Strength or SDI?

[korndogg]

Hello, on level 92 of my weapon. Will have 39 points to spend, don't know whether to put 8 strength or 19 spell damage increase. Any input would be great, and I would highly appreciate an explanation to why so I know for future reference. Thanks!

[Shindaril]

Hiya,

My personal advice would depend on how many hit spells your weapon has and what special moves it or the weapon type you're possibly changing it to has.

If your weapon has only two hit spells and you don't use spells much, I'd go with 8 str (32 pts) and possibly using the remaining 7 pts into hp, regen stamina or if you're lacking a point or two from something else you'd wish to have. This would also work better with a yumi's armor pierce and weapons with crushing blow.

On the other hand, if your weapon has three or more hit spells and your other gear is already directed towards SDI and having/using special moves like double shot, whirlwind or double strike, then SDI would most likely benefit more on your damage output, but you'd "lose" 12+ hp, which, again depending on your other gears and current hp, might be the fine line between life and death.

As, I believe it was HaZaRdOuS, replied to you on [c, in the end, it's a matter of personal preference and the need for more hp. The opinions above are my own and I'd personally get both 8 str and 20% SDI on my weapons, even if it means sacrificing some hit spells/hla (yes, I prefer melee and have to say that hla works wonders for me, whenever I can afford it in my weapon, I'd pick it over hld most of the time), but seeing as you're in a tight spot, I wish these would help you decide which one to choose...Or you could just flip a coin and let the fate decide for you ^^

-Shindaril

[Pariah]

I would say if the weapon is high damage output from specials (i.e. a yumi with armor pierce) and/or you really need the HPs, go with strength as it impacts the base damage output. If it's a whirlwind wep with a lot of spells, go with SDI. You should include a pic or stats as well if you want more detailed advice. Good luck to you.

[korndogg]

Awesome, and thanks. Its currently a hatchet. I plan on changing it to a new weapon once they are released. I want to make it single target, melee weap. Whatever is released in comparison to the Ornate Axe. At 230 HP unbuffed, and currently have already have 60 SDI (even tho I do want more).

Weapon has:
38x lightning
38x fireball
38x harm
38x life leech
36x stamina leech
44x mana leech
48x hit lower defense

I added the 3 hits. All others were stock. If I do Str, I can take that to 8, and make the stam leech 38 as well. But I do like SDI and have 3 hits, so you can see why im debating. I apprecaite your answers and Ill keep leveling, so I have time.

Thanks !!

[Shindaril]

Some math for you:

The calculation on str's dmg bonus is str*0.3, so having 8 more str would mean 2.4% dmg inc on the base dmg of your weapon, so 0.432-0.48 more dmg on a weapon with 18-20 base dmg. This dmg will be increased by Enemy of One and Crushing Blow (and other weapon specials which give dmg bonus). So even if it doesn't look much on your status gump (if even showing), it will be calculated. So, if you use EoO and Crushing Blow: 0,864-0,96 damage increase and 12 hp from 8 str

19% SDI, on the other hand...Assuming 120 Eval Int, 100 int and 100+ inscription to make these simpler:
Spell:______Base dmg:__With 60% SDI__With 79% SDI__Difference___Difference after chance to proc
Harm______5.2-6.6_____43-54________47-60________4-6_________1,52-2,28
Fireball_____6.0-7.2____49-59_________54-65________5-6_________1,9-2,28
Lightning___6.9-8.0_____57-66________63-73________6-7_________2,28-2,66

Average dmg gained by 19% SDI: 1,9-2,4

The difference isn't much, but as you can see, it's a matter between hp and spell damage, on which Consecrate Weapon doesn't affect, so the actual gain from SDI is based on what are the resists of the creature you're hitting. In the end, SDI might help you do a bit more damage than 8 str, but if you're fighting something with high cold, fire and energy resists (or any combination of those three), you won't actually even see a difference.

Life is a combination of many things, I'd personally take the str for only the hp bonus, but I hope the above math and info helps you a bit more to make the decision you wish.

-Shindaril

[Pariah]

Your calcs are interesting. Nice work! Did you consider resistances? Most targets will have resists that negate the damage type for some of those spells resulting in lower dmg output for certain spells. On the other hand consecrate will convert the damage type in concert with EoE and wep specials for larger returns. I like the math though.

[Pariah]

Your calcs are interesting. Nice work! Did you consider resistances? Most targets will have resists that negate the damage type for some of those spells resulting in lower dmg output for certain spells. On the other hand consecrate will convert the damage type in concert with EoE and wep specials for larger returns. I like the math though.

[Shindaril]

Thank you Pariah. The calculations are plain numbers with no resistances calculated in them. Assuming that the majority of players here are using weapons and Consecrate Weapon, the base damage "elemental" won't matter. However, Consecrate Weapon does not change the damage types of spells:

'In the end, SDI might help you do a bit more damage than 8 str, but if you're fighting something with high cold, fire and energy resists (or any combination of those three), you won't actually even see a difference.

Did the math to demonstrate that even though there is a slight difference in the damage gains, the actual gains are very small for one item alone, thus my personal opinion that I would pick str for the hp over very small damage increases. However, I won't be making the decision, so I only provided the math as we know it. There's no actual knowledge I'm aware of that the calculations would follow what's given on uo stratics or uoguide (those I was able to find from old RunUO 1.1 server are still valid based on those two sources), but the numbers seem realistic based on how my own damage has been developing.

[korndogg]

My head hurts from reading it , but in a good way. Very impressive! I'm also going to go in the direction of strength, plus it will allow me to make my Stam Leech 38 as well. This way every direct blow does slightly more damage, as opposed to the possibility of a spell hit, with high element resistance. The added hp will also put a smile on my face. Thanks again to both of you, you rock. It was my first looted weapon (to remain a weapon) that I felt deserved a leveling deed. Fun to watch it grow, now I'm excited to see what I can turn it into, hopefully in the near future