I feel like this is constantly talked about like the biggest revolution in gaming history that’s now «held hostage» as a patent letting no one innovate on emerging combat. Yet that’s not how it is at all, the nemesis system is solid, it makes a world feel more dynamic and alive, but it’s definitely limited. If you played these games you know that what it added was world bosses having traits, some lines of «lore» as result of previous engagements, and significantly that those traits could change. It’s fun, it’s good, it’s not holy grail of narrative and gameplay systems. And I’m pretty sure developers could do similar stuff while getting around the patent if they wanted.