Originally created by Dethklok
Moving this here because it's a nice quick lookup for Merc setups.
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Improved Attack Speed (IAS) tables
FPJ is frames per Jab; FPA is frames per attack for normal attack. There are 25 frames in a second and 2 attacks per Jab.
If you don't know the WSM of the weapon you're using, check out the Arreat Summit to find out.
No Fanatacism
Level 9 Fanatacism
level 12 Fanatacism
level 13 Fanatacism
level 14/15 Fanatacism
How often will my mercenary use his Jab skill instead of a normal attack?
The short answer is: The chance of choosing Jab over normal attack increases slowly as your mercenary gains levels, going from about 80% at clvl 50 to about 85% at clvl 98. Therefore Jab breakpoints should be prioritized over normal attack breakpoints. For a longer answer, read the replies to this post.
Polearm Damage-per-Second Comparison
DPS = damage per second.
The three competitors are the Elite candidates for the Infinity and Insight runewords: Cryptic Axe (CA), Great Poleaxe (GPA) and Giant Thresher (GT).
For average DPS, Jab is weighed 85% and normal attack is weighed 15%. Chance to hit is ignored (the AR for Jab is actually higher).
No Fanatacism
Conclusion: Cryptic Axe wins at 35, 60, 90-100, and 150-195 IAS. Greater Poleaxe wins at all other IAS.
level 9 Fanatacism
Conclusion: Cryptic Axe wins at 10, 30, 55-70, and 105+ IAS. Greater Poleaxe wins at all other IAS.
level 14/15 Fanatacism
Conclusion: Cryptic Axe wins at 25, 50-60, and 95+ IAS. Greater Poleaxe wins at all other IAS.
Giant Thresher doesn't seem to win any DPS contests. Does that mean it's bad?
No. Sometimes it isn't about the polearm damage so much as it's about the number of hits you land. A faster-attacking mercenary, regardless of weapon damage, is more likely to trigger Chance to Cast gear, Crushing Blow, and similar mods that care about when you hit. It's possible to equip your mercenary with gear such that your only real consideration is how fast he attacks, in which case Giant Thresher may be the polearm for you.
Wait, I thought Cryptic Axe was considered by everyone to be the best polearm... what gives?
Cryptic Axe is still among the best at one thing: strength requirements. Act 2 Nightmare mercenaries reach 165 Strength (enough for Cryptic Axe) at clvl 73, without bonuses from gear. However, you'd need clvl 81 to use a Greater Poleaxe or clvl 86 to use a Giant Thresher. Of course, +Strength gear can allow earlier use, but generally if people trade good stuff for a runeword polearm, they want to be able to use it ASAP without jumping through hoops, hence the popularity of Cryptic Axes. (Threshers can be used at clvl 66.)
Moving this here because it's a nice quick lookup for Merc setups.
--------------------------------------------------------
Improved Attack Speed (IAS) tables
FPJ is frames per Jab; FPA is frames per attack for normal attack. There are 25 frames in a second and 2 attacks per Jab.
If you don't know the WSM of the weapon you're using, check out the Arreat Summit to find out.
No Fanatacism
Code:
20WSM 10WSM 0WSM -10WSM -20WSM
IAS FPJ FPA IAS FPJ FPA IAS FPJ FPA IAS FPJ FPA IAS FPJ FPA
0 18 20 0 16 17 0 14 15 0 13 14 0 12 13
10 16 18 10 15 16 10 13 14 10 12 13 10 11 12
15 16 17 15 14 15 20 12 13 20 12 12 20 11 11
20 15 16 25 13 14 30 12 12 25 11 12 30 10 11
25 14 15 35 12 13 40 11 12 30 11 11 35 10 10
40 13 14 50 12 12 50 11 11 45 10 11 55 9 10
50 13 13 60 11 12 65 10 11 55 10 10 65 9 9
55 12 13 70 11 11 75 10 10 75 9 10 105 8 9
70 12 12 90 10 11 105 9 10 90 9 9
80 11 12 105 10 10 125 9 9 145 8 9
100 11 11 150 9 10 200 8 9
125 10 11 175 9 9
150 10 10
210 9 10
.
Code:
20WSM 10WSM 0WSM -10WSM -20WSM
IAS FPJ FPA IAS FPJ FPA IAS FPJ FPA IAS FPJ FPA IAS FPJ FPA
0 13 14 0 12 13 0 11 12 0 11 11 0 10 10
10 12 13 10 11 12 10 11 11 10 10 10 10 9 10
20 12 12 20 11 11 15 10 11 20 9 10 15 9 9
25 11 12 30 10 11 20 10 10 25 9 9 35 8 9
35 11 11 35 10 10 35 9 10 55 8 9
45 10 11 55 9 10 45 9 9
55 10 10 65 9 9 75 8 9
80 9 10 105 8 9
95 9 9
150 8 9
.
Code:
20WSM 10WSM 0WSM -10WSM -20WSM
IAS FPJ FPA IAS FPJ FPA IAS FPJ FPA IAS FPJ FPA IAS FPJ FPA
0 13 14 0 12 13 0 11 12 0 11 11 0 10 10
10 12 13 10 11 12 10 11 11 10 10 10 10 9 10
15 12 12 15 11 11 15 10 11 20 9 10 15 9 9
20 11 12 25 10 11 20 10 10 25 9 9 30 8 9
30 11 11 35 10 10 35 9 10 50 8 9
40 10 11 50 9 10 40 9 9
50 10 10 60 9 9 70 8 9
75 9 10 100 8 9
90 9 9
140 8 9
.
