Fracture as a Combo Finisher?

[Janyxea]

Had a thought today about Fracture and its infrequent use (it being a dps loss in nearly all scenarios).

What if instead of a stand-alone ability, it were a 3rd stage combo finisher following after skull sunder? It would be similar to PLDs goring blade, I suppose, but would be nice to actually have a DoT to keep up- in addition to either SE or SP- with BBs in between.

Then you just balance the potency and duration, and voila! You have a useful skill.

[SpookyGhost]

Assuming we're talking about WAR, it's actually always a DPS gain as long as it ticks for it's full duration. Depending on phase duration it can also cut off a FC, but then it just comes down to figuring out how many you can squeeze in before it costs you said FC.

For PLD and DRK @ 60, though, it's always a DPS loss. If it were a combo finisher it would be even more useless to PLD + DRK who are really the only ones who don't get any benefit from it. It could actually use a potency buff, but considering the rest of WAR's kit it's not really a necessary change. I like Fracture how it is (for WAR), personally, as it's a marginal DPS gain used for min/maxing and allows for really intricate GCD mapping for each fight to get the optimal use out of everything in your kit.

[Jpec07]

For PLD and DRK @ 60, though, it's always a DPS loss.

I've seen this thrown around a bunch, and it has me slightly confused; since cross-class Fracture is a 220-potency attack (100+20*6), doesn't that put it slightly above the PLD average Potency-per-GCD? If they never clip it, then, doesn't it represent a DPS gain? Or does this expression factor in TP cost?

[Februs]

I've seen this thrown around a bunch, and it has me slightly; since cross-class Fracture is a 220-potency attack (100+20*6), doesn't that put it slightly above the PLD average Potency-per-GCD? If they never clip it, then, doesn't it represent a DPS gain? Or does this expression factor in TP cost?

I'm not positive (haven't personally tested it), but I'm pretty sure it depends on your Skill Speed and Tanking position. I've been told that it can be a Dps gain in the OT position if you stack enough SkS (going out of your way to stack extra), but I haven't actually tried it myself.

[SpookyGhost]

I've seen this thrown around a bunch, and it has me slightly confused; since cross-class Fracture is a 220-potency attack (100+20*6), doesn't that put it slightly above the PLD average Potency-per-GCD? If they never clip it, then, doesn't it represent a DPS gain? Or does this expression factor in TP cost?

Truthfully I'm just echoing hearsay, I've no empirical data to back it up. I imagine the crux of it is largely TP related even if it's higher PPS, as not only is Fracture less of a DPS increase for PLD now than it was in 2.0 but you also don't have access to the plethora of free TP generated from GCD Shield Swipe. It might still have uses regardless, like in A5S when running away for Boost while only being able to do Fast Blade or Fracture.

[Jpec07]

Truthfully I'm just echoing hearsay, I've no empirical data to back it up. I imagine the crux of it is largely TP related even if it's higher PPS, as not only is Fracture less of a DPS increase for PLD now than it was in 2.0 but you also don't have access to the plethora of free TP generated from GCD Shield Swipe. It might still have uses regardless, like in A5S when running away for Boost while only being able to do Fast Blade or Fracture.

Likewise. I generally accepted it because of the high TP cost, but if you're able to work in more MP skills then I wonder if it might just balance out. You will OOT pretty quickly if you're just doing a DPS rotation with it, though. Even with the changes to ability costs in 3.2, any extra drain on TP is going to cause problems. It could be used to smooth out DPS while taking time to cast things, but it seems like it might require changing up gameplay pretty substantially to make work.

[Shurrikhan]

I've seen this thrown around a bunch, and it has me slightly confused; since cross-class Fracture is a 220-potency attack (100+20*6), doesn't that put it slightly above the PLD average Potency-per-GCD? If they never clip it, then, doesn't it represent a DPS gain? Or does this expression factor in TP cost?

