On maximizing damage (again)

Day 1,101, 01:04 • Published in Greece Greece • by spyskam

My previous article has been about the average player who wants to maximize his/her damage the cost-efficient way. I argued the cornerstone to maximizing damage is fighting as many times as one can (i.e. 38 times in a single day, unless one decides to go for some HPs as well, which is generally not a good idea for the average player).
I also gave some hints on how to find out which weapons have the best value for money ratio. Let us now have a closer look to all kinds of weapons and come up with a formula that applies not only to the default configurations given by the admins, but also to those weapons that have been “individually fine-tuned” by their manufacturer.



As we all know, each weapon has a specific number of configuration points (depending on its Q). These configuration points are distributed in firepower and durability.

Q1 weapons have 30 configuration points.
Default distribution: 20 firepower / 10 durability (1.2 damage / 1 use)

Q2 weapons have 60 configuration points.
Default distribution: 40 firepower / 20 durability (1.4 damage / 2 uses)

Q3 weapons have 90 configuration points.
Default distribution: 60 firepower /30 durability (1.6 damage / 3 uses)

Q4 weapons have 120 configuration points.
Default distribution: 80 firepower / 40 durability (1.8 damage / 4 uses)

Q5 weapons have 150 configuration points.
Default distribution: 100 firepower / 50 durability (2.0 damage / 5 uses)


So, what about those weapons that deviate from the default distribution? There are not too many of them out there, but we need to take them into account as well. Mind you, there are 5 different ways to customize a Q2 weapon, as there are no less than 8 different ways to customize a Q3 weapon –and so on.

Is there a simple method for comparing different customizations and knowing which the best value for money choice is? I’ve got some good news for you! Not only such a method exists, but it also allows us to directly compare all weapons, regardless of customization and regardless of Q as well.
Imagine every weapon is a 2-dimensional rectangle shape. Firepower is the rectangle’s height, while durability is its width. In order to find its area you only have to multiply height*width. In other words you only have to multiply firepower*durability in order to find each weapon's overall performance.

Finally, when it comes to determining which the best value for money choice is, you just divide price by overall performance. In other words, it’s simply a matter of price / firepower*durability.
The smaller the quotient, the best value for money you get.





So, it’s time for some practice now. Let’s focus on the 3 different Q4 tanks and see what the value for money purchase is:

LEOPARD 2A4:
29.00 grd / 60 firepower * 60 durability = 0.00805
7-NISA TANKS:
30.90 grd / 90 firepower * 30 durability = 0.01144
Army tank:
40.26 grd / 80 firepower * 40 durability = 0.01258

It’s evident LEOPARD 2A4 is by far our best value for money purchase. It’s not only a matter of lower price.
It’s also a matter of more efficient customization. In fact, even if all 3 companies offered their products at the same price, LEOPARD 2A4 would still be the best choice, since it offers the best overall performance (best firepower*durability factor). Furthermore, this particular tank at its present price proves to be a value for money best choice compared even to the standard Q5 tank at the bottom of the list. Feel free to do the math…



P.S.: I do not claim to be the first one to “discover” the price / firepower*durability formula. It seems to be a well-know fact actually. Have a look here: http://erepublik-market.cz.cc/weapons.html. This is a very useful tool and it’s advisable for everyone to consult it from time to time.

Yet, what I’m trying to say is every player should be confident in evaluating different weapons on his/her own, instead of blindly following somebody else’s suggestions. Furthermore, I do hope this article proves of some help to companies that wish to enhance overall performance of their weapons by customizing their products the optimal way.