Hi,
Looking at the seasonal and NS leaderboards, I see many top players with a Blade of Prophecy rolled as follows… :
… while on maxroll they advise Strength instead of Increases damage vs Elites.
Do you guys know what the parangons tipping points to use Increases damage vs Elites instead of Strength in season and in NS are? (I’m a tad below 2K in season, and I’m 4K in NS).
Hi Nikookaburra,
I am high level paragon and grind remorselessly with Phalcon (a.k.a. Phalanx Akkhan). Yet, even at high level, I find Strength to be a better alternative (however, only slightly) to Increased Damage vs Elites. Here are the reasons why:
In GR pushing, the tactical key is to clear density in spot 1, then move to the next viable spot (spot 2). Any elites from spot one will then (ideally) follow until eventually are worn down and killed. So, superior elite damage is less important tactically, than the ability to quickly clean up a spot. A counter argument here is that killing the elites sooner rather than later is a better way to go…but I find Strength more in line with my preferences at this time. To be fair, though, the difference here is minimal either way. The real measure of success in a true GR push comes from the floor layout, density and the types of mobs…well, and pylons. To be honest, the right pylons in the right spots are the real-real final factors here.
In GR farming, by contrast, the benefit of Strength is clear. There are many great density spots that do not have an elite attached. You want to clean and move on. Strength is simply more efficient.
A minor, yet still real bonus: Strength will give you a couple % extra armor. That is lost when you drop it.
In short, my opinion is that the Increased Damage vs Elites is an under-powered bonus. It should sit at 12-15% in order to be genuinely worth it.
Hey Harnor,
Many thanks for taking the time to answer me again!
I’ll keep my current Blade of Prophecy, then!
when i did my push to 150 in HC, i used str in weapon because low paragon (2.2k). It worked better than elite damage so…
If someday my paragon is +3k, i would use elite damage on weapon and aughild’s.
Greetings!
Hi again,
Since my original answer did not really provide any concrete numbers, I did some experimenting by adjusting my Strength from Paragons. I won’t bother you with the details, but my conclusion is, that once you pass your total Strength of 40,000-50,000, then Damage vs Elites becomes a respectable option. Not necessarily outright better, but respectable. That’s just been my experience. I may not be 100% accurate with my numbers, but at least you have a rough compass to follow.
At my full paragon (and this is a correction to my initial post), Damage vs Elites is a bit stronger, but only when GR pushing. I did quite a bit of runs, observing progress, and some video capture analysis to boot. In the end, I have to concede that my initial statement was a bit off target where high paragon is concerned.
When Paragon farming, however, it’s a who cares scenario. As I mentioned originally, there are plenty of juicy trash packs, where Strength outweighs the elite damage bonus.
–H