A few things need to happen before even thinking about the value by which weapon damage should be buffed universally:
- weapon speeds need to be normalized around a fixed IAS break point
- weapon damage needs to be normalized around normalized weapon speed frames
- 2h weapons should receive an additional 10-75% damage(would need to be tested for optimal value) compared to normalized 1h weapons (WW changes clearly highlight the disparities between dual wielding and 2h)
After this is done than an analysis is needed on difference in power between caster gear to be able to come up with any reasonable value by which to boost weapons.
Let’s consider just the Elite and exceptional axes for now:
There are 5 total 1h options in each tier. The base weapon speed ranges from 10 to -10. Let’s use 60 IAS as reference point and barb normal attack/bash/concentrate as reference point:
Elite bases:
- War Spike, -10 base
++ 39 average damage, 10 frame attack = 97.5 average DPS - Tomahawk, 0 base
++ 45.5 average damage, 11 frame attack = 103.4 average DPS - Berserker Axe, 0 base
++ 47.5 average damage, 11 frame attack = 108 average DPS - Small Crescent, 10 base
++ 49 average damage, 12 frame attack = 102 average DPS - Ettin Axe, 10 base
++ 49.5 average damage, 12 frame attack = 103.1 average DPS
Exceptional bases:
- Crowbill, -10 base
++ 24 average damage, 10 frame attack = 60 average DPS - Hatchet, 0 base
++ 15.5 average damage, 11 frame attack = 35.2 average DPS - Naga, 0 base
++ 30.5 average damage, 11 frame attack = 69.3 average DPS - Cleaver, 10 base
++ 21.5 average damage, 12 frame attack = 44.8 average DPS - Twin Axe, 10 base
++ 25.5 average damage, 12 frame attack = 53.1 average DPS
Damage is strictly based on the qlvl of the weapons on normal and exceptional bases whereas Elite bases have a much tighter range even though the delta in qlvl is greater among the Elite axes compared to normal and Exceptional.
There is still a clear winner among the bases. The War Spike is completely garbage end game. Once you consider that the Crowbill and Naga both require the same level (25) but the Crowbill requires higher numbers of total stats (94 str + 70 dex vs 121 Str) to use compared to the Naga, you realize how pitiful fast weapons truly are. This is universally true for all fast bases.
When you find a Coldkill near the end of NM but any elite base can provide higher DPS…