grizzled magnet
I’m sure by now anybody who grinds their critters has noticed a group of Raiders where they don’t belong in the Raptor Nest. While most may see a bug that they’ll patch out, I see potential.
It’s actually a great coincidence that the Raiders showed up in the Raptor Nest and our first Boss Strike is Yuzul. It’s almost like he’s prepping for the BS himself, or maybe he was just minding his business gathering raptors and we totally blindsided him. Either way, there’s some cool interpretation you can do with the existence of that Raider spawn.
Which brings me to the main point of this suggestion: What if we had a random encounter or two somewhere on the map in the days leading up to a BS, with units that match the boss we will be… striking, against.
For Aceheart you could have some plane encounters somewhere on the map, maybe in the heartland or out in the western ocean. SW could show up in the ancient ruins or ancient lab, looking for tech for Vogel.
These encounters don’t have to be a lot, honestly they should only give out gold or whatever the usual encounter drops for a faction are. Either way, these should be purely present just to add to the buildup leading to the Boss’ arrival.
vernal flint
serene crystal
mystic copper