Code:
20WSM 10WSM 0WSM -10WSM -20WSM
IAS FPJ FPA IAS FPJ FPA IAS FPJ FPA IAS FPJ FPA IAS FPJ FPA
0 13 14 0 12 13 0 11 12 0 11 11 0 10 10
10 12 13 10 11 12 10 10 11 10 10 10 10 9 9
15 12 12 15 11 11 20 10 10 20 9 10 30 8 9
20 11 12 25 10 11 30 9 10 25 9 9
30 11 11 35 10 10 40 9 9 50 8 9
40 10 11 50 9 10 70 8 9
50 10 10 60 9 9
70 9 10 95 8 9
85 9 9
135 8 9
.
Code:
20WSM 10WSM 0WSM -10WSM -20WSM
IAS FPJ FPA IAS FPJ FPA IAS FPJ FPA IAS FPJ FPA IAS FPJ FPA
0 13 14 0 12 13 0 11 12 0 11 11 0 10 10
10 12 13 10 11 12 10 10 11 10 10 10 10 9 9
15 12 12 15 11 11 15 10 10 15 9 10 30 8 9
20 11 12 25 10 11 30 9 10 25 9 9
30 11 11 30 10 10 40 9 9 45 8 9
40 10 11 50 9 10 65 8 9
50 10 10 60 9 9
70 9 9 95 8 9
130 8 9
.
How often will my mercenary use his Jab skill instead of a normal attack?
The short answer is: The chance of choosing Jab over normal attack increases slowly as your mercenary gains levels, going from about 80% at clvl 50 to about 85% at clvl 98. Therefore Jab breakpoints should be prioritized over normal attack breakpoints. For a longer answer, read the replies to this post.
Polearm Damage-per-Second Comparison
DPS = damage per second.
The three competitors are the Elite candidates for the Infinity and Insight runewords: Cryptic Axe (CA), Great Poleaxe (GPA) and Giant Thresher (GT).
For average DPS, Jab is weighed 85% and normal attack is weighed 15%. Chance to hit is ignored (the AR for Jab is actually higher).
No Fanatacism
Code:
10WSM 0WSM -10WSM winners
IAS Jab Reg Avg Jab Reg Avg Jab Reg Avg 1st 2nd
0 286 135 263 309 144 284 296 137 272 GPA GT
10 305 143 281 333 154 306 321 148 295 GPA GT
15 327 153 301 GPA CA
20 360 166 331 321 160 297 GPA CA
25 352 163 324 350 160 322 GPA CA
30 360 180 333 350 175 324 GPA tie
35 381 176 350 CA GPA
40 393 180 361 GPA CA
45 385 175 354 GPA GT
50 381 191 353 393 197 364 GPA GT
55 385 193 356 GPA GT
60 416 191 382 CA GPA
65 433 197 398 GPA CA
70 416 208 385 GPA CA
75 433 216 400 428 193 393 GPA GT
90 458 208 421 428 214 396 CA GPA
105 458 229 424 481 216 441 GPA CA
125 481 240 445 GPA CA
145 481 214 441 GPA GT
150 508 229 466 CA GPA
175 508 254 470 CA GPA
200 541 240 496 GPA CA
.
level 9 Fanatacism
Code:
10WSM 0WSM -10WSM winners
IAS Jab Reg Avg Jab Reg Avg Jab Reg Avg 1st 2nd
0 381 176 350 393 180 361 350 175 324 GPA CA
10 416 191 382 393 197 364 385 193 356 CA GPA
15 433 197 398 GPA CA
20 416 208 385 433 216 400 428 193 393 GPA GT
25 428 214 396 GPA GT
30 458 208 421 CA GPA
35 458 229 424 481 216 441 GPA CA
45 481 240 445 GPA CA
55 508 229 466 481 214 441 CA GPA
65 508 254 470 CA GPA
75 541 240 496 GPA CA
105 572 254 524 CA GPA
.
level 14/15 Fanatacism
Code:
10WSM 0WSM -10WSM winners
IAS Jab Reg Avg Jab Reg Avg Jab Reg Avg 1st 2nd
0 381 176 350 393 180 361 350 175 324 GPA CA
10 416 191 382 433 197 398 385 193 356 GPA CA
15 416 208 385 433 216 400 428 193 393 GPA GT
25 458 208 421 428 214 396 CA GPA
30 458 229 424 481 216 441 GPA CA
40 481 240 445 GPA CA
45 481 214 441 GPA GT
50 508 229 466 CA GPA
60 508 254 470 CA GPA
65 541 240 496 GPA CA
95 572 254 524 CA GPA
.
Giant Thresher doesn't seem to win any DPS contests. Does that mean it's bad?
No. Sometimes it isn't about the polearm damage so much as it's about the number of hits you land. A faster-attacking mercenary, regardless of weapon damage, is more likely to trigger Chance to Cast gear, Crushing Blow, and similar mods that care about when you hit. It's possible to equip your mercenary with gear such that your only real consideration is how fast he attacks, in which case Giant Thresher may be the polearm for you.
Wait, I thought Cryptic Axe was considered by everyone to be the best polearm... what gives?
Cryptic Axe is still among the best at one thing: strength requirements. Act 2 Nightmare mercenaries reach 165 Strength (enough for Cryptic Axe) at clvl 73, without bonuses from gear. However, you'd need clvl 81 to use a Greater Poleaxe or clvl 86 to use a Giant Thresher. Of course, +Strength gear can allow earlier use, but generally if people trade good stuff for a runeword polearm, they want to be able to use it ASAP without jumping through hoops, hence the popularity of Cryptic Axes. (Threshers can be used at clvl 66.)
Last edited by a moderator: