Barb Whirlwind mechanics... need super nerd discussion

General Discussion
1

Need some clarification on the interpretation of the wiki copy/paste at the bottom of the post… the way I read and interpret it is after the 4/8 frame free hit checks, the 12 or 14 frame on 1 and 2 handed weapons starts its looks based on weap speed. So follow my knuckle dragger math here…If its running at 25fps then holding a ww longer than .5secs would start the weap speed check

(4 frame+8frame is the 2 free checks and the next check is 12 frame for weap speed so 4+8+12=24)
or 2 handed:
4+8+14=26

So if you don’t stop ww before .5 - .96 seconds (1 handed) or .5 -1.04 seconds (2 handed), the game is applying the weapon speed to the ww attack.

Hopefully you guys can tell me how bad this math is, but here comes the main question…
IF the math works out this way…
1 handed:
4+8+12+10+8+6 = 48 frames/25fps = 1.92 (so anything greater than 1.92 seconds ww is 4frame hit check)

2 handed:
4+8+14+12+10 +8+6 = 62/25fps = 2.48 (so anything greater than 2.48 seconds ww is 4 frame hit check)

The way it reads below in the copy/paste from wiki seems like the hit checks are coming in faster on both 1 handed and 2 handed once you’ve been whirlwinding past the first 2 free checks and remaining time in my calcs above so you’re at a continuous hit check at the 4 frame check (25fps/4 = 6.25 attacks per second) utilizing weapon ias as long as you are hitting the 1 or 2 handed max weapon ias break point

Wouldn’t this mean that as long as you hit max weapon ias breakpoint for 1 or 2 handed weap that it actually benefits to ww long enough to hit the 4 frame hit check and keep it there??? Or is this even possible since whenever I try to keep a continuous ww going I still see a pause or stop at somepoint based on where on the screen I clicked or changing direction which would appear to start the entire hit check process over hence the reason for people trying to keep it to the first 2 free checks or (triangle of death)???

WIKI COPY PASTE
Whirlwind is affected by weapon speed. After clicking to start the Whirlwind attack, the game checks for a hit on a target in range at the 4th and 8th animation frames (recall that the game runs at 25 frames per second). After the first two “free” hit-checks, the frames elapsed in-between subsequent hit-checks will depend on the weapon speed. Increased attack speed from items outside of the weapon does not affect Whirlwind; only the speed of the weapon itself counts.

The dependence on weapon speed is obtained by subtracting the weapon’s increased attack speed (IAS) to its base weapon speed and checking where the number obtained fits in the table:

  • [One-handed] weapons

    • Breakpoints: 15, 10, -10, -34.
    • Number of frames in-between hit-checks after frame 8: 12, 10, 8, 6, 4

  • [Two-handed] weapons

    • Breakpoints: 15, 0, -10, -30, -60.
    • Number of frames in-between hit-checks after frame 8: 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4
2

Thats why its best to break your off hand weapon (never repair it) and continue to dual weapon ww you still get dual hit bonus and get the 1 hand IAS bonus.

3

With max’d IAS you get 4 frames between checks. There’s 4 frames between the two free checks. There’s no benefit unless you count that 1 frame saved from not having to click again.

4

Thanks, but the question really was can you maintain with whatever setup you choose 1 hand or 2 hand if you hit the max weap ias breakpoint the 4 frame by continuously staying in ww rather than trying to click a bunch of times and stay within the 2 free hit check frames. It doesn’t seem like d2r allows a continuos ww to be achieved for any more than the distance of the click on screen cause it has an obvious pause whenever you either change direction or continue past the original distance of first click. I assume at that point it is reseting the hit check mechanics??? This would mean you could never achieve the lowest frame hit checks past the first 2 free checks so single handed or double handed would never matter and pure dmg output would be far superior

I also have tested this multiple times now between the minimum ias 39% grief (colossus blade, berserker axe, phase blade, w/ dual wield, w/ phoenix, and EBOTD war pike/ghost spear) the ideal dmg and clear speed with a 12.5k-13k attack rating and 23-26k damage (23k if using enigma) has been with EBOTD war pike since the mechanics seem to favor only the first 2 hit check frames being important anyways so one handed and weapon ias are irrelevant. This build can easily do players 8, boss snipe, max resists, and seal pop, with PD2 ww barb damage