Now, I've been hearing a clamor among the players for tough content. Obviously, the Shadow Lairs fit that bill- or WOULD, if they didn't cost an arm and a leg. They are tough as ****, and are an excellent challenge, but the Shadow Key is just so pricey! OOO tried to buff Zombies after their nerf, but they just made them cheap instead.

So, in the interest of all those players that want things tougher, but without being (too) cheap, I'm suggesting a few things that might fit the bill.

First, let's think about monster tactics we already have.

BEASTS
Easy family. Wolvers and Chromalisks. The half-asleep moving DBB target family. Hunting has never been easier than today, where the mighty Alpha Wolvers practically tell you, "Hey, I'm gonna rip this area apart, get outta the way!" Shouldn't Wolver packs be smarter?

My first idea: have Wolvers demonstrate pack tactics. They can wait until a target gets in a good spot, then surround that one target and strike all at once. Blinking makes this all the more deadly. But this would fall apart if an Alpha Wolver wasn't present- the Wolvers would be less co-ordinated and fight closer to how they normally do. Wouldn't this make sense? Wouldn't killing an alpha wolf demoralize the pack?

As for Chromalisks... they're so funny. They need to track a little- it's that simple. And maybe they can fight as one, too- getting in position, then all appearing in a row, and hurling an in-sync volley of tongues or loogies! Electrolisks would be much more feared. And they can do things that Recons would do- Camo and walk in a random direction, for example.

SLIMES
Also pretty easy. These guys are full of gimmicks- powerful but meltable Ice Cubes, Oilers that you DON'T want to burn, Quicksilvers that act like pinballs, Toxigels with their cheapo Spike Spin attack, Lichens going all Power Ranger on us and turning into the MEGAZPINE... but let's face it, they don't always make the most of these special abilities.

Polyps are fine where they are. Seriously, they're cheaper than Devilites sometimes. Jelly Cubes might decide to stay back and use Thorn Roots all the time, unless Knights get close, while others might rush forward immediately- the tactics can be randomized. Oilers will move toward fire (be it oily, shadowy or grating) when they're unlit, and move away from the Shivermist Buster's ice cloud. Similarly, Ice Cubes will flee from Ash of Agni, and if they're melted, they'll run for their fellows or Freeze vents in hopes of getting refrozen. Quicksilvers will move toward a Shock trap if it's nearby. And Toxigels? They'll time their Spike Spins so they all spin at once, effectively making those Concrete Jungles much closer to Touhou.

Lichen Colonies can be creative. If a small Lichen sees a Giant Lichen Colony of sufficient size, he can wait till it's only got X amount of HP left, THEN fuse with it. Giant Lichen Colonies can support this by dashing toward them and Thorn Rooting, while the little guy begins fusing.

CONSTRUCTS
CRUSH. KILL. DESTROY. Robots do their thing. You really don't need to change Lumbers- they do their thing and it works. Retrodes can synchronize their Laser attacks to make a line of killer explosions down a Clockwork hallway. Encourages kiting! Scuttlebots... they're Scuttlebots, there's not much you can do with them. Mecha Knights? Make them occasionally gather in lines, and rush a single target, stopping to swing when one of them shields. They're already pretty darn tough, though. As for Gun Puppies... they are absolutely fine right where they're at. Except Red Rovers could aim at Oilers... those jerks.

GREMLINS
Oh ho. Here's one we could work with. Thwackers create a formation they charge in, with Menders and Demos behind it, and turn around when wounded. A single Mender would complement this well, as well as a Demo or two. Scorchers? Make them move at normal Gremlin speeds, and make them aim for their Oil and for Oilers. Knockers? They might want a little tracking, and for sure could do to all sync their attacks.

UNDEAD
Zombies are already cheap with their knee attack, but they could try a backwards leap followed by a breath attack, for a more defensive maneuver, and use randomized tactics like the Jelly Cubes. Kats? They could start avoiding hazes like Voltaic Tempest. Howlitzers are fine- they shoot and explode, what's there to do? Grimalkins don't need to change at all; Phantoms don't either.

FIEND
Fine right where they're at. Devilites dodging and chucking chairs? Painful. Greavers... just, Greavers, a bomber's nightmare. Silkwings spam-heal everything in sight, and Trojans maul their targets while looking them in the eye.

