If shatter is not guided, then there is almost no situation that its better that one of the other choices.
You need 1.5 out of the 3 arrows to hit, just to make the runeskill better than the unruned hungering arrow.
You need all 3/3 arrows to hit for it to put out as much dmg as say puncturing.
For it to put out as much damage as say Puncturing does over time. Puncturing has to pierce 3 times for it to do as much damage as Shatter does. I will assume that all the arrows will hit because if I were to choose it I would only be firing it into gigantic swarms.
Shatter is more "bursty" in nature against larger packs. I see it as a fair trade off and something worth considering before dismissing it.
So mathematically it may not be better, but when looking at the speed in which it delivers it's damage, it should get more credit imo.
Anyway, shooting hungering arrow with shatter on 4 mobs is no guarantee that the shots will hit. Mobs might:
- flee
- burry
- fly
- go invis
- die from merc
- die from teamate
- die from companion
- die from trap
- die from dot
Of course all of this can happen with other runes as well, but as they only require 1 target (instead of 4) to maximize their efficiency they will be less likely to be affected...
Like I said earlier though, it really shouldn't be used against a group that small. It's potential lies in using it against hordes of monsters.
The damage is also practically instant opposed to Devouring, Puncturing, and Cinder runes "ramping up" to do their full damage (they have to move along single targets at a time before landing at their full potential).
So you trade off single target / small pack viability for large-pack-burst damage.
When making assumptions about Scatter, please consider that there are not always 4 mobs (1 mob and 3 nearby mobs to receive the split arrows). In many cases you might find your arrow split into 3 arrows with nothing to hit.
The chances of the other runes piercing and hitting an additional target is higher because:
1. they just need 1 additional target
2. they can hit the same target they pierced (which scatter PROBABLY can't. Would be really OP if it could)
Scatter will therefore blow more damage into thin air, instead of mobs, more on average than the other runes.
That's the tradeoff though. Shatter can do the most (when they all hit) but that's only going to happen against larger packs. The other runes can do similar damage in larger packs but since they can also do so against smaller packs and single target, the damage is usually a little lower (even though their potential is higher, just not as likely to get enough piercings, and even if they do hit 4 targets, it all happens "slower" than Shatter's damage).
Having the numbers to look at is great, but one must also look at HOW the damage is delivered. Shatter is all at once, but due to it's mechanics it's potential is limited to hordes of monsters. The others can do really well against single targets but their pack damage is usually a little lower and slower (Shatter is bursty since it's practically 4 hits simultaneously).
That's just how I look at it of course. I'm not the math wiz like the other guys in this thread so I'm trying to look at it more from a mechanics and circumstance standpoint. Maybe I'm completely wrong and not making any sense, lol.
It's 176% damage because they are factoring in the chance for multiple hits/piercings. It's the average damage.
Also, it seems to be the consensus for now that the arrows most likely don't pierce after they split into 3 with Shatter Shot. The reasoning has been explained on the first page.
I posted a reply to a similar reddit thread earlier today with details on how to calculate these infinite sums as well if anyone is interested: http://www.reddit.co...ungering_arrow/
Thank you for that reddit post/link. I couldn't really follow what was going on until I read that, now I understand the math much better.
So what's the discrepancy between yours and the OP's Devouring rune calculation? or are you doing a different type of calculation (perhaps I am still lost after all lol)?
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For it to put out as much damage as say Puncturing does over time. Puncturing has to pierce 3 times for it to do as much damage as Shatter does. I will assume that all the arrows will hit because if I were to choose it I would only be firing it into gigantic swarms.
Shatter is more "bursty" in nature against larger packs. I see it as a fair trade off and something worth considering before dismissing it.
So mathematically it may not be better, but when looking at the speed in which it delivers it's damage, it should get more credit imo.
Like I said earlier though, it really shouldn't be used against a group that small. It's potential lies in using it against hordes of monsters.
The damage is also practically instant opposed to Devouring, Puncturing, and Cinder runes "ramping up" to do their full damage (they have to move along single targets at a time before landing at their full potential).
So you trade off single target / small pack viability for large-pack-burst damage.
That's the tradeoff though. Shatter can do the most (when they all hit) but that's only going to happen against larger packs. The other runes can do similar damage in larger packs but since they can also do so against smaller packs and single target, the damage is usually a little lower (even though their potential is higher, just not as likely to get enough piercings, and even if they do hit 4 targets, it all happens "slower" than Shatter's damage).
Having the numbers to look at is great, but one must also look at HOW the damage is delivered. Shatter is all at once, but due to it's mechanics it's potential is limited to hordes of monsters. The others can do really well against single targets but their pack damage is usually a little lower and slower (Shatter is bursty since it's practically 4 hits simultaneously).
That's just how I look at it of course. I'm not the math wiz like the other guys in this thread so I'm trying to look at it more from a mechanics and circumstance standpoint. Maybe I'm completely wrong and not making any sense, lol.
Also, it seems to be the consensus for now that the arrows most likely don't pierce after they split into 3 with Shatter Shot. The reasoning has been explained on the first page.
Thank you for that reddit post/link. I couldn't really follow what was going on until I read that, now I understand the math much better.
So what's the discrepancy between yours and the OP's Devouring rune calculation? or are you doing a different type of calculation (perhaps I am still lost after all lol)?