Thermonuclear smoke devil/Strategies
The thermonuclear smoke devil is a boss variant of the regular smoke devils, requiring 93 Slayer to kill. Similarly to Kraken, despite its high requirements, the boss fight is mechanically simple and kills are quite quick, reaching 60–100 kills per hour depending on gear and strategies used.
Requirements
- Level
93 to deal damage against the thermonuclear smoke devil.
Recommendations
- High combat stats. Although not required, see the skill levels below for an indication of the advised stats:
- If using Melee:
- Level
90 or higher - Level
90 or higher - Level
90 or higher - Level
90 or higher, required to utilise the Redemption prayer method - Level
70 or higher for the Piety prayer
- Level
- If using Magic:
- Level
75 or higher to equip the correct staves - Level 90 or higher, required to utilise the Redemption prayer method
- Level 49 or higher for the Redemption prayer
- Level
- If using Melee:
Getting there
The thermonuclear smoke devil is located in a separated section of the Smoke Devil Dungeon, as seen on the image. The quickest way to get to this dungeon is via fairy rings:
- Use the code BKP, then run north-east to the dungeon entrance.
If fairy rings are not unlocked, teleport to Castle Wars and run south-west of the building, where the entrance to the Smoke Devil Dungeon is.
Run north-west after entering the Smoke Devil Dungeon to find a crevice leading to the section with the thermonuclear smoke devil.
Mechanics
Attack styles
The thermonuclear smoke devil only attacks with a typeless magical ranged attack:
- 'Typeless' means that protection prayers will not have any effect.
- 'Magical ranged' means that the attack accuracy is decided by the ranged attack bonuses of the thermonuclear smoke devil and the magic defence bonuses of the player.
- The max hit of this attack is 8.
- The attack is very accurate and has an attack speed of 2 ticks (1.2 seconds).
- The attack range is eight tiles.
Smoke
The thermonuclear smoke devil is located in a smoky environment. Therefore players must equip either a gas mask, facemask, or slayer helmet, or they will take damage from the smoke. As with all other smoke and dust devils, these are also mandatory when fighting the boss, or it will deal even more damage and drain stats.
Methods
Blood Barrage Healing
A simple, low effort method that allows extended kill count and trip length, though only profitable if lucky on unique drops. Players with high enough magic attack and strength bonus gear can outheal the thermonuclear smoke devil's damage. The passive bonuses of the Ancient Sceptre and select gear such as Bloodbark Armour can be worn for this method with little loss to magic bonuses. Forgotten Brew/imbued heart and Augury also go a long way to increase effectiveness. Bring plenty prayer/super restore potions and a few emergency high healing food for those several unlucky splashes in a row.
Utilising the smaller smoke devils in the arena for group blood barrages is also a way to get back to full health quickly, though this is detrimental for pet hunters.
Safespotting
The player's magic spells have a longer attack range than the thermonuclear smoke devil. This difference may be utilised by freezing the thermonuclear smoke devil and then moving out of its attack range, so that the player can still attack the thermonuclear smoke devil, while the thermonuclear is not able to reach the player. Powered staves require the use of the longrange attack style for this method. Use the best ice spell available.
An Ice ancient sceptre is recommended with this method, as it provides a 10% accuracy bonus against unfrozen targets and increases 1-3 extra ticks of freeze time (depending on the ice spell used).
Redemption method
Players with a Prayer level of 49 or higher are able to make use of the Redemption prayer. The Redemption prayer can be used at the thermonuclear smoke devil as a way of restoring hitpoints. When the player's hitpoints are reduced below 10% of their maximum hitpoints while the Redemption prayer is active, the Redemption prayer will use the player's remaining prayer points to heal the player. The number of hitpoints healed is equal to 25% of their Prayer level (rounded down).
After the Redemption effect is triggered, the player will have to quickly restore their prayer points by drinking a dose of a prayer potion, super restore or Ancient brew and reactivate the Redemption prayer.
Players with a Prayer level of 96 or higher are able to restore 24 hitpoints with the Redemption prayer. Since a prayer restore potion has four doses, each potion could potentially heal 96 hitpoints, which is significantly higher than the best healing regular food (which restores 22 hitpoints), albeit at a significantly higher cost compared to food.
