UnSober's Boomer Fixed 35 Formula

I have quit Gunbound. This is the 3rd and most likely last of the guides I’ll share. Other boomer methods I use are widely available elsewhere. Have fun. Byes.

The thing I like most about boomer is the wide array of shots that GB designers have given it. A boomer pro can shoot in almost any position in any wind and is a force to be reckoned with.

However, all the high-damaging boomer abilities have been offset by its low health and defense, plus all the pitfalls of the very light boomer shot: (1) tricky lobbing in huge winds, (2) hooking an intended high angle, (3) lobbing an intended hook, (4) the dreaded back shot of an intended hook, etc. These idiosyncrasies have made many beginners pull their hair out in frustration and disgustingly conclude now and forever that the Boomer is hard to use.

This guide will show non-boomer players or beginning boomers how they can avoid all those pitfalls by using one magical angle. The Fixed 35 angle. I consider myself a Fixed 35 “expert”, able to hit almost any shot in any wind in less than 3 seconds. So forget those fancy 2-bar and 3-bar high angles and 50 BJSL mini-hooks and full power hooks (although as a boomer pro, you should know them too psmily.gif ). Except for the higher damage of the back shot, the Fixed 35 method wins them all with the shortest delay possible.

Why 35? Angle 35 will never back shot no matter what the wind is. Angle 35 lobs are easier to control. That said, you still need to distinguish between a hook wind and a wind that will lob (see my other hook/lob/back shot guide), but usually the difference is not as obvious as your shot flying off into the next room, because the lob powers and hook powers for the same distance are not too different.

At Wind 0, I use 35 instead of high angles about 80% of the time. The other 20% I use 2-bar lobs. I do not use full power lobs if I can help it. I think boomer deals more damage with a low-angle shot aimed near the feet or eyes than a shot coming from above. In one game, I crippled an a.sate with 530 damage from an SS almost clear across the screen. Yea, lots of “wtf” and “omg” on that one. No high-angle shot can do that high damage.

Having said that, Angle 35 has its limitations. If you fall into a deep pit or there’s a corpse just above you (solo games), your angle 35 won’t make it over the land. That’s when you resort to other boomer shooting methods, like high-angle lobs or full power hooks.

This guy below played me 5 times and lost all 5 jewel games. In most games, I was stealing jewels that were right beside him from halfway across the screen, and in other games I’d be turning around left then right hitting the higher jewels, hence his comment. I used one angle for all my shots in all 5 games. You guessed it, Fixed 35.

user posted image

(I have another screenshot of a conversation where the other player threatened to report me because he said that I “hack”. LOL).

Okay, so on to the main course. This method entails remembering Wind 0 powers and adjusting for wind. The adjustments are based on what I remember playing.

Lobbing with Fixed 35. (Wind with your shot)

First memorize these Wind 0 lob powers.

Screen
Distance | Power
1/8 | 0.5
1/4 | 0.9
3/8 | 1.2
1/2 | 1.5
5/8 | 1.7
3/4 | 1.9
7/8 | 2.1
8/8 | 2.2
1.5 screen | 2.7
2 screens | 3.0 (~rough estimate from memory)

I use the power meter to measure these screen distances. The full length of the power meter is 1/2 screen, so 2 bars in a power meter is 1/4 screen and 1 bar is 1/8 screen. Right click and drag your screen around to measure distances.

Then apply these wind adjustments:

Wind adjustments for targets more than ¼ screen away:

* Near to Vertically up: less 0.1 bar for each 5 wind
* 45 deg up: less 0.1 bar for each 4 wind
* Horizontal: almost the same, less 0.1 to 0.2 bars for big winds
* 45 deg down: low winds, almost no adjustment, but bigger winds, add up to 0.1 to 0.2 power
* 60 deg down to Vertically down: add 0.1 bar for each 5 wind

For example, a 22+ wind 45 deg up towards target, you need to back off 0.6 bars from Wind 0 power. Practice this method on jewels and see how accurate you can be.

