https://www.reddit.com/r/project1999...eb2x&context=3
Oh wait! I found another bit of evidence!
This person is saying he had a friend demo the rod back in the day... and it was hitting for 200ish damage.
At 40 damage cap, it wouldn't hit that hard. Even with 255 str and 110 skill... 40 x 3.65 = 146 max you can hope for
BUT if you are working with the actual damage of the weapon, then you can get to a max of 219.
That's some good first hand evidence of the power of the rod back in the day!!! More evidence supporting the "40 damage max cutoff" isn't classic!