Earrings and Atlas Armlets versus Hero Rings : A Case Study

[Flying Mullet]

Not worthy of a topic but as for equipment did the Hero Rings pair like the Earrings?

You know, I don't know. It would be fun to do some analysis of this later in the game when you have two of each and see what happens. Take a character to the Dinosaur Forest so you'll have a decent chance of fighting the same enemy continuously (Tyranosaur) and then cast 5-10 of the same spell, once with no relic, then with one Earring, then two, and then with one and two of the Hero Rings. Then to top it off, one of each the Hero Ring and the Earring. Put the numbers in a spreadsheet and see how they all average out.

I think you just gave me a mini project for later today.

Yup, I took the time to see what the benefits of the various combinations of Earrings and Hero Rings for magic attacks and Atlas Armlets versus Hero Rings are. Below, you'll find the results. (If anyone wants to see the details, I've attached the spreadsheet to this post.)

MAGIC TEST

Test Environment: I used Fire for my magic test on Tyranosaurs. I cast Fire ten times and used the average damage from those ten spells to determine the increase each Relic combination gave.

Magic Attack Results

 	Avg Damage	Increase
No Relics	3204	 
1 Earring	3929	23%
2 Earrings	4782	49%
1 Hero Ring	3857	20%
2 Hero Rings	4797	50%
1 Earring & 1 Hero Ring	4727	48%

Based on my tests, equipping one Earring will give you roughly a 25% boost in magic damage, while two Earrings will give you double that with roughly a 50% boost in magic damage. While using Hero Rings, having one ring equipped offers roughly a 20% boost in magic damage while equipping two takes you up to roughly a 50% boost in magic damage.

Magic Attack Summary: The boost to magic damage seems to be capped at 50%. Based solely on magic attacks, if you're going to equip one Relic, a single Earring is the better choice as it gives 5% more magic damage than the single Hero Ring. If you're equipping two relics, then it doesn't really matter as any combination boosts magic damage by roughly 50%.

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PHYSICAL ATTACK TEST

Test Environment: I attacked Tyranosaurs with a Dagger for my physical test. I attacked ten times and used the average damage from those ten attacks to determine the increase each Relic combination gave.

Physical Attack Results

 	Avg Damage	Increase
No Relics	3305	 
1 Hero Ring	4244	28%
2 Hero Rings	4216	28%
1 Atlas Armlet	4081	23%
2 Atlas Armlets	4260	29%
1 Hero Ring & 1 Atlas Armlet	4224	28%

Based on my tests, equipping one Atlas Armlet will give you roughly a 25% boost in physical damage. Equipping two Atlas Armlets, one or two Hero Rings or one Hero Ring and one Atlas Armlet will give you roughly a 30% boost in physical damage.

Physical Attack Summary: The boost to magic damage seems to be capped at 30%. Based solely on physical attacks, equipping one Hero Ring is the way to go as there's no benefit to equipping anothe relic in combination with it as the phyiscal attack damage cap is already reached. Earlier in the game, the Atlas Armlet will work well, but once you find the first Hero Ring you hit the phyiscal damage boost cap and there's no need for another relic.

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SUMMARY - Putting is all together
In looking at the results of the two types of test, the clear winner in raw damage appears to be two Hero Rings. It gives you a 50% boost to magic damage and a 30% boost to damage. If you want to free up a relic spot for something else, a single Hero Ring still gives you a 20% magic and 30% physical damage boost. But if you're solely intersted in magic damage, the Earrings are the better way to go. They perform as well or better than the Hero Rings for magic damage boosting and you receive them earlier in the game. Plus, by equipping Earrings you leave the Hero Rings free for others who might need the physical damage boost. As for the physical damage boost, one Atlas Armlet earlier in the game and one Hero Ring once you find it will take care of all of your needs, as equpping a second Relic for damage output doesn't really do anything.


Phew, that was intense, yet fun. I hope it helps!

[Inferno]

I've always asked myself what was the best relics association or which one was better than the other... wow this topic was really interesting !

Hope you had fun !

[blackmage_nuke]

Now figure out which spell has the best damage:mp ratio

[Flying Mullet]

Don't temp me.

[Mirage]

Seems like the game in that case first calculates the damage boost from one relic, and then uses this new value to calculate the next boost.

[Saber]

hero ring + hyper wrist all the way.

I always assumed that pairing two hero rings was useless. Good to know it helps magic out. If anything though I think hero ring + earring is the better choice. It gives 50% boost to magic (max as far as the test went) and gives you that physical boost too.

[The Man]

great thread. Don't know why it never occurred to me to check that out myself.