WIND ARCHER: Strless vs LowStr Thread- Knight5n1p3r
This thread applies to Knight of Cygnus (KoC) Wind Archers only, not the normal Archer. The Wind Archer is a Bow-only KoC version of the Bowman. This thread compares the damage between Strless and LowStr AP builds. It calculates the differences in damage between the two classes using completely average bows and NO other equips. Many people believe that because LowStr equivalents pass their Strless counterparts at around level 120, a pure Dex build is best for a Wind Archer. However, the AP build on KoC characters is much different from their Adventurer equivalent because KoC's earn 6 AP per level instead of 5. More is explained in the thread so just read it. This is my first written guide/Ctable so I'll take your criticism/comments/praise/arguments/suggestions, but I won't be so appreciative to flame. I will try get rid of any mistakes or typos as soon as possible, but for the most part it is generally correct. I don't have this copyrighted or anything, I don't know how to do any of that stuff, but please, if you are going to use any of my work, give me credit where it is due. Thanks!
Formulas used:
Min = ((Dex x 0.9 x 3.4 x Skill Mastery + Str)/(100))(Weapon Att)
Max = ((Dex x 3.4 + Str)/(100))(Weapon Attack)
Avg Dmg = (Min Dmg + Max Dmg)/2
4 dex = 1 att
Where the split off begins:
LVL 64 Strless
384 Dex
4 Str
4 Luk
4 Int
Maple Kandiva Bow = 78 Att
Min Dmg = ((384 x 0.9 x 3.4 x 60% + 0)/(100))(78) = 549.919
Max Dmg = ((384 x 3.4 + 0)/(100))(78) = 1038.37
Avg Dmg = (549.919 + 1038.37) = 784.143
LVL 64 LowStr
320 Dex
64 Str
4 Str
4 Luk
Maple Kandiva Bow = 78 Att
Min Dmg = ((320 x 0.9 x 3.4 x 60% + 64)/(100))(78) = 508.186
Max Dmg = ((320 x 3.4 + 64)/(100))(78) = 898.56
Avg Dmg = (508.186 + 898.56)/(2) = 703.373
Average Damage Ratio: 0.896995 (When this number exceeds 1, that is when average damage of the LowStr has passed the Strless)
This calculation was made PURELY for the example of showing how much of a damage increase a Strless has over a LowStr due to an increased level of Dex. I picked level 64 was because this example is based around the Maple Kandiva bow which has a level requirement of lvl 64 (duh). The reason for doing so is that the Maple Kandiva Bow is the highest level Bow that has no Str requirement, meaning that it is the highest level bow that a Strless archer can equip. This means that after level 64, due to higher weapon attack in higher leveled bows, the damage increase obtained by being Strless, in comparison to LowStr, will deteriorate at an increasing acceleration with respect to the level of the character (for those I just lost: "After level 64 The Strless will get junker and the LowStr will get better", hence the name "split off"). As you can see, the increase in damage due to Dex is highly significant; 64 Dex gives an increase of 41.733 in minimum damage, 139.81 in maximum damage, and 80.77 in average damage. Not bad considering the 2 accounts cost the exact same amount to make.
The Next Bow:
LVL 70 Strless
420 Dex
4 Str
4 Luk
4 Int
Maple Kandiva Bow = 78 Att
Min Dmg = ((420 x 0.9 x 3.4 x 60% + 0)/(100))(78) = 601.474
Max Dmg = ((420 x 3.4 + 0)/(100))(78) = 1113.84
Avg Dmg = (601.474 + 1113.84) = 857.657
LVL 70 LowStr
350 Dex
70 Str
4 Str
4 Luk
Blue/Golden/Red Hinkel = 80 Att
Min Dmg = ((350 x 0.9 x 3.4 x 60% + 70)/(100))(80) = 570.08
Max Dmg = ((350 x 3.4 + 70)/(100))(80) = 1008
Avg Dmg = (570.08 + 1008)/(2) = 789.04
Average Damage Ratio: 0.919995
It appears that the LowStr has gotten only slighly better, if any, even though he has a better bow equipped than the Strless. You are right, the Hinkel bows only give a 2 weapon attaack increase, and in 6 levels, the Strless gains 6 MORE Dex than the LowStr. Using the ratio of 4 Dex = 1 Weapon attack, you can see that the LowStr has gotten the equivalent of a 2 Dex increase in damage over the Strless. Since the Strless has 70 more Dex than the LowStr at this point, you can see that the LowStr has a lot of ground to cover before his damage reaches hits the same point as the Strless... However at level 70 there is another GMS exclusive bow called the Andromeda Bow, that has an 83 weapon attack average. The only trouble with this bow is that it is fairly rare, so it's not something that most archers are going to be able to get their hands on. However, we will calculate it out anyway.
