Testing Ranged Kill Skills – Dr. Boom

Sadly, there’s nothing like this for lower levels. But for those players who can get to outland – specifically Netherstorm – the perfect lab for testing your attack spell sequences is just a short jaunt north of Area 52. I speak, of course, of Dr. Boom.

In case you haven’t done the quest, he’s a mad – well, madder than normal – goblin with a short-range attack. He mainly relies on his Boom Bots (and I’m amazed both Marvel and Nintendo have left Blizzard alone over these guys) — which are easy to avoid by jumping on top of the rocks nearby. Crank up an analysis engine – combat logs, damage meters, whatever – and flurry away. The goblin’s got several hundred thousand hit points, and will not be able to touch you. And a reset is (literally) a hop and a jump away.

Now let’s get serious. What this will let you do is test your combat sequences. The obvious is what your pattern of spells needs to be to maximize DPS. But you can also test – not theorize, but TEST – how much damage you can inflict before you’re OOM using both max damage and sustained fight patterns — and what the overall dps for each will be. Note that this isn’t just for shadow. If you’re a Holy Smiter, the goblin’s still there. Even if you’re a healer pure and simple, knowing what combination really and truly gets a lot of damage out there (well, “lot” being relative) can be useful down the road.

By the way… it’s also a great way to finish raising the skill on your wand. Target, autoshoot, and get a book or something. Just remember to check in to beat the afk rules every so often. (It’s also used for guns and bows and crossbows. And – though you have to keep pressing the button – for throwing.)

I’d like to say that healing mobs in constant battle (and there are a lot of those going on) would let you practice your healing skills. Unfortunately, it’s almost impossible to aggro the opposing mobs so there is no control involved — unless you’re on a quest, in which case the mobs your helping are usually LOUSY tanks.

~ by Kirk on August 28, 2007.