Lvl 52 ranger gear question

[Rawrinator]

This sounds promising. This is my highest character and I didn't do too much late game content when I first played the game so i'll have to look into what this all means. That weapon would bring me much joy though.

[wagorf]

pasting the MH options here from the other thread

Jade Mace is the best bang for the bux (700pp), downside is it looks horrible.

I'd save up for Exq Warsword (9k) since I am a fashion freak. But if u only want to shed 6k for now then crafted velium sword works!

Lamentation: ((9*2) + 11) / 21 = 1.38
Scimitar of the Emerald Dawn: ((20*2)+11) / 34 = 1.5
Revulant Whip: ((5*2)+11) / 14 = 1.5
Wurm Slayer: ((25*2)+11) / 40 = 1.525
Edge of the Night Walker: ((14*2)+11) / 25 = 1.56
Frostbringer: ((12*2)+11) / 22 = 1.59
Jade Mace: ((9*2) + 11) / 18 = 1.61
Winter's Fury: ((13*2)+11) / 23 = 1.61
Skyfury Scimitar: ((13*2)+11) / 23 = 1.61
Earthcaller: ((14*2)+11) / 24 = 1.625
Exquisite Velium War Sword: ((12*2)+11) / 21 = 1.67
Exquisite Velium Battle Hammer: ((12*2)+11) / 20 = 1.75
Exquisite Velium Spear: ((12*2)+11) / 20 = 1.75
Swiftblade of Zek: ((11*2)+11) / 18 = 1.83
Horn of Hsagra: ((13*2)+11) / 20 = 1.85

[Troxx]

Originally Posted by wagorf [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

pasting the MH options here from the other thread

Jade Mace is the best bang for the bux (700pp), downside is it looks horrible.

I'd save up for Exq Warsword (9k) since I am a fashion freak. But if u only want to shed 6k for now then crafted velium sword works!

Lamentation: ((9*2) + 11) / 21 = 1.38
Scimitar of the Emerald Dawn: ((20*2)+11) / 34 = 1.5
Revulant Whip: ((5*2)+11) / 14 = 1.5
Wurm Slayer: ((25*2)+11) / 40 = 1.525
Edge of the Night Walker: ((14*2)+11) / 25 = 1.56
Frostbringer: ((12*2)+11) / 22 = 1.59
Jade Mace: ((9*2) + 11) / 18 = 1.61
Winter's Fury: ((13*2)+11) / 23 = 1.61
Skyfury Scimitar: ((13*2)+11) / 23 = 1.61
Earthcaller: ((14*2)+11) / 24 = 1.625
Exquisite Velium War Sword: ((12*2)+11) / 21 = 1.67
Exquisite Velium Battle Hammer: ((12*2)+11) / 20 = 1.75
Exquisite Velium Spear: ((12*2)+11) / 20 = 1.75
Swiftblade of Zek: ((11*2)+11) / 18 = 1.83
Horn of Hsagra: ((13*2)+11) / 20 = 1.85

For melee threat generation this simple calculation works well. Warriors understand (or should understand) this well. Melee threat is based solely on damage potential, not on damage actually done.

For practical dps purposes, the above quoted ratios are overly simplified. The (base damage x 2) portion of the equation is subject to the random number generator, your attack, the mob’s defense, etc. the damage bonus part (+11) is static and completely applied. It doesn’t matter how high a mob’s ac is - if you hit them the bonus sticks in full.

It’s for this reason that, when considering primary hand, faster weapons not only trump slower weapons of equal ratio .. they can also functionally beat out slower weapons of better ratio. Compare earthcaller to jade mace. 1.61 to 1.625. The weighted ratios are about 1% off. On paper the earthcaller is flat out better right? Not necessarily.

For the sake of simplicity we’ll assume 100% accuracy, 100% haste, and no double attack.

Jade mace will swing 66.66 times a minute -733 damage from damage bonus that is static and always applied.
Earthcaller will swing 50 times a minute - 550 damage from damage bonus that is static and always applied.

If you always hit for max, earthcaller wins ... but this never happens. You’ll hit for some calculated, and predictably random value between min and max.

Calculated ratio is helpful but doesn’t give you the full picture given the combination of static damage bonus (favors speed for primary hand) applied on top of the variable chunk of your damage.

[Raev]

It's true that 2.0 is just an approximation to a (fairly long and dumb) calculation based on AC, ATK, damage tables, etc. But you can always measure and replace with more accurate numbers. I tend to use about 1.6 for Giants (without Avatar) and 2.6 for krup knights (at level 60, with avatar). So 2.0 is pretty reasonable most of the time.

Even a fast weapon will only give you maybe 10-15 dps from the damage bonus vs 60-70 from the interval, so the numbers don't really change that much. For example, if we assume our Ranger is battling Giants in Kael, the jade mace goes from 1.61 to 1.41 and the Earthcaller goes from to 1.63 to 1.39, or from +1% to -1.5. So unless you minmax at the aspergers level like me, it's not really worth worrying about.

Faster weapons aren't really more consistent. When dual wielding you get so many attacks that Central Limit Theorem applies and you're pretty close to your average most of the time. 2H is more inconsistent.

[Jimjam]

Lupine dagger is a fun primary weapon.

[Cecily]

That sure is a lot of words to say Jade Mace is kinda similar to Earthcaller. Which is what that chart shows.

[Troxx]

For raw dps (if that’s your only goal) jade mace is flatly better.

That’s what the “lot of words” was trying to point out.

Earthcaller is a much better weapon overall, but of the tradable weapons in that list jade mace is a hands down winner for main hand unless you’re so loaded with cash that you have nothing better to spend money on than either ultra expensive BiS options or expensive marginal upgrades.

For the average ranger who isn’t absolutely loaded or a raid twink, the weapon answer is Woodsman staff until swiftwind and then jade mace + swiftwind until primary epic is achieved.

[Cecily]

Eh.. the weapons are too similar damage-wise to really argue about. Lupine dagger is better because it looks neat and the proc only gets you killed in a few places.

A new-er ranger should carry at the minimum: Earthcaller, a 9/18, and a Fayguard from HS. Besides the epic those are easy to obtain and the Fayguard blows away the ones you're talking about, falling squarely in the middle of exquisite weapon DPS.

The only reason to not use Earthcaller over a Jade Mace is not wanting the proc to kill you. And the only reason to use either of those over a Fayguard is in a group / raid situation where a small PBAE will wreck your crowd control and slows are taken care of.

[Snaggles]

In any situation where you are facing a mob (or it has a DS) a good 2hander easily beats slightly better 1handers. It's also less aggro for group situations, even if the damage is more sporadic.

Personally if its a 5-10% difference I'd be tempted to go with less aggro unless you have a lock on that or plan to help rooting for prox aggro. It also opens you up to more efficient casts between swings. I'm sure my tune would change if I had epics [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.].