Purpose:

This guide is for fighters and rangers who want to boost their weapon DPS with elemental damage without having so spec their builds with INT (either through attributes or gear) or going "hybrid".

Elemental damage basics:

There are a few ways in which elemental damage is applied, in general:

+ Elemental DPS to weapon attack

http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa64/ripper_mcgee/Dungeon%20Runners/elementaldpstoweaponattack.jpg


+ DPS to Elemental Attacks

http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa64/ripper_mcgee/Dungeon%20Runners/plusbonustoelementalattacks.jpg


% to elemental damage

http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa64/ripper_mcgee/Dungeon%20Runners/percentbonustoelementdamage.jpg


Per Anson, one of the previous developers:

...if a weapon does elemental damage, that bonus is adjusted by any percent modifiers active on the character (like "+3% Damage per Second to Fire Attacks"), and then it is finally boosted by any generic elemental bonuses ("+10 Damage per Second to Fire Attacks"). This is magical damage that is only applied when the weapon attack hits, and even if the weapon hits it can be resisted like any other magical damage (like damage from Fire Bolts)....

Application:

So, how can you use this knowledge to increase your weapon DPS with elemental damage? Simple, if you have equipped ANY piece of gear that gives + elemental DPS to weapon attack (like the Demon Sniper shown above), you can boost the elemental damage by:


adding gear that gives + dps to elmental attacks and % bonuses to elemental damage. This will boost your weapon DPS, with the caveat being that such gear often splits attributes between the primary and a secondary (AGI and INT instead of just AGI for a ranger, for example). This may have the net effect of boosting your elementa weapon DPS while potentially lowering your overall "class" DPS (AGI gives a bonus to ranged DPS for example). That's not necessarily a good thing, but it depends on your build and what other skills you use, like Dungeon Inferno.


using the elemental damage buffs to add a big burst of elemental DPS to your weapon:


Chilling Touch
Dark Wizardry
Pyromania
Divine Ascendancy
Toxic Talent


If you can find pieces that satisfy your preferred play style, go for it. Personally, I've found the simplest approach is to spec my ranger main (UlrichWolfsbane) with a relatively standard mostly AGI/some END build, equip him with an item (preferably a weapon, for the biggest boost, but my shoulders give + poison damage to weapon attack) and pop the appropriate buff, like Toxic Talent. So, even though my shoulders only give "+88 Poison Damage per second to Weapon Attack", I can boost that elemental damage by 558 damage per second (assuming the magic portion of the weapon hit isn't resisted). As a ranger, this gives me the benefit of having full AGI-based weapon damage plus a huge bonus weapon-based elemental DPS!

http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa64/ripper_mcgee/Dungeon%20Runners/ToxicTalent.jpg

Tips to maximize effectiveness:

That being said, as Anson noted in the quote above, the magical damage is only applied if the weapon hits. Additionally, the magical damage can be resisted just like other magical attacks (fire bolt, for example). So,how do you ensure the maximum possible effect? Two ways:


Ensure your Attack Rating is high enough to consistently hit with your weapon


Try to keep collect multiple items with bonsues to different elemental weapon dps attacks. Most instances have two major types of elemental damage (divine and poison, for example), so slot the weapons and buffs that make the most sense for what you're fighting. In Balzack's flame, for instance, the mobs are ice and poison based, so using either ice or poison dps won't be as effective. Try slotting for divine, fire or shadow elemental weapon DPS for fewer resists and maximum effectiveness!

Nice guide, Rip. Keep an eye out for those purple speed pieces. I have a couple (sb) that are full agi, +spd, and plus damage to (element) attack.

Nice guide, Rip. Keep an eye out for those purple speed pieces. I have a couple (sb) that are full agi, +spd, and plus damage to (element) attack.

Thanks! Yeah, I'm currently on the hunt for purple weapons that give elemental bonuses to weapon attacks. The cannons (like the one above) seem like the best ones and the standard rainbow armor (Buffalo Bill) no longer specifies piercing damage bonuses, but ranged damage bonuses, making using cannons more viable.

I found this piece yesterday, which would be ideal, except for the split attributes:

http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa64/ripper_mcgee/Dungeon%20Runners/BonusSpeed.jpg

My only concern with speed bonuses are:

Two many bonuses are wasted, since there's a cap on speed
Animations can cause problems at high speed. For example, Stiki Wiki seems to have animation problems, which appear to lower it's overall effectiveness.


That being said, having a bunch of speed bonuses on slower, but harder hitting cannons can make them deadly!

2 thoughts:

0.) Another excellent & conside guide.... 'nuff said.

1.) Can you make versions of this that are updated for each class (Fighter, Ranger & Mage) & post them in each classes forum section??

2.) Maybe you can get them stickied as you know the search feature here isn't as 'robust' as it could be..

Having these ready and easily seen as we are getting ready to go in to the new build would be MOST excellent....

:)

Thanks, Cthulhu. I thought about making ranger and fighter versions of this, but the same rules apply to each, which is why I created a single guide. Since my main is a ranger, I used the gear and skills I have as examples, but the guide applies to all weapon damage, both ranged and melee (even for mages who hit with their weapons, in which case the mage is probaby a hybrid "manger" or "mighter" ;) ).

Quick note if you play as fighter: Pyromania increases the fire damage caused by Your Flaming Buddies. So if you use MFB, Pyromania should absolutely be in your skill bar as well.

Good point, Khazandra! I use MFB on JazzHands quite a bit. That's definitely a good way to boost their damage, although INT helps a great deal too, in their case!

Nice guide, Rip. Keep an eye out for those purple speed pieces. I have a couple (sb) that are full agi, +spd, and plus damage to (element) attack.

What pieces do you need? I've been collecting those +ranged att speed items for quite some time now, (oh and + melee speed too)Give me a yell if ya see me on W1 (or W2 if the requests for pl's are bad) (this is Diannadora btw)

Hi Dianna. My statement was mainly a general reminder for elemental rangers. Most of my ranger playing is in pvp, where I only use pure ranged damage +speed against other rangers, but thanks for the offer.

So you wouldn't be interest in boots with +9% ranged attack speed, +53 agility and + 127 (i think, not remembering what t3 purple maxes at atm) either elemental to attack or pure ranged damage to attack?

I use Large Dull Blade to add poison damage to my weapon. It works and helps alot!