Wind adjustments for targets less than ¼ screen away:
You should be able to hit anything within 1/4 screen, right? Or you can follow same adjustments but in much smaller increments, sometimes no adjustment is needed. That is because nearer targets have less time for wind to affect the boomer shot.

Hooking with Fixed 35: (Wind against your shot)

Like I said, your Fixed 35 shot will never fly backward no matter how high the wind is. I guarantee that. Don’t believe people when they say “use an angle lower than 40” to avoid backshots. I have had my Angle 39’s and 38’s fly backward on me on at least two ocassions. My angle 35 has yet to fail on a hook.

Hooks begin with Wind 2 against you (if angled below 60 degrees from horizontal), or Wind 3 against you (if angled 70 deg from horizontal), etc. etc. (see my other guide on boomer hook/lob/backshot).

First memorize these Wind 2 hook powers:

Screen
Distance | Power
1/8 | 0.7
1/4 | 1.1
3/8 | 1.5
1/2 | 1.8
5/8 | 2.2
3/4 | 2.4
7/8 | 2.6
8/8 | 2.8

Again, make liberal use of the power meter to measure the screen distances.

Because hook winds inhibit your shot, any wind above Wind 2 requires additional power adjustments (i.e. adding more power to Wind 0 powers). There is one exception and it’s a beauty. If you’re familiar with doing full power hooks under huge 18+ winds that are just off vertical, then you know you need to raise your angle above normal Wind 2 hooks (instead of lowering for most hooks) because the shot carries farther than normal hook conditions. This is exactly the same thing. But instead of adding angle, you need to lessen power for huge near vertical winds.

So apply these wind adjustments. Remember for all low winds, no adjustment is needed.

Wind adjustments for targets more than ¼ screen away:

* Near vertically up: Wind 2-15 (no change), Wind 18+ less power a bit (0.1 to 0.3 bars at most)
* 45 deg up: Wind 2-5 (no change), Wind 6+ (add 0.1 bar per 5 wind)
* Just above horizontal: Wind 2-6 (no change), Wind 7+ (add 0.1 bar plus another 0.1 bar per 4 wind)
* Horizontal: Wind 2-4 (no change), Wind 5+ (add 0.1 bar plus another 0.1 bar per 3 wind)
* Just below horizontal: similar to “just above horizontal”
* 45 deg down: similar to 45 deg up but subtract 0.1 bar
* 60 deg down: similar to 45 deg up but add 0.1 bar
* Near vertical down: Wind 2-5 (no change), Wind 10+ (add 0.1 per 7 wind)

Wind adjustments for targets less than 1/4 screen away:
You should be able to hit anything within 1/4 screen, right? Or you can follow above adjustments but in smaller increments. Most times no adjustment is needed. That is because nearer targets have less time for wind to affect your boomer shot.

Bonus to Fixed 35 lobs:

If you master fixed 35 lobs, then it’s an easy step from there to Fixed 50 lobs. In fact, you can lob like Fixed 35 anywhere from Angles 35-50, bearing in mind the following points:
- the higher the angle from Angle 35, the more power you need for less than 1/2 screen
- the higher the angle from Angle 35, the less power you need for more than 1/2 screen
For example, I can’t use Angle 35 but I can use Angle 40 (because, say, I can’t get true angle on 35). If the target is 3/4 screen away, I’d use Fixed 35 lob powers but I’d lessen the power a tiny bit (maybe 0.2 to 0.3 bars).

Practice this and watch them go “wtf” as you steal 25 pt jewels a screen away from right under your opponent’s nose, then turn around and hit another 25 pt jewel across the map, or KS your teammate (all in fun) across the screen for the win. Get used to being called “aimbot” or “pro”, if you’re not already. wink.gif Take it as a complement but keep working at it. Remember, you’re only as good as your last shot.