Crunching Numbers

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A Guide to Vanguard
Statistics

By Ralsu

style="font-style: italic;">October 3, 2007

cellspacing="2">
style="vertical-align: top; background-color: rgb(192, 192, 192);">
href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=472#Overview">Overview href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=472#Terms">Terms href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=472#Attributes">Attributes
href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=472#STR">Strength href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=472#CON">Constitution href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=472#DEX">Dexterity href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=472#VIT">Vitality href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=472#INT">Intelligence href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=472#WIS">Wisdom href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=473#Other">Other
Stats
Armor Class Hit Points Endurance Energy Defense Attack Off-Hand Damage
Ranged Resistances Healing Focus Spell Damage Focus href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=474#Class">Class
Bonuses href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=474#Race">Racial
Bonuses href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=474#MinMax">For
Min/Max People href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=474#Conclusion">Conclusion

I. Overview

This guide should give you a basic understanding of the statistics
important to the Adventuring sphere. The information here will in no
way help you with Diplomacy or Crafting. Those spheres benefit from
entirely separate sets of ability scores. Please note that I was unable
to arrive at exact formulas for how
each statistic works.I contacted Sigil Games Online's AR
"Jerrtih" Schleicher back in Beta, and he was only able to offer the
following tips:

Some formulas have the attribute contribution
increase as you gain in
levels...Some formulas are “vs an even level
opponent,” and so when you
go up a level, it may require more points of that attribute to retain
the same level of benefit against the “higher” even
level opponent.

Jerrith's statements tell us that just because 4 points constitution
give a sorcerer 1 hit point at level 10, that does not mean that the
ratio will hold true at level 20. Furthermore, some statistics are only
measured for their effectiveness against mobs of the same level when
the statistic is maximized, so it's hard to really put a finger on an
exact formula. Finally, some statistics may provide a greater
mathematical benefit for certain classes. Tanks may be able to get more
hit points from a constitution score of 50 than a healer with 50
constitution.

II. Terms

Clicking on the Character tab on the interface (the default key is C)
brings up your character screen, which points to your Adventuring
equipment by default. This is the screen will be discussing here.
Specifically, we'll be focusing on the statistics that appear beneath
the equipment on the screen below:

We're also going to need an understanding of terms that will come up as
I explain what each of the statistics that appear in that block. Below
are the concepts you need to understand:

Attribute
Points (AP):
points players can spend in the attribute of their choice. Players gain
20 AP per level beginning at level 10: 6 placed into each of the
primary attributes (strength, constitution, dexterity, vitality,
intelligence, wisdom), 0 or 4 placed automatically based on race,
and 10 or 14 to place at his discretion within soft caps. Block:
Block is a skill that reflects a player's chance to use a shield to
block an attack from an opponent of even level. A blocked attack lands
but does no damage. Not all classes can block with a shield (many can't
or don't use a shield), and those that can have a maximum block chance,
which is affected by strength. Dual-wielding gives a 6.75% penalty to
block. The maximum block chance for each class is listed below: Cleric – 8% block Dread Knight – 14% block Paladin – 14% block Shaman – 8% block Warrior – 14% block Counter:
to stop a spell.
It can take the form of nullifying the spell, or it can even turn the
spell into something beneficial to the group. Dodge:
Dodge is a skill that reflects a player's chance to move out of
the path of an attack from an opponent of even level. A dodged attack
misses completely and does no damage. Not all classes can
dodge attacks (heavy armor makes it impossible for tanks and clerics),
and those that can have a
maximum dodge chance, which is affected by dexterity. Dual-wielding
gives a 6.75% penalty to dodge. The maximum dodge chance for each class
is
listed below: Bard – 6% dodge Blood Mage – 8% dodge Disciple – 8% dodge Druid – 8% dodge Monk – 12% dodge Necromancer – 8% dodge Psionicist – 8% dodge Ranger – 6% dodge Rogue – 16% dodge Shaman – 4% dodge Sorcerer – 8% dodge Encumbered: a
state
reached when a player is carrying too much weight. Encumbered players
move at roughly
1/10th of normal walking speed. Equipment
Expertise (EE): style="color: rgb(153, 51, 0); font-weight: bold;">An old
mechanic no longer in the game. This statistic used to control
the amount of gear a player could equip before becoming encumbered. Evade:
to completely
dodge the damage from a melee hit. A successful evasion means the hit
does not land on you.
Hard Cap:
the maximum
value a player can have in an attribute at any level. The hard cap for
an attribute is 18 times your character level starting at level 10.
Mitigation:
ignoring an
amount of damage taken. A player with 5% mitigation would take 19
points of damage when a player with 0% mitigation would take 20 points
of damage.  Parry:
Parry is a skill
that reflects a player's chance to use a weapon an
attack from an opponent of even level. A parried attack misses
completely and does no damage. Not all classes can parry
attacks (casters and most healers lack the martial training to parry),
and those that can have a
maximum parry chance, which is affected by dextrerity. Dual-wielding
gives a 6.75% penalty to parry. The maximum parry chance for each class
is
listed below: Bard – 16% parry Cleric – 4% parry Disciple – 4% parry Dread Knight – 6% parry Monk – 12% parry Paladin – 6% parry Ranger – 16% parry Rogue – 6% parry Warrior – 6% parry Resist:
to completely
dodge the effects of a spell. A successful resist means that the spell
does not land on you.
Soft Cap:
the maximum
value a player can have in an attribute at a given level. This is
based the player's race plus 5 points per level above 9. Weaknesses:
temporary
methods to exploit a mob and do added damage. Some spells and skills
add
a weakness while others take advantage of weaknesses. href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=766">View
the Weakness Guide here.

