A question to pro-venos with herc (Lord of Percussion)

WaffleChan - Sanctuary wrote: »

since when do monsters have a critical hit % >_>; you cant just go giving info that has no evidence of existance. monsters dont have crits otherwise they'd say so above our heads when it happens.

Well, I agree I've never seen it say crit, but I sure as heck have seen monsters occasionally hit much harder than their average.

It is, and no - I didn't just mean on drummer's ever-increasing aoe. Though yeah, that's a big fat reason for me to not try to solo drummer again too

1-1 -> Really easy though I never had to solo it until I was 90+ and then I was surprised that the hardest the aoe would ever hit me for was about 700. In your 90s you can tank him as well as DD without too much hassle.

1-2 -> Moderately easy. I can still solo it and potting keeps my charm from ticking. It never gets too hairy. However, I wouldn't recommend trying to DD. At best, you can get off Amp + Myriad.

1-3 -> Difficult. Drummer's damage increases as his HP decreases (b:sad). You're going to need at least -30% in Channeling gear and a decent amount of HP. I really wouldn't recommend him if you're pure magic. Without BB he would rip you to shreds. If you don't have -30% Chan., then you're going to need a second veno (who might need BB) or a cleric to RB (who might need BB). Drummer here requires spam heal.

tweakz wrote: »

Anyone thought to try ranged pets?

If you try to reposition 1-3 drummer by moving your herc, he will happily stand in the same spot and nuke your herc. His magic attack does a heckuva lot more damage than his melee. At melee range he only uses it once every 10 sec or so. It's the combo nuke+melee which can appear to be a critical and "one-shot" your herc when both hit for near max damage (it's actually two simultaneous hits). If you're in melee range, the 10 seconds gives you time to heal up the extra damage from the nuke. At range he will nuke continuously. So I'm doubtful a ranged pet will work on him.

http://www.pwdatabase.com/pwi/mob/14737

If you look at his magic attack, the high end is close to world-boss level. A lot of times, the hardest part of the fight is at the very beginning when your tank/herc first charges at him. The drummer will open with a nuke, which I've seen one-shot BMs (using their skill to boost their mdef), and drop barbs low enough that the cleric couldn't heal him quick enough before the drummer's melee finished him off. Recommended procedure is to have someone fire off an invulnerability or damage reduction skill and charge him first, to absorb the nuke (I've seen a herc and a wizard used for this role).

We did manage 1-3 drummer with a level 100 herc and two venos healing. Since it's his nuke which is the main problem, I suppose if you have good interrupters, you could manage it at a lower level.

I don't know if this applies to 1-1 or 1-2. I'm fairly certain the 1-2 drummer does the same thing, just weaker damage, but it's been a few months since I last fought him. Due to the wide range of damage, there is a large element of luck involved. I've managed 1-2 drummer with two venos (79 and 73). I've also failed against him with two venos (79 and 83).

tweakz wrote: »

This is why in the past, I may have questioned whether you actually played this game. Glad to see you recognized the mag + melee (argument against Golems). We may butt heads, but I think our work compliments the others.

Yeah, I've always recognized that you're providing good data and experiences. Even if I've been reluctant to acknowledge it. ^.^ Your posting style has mellowed out some too.

The golem thing, I thought I was pretty clear was directed at lower levels. At higher levels I completely agree with you that magmites become either much less useful or completely useless. But at lower levels, very few mobs or bosses do the melee+magic thing, or if they do the magic attack is weak enough that the magmite can absorb it, making the magmite one of if not the best pet at those levels.