"Plague Needle - Increased damage slightly and increased poison chance on charge attack" -le Gunner Update
I've been wondering if the Plague Needle is now worth using. ;p
cuz bliz nedel recipe such crowns and im 2 cheap and... I have thousands of Krogmo Coins.
Thread... commence
I'll go collect some damage numbers in the training hall.
Damage dealt- no boosts
No damage bonus was used, guns were fired against effective targets (the fiend training hall bag).
Blitz normal: 110
Plague normal: 95
Plague normal with poison: 105
Blitz normal after poison: 120
Blitz charge: 229
Plague charge: 204
Plague charge w/ poison: 215
Blitz charge w/ poison: 240
Plague vs Blitz- Gremlin/Undead (tested on gremlin bag)
Blitz Normal: 61
Plague Normal: 53
Plague Poison: 60
Blitz poison: 69
Blitz charge: 167
Plague charge: 143
Plague charge w/ poison: 166
Blitz charge w/ poison: 191
Odds of poisoning
Poison on a single normal blow-
Trials: 21
Poisoned:14
Not:7
Odds: About 2/3. That's decent, especially when you consider that if you hit with both parts it'd be 8/9.
Odds to poison on charge-
Trials: 21
Poisoned: 19
Not: 2
Odds: Pretty incredible. Estimated over 90%.
Conclusions
Blitz needle will always do more damage, but not a sizeable amount more when poison is counted in, and plague needle REALLY poisons them all the time now. I honestly think this poison status is worth quite a bit when fighting in arenas etc. and that it can be used to debuff enemies in a lot of situations. Yes, I'd craft a plague needle. It's worth it now- it doesn't outclass blitz in damaging Vanaduke, but it can be used in conjunction to take on that fight and certainly isn't just terrible.
Another thought is that if blitz needle won't kill them in one shot, the poison will help you in some way. Specifically, any healers trying to repair the damage will now kill that monster, and any team mates trying to finish that enemy off with multi-hit weapons will have a very easy time of doing so. I think this justifies giving up a little damage, especially when you consider that the poison will most likely be there.
I'm almost certain that during testing, the Plague could out damage the Blitz once poison took hold. Looks like they knocked it back a bit slightly, but it's still an excellent alternative to the primary option. I even consider it to be the premium version of the Blitz now, for anyone who puts the effort in to earn it - you say you don't have a Blitz but you do have a load of Krogmos? Go for it.
Aside from damage you have to consider how poison severely nerfs enemy attack power.
Thanks for everyone on the numbers and information. I think I'll go on and get the Plague Needle anyways because it's pretty darn cooool. :D
In a party of four, 3 people with blitz and one person with plague would outdamage a party of 4 blitzers. This was pre-sprites though, so the addition of maskeraith spammable needles to the mix might make plague less useful as a niche.
I'd say go for it, looks sexy and it was always more viable than the pepperbox versus pierce weak things. You could always save up krogs for a winter scarf.