III. Attributes

Strength (STR)

href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/modules.php?set_albumName=album19&id=STR&op=modload&name=Gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php"> alt=""
src="http://media.tentonhammer.com/vanguard/gallery/albums/album19/STR.jpg"
style="border: 2px solid ; float: left;" align="right" hspace="2"> style="font-weight: bold;">Melee
Damage: Strength adds to the
melee damage you deal before mitigation. This
formula of strentgh to melee damage bonus scales up with level and
class, making STR a prime stat for melee
characters.



Carrying Capacity:
STR also
affects how much weight you can carry before becoming encumbered. STR allows you to carry 2 more weight for each 25
points of STR (no rounding). This benefit is too meager to make STR a
consideration for a class that would not ordinarily spend attribute
points in STR.



Block: STR
also
increases your chance to block attacks with a shield. Block is a skill
that can be
raised 10 points for each Adventuring level. STR factors a small bonus
to block, which has a cap based on class. Since block is one of those
factors measured in effectiveness only at max value versus an even
opponent, it is hard to get a feel for how STR relates. It practically
takes keeping STR at max to keep block at
max. It is best to look at your class max block value and determine if
it is worth it for you. Pure tanks will find this important.

name="CON">Constitution
(CON)

href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/modules.php?set_albumName=album19&id=CONS&op=modload&name=Gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php"> alt=""
src="http://media.tentonhammer.com/vanguard/gallery/albums/album19/CONS.jpg"
style="border: 2px solid ;" align="left"> style="font-weight: bold;">Hit
Points: Constitution adds to hit
points. Players at low levels get less value of CON, but the ratio of
hitpoints to CON scales with level and class. Even so, the ratio never
gets good enough that I can recommend CON as a dump stat for casters
looking for extra HP.



Resistances:
Constitution also
increases your resistance scores across the board. The ratio holds at
1% resistance for each 10 or 11 points of CON (rounded down to a whole
number). This is a better benefit for building CON for casters, but see
my section
on resistances.
name="DEX">Dexterity
(DEX)

href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/modules.php?set_albumName=album19&id=DEX&op=modload&name=Gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php"> alt=""
src="http://media.tentonhammer.com/vanguard/gallery/albums/album19/DEX.jpg"
style="border: 2px solid ; float: left;" align="left" hspace="2">Melee
Critical Hits: Dexterity
boosts melee critical hit bonus by a percentage roughly equal to
dividing your
DEX score by 5.5. This percentage adds to your chance to land a melee
critical
hit but does not affect the damage dealt by the melee critical hit. You
can be sure that melee characters will make this a prime attribute,
and tanks might want to consider DEX for enhancing damage to keep aggro.



Ranged Damage Bonus:
Dexterity provides a bonus to ranged melee atatcks that varies by class.



Dodge:
DEX also
increases your chance to dodge attacks. Dodge is a skill that can be
raised 10 points for each Adventuring level. DEX factors a small bonus
to dodge, which has a cap based on class. Since dodge is one of those
factors measured in effectiveness only at max value versus an even
opponent, it is hard to get a feel for how DEX relates. It practically
takes keeping DEX at max to keep dodge at
max. It is best to look at your class max dodge value and determine if
it is worth it for you. Keep in mind that both dodge and parry benefit
from DEX.



style="font-weight: bold;">Parry:
DEX also
increases your chance to parry attacks. Parry is a skill that can be
raised 10 points for each Adventuring level. DEX factors a small bonus
to parry, which has a cap based on class. Since parry is one of those
factors measured in effectiveness only at max value versus an even
opponent, it is hard to get a feel for how DEX relates. It practically
takes keeping DEX at max to keep parry at
max. It is best to look at your class max parry value and determine if
it is worth it for you. Keep in mind that both dodge and parry benefit
from DEX.



