The Training Dummy
Every hit floats up as a number; the nameplate keeps score.
What it is
A straw dummy for testing spells and blades. It never dies, never moves, and shows exactly how much damage each hit did.
How to get it
One White Wool, two Sticks, a Hay Bale and a Smooth Stone Slab. Stacks to 16.
How to use it
- Place it on the top or side of a block. It turns to face you and needs about two blocks of headroom.
- Pick it up by sneaking and punching it. Spells cast while sneaking still hit it, so you can test If Sneaking spells.
Damage numbers
Each hit pops up a number that floats for about a second. Under 10 shows one decimal (8.3); bigger numbers are rounded. Bigger hits show bigger numbers, and you can see them through walls.
| Colour | Damage type |
|---|---|
| Orange | Fire |
| Pale blue | Freezing |
| Yellow | Lightning |
| Amber | Explosions |
| Pink | Magic |
| White | Everything else (blades, arrows, fists) |
Reaction bonuses show in the number. For example, Shatter on a frozen dummy makes the fire hit 60% bigger.
The nameplate
While you hit it, the name reads like DPS 16.5 · 170 total:
- DPS: damage per second over the last 5 seconds (or since your first hit, if shorter, but at least 1 second).
- Total: all damage since this burst started.
After 3 seconds without a hit, the next hit starts a new count. After 4 seconds the nameplate hides.
Tips
- It has 1,000 health and heals to full after every hit. Knockback, pushes and pulls don’t move it.
- It wears no armour, and marks and reactions work on it.
- It isn’t a monster, so it never counts for kills: not for Heart Circle breakthroughs, kill feats, the Runesmith’s contracts, or bonded blade growth.
- Compare spells: cast each for five seconds and compare DPS. Test modifiers like Amplify, Split or Focus the same way.
- Learn reactions: try
Bolt · Chill · Emberand watch for Shatter. See Element Reactions. - Practise sword momentum: blows and arts on a dummy build it at a bit over half the usual rate, and only up to just short of tier 3. In the practice room you can build it all the way to the peak, so you can try your Final Art.
- Practise Resonant Strikes: the dummy shows the bonus damage.
- Check your gear: hit it with and without a staff, at full mana and not, charged and tapped, on the beat and off.
- Line up several dummies to test Chain, Burst and Wildfire.