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Message: <blockquote data-quote="FreeTheSlaves" data-source="post: 2338456" data-attributes="member: 9952">So anyway, I think this thread is pointing to energy weapons being good but not too good. It would be interesting to see how advantageous the enhancement is for relatively low strength & 2wf characters.Hmmm, and I have a free morning to spare...****The first character is my 25pt buy paladin with a base 15 str because I am part-powergamer. He can aquire a +2 sword at 7th level if we assume he can only use half his wealth on one magic item. He has weapon focus & has increased his str to 16 at 4th level. The target AC will use the SR calculation of 12+CR and so his target AC will be 19, which ime is about right on average. I will calculate total iterative damage. One example is with a +2 sword (ab +13/+8), the other with a +1 flaming sword (ab +12/+7).Layout is the following: A = P{D[1+Pc(Mc-1)] + Db}where A = average damage per attackP = Probability to hit, as a fractionD = average weapon damage plus Str, Magic, etcPc = Probability to Threaten, as a fractionMc= Critical MultiplierDb = Bonus Damage dice that are not multiplied by a confirmed critical+2 sword7.8375 = 0.75{9.5[1+0.1(2-1)]}5.225 = 0.50{9.5[1+0.1(2-1)]}13.0625 = average full attack damage+1 flaming sword8.995 = 0.70{8.5[1+0.1(2-1)] + 3.5}5.7825 = 0.45{8.5[1+0.1(2-1)] + 3.5}14.7775 = average full attack damageImpressive but what happens if this character meets a harder AC? I will increase the AC19 to 24.+2 sword5.225 = 0.50{9.5[1+0.1(2-1)]}2.6125 = 0.25{9.5[1+0.1(2-1)]}7.8375 = average full attack damage+1 flaming sword5.7825 = 0.45{8.5[1+0.1(2-1)] + 3.5}2.57 = 0.20{8.5[1+0.1(2-1)] + 3.5}8.3525 = average full attack damageThe difference between the average damage of the two weapons decreased as the AC got higher. In particular it can be seen that the iterative attack of the flaming sword versus the higher AC was actually lower than the +2 counterpart. Basically, the easier to hit the enemy the better the flaming weapon while the harder to hit the enemy the better the flat enhancement. Furthermore these numbers do not take into consideration Power Attack which will allow the +2 sword to close the gap somewhat between the two. I will be back to calculate this for better analysis.</blockquote>

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