That said, for a particularly tough challenge, Trojans could try to act as moving shields. Devilites could make the most of them, hiding behind them while chucking their chairs and computers at Knights.

All these tactics might be crazy overpowered or insanely tough to implement. If any of them are TOO cheap or unprogrammable, bring my attention to them. Also, you'll notice I said "sync" or "synchronize" a lot; that's because this would make groups of those monsters so much more dangerous.
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Now, we'll come up with some nice, tricky enemies. Not the usual Kill Crush Destroy AI that you see in every monster that isn't a healer; these enemies will fight at least a little smarter, and sometimes they'll have a gimmick that will protect them somehow.

Mercurial Mass
An enormous Quicksilver that's even bigger than a Toxilargo. The Mercurial Mass has the same attacks as a Giant Lichen colony. But it has one key feature that makes it more dangerous than other Lichens of its size: IT'S ALWAYS ELECTRIFIED! Touching it, or even hitting it with a sword, will hurt you and probably shock you, while Mr. Mass pushes you away. And keep in mind- Swordy gear doesn't resist that Shock.

There are two things you can do. You can A: Blow the crap out of it with your Sentenza or Dark Retribution, always a viable option, or B: Use Oil Pots. Standing in Oil would ground you against the electricity, rendering it useless while you go nuts with that Acheron. Oil Pots would respawn wherever there's a Mercurial Mass. But be warned- using Fire on the Oil would be VERY counter productive. No FoV charge for you.

Of course, the Mercurial Mass would know exactly what to do with its leetle friends. If a Quicksilver is nearby, Mr. Mass might dash to that Quicksilver, effectively supercharging it. So watch your step! And if it notices itself get hit twice with the same guy's sword, it'll retreat, because it knows there's probably oil there. (Pro tip to OOO: Don't put him with Oilers, this would be counter productive... unless there are no Oil Pots! Then you'd have to rely on respawning Oilers to make your slashing safe zones.)

Samurole
A Knight-sized bipedal mole with very sharp claws and a Samurai-lookin' helmet. These are its obvious weapons.

This burrowing beastie will pop out of the ground... and wait. If someone attacks it while it's not attacking, it'll block and counter the attack with its claws. (Ouch.) If the attack is RANGED, it'll dodge; if it's a bomb, it'll dodge away from its epicenter. Taking too long? It'll burrow underground, and rush you, then pop out, and slam its claw where you were standing when it came out. The trick to killing them? When it does this, you can hit it as it pulls its claw out. But these will be NORMAL SIZED enemies- meaning, there'll be more than one to a mob. Look out above!

Gremlin Thunderhand
A member of an elite order of Gremlins, the Thunderhands transcend detached weapons. They merge machinery with their bodies and master martial arts to make themselves a pinnacle of defensive fighting.

The Ghostmane Thunderhand is in the Ghostmane garb and wears a headband, and their face is half covered by machinery, and wear gauntlets and boots made of Moonstone. They can attack with quick Jabs that create small electrical explosions; these explosions will block bullets. They can also kick, firing an electrical projectile (or spread of projectiles, like a Gun Puppy) as they do so. They have a spinning kick attack that creates a ring of electrical explosions, and can easily push away enemies.

By default, they wait for an enemy to attack while slowly moving toward them in a martial arts stance. If an enemy gets close, they'll attack; if it takes a while, they'll kick at them. If a bullet comes toward them, they'll quickly Jab to deflect the bullet. They'll dodge out of a Bomb's radius if they can. Fighting Thunderhands would require more strategy than just "run up and beat the **** out of em all", which would increase the fun factor by a lot. Bombers, Swordmasters, and Gunslingers alike would have to think to fight a Thunderhand.

Grim Essence
A floating skull with glowing pink eyes, the Grim Essence would be like a Grim Totem. But it'd move, and you couldn't pick it up. It would hang around Zombies, moving over them to get away from you. However, the Grim Essence would be damage-able, weakening as it was hit and eventually dying completely. It would use its Zombies as shields, and especially hang around ones that were nearly dead (again).

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But that's not all. What about other gimmicks that can be added to the Clockworks themselves, which make things tougher?

