Which to Upgrade First?
 

The most significant upgrades for me at the moment - a level 46 Monk - are the following:

Thick Banded Belt to Flowing Black Silk Sash

OR

Staff of Battle to Imbued Fighters Staff

Both upgrades cost about 10k - 12k, FBSS perhaps being slightly more expensive than IFS but a bit more common.

FBSS would effectively make my Staff of Battle 31/30 from 31/37, but of course I would lose the 8 ac 15 str from TBB.

I'm going to get both of these items eventually, but my question is: Which is more of an upgrade/which should I purchase first?

Does worn haste affect special attacks' reuse timers?

I'm pretty sure fbss is a marginally better choice in terms of raw autoattack dps, but you are going to be losing 15 str and 8 ac to get it, whereas the rfs is just a pure upgrade. If haste affects your tiger strike and flying kick and whatever though, then it fbss would definitely be the way to go.


Edit - best I could do with a quick search was http://www.project1999.org/forums/showthread.php?t=6716 where a few people all say that haste boosts melee special attacks, and no one says it does not.

IFS imo. That's almost a 25% upgrade in weapon damage.

Haste doesn't affect skill timers.

Can you show me the math on that? :confused:

31/37 to 38/40? I know it's early here, so I might be confused, but that definitely looks like damn near 25% to me?

I'd go with haste IMO.. Every melee class should have 1 haste item, weather it be clicky or worn.. After you get your haste your dps will increase with w/e weapon you have..

Plus, your worn haste will stack with any caster haste so it's win win.

38/40 = .95
31/37 = .838

.95 / .838 = 1.13

I'm not too melee savvy though, so I don't know if there is more to consider. Seems like the 3 more delay on the IFS won't make a big difference for the damage bonus though.

Yeah, morning disease hits me for 20000.

13% it is. =p

Lol. It's early for me too, that's why I asked how you got 25% first. Didn't trust myself :)

Sucks that haste doesn't make your flying kick and crap come back up quicker though. FBSS is only like 18% more dps (1 / 1.21) but you do lose 8 ac and 15 str for it. The IFS isn't as big of a raw dps boost, but at least it is a straight upgrade.

Have you considered searching out a Peacebringer for sale?
28/30 - .933
The 10 delay difference is huge. Miss once or twice with an IFS or get in low hits (70s) and it really hurts overall dps. Especially with no haste with a 40 delay weapon.

As a monk I tried an IFS at one point and also a peacebringer - which outparsed it.
Little rarer to find than IFS but can usually get for 8-10k when you find it.