Some necro or cold sorc might use Act 5 merc instead of Act 2 for style.
This post tried to convince you that an
Eth Upp'd HeadStriker is likely to be the best weapon you can get for an Act 5 merc.
Act 5 merc gets massive bonus in damage if the sword is 1-handed. The formulae are grabbed from an old site. AB is down atm, so take with a grain of salt.
Act 5 merc with
1-H Sword formulae:
final_max_damage = [(base_weapon_max_damage * Eth * (1 + weapon_ED%)
* 2 + base_merc_max_damage + max_damage
*3 + normal_damage) * (1 + non-weapon_ED% + str/100 + skill_ED%) * DS + Bash_bonus + elemental_damage_max] * CS
final_min_damage = [(base_weapon_min_damage * Eth * (1 + weapon_ED%)
* 2 + base_merc_min_damage + min_damage
*3 + normal_damage) * (1 + non-weapon_ED% + str/100 + skill_ED%) * DS + Bash_bonus + elemental_damage_min] * CS
Act 5 merc with
2-H Sword formulae:
final_max_damage = [(base_weapon_max_damage * Eth * (1 + weapon_ED%) + base_merc_max_damage + max_damage + normal_damage) * (1 + non-weapon_ED% + str/100 + skill_ED%) * DS + Bash_bonus + elemental_damage_max] * CS
final_min_damage = [(base_weapon_min_damage * Eth * (1 + weapon_ED%) + base_merc_min_damage + min_damage + normal_damage) * (1 + non-weapon_ED% + str/100 + skill_ED%) * DS + Bash_bonus + elemental_damage_min] * CS
1-H vs 2-H formulae:
For 1-H, there is an additional factor of 2 after (1 + weapon_ED%), and the min_damage / max_damage is multiplied by 3 instead of 1
Some hard terms are explained below
Eth = 1.5 if weapon is ethereal, = 1 otherwise
base_merc_min_damage / base_merc_max_damage can be found on reliable sites, tho I find every site differs from each other by a little bit, including calculators......
min_damage / max_damage is the "+X to minimum / maximum damage" from items
normal_damage is the type of damage bonus on a Grief / Redeemer etc. You can see a Grief with normal_damage = 400 does not get a bonus from Act 5 merc using a 1-H Sword
non-weapon_ED% is the type of gain from off-weapon items, such as Fort
Bash_bonus is the added damage from the skill Bash
DS comes from either deadly strike or critical strike. If at least one of them is active, DS = 2, otherwise DS = 1.
CS is the intrinsic 5% chance of doing double damage as a monster. CS = 2 if it's activated, otherwise = 1.
Take a normal lvl 90 Act 5 merc, it has the following stats, these might be slightly different from the true values cuz no reliable source was found:
str = 218
Bash = lvl 20 = 145 skill_ED%, Bash_bonus = 20
base_merc_min_damage = 67
base_merc_max_damage = 71
If using an
Eth Upp'd HeadStriker with nothing in the sox + Fort:
- Take CS = 1 and DS = 2 cuz DS is always triggered on this HeadStriker at lvl 90
- max_damage = 90 when merc is lvl 90
- HeadStriker has +15 str, +150% weapon damage
- merc using Bash
final_max_damage = (53 * 1.5 * 2.5 * 2 + 71 + 90 * 3) * (1 + 218% + 15% + 300% + 145%) * 2 + 20 = 11511
final_min_damage = (37 * 1.5 * 2.5 * 2 + 67 + 0 * 3) * (1 + 218% + 15% + 300% + 145%) * 2 + 20 = 5380
15 fpa Bash.
Can hit 11 fpa Bash with a 15 IAS jewel in the weapon and a 45 IAS helm
In comparison,
total perf Eth Grief PB + Fort:
- Take CS = 1 and DS = 2, but the time-averaged final_min_damage / final_max_damage is normalized by the chance of getting DS on a Grief:
final_max_damage = (35 * 1.5 * 1.15 * 2 + 71 + 400) * (1 + 218% + 300% + 145%) * (0.2 * 2 + 0.8 * 1) + 20 = 5438
final_min_damage = (31 * 1.5 * 1.15 * 2 + 67 + 400) * (1 + 218% + 300% + 145%) * (0.2 * 2 + 0.8 * 1) + 20 = 5275
10 fpa Bash.
Can hit 9 fpa Bash with a 45 IAS helm
You see with the max'd IAS setup,
Grief is at disadvantage vs Eth upp'd HeadStriker on an Act 5 Merc!
In fact, the
Eth Upp'd HeadStriker might be the best weapon for an Act 5 Merc vs Oath/Death/BOTD. Death is GG, but it's 2-H, so there is no bonus. BOTD is trash as always. Not sure about GG rares such as Eth rare PB... Doubt if anyone would use it on a merc
So I have an Upp'd Eth HeadStriker with 1os open on East SC Ladder FT. The 30 durability comes from upgrading:
This post was edited by kk159 on Dec 15 2016 04:57pm