Not sure for DRK, but here's the gist for PLD:

Royal Authority combo averages 233.33, and Riot Blade averages 340 if it gets every tick or 323.33 if one tick short. Cutting into the potential of either is therefore a dps loss. However, if Fracture maximizes GB, such as if running at a 2.4 GCD where a GB takes 10 GCDs instead of 9.6, it may be a dps increase, but is still hardly worth the TP loss. It is worth less still with Slashing up, as the added tick is not affected, nor is 55% of Fracture. (Note that this has a small chance of being late a server DoT tick with even the slightest error at a 2.4 GCD, and will almost certainly be compensated for by skipping the Fracture, which actually then leads to even worse clipping (potentially 2 ticks or 100 pot) than at a 2.5 GCD. Skill Speed sucks.)

Even then, though, it depends on whether you look at any given test segment as potential damage or damage actually dealt in that particular time, as it can otherwise be further reduced by DoT ticks that hadn't yet occurred within the test window.

Potential Damage:

Over the course of 86.4s, or 12 combos at 2.4, each starting at the Riot Blade application:
Clipping: 970+700+700+970+700+700+970+700+700+970+700+700 -> 4 clipped-GB, 8 RA -> 9480
Full GB: 1020+220+700+700+1020+220+700+700+1020+220+700+700+1020+700 -> 3 Fractures, 4 full-GB, 7 RA -> 9640 (1.7% gain)

With slashing: (GB 970/1020 -> 1032/1082, RA 700 -> 770, Fracture 220 -> 230)
Clipping: 9480 -> 4128+6160 -> 10288
Full GB: 9640 -> 690+5390+4328 -> 10408 (1.2% gain)

Actual damage:

Same, but whereas the clipped GB has run its full course, the final full GB will be short 2 to 3 ticks, as there is not time for them to tick in this test window (short 3 GCDs, or having only 16.8s to tick). The total value of the each test would then be further reduced by 100 to 150, to as low as a .3% dps loss with slashing, and a mere 10 potency out of 9480 over the clipped series. In the end, the two are so close that the primary determiner is whether in each case the enemy will die within the last (or second to last) tick of GB. For sake of format:
Clipping: 9480 or 10288
Full GB: 9490-9540 or 10258-10308 (-.3% to .6% gain)

(This is going to be less than the dps loss for having gone with that much Skill Speed, which very little effect on the DoTs, no effect on your up to 30 pps of oGCDs, on AAs, or on Sword Oath.)

tldr; for PLD, Fracture is not worth using. (Weaponskill) Shield Swipe, at only 10 potency less but half the TP cost was already worth using primarily for its enmity and TP conservation. Fracture is a loss to both.

general tldr: the higher your job potencies / the lower your damage modifiers, the shittier cross-class skills will be.

Food for thought: if Fracture was even just 5 more DoT potency (20->25), at 10 more TP, it's pot/TP would be nearly identical, but it would be much more worth using. However, the only ones who would really rejoice would be TP-burn Monks. It's already a dps gain for Warrior, but it would finally become one for others as well, and its relative WAR opportunity cost would be reduced. May the others' TP rest in peace, though.

[Iagainsti]

Fracture's inherent problem is not producing a wrath stack yet still being on the GCD. There's always a better option to utilize than Fracture.

Can't comment on Fracture as a cross class. Wouldn't know and don't care.

[StouterTaru]

Fracture's inherent problem is not producing a wrath stack yet still being on the GCD. There's always a better option to utilize than Fracture.

That wrath stack won't make up for the gain of Fracture in the dps department. It does give you 1/5 of an Inner Beast and the mitigation/HP gain that comes with it, as well as saving you some TP if that's an issue with your group.

In deliverance, WAR rotation is under 250 potency/GCD outside Berserk, fracture is 300. With Berserk up, Fracture is an even bigger dps boost if it doesn't cost you a Berserk FC.

[Nektulos-Tuor]

That wrath stack won't make up for the gain of Fracture in the dps department. It does give you 1/5 of an Inner Beast and the mitigation/HP gain that comes with it, as well as saving you some TP if that's an issue with your group.

In deliverance, WAR rotation is under 250 potency/GCD outside Berserk, fracture is 300. With Berserk up, Fracture is an even bigger dps boost if it doesn't cost you a Berserk FC.

Its not really a DPS Gain.
Its a loss of TP.
Its a loss of Enmity Gain.
Its a loss of a Wrath Stack.

Its pretty much a lose-lose situation; should be remade to be OGCD.