A more cost-effective method involves using Ancient Brews, which cost significantly less. However, these reduce defence, which will make the thermonuclear smoke devil's attacks slightly more accurate - you will need to be quick on drinking a dose and reactivating redemption, and you will do this more often, but the cost offset is still significant. This downside can be offset by either bringing regular Restore potions (1:1 with Ancient Brews) and taking a sip of each when Redemption activates (Shorter trips, slightly more expensive than ancient brews alone, slightly more forgiving), or Super restores (again, 1:1 with Ancient Brews), and alternating which potion you use every redemption (Longer trips, more expensive, but just over half the cost of Prayer Potions/Super Restores alone, and almost as forgiving).
Since the maximum hit of the thermonuclear smoke devil is 8, the player should always stay at least 9 hitpoints while utilising the Redemption prayer method, to reliably survive all of the thermonuclear smoke devil's attacks. Therefore it is highly recommended to have a Hitpoints level of 90 or higher, to make sure the Redemption prayer always gets activated when the player gets damaged below 9 hitpoints.
Walk-under method
The player's attack speed is slower than that of the thermonuclear smoke devil. For every attack that the player performs, the thermonuclear smoke devil performs 2 to 2.5 attacks. When walking under the thermonuclear smoke devil immediately after performing an attack, the player is able to hide from the thermonuclear smoke devil's attacks until they step out to perform another attack. When utilising this method correctly, the thermonuclear smoke devil will only perform 1 attack for every attack the player performs; therefore reducing the damage taken by 50 to 60 percent. This method is preferred for those not wanting to mage the boss or don't have the gear to do so.
A more advanced version of the walk-under method utilises the fact that NPCs do not move when the player they are targeting is underneath them if the player clicks on an item on the ground or an interactive object (producing a red 'X' when clicked). If an item or object, such as the ashes that the boss drops every kill or the entrance to the room, is under it or on the opposite side of the boss from the player, it is relatively easy to walk under the boss and attack on a constant rhythm. This works even with the left-click attack option on. This is easy to do if the item is under the boss' hitbox and not under its clickbox, or if the item is on the opposite side from where you are attacking; simply kill the first one as normal with the walk-under method, then drop the ashes in the south-west corner of the boss' hitbox where it normally spawns. If done correctly, after the next kill, more ashes will be dropped in the exact same tile and you do not have to drop more.
POH/Nardah method
Similarly to the Abyssal Sire, the thermonuclear smoke devil is close to a fairy ring. As such, players can also utilise a similar method for killing the boss. A weapon that can deal very high special attack damage is recommended for this method; dragon claws are useful for this purpose. As the fight is expected to end very quickly, the player brings the best strength-boosting gear they can afford and dumps all specials on the boss, before killing it as normal.
After killing the boss, the player teleports to their house and uses the rejuvenation pool to restore lost health, prayer and special attack.
Alternatively, if the elite desert diary has been completed, the player can use a Desert amulet 4 to restore health, prayer, and special attack and a Quest point cape to teleport close to a fairy ring. This yields more profit with low input cost, with the only costs coming from house tabs if not using the Construction cape and super combat potions. However, kill rates are slower than killing it normally due to the simplicity of the boss fight and its 9 second respawn timer.
Equipment
- References
- ^ 1.0 1.1 If using Blood Barrage
- ^ 2.0 2.1 If using Fire Surge with tome of fire
- ^ If using Fire Surge with harmonised nightmare staff
Inventory
 |  |  |  |
| | | |
 |  |
 |  |  |  |
- References
- ^ 1.0 1.1 If using Inquisitor's mace
- ^ 2.0 2.1 If using Scythe of vitur
Inventory
 | | |  |
- Dragon claws
- Saturated heart
- Torva platelegs for Dragon claws special attack
- 3 Divine super combat potion
- Teleport to house (tablet)
- Rune pouch
- Book of the dead if using thralls
- Soul runes if using death charge
- Rest Super restores as needed
Notes
- If not using a Scythe of vitur, the recoil damage from a charged Ring of suffering (ri) ends up dealing more damage than a Berserker ring (i) would help achieve.
- The Scythe of vitur may occasionally hit a stray Smoke devil if one walks underneath the boss. This can cause problems if using the redemption method.
- The strength bonus from Bandos chestplate is only worth the extra damage taken if using a scythe; otherwise, armour with high magic defence is recommended for longer trips.
- Torva platelegs usually do not help achieve a damage boost and thus are not worth for most of the kills, although they are recommended to bring for dragon claws' special attack.
- An imbued heart is recommended to increase Magic level, which consequently increases magic defence.
- Using the Resurrect Greater Zombie spell will increase your damage output by around ~5%
- Due to quick kill times, Death Charge can be used in rapid succession to gain more special attack energy