Resist: DEX
can help a player resist the effects of a spell. A player who maximizes
his DEX score could end up having roughly a 10% better chance to resist
spells than a player who does not build DEX at all.



Recognize/React:
DEX can help
your character recognize and react to enemy abilities. Like the defend
aspect of DEX, this will be tied to skills measured on maximum
potential versus a mob of an even level. This helps anticipate incoming
melee special attacks.
name="VIT">Vitality
(VIT)

href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/modules.php?set_albumName=album19&id=VITbeta5&op=modload&name=Gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php"> style="text-decoration: underline;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/modules.php?set_albumName=album19&id=VIT&op=modload&name=Gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php"> alt=""
src="http://media.tentonhammer.com/vanguard/gallery/albums/album19/VIT.jpg"
style="border: 2px solid ; float: left;" align="left" hspace="2">Healing
Effectiveness: Vitality
increases healing effectiveness for the healer casting the spell. The
number revealed by the tool tip for VIT is a percentage relative to
100% (the normal power of your heal), and healers will
almost certainly want to take advantage of this statistic.



In-combat Health
Regeneration:
VIT
boosts the your in-combat health regeneration by a prcentage equal
to roughly
1.1 to 1.2 times VIT score in my testing. Tanks might look at this
attribute to
make themselves
need slightly less healing. Other classes may feel it is useful as well.



Energy Regeneration:
VIT increases the rate at which energy regenerates. The amount of
energy regen seems to be somewhere between 12-13% of your VIT score.



Unmounted Movement:
VIT adds to
your unmounted movement speed. Characters receive a 1% movement
speed increase for every 50 points in VIT (not rounded). This benefit
is hardly any reason to dump points into VIT.
name="INT">Intelligence
(INT)

href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/modules.php?set_albumName=album19&id=INT&op=modload&name=Gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php"> alt=""
src="http://media.tentonhammer.com/vanguard/gallery/albums/album19/INT.jpg"
style="border: 2px solid ; float: left;" align="left" hspace="2"> style="font-weight: bold;">Spell
Damage: Intelligence adds to
the damage of all spells. The
number revealed by the tool tip for INT is a percentage relative to
100% (the normal power of your spell), and casters will
almost certainly want to take advantage of this statistic



Identify/Recognize:
INT
increases your chance to identify what spell a mob is casting and to
recognize the tactics applicable to the battle. The tool tip does not
provide a numerical value for this effect. The sooner a player can
identify that a spell is being cast, the sooner she can attempt to
counter it. This will help casters and healers. Recognizing tactics
permits a player to take advantage of a mob's weaknesses. This helps
all classes.



Detect/Perceive:
INT raises
your chance to detect opponents under stealth or invisibility and to
perceive what opponents are doing during combat. This will be tied to
skills measured on maximum potential versus a mob of an even level.
Detecting stealthed or invisible mobs is critical for everyone.
Perception reveals who has aggro, a crucial effect for tanks and
healers.



Counter: INT
heps your chances
to counter a spell. This will be tied to your counter skill measured on
maximum potential versus a mob of an even level. Casters and Blood
Mages
can counter spells.



Resist Counter:
INT ensures
that a player's spells will more difficult to counter by mobs. This is
essential for casters.
name="WIS">Wisdom
(WIS)

href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/modules.php?set_albumName=album19&id=WIS&op=modload&name=Gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php"> alt=""
src="http://media.tentonhammer.com/vanguard/gallery/albums/album19/WIS.jpg"
left="" style="border: 2px solid ;" align="left"> style="font-weight: bold;">Spell
Critical Hits: Wisdom boosts
spell critical hit bonus by a percentage of your WIS based on class.
This percentage adds to your chance to land a spell critical hit but
does not affect the damage dealt by the spell. You can be
sure that casters will make this a prime attribute.



Energy: WIS
adds to your pool
of energy. The rate of WIS to energy varies by class and level, but the
payoff is
noticeable. Sinking points into WIS will make a difference. Casters and
healers will want this attribute to be high.



Identify/Recognize:
WIS
increases your chance to identify what spell a mob is casting and to
recognize the tactics applicable to the battle. The tool tip does not
provide a numerical value for this effect. The sooner a player can
identify that a spell is being cast, the sooner he can attempt to
counter it. This will help casters and healers. Recognizing tactics
permits a player to take advantage of a mob's weaknesses. This helps
all classes.



Counter: WIS
heps your chances
to counter a spell. This will be tied to your counter skill measured on
maximum potential versus a mob of an even level. Casters and Blood
Mages
can counter spells.