Buff Slash(Broadsword)/Gambler's Cut(Katana)

(all data ripped from Mid's Hero Designer v1.4 . . . DPA = damage per activation time)

Gambler's Cut
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RECH: 3s ... ACT: 0.67s ... DPA @ lvl 50: 57.8

Divine Avalanche
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RECH: 3s ... ACT: 1.33s ... DPA @ lvl 50: 57.8
10s duration +15% DEFENSE buff



Slash
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RECH: 4s ... ACT: 1.33s ... DPA @ lvl 50: 68.8

Parry
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RECH: 3s ... ACT: 1.33s ... DPA @ lvl 50: 57.8
10s duration +15% DEFENSE buff



Compared to the parry moves Slash and Gambler's Cut are very lackluster.

(This is the part where I say, "Since the parry moves are so much better in comparison there's no point in taking Slash or Gambler's Cut ever". But, then someone will come along and tell me to "l2p noob" so I'm not!).

Gambler's Cut and Divine Avalanche both have the same DPA even though Gambler's Cut has a faster activation time. Which means, the triple-stacking-floor-an-even-level-minion's-accuracy-to(5%) Divine Avalanche has better burst damage than Gambler's Cut.

Slash does have a better DPA than Parry, but that 4s recharge time makes it much less useful (especially at low levels before you have a chance to SO and IO out your slots).

(And don't even bring up Foe [-DEFENSE] on Slash and Gambler's Cut, every other attack in the set has that, too . . . you're not missing anything by skipping Slash/Gambler's Cut).

A 15 to 20 percent damage boost would go a long way to making Slash and Gambler's Cut better damage attacks than Parry and Divine Avalanche without stepping on the toes of Hack and Sting of the Wasp.

Oh . . . and HERF HAMIDON!!!!

I don't really see the point. Parry/DA are reasonably balanced where they are and the remaining powers are as well. The reason that they're balanced within their sets is because, though they have low recharges, they're not going to actually contribute largely to attack strings. The primary cost for them is that they take much longer than they should for the amount of damage they deal. Both of them are worse for attack strings than their comparative tier 1 and 2 powers.

Also, remember that Gambler's Cut is almost universally considered better than Sting of the Wasp where actual end game attack strings are concerned. It doesn't need to be made better to actually compete with Sting of the Wasp because it's already better.

Also, before you try to start asking for changes to be made, please learn about Arcanatime. Gambler's Cut doesn't actually animate in .67 seconds. It animates .924 seconds.

I'm not sure, but I think I just got schooled.

Arcanatime? Is that the Time Cube thing?

All I know is comparing (in-game) Slash/GC to Parry/DA is like thinking somethings wrong with my car's gas mileage . . . and then you're the mechanic telling me "No, nothing's wrong, you just aren't factoring in all the quantum influences."

Simple answer: Don't take Slash.
Hack is the better power in every way. The way I see it, they made Slash suck so the choice between the two is easy for you.

My only Katana scrapper is only 19, so I won't comment on that one.

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I'm not sure, but I think I just got schooled.

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If by "schooled" you mean "educated" then, yes, you did just get schooled.

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Arcanatime? Is that the Time Cube thing?

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Arcanatime is the method used to devise the real animation time that a power takes up because the server only checks your status so often. Arcanaville (after whom the method is named after) did extensive testing and figured that the interval in which the server actually checks your status and allows you to do things is roughly .132 seconds. Furthermore, because the server has to verify that an animation is completed before it can allow you to do anything else, it requires another interval to pass before you can activate anything else. Combining these 2 phenomena together allows you to determine the real time that the power takes up.

The formula is as follows: (roundUp(listedTime/.132)+1)*.132 = realTime (commonly referred to as the Arcanatime of the power)

Here's a functional example:

Gambler's Cut: listedTime = .67 seconds; .67/.132 = 5.07; roundUp(5.07) + 1 = 7; 7 * .132 = .924

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All I know is comparing (in-game) Slash/GC to Parry/DA is like thinking somethings wrong with my car's gas mileage . . . and then you're the mechanic telling me "No, nothing's wrong, you just aren't factoring in all the quantum influences."

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The problem is that the game numbers are actually rather misleading. Gambler's Cut appears much faster than it actually is. Parry/DA are using endurance and recharge numbers determined by the standard damage per end and damage per recharge formulas. Suffice it to say that DA and Parry are balanced, your observations don't stack up with actual practice, and the increase in animation time is more than enough to balance out the -def to +def switch.

Interestingly enough, you're almost certainly not getting the same MPG with your car as you think you are. If you went to your mechanic complaining that you're not going to get the MPG that is listed for your car, you'd probably get a similar explanation because the information that is obtained via the MPG tests don't fully account for many of the variables that actually come in to play. The same applies here. You're claiming because you looked at the numbers that Parry/DA are universally better than GC and Slash without actually looking at their functionality and implementation. They're not, because you're not actually accounting for any number of other factors.

So Slash and Gambler's Cut ARE better, offensively, than Parry/Diving Avalanche?

I shouldn't be concerned if I rely on them (Slash/GC) over (Parry/DA) from a strictly damage output point of view?

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So Slash and Gambler's Cut ARE better, offensively, than Parry/Diving Avalanche?

I shouldn't be concerned if I rely on them (Slash/GC) over (Parry/DA) from a strictly damage output point of view?

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Correct. Parry does less damage in the same period of time as Slash and Hack, giving it a lower DPA. Divine Avalanche deals the same damage as Gambler's Cut but takes more than 70% more animation time to do it, giving it much lower DPA.

Thanks for the info, Umbral. But, I'd still find it interesting if the devs could data mine how many Broad Sword / Katana builds have Slash / GC . . . I'd be surprised if it was over 1%.

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Thanks for the info, Umbral. But, I'd still find it interesting if the devs could data mine how many Broad Sword / Katana builds have Slash / GC . . . I'd be surprised if it was over 1%.

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I suspect you would be way wrong too, when it comes to Katana. Every single Kat build I have uses GC. It is an excellent filler attack, has great DPA, and can be fitted with the Achilles' Heel -res proc.

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It is an excellent filler attack, has great DPA, and can be fitted with the Achille's Heel -res proc.

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Which is why it simply demonstrates to me how little the OP actually knows about the game.

Ouch.

Back to FanArt for me.

Slash I rarely see people use. In fact, I may be the only one who uses it. My BS/SR is already soft-capped, so I didn't need Parry anymore, therefore I dropped it for Slash for more damage. Maybe once I finish slotting that toon I may not even need Slash anymore, but that remains to be seen.

But, if you're not soft-capped without it, I'd recommend Parry over Slash any day. As for Katana... can't speak for it.

Ah, now I see the problem. DPA, or Damage Per Activation, is a metric of damage per second of attack cycle, not just per second of animation time. An attack cycle is the time the attack takes to animate plus the time it takes to recharge, and you may or may not take Arcanatime into account depending on how precise you want your calculations to be. That explains the huge numbers I was seeing, as you're counting just animation time. Since VERY few powers actually have an animation time balanced with just about anything, that kind of metric just isn't meaningful.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arcanaville Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.

Back in the earlier days of Katana, GC was definitely the inferior tier 1, that nobody took. With the redo of Katana, GC became a very viable and popular choice -- probably the more popular of the two choices, given that it's very useful for filling out an attack chain and the frequency of its use makes it a great proc holder.

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Ah, now I see the problem. DPA, or Damage Per Activation, is a metric of damage per second of attack cycle, not just per second of animation time.

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No, Sam, DPA is damage over animation time. It has nothing to do with recharge at all.

Wiki on DPA