There is a healthy amount of debate on when to use Ancient Stone Sword (A.S.S) vs. other swords. In this article we’ll compare all of the swords for each melee class.
Please note this is not a ‘which class has the most DPS’ article, it is a ‘which sword is best for each class’ article.
This article will also not compare how swords are used, only the DPS differences between the swords. Range is a major, major factor in how swords are used. A Crystal Sword’s 4.5 range, an A.S.S’s 4.0 range, and a normal sword’s 3.5 range all affect how easy it is to hit something (the further, the better). Because of this, Crystal Swords and A.S.S.es are still very popular despite their theoretical lowered damage output. For many people, attacking from a longer range buys safety and thus the ability to maneuver and get more hits in.
Deriving the formulas from the Character Stats Explained page, we get the following formula for Damage Per Second (DPS), which is a good indication of how good a given weapon and character is versus a certain amount of def on a mob:
Damage Per Second
((Average Weapon Damage) * (0.5 + ATT / 50)) - DEF) * (1.5 + 6.5 * DEX / 75) = DPS
For two of our classes, they have buffs which can greatly affect the damage output of your character. They are the Paladin’s Seal and the Warrior’s Helm. The Paladin’s Seal buff (Damaging) gives +50% to Weapon Damage (not total damage), and the Warrior’s Helm buff (Berserk) gives +50% to Attack Speed (not dex). This modifies the DPS formula into the following when the respective buffs are active:
Paladin Seal
((Average Weapon Damage * 1.5) * (0.5 + ATT / 50)) - DEF) * (1.5 + 6.5 * DEX / 75) = DPS
Warrior Helm
((Average Weapon Damage) * (0.5 + ATT / 50) - DEF) * ((1.5 + 6.5 * DEX / 75) * 1.5) = DPS
Swords
A.S.S. has reduced attack speed, so the formula when using it is also modified:
(365 * (0.5 + ATT / 50)) - DEF) * ((1.5 + 6.5 * DEX / 75) * 0.6) = DPS
Alternately, the Pirate King’s Cutlass has an increased rate of fire:
(207.5*(0.5+ATT/50))-DEF)*((1.5 + 6.5 * DEX / 75) *1.2) = DPS
Demon Blade fires two shots which are both affected by mob def, so the formula for that is also modified:
((162.5 * (0.5 + ATT / 50) - DEF) * 2) * (1.5 + 6.5 * DEX / 75) = DPS
In the following tables we’ll compare how the A.S.S. stacks up to other swords with and without any buffs active. To determine when an A.S.S. deals more damage depends on the def of the mob in question. This can be expressed with the following equation, which shows when the two swords being evaluated do exactly the same damage (without buffs, not Demon Blade):
(365 * (0.5 + ATT / 50)) - DEF) * ((1.5 + 6.5 * DEX / 75) * 0.6) =
((Other Sword Average Weapon Damage) * (0.5 + ATT / 50)) - DEF) * (1.5 + 6.5 * DEX / 75)
/ Unbuffed Paladins
Sword |
Def For A.S.S To Be Equal |
Bosses With This Def or More |
Normal Mobs With This Def or More |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
| ||||
| ||||
| ||||
| ||||
|
Sword |
Def For A.S.S To Be Equal |
Bosses With This Def or More |
Normal Mobs With This Def or More |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| ||||
|
| ||||
|
| ||||
|
| ||||
|
| ||||
|
|
Sword |
Def For A.S.S To Be Equal |
Bosses With This Def or More |
Normal Mobs With This Def or More |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| ||||
|
| ||||
|
| ||||
|
| ||||
|
| ||||
|
|