augments str, power, or surge? (rage)

Veeius · August 3, 2012

Title says it all, I have nearly full wh, 1605 str w/ a might stim, 828 bonus damage, 101.9% crit multipler.

My smashes range from 3.5k to 6.5k (though the latter is rare, and only on very undergeared people).

I'm unclear how much str I should stack or if I should prioritize it over power, or surge.

doublechees · August 4, 2012

If you do not spec into the 6% str talent power Aug will yield greater damage thrn str. Otherwise the dmg difference is minimal like 3 but strbwill add 1.5% crit. Surge only affects whem you crit while str and power affects all damage non crit and crit.

These numberd were calculated by pat and I trust his work

Edited August 4, 2012 by doublechees

friisliby · August 4, 2012

I went for full str augments (full wh, power+surge modded) and spec rage with 2-8-31. The specced 6% increase in str gives me 1900 str, and i've got 980 bonus dmg. I usually hit smashes for 5-7k, rarely a top hit below 6500. For me it feels better going for the mainstat, and it has turned out great so far!

TheSolidPat · August 4, 2012

What they have both said is true. Str is better than power for augments

I've made the calculations in my guide, here is a copy-paste of the gear section:

6.0 Vindicator Gear

Basically when your War Hero Vindicator set is fully augmented, you stand at a point where you will always face a tradeoff every time you modify something. I have simulated many different mod and enhancement changes and the gain in Power always comes with a loss in strength, crit and endurance. The tolerable available changes in gear are as follows:

Accuracy: Can be modified to have +5%. Anything extra should be replaced with Power.

Crit: Can be greatly diminished and replaced by Power. SMASH is auto-crit so it is not influenced by crit.

I have built an optimized gear profile as of patch 1.3 as well as the most efficient way to do it. Before I give it up, I also want to give the results of a long lasting debate between Power and Strength augments:

Profile with Power Augments:

http://swtor.askmrrobot.com/character/b5fffaa5-7494-41cb-ab6a-76258a82a6f0

Here is a quick summary of the stats:

Strength = 1502.9

Power = 1284.0

Damage Melee = 949.7 – 1111.7

Accuracy Melee = 96.34%

Critical Chance Melee = 23.43%

Critical Multiplier Melee = 77.95%

Bonus Damage Force = 1025.5

Accuracy Force = 106.34%

Critical Chance Force = 30.60%

Critical Multiplier Force = 107.95%

Health = 18973.4

Expertise = 1211

Profile with Strength Augments:

http://swtor.askmrrobot.com/character/45beb788-5a88-4da2-917a-2d7fd8025578

Here is a quick summary of the stats:

Strength = 1782.7

Power = 1032.0

Damage Melee = 947.6 – 1109.6

Accuracy Melee = 96.34%

Critical Chance Melee = 24.89%

Critical Multiplier Melee = 77.95%

Bonus Damage Force = 1023.2

Accuracy Force = 106.34%

Critical Chance Force = 32.06%

Critical Multiplier Force = 107.95%

Health = 18973.4

Expertise = 1211

Bottom line, the difference between the two profiles is quite simple. Compared to full power augments, the full strength augments will provide the player with a total damage loss of 2.1 (Which is very minimal) but nets a gain of 1.46% in Crit. Earlier I did say we could sacrifice Crit, but 2.1 total damage vs 1.46% Crit is a big tradeoff. As of patch 1.3, full strength augments are still better. Here is why:

1 Strength = + 0.2 Damage and + 0.03% Crit

1 power = + 0.23 Damage.

Buffs that modify our strength:

1 strength = 1 * (1 + 0.05(Buff) +0.06(Talent)) = 1.11

1.11 * 0.2 Damage= 0.222 Damage

This is the reason why the difference in Damage is so minimal while benefitting from a nice Crit increase. Also the Crit gained from strength is on a different diminishing return curve than Crit rating itself which turns out to be another advantage.

Here are the steps to achieve the optimal gear, assuming you are starting from full Battlemaster. I suggest you get full Battlemaster + augment your Battlemaster as you get it. Fully augmented Battlemaster is pretty much equal to Full War Hero not augmented.

The order is also important. It is based on the basic item value (unmodified) and the cost incurred to optimize it. In the 1st Step, you want to prioritize the unmodified gear that gives you the best stats and in the 2nd step you want to prioritize the modification of the worst item currently equipped.

* Excluded costs of: Augments, Augment kits, Augment fee and Mod ripping fee

** When turning in a Battlemaster piece to get the War Hero piece, rip the mods and keep them, especially the + Power ones.

1st Step: Pre-remodded gear:

War Hero Vindicator's Lightsaber : Battlemaster Item + 3475 Ranked Comms