Pistoleer Archive

Thread: DPS is misleading. Your best DPS pistol might not be your overall best pistol.

Nifty
Sun May 08, 2005 9:35 pm
#1

That's right, DPS is misleading given the current combat setup.


The reason is that DPS is calculated roughly as average damageover time. Average damage is meaningless in SWG right now, as we hit for the same amount of damage with a given pistol (or any weapon) against a given target each and every time.


I started paying attention to the damage done with my guns while grinding out the last discipline of my template today. I was grinding level 80 critters, and I paid attention to the damage potential number (the number before the armor mitigation is subtracted.)


Here are the 4 guns I used, ranked by the modified DPS (gun min-max base spd/mod spd base dps/mod dps) at the time I was MP/MBH/SL 0/0/0/0

DL 44 XT 385-849 1.97/1.21 313.90/511.13

Rep Blstr 383-831 2.24/1.38 292.24/475.86

Fth FWG 296-864 2.03/1.24 286.23/466.08

DX-2 400-868 2.32/1.43 272.76/444.14


Now, if you go off the DPS, that DL-44 XT is definitely where it's at. Unfortunately, that's not the case since the weapons don't hit for a random amount of damage each time. They hit for a specific amount... which for my skill level seems to be about 95.4 - 95.6% of the max damage value on a basic ranged shot or

DX-2 830 (95.62% of the max)

FWG 824 (95.37% of the max)

DL44 811 (95.52% of the max)

Rep 795 (95.66% of the max)


So my DPS is telling me to use the wrong gun. The DX-2 is a bit slower than the FWG, but packs a bit more of a punch. The FWG is nearly as fast as the DL-44 (all 3 hundreths of a second slower) and hits for a little harder (not to mention that DL-44 has a 115 SAC vs the 84 of the FWG.) The Rep is a mere afterthought here, as it's the weakest, and slower than the FWG and DL-44.


Point is, as long as we hit for a set percentage of the max damage value, DPS is a misleading statistic.


The damage formula seems to have something to do with the difference between the min and max value, as the greater the difference, the lower the percentage of the max damage (although at MP/MBH/SL 0/0/0/0, the percentage difference is pretty damned small.) Perhaps at a lower skill level, the effect of the difference between min and max value is more significant. Unfortunately, TC-EP3 is gone, and the old TC is back without character builder frogs, so I can't do the tests I'd like to do quickly and easily.


I did some defense checking today too. I'll post that next (or tomorrow)




Starsider: Abici Sselof, Master Entertainer, Musician and Pistoleer; Master Pilot
MCPrimetime
Sun May 08, 2005 9:49 pm
#2

Good catch. Makes sense that the range of the max to min is causing some difference. Hopefully someone will do some further testing.




MCPrimetime
Jingles
Jrockin

eapers
Sun May 08, 2005 9:52 pm
#3

excellent observation!






JOHNNY-JONES JACKSON

AFK
Shinku07
Sun May 08, 2005 11:02 pm
#4

Your not takeing weapon speed accuratley into account.



dx-2 does 19 more damage. thats like 2.5% more damage. But its like 15% slower.



Its damage would have to be over 15% higher, to make up for the fact that its 15% slower.



The fact we hit for non-random numbers means absolutley nothing by the way. In fact, it means that the dps stat is just that much more accurate.





Barafu
Mon May 09, 2005 1:40 am
#5



Shinku07 wrote:

The fact we hit for non-random numbers means absolutley nothing by the way. In fact, it means that the dps stat is just that much more accurate.






That's not quite true if what the original poster says is accurate. The current base DPS as calculated by the game is: (min damage+max damage)/2/weapon speed Therefore, if what the original poster said is true, then this is an inaccurate metric since the min damage is irrelevant. Someone should confirm that the actual damage is a percentage of the max damage and someone else (hint, correspondant) should find out if the devs intend to keep it that way. I'll see what I can do about testing the original poster's info.



Barafu Firling: Galactic Traveler
Current Assignment: Investigation of Project Eclipse
Read about and join my adventures here
Rub me out at www.swghuntersguild.com
Sign the petition to add writable datapads
Darth-Kevlar
Mon May 09, 2005 1:51 am
#6






Shinku07 wrote:

Your not takeing weapon speed accuratley into account.


dx-2 does 19 more damage. thats like 2.5% more damage. But its like 15% slower.


Its damage would have to be over 15% higher, to make up for the fact that its 15% slower.


The fact we hit for non-random numbers means absolutley nothing by the way. In fact, it means that the dps stat is just that much more accurate.









Not its not. the DPS doesn't consider damage done by specials. Most of the damage dealing in this profession is done by using specials. Some other professions use specials and normal attacks because of the huge action cost of their weapons. We are not that affected. At combat level 80 I can use a lot of specials before my action bar is burned. Most of those special are multpiliers that take over the given amount of damage we do versus a given target. Most of those high damage specials have cooldowns also, that are relatevly mitigated by both weapon speed and our own speed.


Still:

once you get to a certain point, the effects of both PC speed and weapon speed start to have diminuishing returns over specials. I felt that, after getting 135 pistol+general speed. Until then , im a empirical way, i feltsome difference on thecooldown of specials while using a faster gun, now with 152 total speed, the diference in cooldown is "almost of micro seconds." The damage output of my de-10( that had a good conversion i must add) when using advanced critical, torsoshot, improvedbody shot( those are the ones icycle mostly) is still, on average100 dmg points higher than what i get using amy capped dmg DL 44XT (948 dmg),And despite the fact that the 44xt shows MDSP of 812 while the de-10 "only" shows mdps of 789, the de-10 ends up killing faster .



_________________________
Darkness & Shade are the burden;
Sweat, Pain, Blood & Tears tools that forged the mind,
within a soul countless times scoorched by Niquel & Lies.
And yet I continue to Breathe, Rise, Feel & Fall.
Nifty
Mon May 09, 2005 6:18 am
#7

I am taking it into account. The FWG is prolly my best bet. It is only 0.03 seconds slower on mod speed than the DL-44 and hits 13 points higher per basic ranged shot. The cool down modifier on a special would have to be 6x to really start to notice the speed difference. The DL-44 has 115 SAC though, so taking that into account, the FWG is definitely my best option.


The prime example that DPS is misleading is this. My Republic Blaster has a higher DPS than my FWG (475.86 vs 466.08), so according to DPS, I should use the Rep Blaster for better damage over time.


DPS is flat out wrong in this case. The Rep hits for 29 points less per basic ranged shot than the FWG and it is 0.14 seconds slower than the FWG. The FWG hits harder and faster than the Rep blaster, making it the better of the two and DPS is flat out wrong. Unless, of course, acid damage is separate from the energy damage shown in the combat spam.





Starsider: Abici Sselof, Master Entertainer, Musician and Pistoleer; Master Pilot
Halae
Mon May 09, 2005 7:53 am
#8

From what I've seen, the things to look for in a weapon are in order of importance: max damage, speed, SAC.
Min damage is pretty useless, from the tests I've ran with two pistols of the same type, same max damage, same special attack, same mob, the 35 min damage difference only came out as a 2 damage difference. Hope that helps.



HALAE

*edited by admin after cease and desist from the Retard's association of america on the grounds that portraying a mentally challenged person as a jedi was an attack on their intelligence *
Uthyr
Mon May 09, 2005 8:30 am
#9

Excellent observations, Nifty! I'm going to have to start paying closer attention to the actual damage output of my pistols. All this time I've just been going by the DPS and assuming it's accurate. I should know better than to trust any stats in this game by now. Smugglersare a prime example of that right now--they are frequently showing negative (or zero) slicing results in the system message, but ending up with a positive result when looking at the stats.



Col. Uthyr Pendragon | Artorius Pendragon
Elder Pistoleer/Rifleman/Bounty Hunter/Combat Medic
Elder Architect
Naritus vendors:
Tatooine (2369 -4123) - Castle Uthyr, Mos Eisley West

Mafaza
Mon May 09, 2005 8:49 am
#10

Accuracy affects damage as well. This shouldn't affect weapons from the same class unless the weapons have different accuracy mods, though.





Mafaza------------------------------------Oomfama
Master Bounty Hunter, chilastra----------------Brawler, Pikeman, Fencer, chilastra
"KD+Dizzy = fun!"-----------------------------------"Wacking with sticks"

JANGO69
Mon May 09, 2005 8:50 am
#11

How does acc Bonus fall into this?




Jayu / / Elder JEDI
Serpafia / / Elder Bounty Hunter
boceifus2000
Tue May 10, 2005 4:49 am
#12






Darth-Kevlar wrote:






Shinku07 wrote:

Your not takeing weapon speed accuratley into account.


dx-2 does 19 more damage. thats like 2.5% more damage. But its like 15% slower.


Its damage would have to be over 15% higher, to make up for the fact that its 15% slower.


The fact we hit for non-random numbers means absolutley nothing by the way. In fact, it means that the dps stat is just that much more accurate.









Not its not. the DPS doesn't consider damage done by specials. Most of the damage dealing in this profession is done by using specials. Some other professions use specials and normal attacks because of the huge action cost of their weapons. We are not that affected. At combat level 80 I can use a lot of specials before my action bar is burned. Most of those special are multpiliers that take over the given amount of damage we do versus a given target. Most of those high damage specials have cooldowns also, that are relatevly mitigated by both weapon speed and our own speed.


Still:

once you get to a certain point, the effects of both PC speed and weapon speed start to have diminuishing returns over specials. I felt that, after getting 135 pistol+general speed. Until then , im a empirical way, i feltsome difference on thecooldown of specials while using a faster gun, now with 152 total speed, the diference in cooldown is "almost of micro seconds." The damage output of my de-10( that had a good conversion i must add) when using advanced critical, torsoshot, improvedbody shot( those are the ones icycle mostly) is still, on average100 dmg points higher than what i get using amy capped dmg DL 44XT (948 dmg),And despite the fact that the 44xt shows MDSP of 812 while the de-10 "only" shows mdps of 789, the de-10 ends up killing faster .




Not quite accurate. Some of this depends on the special/gun being used. In PvE I rarely have a problem running out of action because I only use certian specials, but in PvP some of the high damage specials take a big chunk and I am constantly running out of action.




Colonel Boceifus Gadian (BotD)
Retired
Quote: I have seen too much death in my lifetime...

Balanor Gadian
Retired
Quote: I have made so many credits I can buy my own galaxy...
certifiedandrew
Tue May 10, 2005 6:42 am
#13

A more accurate trial would be using the same test attack onthe same type ofcreature for exactly 60 seconds and totaling the damage for each gun.



*edited by admin*
Page 1 of 3
Previous Next