Celtic Heroes

Hello all,
As you probably already have seen, there have been disputes about the validity of knuckleblades. I decided to test their effectiveness.

88 Ranger
Knuckle Build
Gear:
Golden Ice Blade
Diamond Knuckleblades
Full lunar except for warden bp
Heroic Rejuv
Invigoration Bracelet
Assorted rings, they don't affect the results.

Stats:
70 Vitality
Rest, 380 Strength
(Thank you Kiz for suggesting this build )

Skills:
Your choice, Max Rapid is strongly suggested.

Immediately I noticed that kills became much faster than a diamond bow and a golden ice quiver, when a bow is switched to primary weapon to cast rapid shot when needed. Also, opponent skills almost always get interrupted. I also calculated the total DPS, and knuckles were winning by a longshot. Of course this does not include things like skills, but knuckles in my experience are better for strength builds. I have attached a DPS calculator I made that I assume works, with a few sample weapons. I used it for my initial calculations, and it may be helpful.

Credits!
Mdimarco, for his formulas

Dogorcat, Killshot, and Kiztalas for convincing me without even meaning to to try knuckles.

Calculator: Download it, don't just view it or it will not have its functions.
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B0Pw89 ... 0c2bkhpTms

Just curious, at what level is your hand to hand skill?

460, with diamond included. Only 618 attack. Miss about 1/5 of the time. Attack keeps rising as ability rises.

I use a spear for rapid shot so I don't half to equip/unequip offhands.

If youre going to use a hand to hand build, you NEED a decent amount of dex or you will miss way too often.

Would a golden dagger of venom be good too?

Would a golden dagger of venom be good too?

Yes but the only reason Golden ice is recommended is because it does more damage late game to fire mobs and adds more damage than the poison venom. So the answer to your question is yes.

Compared to a rogue with knuckleblades and a melee mage,
1. Which has the most dps(meaning you deal the most damage and get the kill at the end of a boss fight)?
2. Which is more feasible?

I have made a H2H Rogue, Mage and Druid. Yea I said it...Druid. He's just eclipsed 146 pretty handily. I'd say the Druid is a slower lvler than the Rogue by a small bit. The Mage? OMG unbelievably powerful if they focus all skills in heat and use a Gold Heat offhand. For all my builds 100 Dex is all I use. As I've tested more than that is a waste. I'd rather pump points into Vit.

Unfortunately Ranger is the only class I haven't started yet. My guess is that H2H is just as effective with a Ranger if you are fortunate to own Radiant gear. I have a full armor set, rad neck and rad willow and birch rings. I am hesitant to start a Ranger because I don't want to invest in more sigils because, well heck, that's what I do. I never use Knuckleblades on Rogue but I can imagine they are amazing if you are willing to switch out main hand to use skills. I'm not sure, however, that playing a ranger or rogue using them is very fun if you have to change out weps to use the rest of your skills. It would be effective but draining.

Compared to a rogue with knuckleblades and a melee mage,
1. Which has the most dps(meaning you deal the most damage and get the kill at the end of a boss fight)?
2. Which is more feasible?

Think about it. The mage has lures which can basically double the damage you are doing. Also cloak and incinerate are dot skills that do damage while you are hitting. Incinerate is the only skill you have to cast every 20 sec. And you don't need any str because your weapons don't use it. All your points can go into vit.