Aexicas
09-09-2010, 10:07 AM
Since the Khopesh vs Bastard Sword debate is in full swing....again... I figure I'll throw my hat into the ring for rebalancing the two.
As a disclaimer, I'm not here to debate the effectiveness (or brokenness, as some see it) of the Khopesh. That's the topic of another thread. That said, here are my thoughts on how to balance Bastard Swords while keeping the integrity of the khopesh intact.
My idea is a simple one, and one most people will more than likely say makes no sense, but I believe it's a viable fix. Why not add a str bonus to the Bastard Sword?
Let me explain my reasoning.
Strength Damage, on two handed weapons, is multiplied by 1.5, giving them their edge. This, gives them a very obvious DPS increase.
A bastard sword, by all rights, is a transitional weapon (after all, it's called the hand-and-a-half sword). This, for obvious reasons, can't really be shown in DDO, due to models and general coding being what it is at the moment. My suggestion is, give bastard swords a 1.25% increase to damage; implying that you are using a hand and a half, so to speak.
Let me crunch the numbers for you.
(At a strength of 32, being an average fighter baseline)
In 20 strikes, a khopesh did an average regular hit of around 17.
In 20 strikes, an uber BS did an average of around 20
In an average of 10 Crits, a khopesh did an average of 49
In an average of 10 Crits, a Bastard sword did an average of 40.
To my eyes, this is a rough balance between the two; Khopesh would still, obviously, do more on crits, due to it's x3 and bursts. But for normal strike damage? A BS would be very effective, especially the higher your strength goes. For instance, here's a low level example.
(At 18 Str, average fighter level 1 str)
In an average of 20 strikes, Khopesh averaged around 8
In an average of 20 strikes, Bastard Swords averaged around 10
In an average of 10 Crits, a khopesh did an average of around 26
In an average of 10 Crits, a BS did an average of around 22
Even at the low levels, the disparity is closed a lot more, and honestly, I might consider using a BS like this personally.
Balanced? You decide.
As a disclaimer, I'm not here to debate the effectiveness (or brokenness, as some see it) of the Khopesh. That's the topic of another thread. That said, here are my thoughts on how to balance Bastard Swords while keeping the integrity of the khopesh intact.
My idea is a simple one, and one most people will more than likely say makes no sense, but I believe it's a viable fix. Why not add a str bonus to the Bastard Sword?
Let me explain my reasoning.
Strength Damage, on two handed weapons, is multiplied by 1.5, giving them their edge. This, gives them a very obvious DPS increase.
A bastard sword, by all rights, is a transitional weapon (after all, it's called the hand-and-a-half sword). This, for obvious reasons, can't really be shown in DDO, due to models and general coding being what it is at the moment. My suggestion is, give bastard swords a 1.25% increase to damage; implying that you are using a hand and a half, so to speak.
Let me crunch the numbers for you.
(At a strength of 32, being an average fighter baseline)
In 20 strikes, a khopesh did an average regular hit of around 17.
In 20 strikes, an uber BS did an average of around 20
In an average of 10 Crits, a khopesh did an average of 49
In an average of 10 Crits, a Bastard sword did an average of 40.
To my eyes, this is a rough balance between the two; Khopesh would still, obviously, do more on crits, due to it's x3 and bursts. But for normal strike damage? A BS would be very effective, especially the higher your strength goes. For instance, here's a low level example.
(At 18 Str, average fighter level 1 str)
In an average of 20 strikes, Khopesh averaged around 8
In an average of 20 strikes, Bastard Swords averaged around 10
In an average of 10 Crits, a khopesh did an average of around 26
In an average of 10 Crits, a BS did an average of around 22
Even at the low levels, the disparity is closed a lot more, and honestly, I might consider using a BS like this personally.
Balanced? You decide.