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don't need to be super complex just some details here and there can make it more interesting. Like take a good look at the first fight in rise of the runelords where the goblins are too busy eating food from the table to even consider the PC a threat to them.
Maybe you are fighting on top of a collapsing tower, where all the borders of the map keep falling off, forcing the players to cluster, great vs a monster/enemy who can take advantage of AOE.
Also read monsters entries a lot. Sometime they tell you clearly the favorite monster tactics or way to use them , which could make the whole difference. A Black dragon is impressive, a black dragon in a swamp where the pcs can't maneuver as well because of the water? even better.
There are many options here. Enemies with a Climb, Swim, of Fly speed make the battlefield much more dynamic. If there is an enemy up on a hard to reach cliff, or a rooftop, that enemy can rain down pain on the party. This forces the party to use tactics that encourage blocking line of sight, cover, maybe a creative attack on the foundation upon which the enemy stands, etc.
Illusions are a great way to change things up. Use spells like Minor Image to make it appear that a monster is somewhere he is not, possibly encouraging the party to chase after it...(possibly temporarily splitting up the party!)
Combat in places with deep fissures, fast-moving water, lava, carnivorous plants--- these are features that will make any player thing twice about his movement that round. (Do I try to jump that fissure, or move 100 ft left toward the natural bridge??)
Enemies that can use spells like Dimension door or teleport (like even lowly devils) help as well-- They can simply blink from one point to another, forcing a change of scenery for the attacking players.
Terrain is a big one, Having a boulder or tree that is unpassable, or thick grass that slows movement.
Having the enemies have a theme or plan makes good interesting fights. Have them have teamwork or focus on maneuvers. The enemies could easily have more group unity and cooperation than players usually do.
Lighting differences. Them using tactics to keep the Players away for some rounds. Flying enemies. and having more than 1 or 2 enemies. Throwing 5-6 little lv1 guys can really help a lv5 boss do better.
Well, if a particular fight is going really well for the players and the monsters don't stand a chance, you can just say that the players win, without tediously rolling it out.
Locations can add to the excitement, along with environmental factors. Say the bad guys ambush the group at a tavern, but before they rush in to attack, they light the building on fire. There would be panicking villagers and smoke and fire to contend with, in addition to the fight at hand.
A narrow bridge over a deep chasm is always fun. Have the big bad guy say 'None shall pass'.
Have the monster use tactic and fight with intelligence.try to play wack the wizard instead of all going after the fighter.Have mobs that can tunnel is always fun to toss out
Have the monsters fight only for 2 rounds then retreat. Escapees meet larger group and explain PC abilities they saw. Ambush PCs later with newfound knowledge, using terrain, traps and mixed ranged + melee foes who work together.
Enemy group includes a caster with battlefield control spells like Wall of Stone, Wall of Fire, Stinking Cloud and Grease.
Magic Jar to possess PC fighter.
Group of Dopplegangers change to look like the PCs, and use things like smokesticks and wands of obscuring mist to throw everyone off in a very crazy combat. Nobody can easily tell friend from foe (have to use perception against disguise). Even the dopplegangers are shouting "he's the imposter!"
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I had some fun using stealth and surprise rounds against the players. Though they started getting wiser and stopped tromping around announcing where they are to the world.
Also look at some of the monster abilities: swallow whole or envelope, constrict, grab, swarms, etc anything you don't usually use. Also just read spells over and over until you find spells you like that are interesting. At low levels throwing ghost sound and minor image are a good way to distract players while the enemy buffs up.
I ambushed the party with Grippli hiding in the swamp, and applied templates to make a large sized toad that could grapple a player with its tongue and swallowed one (until he cut his way out). They actually liked that fight.
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Terrain and weather really does make a difference.
Burning building, acid pits, stairs, ice, darkness, snowstorm, hail, fog, briar patch, etc.
You can also spice things up, with neat monster tricks.
We had our DM have a spectral Piper, surrounded by Burning Bloody Skeletons, that had their Deathless ability trigger 1d4 rounds, instead of 1hour, as long as the Piper played.
We had to come up with some interesting tactics, to defeat that challenge, and it seemed nearly TPK, until we started using better tactics.
Monsters who use cover and have a fire and retreat method will frustrate the hell out of your players and make them come up with better strategies. Also, don't ignore alchemical weapons for your monsters. They can make a simple fight with a group of kobolds or goblins into a very tactical fight for survival, when alchemist's fire, fuse grenades, or even mundane items like caltrops are being tossed around.
Pay attention to spells. A caster among your creatures could turn the tide against the PCs with a few spells.
Terrain is also a big deal. Anything that slows the PCs down while the monsters can maneuver easily is a good thing to implement. For example, tight enclosed spaces that force PC's to squeeze or go prone to fight, rough terrain to slow movement, or terrain where creatures have a mobility or stealth advantage are important.
Yeah, battlefield variety is what makes fights diverse. I've done my best to keep the battlefields interesting.
Some examples:
-A hobgoblin/goblin assault on a village the party was in. Goblins with explosives and ranged weapons were posted on the roofs of buildings and stalls while the hobgoblins assaulted the party directly. (Except the wizard zapped the two normal hobgoblins in one spell. nice one, bro)
-A kobold dining hall with kobolds on mounted crossbow turrets, shooting the party from behind cover while also unleashing a captive basilisk on them.
-A fight with lycanthropic dire-hyenas in a town with narrow alleys between the buildings. The party felt boxed in, but was able to survive despite tough odds. there was another encounter in the same night where 3 of them had been locked in a barn and the party climbed up onto the rafters from outside and took them out from above.
Just gotta be creative with your battle set-ups, and your fights will always have some fun with them!
It gets even better at higher levels, when you have more complex enemies that you can build around the strategies of.
Whoah!
I'm going to back up a step, and get to: Fighting because why?
If the answer is: We're here to kill you, then there are literally only two outcomes, PCs win, PCs lose.
But when you look at the wider range of options, then there's a lot more to do:
Enemies are there to steal supplies
Enemies are scouting for future attacks
Enemies are killing a particular person and leaving
Enemies wish to do property damage
Enemies wish to destroy civilians
Enemies are hungry
Enemies are mind-controlled, and ordered to destroy
Enemies wish to control an area
Enemies with to collect resources
Now, PCs have options. They can sacrifice one of their horses to the hungry enemy, or cast create food.
They can negotiate with the resource collectors, or intimidate them
And it gives you more exciting victory conditions for the monsters. You don't have to pull punches with the thieves, because they're not there to kill the PCs. Take their things and leave.
The next adventure almost writes itself.
I try to make my fights interesting by having a battlefield. Most recently I had a group of 1st lvl PCs fight against a group of goblins. The fight took place in a small village, creating bottlenecks and requiring the group to move around buildings, sometimes through and over them. I tried to give the goblins personality by having them act comical.
Following suggested tactics, using battlefield/terrain, and giving personality are my top 3 recommendations for having a fun fight.
Turn speed.
The faster things happen, the faster you can enjoy them. You could have the most epic badass fight that ever was, but if the turns take 20-30 minutes, it puts a damper on the whole experience.
Oh, Marcus is completely right. Setting a quick pace is my best trick as a GM. If you don't know what you're doing, you're on delay.
Players might complain right away, but ask them again at the end of the night.
Setting.
When in doubt, set the fight on the top of a dwarven fortress which is launching into space. Then it runs out of fuel just before breaking atmosphere, and begins hurtling back down.