, it is a new exciting mechanic.

Focusing solely fixing with balancing is an old predictable and boring thinking.

Well, I disagree! 1000% to have any ideas than bringing nothing.

You did not understand it.

You will be able to do ALL damage you want, it will be worth it.


----

Update: the person deleted the comment before this, just proves my initial sentence.

no it was removed

my point stands, you're putting a timer on high damage builds which will feel bad 100% of the time. they might as well put invulnerable phases on all bosses in the game - which would lead to me uninstalling this game immediately lol

No.
1. Time waste.
2. How that passive node for Spillover Damage will interact in party play?
3. Its just more options for loot/rarity bots.
4. What boss will do in Cap Damage phase? If he NOT recieve any damage - so there is no any leech/restore life mana etc → bad for alot of builds. If receive damage, but boss life is not affected → pure frustration for new players.

1. Time waste.
Not an argument

2. How that passive node for Spillover Damage will interact in party play?
Intrinsics to be resolved but doable. If the outcome is a buff, all party members get it.

3. Its just more options for loot/rarity bots.
Generic argument for any idea, not valid

4. What boss will do in Cap Damage phase? If he NOT recieve any damage -
so there is no any leech/restore life mana etc → bad for alot of builds. If receive damage, but boss life is not affected → pure frustration for new players.
Fight is the same, recoveries can happen as if all damage was dealt the same. Only difference is that instead of life decreasing the boss in one, two, three shots, you'd have that over cap damage transferred to another mechanic. It shouldn't change anything except that you wouldn't see the life bar of the boss just immediately disappear.

"

tdonov5#2743 wrote:

no it was removed

my point stands, you're putting a timer on high damage builds which will feel bad 100% of the time. they might as well put invulnerable phases on all bosses in the game - which would lead to me uninstalling this game immediately lol

It shouldn't feel bad. You should still see the benefits of more damage, just not directly on the bosses life if it goes beyond the cap. If the boss is really hard with amazing mechanics, why would you want a build that makes the fight 5 seconds, that is not a good game style or rewarding.

Instead, I want to be challenge by the mechanics of the boss. Damage vs damage directly is outdated. We need more outside of the box thinking. If the defense buffs I get from the Spillover boss totem are part of my passive skill tree strategy, that could be a direct benefit of more damage when I get the buffs that guarantee my play through of the duration of the boss.

I am not saying bosses should last more than, let's say 3 min. For sure it would be better to have at least 1 min of fair and thrilling fight.

Moreover, I absolutely hate the current phase change that they become invisible and we cannot do any damage.

My suggestion is the opposite, they always get damage nonstop, but with a cap and additional seamless and nonstop things happen as reward.

1. Time waste.
Not an argument

It is.

2. How that passive node for Spillover Damage will interact in party play?
Intrinsics to be resolved but doable. If the outcome is a buff, all party members get it.

Who need more buff at boss? For what?! For time waiting to deal dmg??

3. Its just more options for loot/rarity bots.
Generic argument for any idea, not valid

4. What boss will do in Cap Damage phase? If he NOT recieve any damage -
so there is no any leech/restore life mana etc → bad for alot of builds. If receive damage, but boss life is not affected → pure frustration for new players.
Fight is the same, recoveries can happen as if all damage was dealt the same. Only difference is that instead of life decreasing the boss in one, two, three shots, you'd have that over cap damage transferred to another mechanic. It shouldn't change anything except that you wouldn't see the life bar of the boss just immediately disappear.

Aand we will stare at useless buff bar?
Oh, no we only look for "loot bar" at boss, right? And it will be limited too? We will cant convert all inflicted dmg to the boss loot pool? Or? More dmg = more loot? Ggg hate guaranteed loot.
Hey! Do more trillon dmg to boss ang get another alch orb! :D