First, keys in Clockwork Tunnels, as Blandaxt kindly mentioned, are not really much to worry about. So to make things more interesting, let's add little traps that spring when Keys in each Monster's Clockwork Tunnels are picked up... copying these straight from my post in Bland's thread.

-Wild Path: The Snarbolax has many hobbies, and terrorizing knights that carry keys is one of them. Everyone knows, and fears, his barbarous bite, slithy spines, and frumious fangs, and the most vorpal of snicker-snacks can't off him, as there are no Beast Bells in the standard Clockworks.

-Slimeway: It's a storm of Jelly Minis! They'll spawn in groups of eight and chase you down, constantly spawning until a max of one hundred is in the room. Beware; running from them will cause them to warp to you. Also, in Tier 3, the Minis will gain the respective status effect of the Slimeway.

-Gremlin Grounds: Alarms will sound constantly while bombs rain from the ceiling. They'll blow up and cause Elemental damage. Also, large amounts of blocks will morph into Explosive blocks. Have a blast.

-Mechanized Mile: Alarms will sound constantly, and a powerful Golden Mecha Knight will chase you down. He attacks like any status-themed Mecha Knight would in the level, firing four bullets at Tier 3, but also has a gun (a Supernova-like weapon that shoots three expanding Gun Puppy bullets) and bomb (an elemental Deconstructor-looking thing) that he'll occasionally use. Attacks and Shield Bumps will knock him back, but he isn't killed until the key is used up. And don't think you've escaped him; even if you Freeze him, he'll blink to you.

-Haunted Passage: A sinister voice will shout (through a speech bubble), "THERE IS NO ESCAPE!" Then a large armored Phantom will appear, wielding a Gran Faust and looking VERY angry. It will chase the key holder down, and if the Key's dropped, it will move in circles around the key. It can only be temporarily killed and, in addition to the regular Phantom attacks, has a fire sword attack that burns targets, a Warp technique that'll send it straight to the Key, and a powerful Boulder Roll attack that's very telegraphed, but deals heavy Normal damage. (Yes, this is a reference to the Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass and LoZ: Spirit Tracks.)

-Infernal Passage: An invincible Gold Trojan will follow knights through the level, mauling them like any other Trojan would. With one important exception: he warps. Once the key is used, he dies.

While these are going on, maybe some kind of "Danger" music could play. You could enter danger rooms while these were active, but... why would you? If you took the key past a party button without opening the key door (supposing it was optional), the trap would end.

Also, some other features that could make things interesting:

-NEUTRALIZATION PYLON: This odd mechanical pylon predates the Gremlins. It puts a strange force in its sphere of influence (shown by a red circle) that converts all attacks and defenses to Normal damage and defense. A Devilite throwing from within it will deal Normal damage; a Devilite that throws from outside into it also deals Normal damage. The same goes for players, and if a bomb even brushes the radius, the whole thing is Normal-ized. Only your weapon mechanics and levels, status effects, and skills will help you here!

-WIND TUNNEL: Be careful; sometimes fans will start blowing extremely strong winds after hitting a Party Button, blowing you down a spike-filled path! Running against the wind slows down its push, but you won't be able to move back down that road. Use caution! Keys will be pushed along, so don't worry about losing them.

-VANDALIZED ARSENAL BOX: This may happen in lower stratums. The Arsenal Box will be unusable, with a method completely dependent on the stratum's status. (Can't touch the box when it's stuck in a block of ice, burning, electrified, covered in poison mist, or just... without a floor to lay on.) Examining it (or the hole in the floor where it was, in non-status areas) will display the message, "The Arsenal Box has been vandalized and is unusable. Sorry!"

-SWARM INFESTATION: This isn't my idea, but someone suggested that there be Swarm-infested Danger Room like areas in CW Tunnels and Decon Zones. After defeating the Void monsters and Swarm Turrets inside, you get treasure boxes, then step on a party switch that destroys the floor- effectively helping to stop the spread of the Swarm. Plus, it'd be tough as heck.

-CURSED CLOUDS: This rare occurence would Curse all your gear indefinitely in its small tunnel, while locking you in with enemies. The trick? Use fire pots to kill the monsters instead of your weapons. In Fire stratums, you would have a powerful electrical throwable instead.

Comments? Compliments? Scathing rebukes?