Accessories modifiers and side stuff (Revisited).

[Toxophilite [East]]

So, today I had some free time to analyze some findings I had with Lucky vs. Menacing, what I discovered is that the two builds were comparable, but the differences often rested in the pace of certain types of battles, not necessarily the overall DPS (to which Menacing is always higher). This is a difficult discussion to have, so I decided to pretend I was a numbers guy & break down my findings visually, so that explaining the two types of builds would be easier. I decided to break down one of my hardest-hitting Weapons, a Legendary Flying Dragon (numbers people, please check my math!).

The equations I used below, had to do with an average of ten (10), so for example, because I have a 33% chance at a Critical Strike, my Weapon is likely to crit three out of every ten attacks, if my math is correct. However, on my Lucky, Critical Strike Chance Build, I have a Critical Strike chance of 61%, meaning I'm likely to crit every six out of ten attacks. Here's what I got...

306+306+306+306+306+306+306+612+612+612 = 3,978 (33% crit)

%


248+248+248+248+496+496+496+496+496+496 = 3,968 (61% crit)

As you can see, the differences in overall DPS are pretty negligible, with a difference of only 10 points. However, if we're going to be thorough, we have to look at other possibilities in raising these caps higher. What I did next, was isolate the two in their most optimal forms, first. Wrath Potions increase the Players attack by 10%, so I added this effect to the Menacing Build, since it would likely benefit from that increase the most, but for the Lucky Build, I went with Rage Potions, which increase Critical Strike Chance by 10% instead; here's what I got.

337+337+337+337+337+337+337+674+674+674 = 4,381 (33% crit) Wrath Potion (+10% damage)
248+248+248+496+496+496+496+496+496+496 = 4,216 (71% crit) Rage Potion (+10% crit)
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As you can see, the gap between the two got a bit wider, with a difference of 165 points. Not terribly bad, but certainly nothing to ignore. From here, one could assume that this trend would continue & Menacing is the obvious winner here, right? Well, before drawing any conclusions just yet, I went on to test one more thing. What would happen if both Builds were given access to use both Wrath & Rage Potions simultaneously? Well, I used my formula again & here's what I got...

337+337+337+337+337+337+674+674+674+674 = 4,718 (43% crit) Wrath Potion (+10% damage) & Rage Potion (+10% crit)
273+273+273+546+546+546+546+546+546+546 = 4,641 (71% crit) Wrath Potion (+10% damage) & Rage Potion (+10% crit)
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The differences were reduced to 77 points using my equation. Now, to make sense of all of this, why isn't Menacing the clear winner here if the total numbers are always higher than Lucky? Well, my conclusion was "circumstance". If the two Builds were in a race to meet 4,620 points first, Menacing would likely be the winner almost every time. However, if the challenge was changed to something like, which build would destroy separate targets at 500 points a piece first, the Lucky Build would be the winner almost consistently. The missing equation was context, which means my original assumption was correct.

My Conclusion:

• Menacing Builds are great for single, enormous number targets (Bosses). This is an endurance option.
• Lucky Builds are great for multiple, medium/ big numbered targets (Invasions). This is a great burst option.

 

[J Bame]

One important thing that Menacing has going for it is the fact that it affects Minion's DPS while Lucky does not. So if you have a few minions summoned (and I see no reason why you wouldn't), Menacing will have more DPS.

Then again, as this post's calculations show, it's not a big difference at the end of the day. These modifiers only make up a fraction of your DPS boosts, so unless you are min-maxing to the extremes I'd say you just stick to whichever one of the two the Tinkerer gives you first and save your money for something else.

 

[Toxophilite [East]]

Updated: 11-16-2020

It appears that Critical Strike Chance has an effect on Knockback, so I went into a Frost Moon Event to test two separate things. First, I wanted to see how much easier it was to reach Wave 15 using a Critical Strike Build & secondly, I wanted to see just how much the normal enemies would be effected by it. I didn't know this going into it, but according to the Bestiary, most normal enemies during the Frost Moon Event have Low Knockback (i.e. high resistance to it).

One important thing that Menacing has going for it is the fact that it affects Minion's DPS while Lucky does not. So if you have a few minions summoned (and I see no reason why you wouldn't), Menacing will have more DPS.

That is something I somewhat overlooked, but when I ran my newest tests & I found that Lucky has a possible set of quirks. The first is that it seems to work well with Desert Tiger, which is a continuation of my first obsolete experiment. The second is that it seems to have higher knockback, meaning, each prefix you add possibly raises that number much higher. Though I can't be sure exactly how effective it is, it makes the two Builds even more comparable than I had originally though. I have to test a few more scenarios just to be sure though...

Then again, as this post's calculations show, it's not a big difference at the end of the day. These modifiers only make up a fraction of your DPS boosts, so unless you are min-maxing to the extremes I'd say you just stick to whichever one of the two the Tinkerer gives you first and save your money for something else.

I'm not so sure anymore, as I said previously, I found some new quirks to Lucky & Critical Strike Chance. There may be more of a divergence than I'd originally though!
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Updated: 11-16-2020 (Part 2)

Okay, so I don't wanna get too excited, but I just witnessed something in this game I'd never seen before! For some reason I was compelled to do some tests during a Solar Eclipse & I noticed a few things, one, the Nailhead Mob was stuck in place most of the time when he spawned & I was able to out-range him while standing on the ground, which I found odd. What really stood out though, is watching the Psycho Mob & Dr. Man Fly, get tossed around like a Flinx Enemy (both Mobs have Medium knockback Resistance & no Titan Potions were being used)! I'm not sure if this is common for Melee Class, but I'll hold off any declarations until I test Menacing during the same event, just to make sure I'm not jumping the gun.

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Updated: 11-16-2020 (Part 3)

Well, I did my third/ fourth test & the results are in. Just to be sure it wasn't placebo, I swapped back to Lucky from Menacing mid-battle & the differences were undeniable! There's a few things I'd like to note about the test before giving my final thoughts. Firstly, I never knew that Vampire Mobs were so annoying as enemies before today, when using my Menacing Build, these enemies were much more noticeable & at times, I'd be fighting up to 3 to 4 Cave Bats on steroids, my goodness! Nailhead was also an issue, making it unsafe to land at times if he just so happened be camped beneath you, especially when battling Mothron.

When I swapped to my Lucky Build, I noticed three things. One, that I could forget to refresh my Frost Hydra Sentries & it wouldn't matter that much. Two, Vampires weren't much of a threat & the potential for them grouping up was non-existent; & thirdly Nailhead stayed at the edge of the screen where he belonged, making landing from the air, much safer.

My conclusions:

A Lucky Build is undeniably better for Invasion-type Events than Menacing in almost every aspect. The speed at which lesser Mobs die, considering certain Expert/ Master Mode mechanics (enemy swarming), & the fact that the knockback from your critical hits are extremely noticeable with so many enemies to manage at once, Critical Strike Chance takes the win here. Time to celebrate; it looks like we have a new Meta!