LVL 70 LowStr
350 Dex
70 Str
4 Str
4 Luk
Andromeda Bow = 83 Att
Min Dmg = ((350 x 0.9 x 3.4 x 60% + 70)/(100))(83) = 591.458
Max Dmg = ((350 x 3.4 + 70)/(100))(83) = 1045.8
Avg Dmg = (591.458 + 818.629)/(2) = 818.629
Average Damage Ratio: 0.954495
With this bow, the LowStr has taken a considerable jump forward to catch up to the Strless. Now I know you may be thinking "The Strless can just scroll his bow to improve his damage, Knight5n1p3r is a ****in noob!". True, maybe even on both counts, but the whole point of this thread is to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of going for Dex (Strless) versus going for Weapon attack (LowStr). The basis of this judgement revolves around the ratio of 4 Dex = 1 weapon attack. To give more weapon attack to the Strless will defeat the whole purpose of this thread. Also, the LowStr can easily scroll his bow, so that in itself will bring us back to square one. Furthermore, becuase the imput ratio of the weapon attack is increasing, the BIGGER number (LowStr weapon attack) will grow with a slightly increased acceleration. You need to understand some noob calculus to grasp this concept, but I will spell it our for you. Lets say the Strless scrolls 10 att onto his Kandiva (78 -> 88), and the LowStr scrolls 10 att onto his Andromeda (83 -> 93). The ratio between the weapon attack has now changed from 78:83 (.939759) to 88:93 (.946237). Since the gap between the weapon attack grows larger if the bows are scrolled the same, this means that, although very slight, scrolling is actually more advantageous to the LowStr rather than the Strless. It's very, very slight I know, but it's still another argument to prove the point.
The next bow after that...:
LVL 80 Strless
480 Dex
4 Str
4 Luk
4 Int
Maple Kandiva Bow = 78 Att
Min Dmg = ((480 x 0.9 x 3.4 x 60% + 0)/(100))(78) = 687.398
Max Dmg = ((480 x 3.4 + 0)/(100))(78) = 1272.96
Avg Dmg = (1117.02 + 1272.96) = 980.179
LVL 80 LowStr
400 Dex
80 Str
4 Str
4 Luk
Dark/Fire/Gold/Marine Arund = 85 Att
Min Dmg = ((400 x 0.9 x 3.4 x 60% + 80)/(100))(85) = 692.24
Max Dmg = ((400 x 3.4 + 80)/(100))(85) = 1224.0
Avg Dmg = (692.24 + 1224.0)/(2) = 958.12
Average Damage Ratio: 0.977495
As you can see the LowStr is now closing in even more on the Strless, but similarly to last time, not by much. This is again because the Arund bow only gives 2 more weapon attack than the previous Andromeda Bow. But, yet again beautiful Nexon has supplied us with another GMS exclusive bow called the Akhamagna which gives a whopping 90 att. This bow is even rarer than the first, but if you can get your hands on it, there here's the calculations!
LVL 80 LowStr
400 Dex
80 Str
4 Str
4 Luk
Akhamagna = 90 Att
Min Dmg = ((400 x 0.9 x 3.4 x 60% + 80)/(100))(90) = 732.96
Max Dmg = ((400 x 3.4 + 80)/(100))(90) = 1296
Avg Dmg = (732.96 + 1296)/(2) = 1014.48
Average Damage Ratio: 1.03499 (LowStr has just passed Strless)
Using this bow, Strless has now passed LowStr in damage, but technically this bow is a little cheat beucase it gives 5 more weapon attack than the normal bow at that level, and this thread is supposed to emulate the super unfunded, so lets move on to the next bow.
The lvl 90 Bows:
LVL 90 Strless
540 Dex
4 Str
4 Luk
4 Int
Maple Kandiva Bow = 78 Att
Min Dmg = ((540 x 0.9 x 3.4 x 60% + 0)/(100))(78) = 773.323
Max Dmg = ((540 x 3.4 + 0)/(100))(78) = 1432.08
Avg Dmg = (773.323 + 1432.08) = 1102.7
LVL 90 LowStr
450 Dex
90 Str
4 Str
4 Luk
Black/Blue/[Blank] Metus = 90 Att
Min Dmg = ((450 x 0.9 x 3.4 x 60% + 90)/(100))(90) = 824.58
Max Dmg = ((450 x 3.4 + 90)/(100))(90) = 1458.0
Avg Dmg = (824.58 + 1458.0)/(2) = 1141.29
Average Damage Ratio: 1.0349
So now you can officially see that LowStr has passed Strless in damage at level 90. Now I know it's a bold statement (lame pun intended), but remember this data only holds true for the Strless WIND ARCHER, and will not work for the normal bowman because they only get 5 AP per level. However, as I stated all the way in the beginning, it has already been shown on calculations similar to this that the LowStr Hunter will pass the Strless one at around level 110~120, which makes sense by looking at the calculations done here. I would figure it out myself, but I'm not because first of all it has already been done, and also because I don't have a Hunter, I have a Wind Archer. So if there isn't really any benefit for me, I'm not gonna waste my time doing it.
My final suggestion? ALTHOUGH LOWSTR OUTDAMAGES STRLESS AT LVL 90, THAT DOES NOT NECESSARILY MAKE IT THE BETTER OF THE TWO CHOICES. Now I bet I just pissed you off, after all this reading and confusing calculations, you still don't have a definite answer to which of the two is better. This Ctable was made merely to help you decide between the two paths, and confirm that one does actually outhit the other, but, as I have said before, there are many different things you can do to augment your damage-so many in fact, that it is virtually impossible to account for it all. A few examples would be that a Dexless doesnt need to scroll for Str, and can scroll all his equips for Dex, whereas the LowDex has to scroll for Str to keep his base Str down. It is easily possible to tack on 35+ Dex simply with a Zhelm and 20 Dex Sauna/Robe, that right there is almost 9 weapon attack. Couple that with a godly Kandiva and you can have the running equivalent of 110+ weapon attack. So it really depends on your funding level and what kinds of equips you can get your hands on. Obviously from level 0-64 YOU STAY STRLESS >:O. Level 64 is the damage output plateau in the life of a Strless Wind Archer, so all time during that point and before then, you best be putting it all in Dex. After this point, the ultimate decision lies in your hands...
