Implant Comparison Guide: Hit vs. Crit vs. Damage

[kamikazees]

So you hit lvl 25 and want a damage Implant. Should you choose the Hit +5% Implant to land more attacks, the Crit +3% Implant to land more criticals, or the Damage +5 Implant? Let's run the numbers and see. We will figure 100 attacks with these implants on a mob with no armor, and then armor that reduces damage to 20%, and we will round down.

I have to make 3 assumptions. First, I assume that 78% hit actually means 78% hit, such that the +5% hit implant actually gives +5% hit. Second, I assume that Crit damage is not reduced by armor. Finally, I assume the Crits will land and add +33% damage to a regular attack. See http://www.spacetimestudios.com/show...and-Mind-Wrack for more information on that.

Our model is my lvl 25 pure str Commando. She is wearing full Sandstorm eq and carrying a Scavenger's rifle (seems like a pretty average character). Here are her relevant stats:

STR: 157
Hit: 78%
Crit: 3%
Damage: 39-72 (55.5 avg)
DPS: 70

First, without an implant she lands 78/100 hits at 55.5 average damage, with 3 being crits. The math is 78(55.5) + .33(55.5)(3), and she does 4383 total damage. Reducing her damage to 20%, she does 920 damage.

Second, with a Hit +5% Implant, she she lands 83/100 hits at 55.5 average damage, with 3 being crits, or 83(55.5) + .33(55.5)(3), and she does 4661 damage. Reducing her damage to 20%, she does 976 damage. More than the default, which is expected.

Third, with a Crit +3% Implant, she she lands 78/100 hits at 55.5 average damage, with 6 being crits, or 78(55.5) + .33(55.5)(6), and she does 4438 damage. Reducing her damage to 20%, she does 975 damage. Less damage than the Hit % with no armor taken into consideration, but almost the same when armor is taken into consideration.

Finally, with a Damage +5 Implant, she she lands 78/100 hits at 60.5 average damage, with 3 being crits, or 78(60.5) + .33(60.5)(3), and she does 4778 damage. Reducing her damage to 20%, she does 1003 damage. This character gets the highest numbers with this Implant.

There are many things to consider besides straight damage. Commandos, for example, want their taunt skills to land, so Hit % might be a good choice. Operatives might want higher Crit % to trigger the bonus of Mind Wrack. Engineers might want Damage to have more effective Leech or Wither.

So which one did you choose?