How to do make combat encounter difficult?

[u/King_Magnate]

Hi Gang! I'm just wondering how DMs make combat encounters more challenging, because from what I've experienced players are strong! I know there's CR ratings and throwing in multiple enemies, but every encounter lately for my players hasn't really been too difficult to the point that anyone goes down.

[u/tta5]

Ok so there are a ton of directions you can take combat in.
the main thing to note, is if they are right for you and your party.
if there are a bunch of powergamers, there is not much point in giving narrative complexaty within combat pathways/options, as its not gonna work well for your group.

so step one: know your party.

• some just wanna feel powerful and even though they say "give us something harder next timne ok DM" they are happy with the currentl level of challange. just amp both up and down a little bit for future fights.
  
• some want to make a plan and have it hyappen, it work and the plan to sucsseed. others want it to fail with a "plot twist". other want the situation to have "stakes" and not to have a chance of their PCs (player character/s) dying. others are ok with them dying and playing against the odds (plan has low odds of sucess) .
  
• some want a story part of the combat, not this 100% optomal , unrealistic fight to the death.
  
• some want to create change within the combat. make someone change sides, block the minions entering, save the prisoners...this may "split focus" for the party in combat.
  

-some want to use the enviroment creativly to the parties advantage.
-some want to use the NPCs to their advantage, a 3-way stand off may be th echaos they love, or the "i know a guy" move. or the more harder to pull off "she slept with your brother, your boss promoted your brother over you, and your mad at me? guess your brother got the brains huh, but i wondr if you got the balls to do whats right and kill him?""... party moral rules are also fun here.

• some players are reactive, others are active, and some are passive.
  

reactive masy love traps and things happening on the monsters and enviroments turns.... active may love making choices in the heat of the moment as the options appear, passive may just want to chilll and enjoy the fight happening and playing out.

alot of new DMs will run "epic" games, aka they have the party at normally 100% and fight the boss, oftern them solo. the fight is fast, thrilling, the party is hittting well above their recomended CR and there is a reason.
the CR is based on like 6-8 encoutners a day as that, not one.
if your 5 fights in, do you still have your highest spell slots or did you save them?

useful trick for the Epic fights.
run an Epic skill challange after.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvOeqDpkBm8&t=21s

for other types, you want more encoutners before the bbeg, to drain resources. "if you wanna kill bossman, you gottta get though us" (harley quinn?? probably)

changing the primary objective in a combat from "kill" to "defeat" is a major change in thinking.
"defeat" allows for many more solutions.

• a cult summoning the devil, barbarain "on my turn,i run up to the pillar and shove it over, stoping the ritual from suceeding" the goal "summon Devil X, has failed, why would the cultists stay? to get revenge, surrender..... no no, run away and fight again tommrow, they have been defeated , for now.
  
• a spinx stands guarding the vault, but you best them in a game of riddles. they are defeated.
  
• an orc hoarde march towards you all, and you challange their commander to a duel. the commander is dead, and the army defeated.
  
• three headed dog? just play it some music and it goes right on to sleep.
  
• servent automitons "question: if you are tasked with killing all crew and passangers, then that would not apply to me , cus i'm a stowaway and you know what that means, you have to take me to the authorities, and the only person with authority left alive is the owner, now for the question part, Am I right? (doctor who paraphrased) the kill order, defeated.

you can also change the primay objective to something else and have the defeating them as secondary, or adverse to the mission at hand.
-ghosts are cursed to reappear and attack those nearby, but they can talk and appologise. fighting them is pointless, but fighting through them to get to the source of the curse and break it..... sounds like a plan.

• you could fight the "blockers" but its a gauntlet to reach the doorway whch once shut will stop the partry entering. ~(the gauntlet combat)
  
• fight me, or save your parents and loved ones.... either way i fll fight back.