Rampage, tips on increasing dmg?

[Xien]

Well, I hit 55 today and got it (after a marathon 32k XP PT session).

My thoughts:

Very cool looking.

Deals good damage all around with a Bard. Avged 250-550 with
Blade and Minuet, wielding 51 axe+1, and Viking Axe.

Without a bard though, things kinda went downswing. Vs. Crabs @Bohyada, 100 TP didnt' guarantee 150+ dmg. 140% TP was around 200ish Dmg. 300% TP did around 300-400. Made me feel very sad that Rampage was so finicky ; ;

Lowest point: 43 damage Rampage. Highest point: 589 damage Rampage.

Anyone have any tips in increasing Rampages damage?

My current equip:
2x Snipers
+5 atk Earrings
RG Collar
RK armour
RK pants
RK hands
AF Feet
51 +1 axe
Viking axe
Valkyrie mask


Xien

[Darklyte]

Do the following ,

Check avg TP return per rampage on the said mob and note it

a) Are u getting at least 4-5 hits in instead of 1-3 ??
b) Different weapon has different "strength" on diff type on bodies mobs.

If u are getting in a good 4-5 hits per rampage and still do low dmg ,time to invest in new weapons and str/atk equipments.

If u are getting 2-3 hits (this one is painful) , get more accuracy ^^

if your weapon is weak to that mob..........swap to something else is available or just have fun (sarcasm) :p

p.s just a small note , unless your uber rich u cant expectto do extremely consistent dmg with every WS activation.

[navpops]

PT with a SMN with fenrir or a BRD

your equip is good str,atk, and acc wise, and thats all you can do really. maybe invest in a haubergon later .... and use a life belt

[Nameless]

Your armor is really good.

But, I've noticed the same thing with my raging axe, some time it can do really bad damage and other times it can do it really good damage, I dont get it either :/

[Gryff]

use a lifebelt or a swordbelt+1 and upgrade to haubergeon, thats about it.

[Xien]

I do wear a lifebelt >_>

I just forgot to mention it since I thought every melee dmg dealer wears it

I have my haubergeon saved up....but that's at 59.

Oh well, I get a new pair of axes at 56. I'll note if I see a big difference in damage.

Xien

Edit:
PS: Anyone know the full TP return of Rampage with /NIN. It's kinda hard to tell since there's that extra swing in subbing /NIN and also the possibility of double atk. >_>

[Denser]

Fire off Aggressor just beforehand and see what happens

Edit: Forgot to say grats on 55

[Bigokk McGock]

The most important thing is the monster's level. If you are on the low end level range in your PT, the monsters could just be a level or 2 above your prime damage range.

Another thing is if the mob has high defense TP abilities, make sure the RDM or BRD is dispelling it before the SC starts.

It's a given that the mages should be using enfeebling magic at the beginning of the fight to debuff it, I hope.

[tomiko]

Not much more you can do other than haubergeon. On high def mobs such as crabs, you will see a dmg reduction.
I went +str rings with a brd which helps the def penalty, and my Rampage numbers are generally nice. My biggest #'s are in the 800-900 range on VT Processionares with 18% TP back... thats right, 8-hits!... but this is rare :sweat: I've even done a 9-hitter once farming Goobue for about 1.3k XD.

/NIN extra attack in WS gives as much as a regular hit (6% for axe). Each additional hit of regular WS and Double Attack bonus gives 1%. So 8-hit = 6%+6%(/nin)+1%+1%+1%+1%+1%(dbl)+1%(dbl) = 18%.

[imstimpy]

The fact that it is a 5-hit WS makes it vary a lot. Evasion of the mob plays, perhaps, the largest role in the damage. Being the lowest level in your exp party also makes a big difference. On a single hit you either land it or you don't. On a 5-hit, you can hit or miss 5 different times. In addition you have critical calculations for every hit as well as STR/ATK calculations.

DEX is going to affect your criticals on those 5 hits and STR/ATK will affect the effectiveness of each hit. My approach to maximizing my damage has been the hardest hitting axe in my main hand, Viking Axe in my off-hand, and +STR rings (poor man's version of Bloodword/Sniper's combo).

I think I'm averaging about 350dmg with variances from ~50-700dmg. Most recently, we were fighting IT+/IT++ mobs in Cape Terrigan and damage was typically lower because of the higher number of misses within the weapon skill. I did 800dmg with Mighty Strikes on our exp crabs when our WHM was AFK; this shows how profound criticals are on multi-hit weapon skills.

[EDIT] 14% is probably my typical return with 12% and 16% being a little less common, but enough worth noting. Hitting 16% is where the PLD can't pull aggro back.

I'm just guessing on this since I haven't actually experimented, but I believe two heavy damaging axes are going to deal the same weapon skill damage as one heavy damaging axe in your main hand since your weapon skill is done exclusively with your main hand. Excluding stat bonuses, you would actually be increasing your damage per second apart from your weapon skills.

[Xien]

Thanks for the replies all.

Yup, noticed a big difference when fighting lower def. mobs such as Crawlers and Goblins. Rampage avged around 100-200 more on these mobs.

Personal best so far on a low IT crab was 810 damage with 249 distortion damage

Xien