Recently I crafted a Cautery Sword (http://wiki.spiralknights.com/Cautery_Sword) with Bonus vs. Slime: Low. When combined with a Wolver Set, it becomes Bonus vs. Slime Maximum. Would it have been better to craft a Nightblade (http://wiki.spiralknights.com/Nightblade) instead?
I'll try to post some damage numbers for Cautery Sword later this week.
It sounds like you just wanna kill slimes really quickly with a 3* sword. For that purpose, your (effective) Bonus vs. Slime: Maximum is pretty good. However, there are factors you may have overlooked before making your decision. In the long run, a Nightblade is a better investment.
Assumptions: strong/neutral/weak damage is 150%/100%/50% respectively; unmodified Cautery Sword and unmodified Nightblade deal equal damage against neutral enemies; Nightblade deals exactly 50% normal and 50% shadow damage; and each bonus damage Ability rank grants a cumulative, additive bonus of 6.5%.
Note: Wolver Set grants Medium damage bonus to swords (2 ranks).
Cautery Sword base damage: 100% + (2 * 6.5%) = 113%
Cautery Sword damage vs Slime: 100% + (5 * 6.5%) = 132.5%
Cautery Sword w/UV damage vs Slime: 100% + (6 * 6.5%) = 139%
Nightblade strong damage: (100% + (2 * 6.5%)) * (50% + (50% * 150%)) = 141.25%
Nightblade neutral damage: (100% + (2 * 6.5%)) * (50% + 50%) = 113%
Nightblade weak damage: (100% + (2 * 6.5%)) * (50% + (50% * 50%)) = 84.75%
Nightblade w/UV damage vs Slime: (100% + (3 * 6.5%)) * (50% + (50% * 150%)) = 149.375%
As you can see, your UV Cautery Sword does very respectable damage vs Slimes, however an unmodified Nightblade does a tiny bit better. A Nightblade can also be upgraded all the way to 5* while the Cautery Sword line ends at 3* (for now at least). The downside to using a Nigtblade is, of course, reduced damage against Fiends and Undead. This will limit the options for your 2nd weapon slot or force you to purchase weapon slot upgrades.
Nightblade is a better investment overall because you can upgrade it to *5.
Cautery sword will stay a *3 sword and won't serve much purpose outside JK runs.
Also, the reduced damage against fiends and undead isnt that bad, since the sword deals half normal and half shadow... I was still dealing 55 ish damage to devilites in tier 2 with my silent nightblade. Obviously not optimal, but was still killing them faster than with my Cryo Driver.... that may be a comment on the effectiveness of guns (or the lack thereof) but still.
And, as others have said, the nightblade still does more damage against slimes even with the Cautery sword's increased damage against slimes, and does have a 5* path... and I must say, I do love my Acheron. :)
@LobsterHime
Thanks for your response, I wasn't aware of those exact percentages.
It's an account that I'm using purely for Jelly King runs, so I'm a bit sad that I made the "wrong" choice... but it's only a 10.4% damage difference at 3* so it's not that bad. I'm not planning to upgrade anything on that character past 3*.
Your data was really helpful and I'll use it in the future when I'm crafting other swords.
Also, regarding the "bonus ranks", do you count one for each rank?
e.g. low = 1 rank, medium = 2 ranks, high = 3, very high = 4 ultra = 5, maximum = 6?
The percentages for damage resistance/weakness is something more like
Resistance: 20-30% damage
Normal: 100% damage
Weakness: 120-130% damage.
Yeah, it takes about five times as many hits to kill a Gremlin with a Firotech Alchemer as with a Shadowtech. ('Course, they autododge bullets anyway but if you managed to actually hit them, that's what it'd come out to.)
By the way, testing has proven that the Cautery, with its Slime damage bonus, still deals less damage to the Royal Jelly than an equivalent-heat-level Nightblade. To put this into perspective, the Royal Jelly has only a very slight weakness to Shadow compared to regular slimes, so he isn't getting the full damage bonus from Nightblade's Shadow damage. He still counts as a slime for the purposes of UVs, so he IS getting the full damage bonus from the Cautery. And the Cautery is still dealing less damage.
The Cautery is pretty weak.
If you're seriously after slimes, wear Chroma armor for the natural bonuses to be found there, mix that with a nightblade (perhaps with a UV) for even more effect. Shadow Damage does well against those irritating gremlins, too. Just look out for fiends and undead. Pack an elemental pistol or a silversix like I do.
silversix and silent nightblade sounds like a nice, effective equipment option no matter what. throw in a master blast bomb or a atomizer and you are good to go on ANYTHING lol
i did this earlier today too. i'm thinking the cautery sword would be a better sword to use against jelly king cuz it might do more damage than nightblade cuz shadow weakened is nullified against jelly king and nightblade does neutral damage to other jellies, but on the other hand weakness damage done by nightblade will always be stronger than the cautery sword... as i have experienced with fireburst brandish and cold iron carver.