Foundations: Base Damage
In Ultima Online, Base Damage is the most critical component of your pet's damage. The basis of the UO damage calculation is done off of the the attribute "base damage".
Base damage is also something that has to be increased with every level you train, as each level increases the possible base damage cap. If a pet is over capped in base damage for that level, you will not be able to train it until the next level.
If you forget to add base damage to the final round, your pets maximum dps becomes severly limited.
| Base Damage Caps | ||
|---|---|---|
| Control Slot | Low Damage | High Damage |
| 2 | 9 | 12 |
| 3 | 14 | 19 |
| 4 | 18 | 25 |
| 5 | 24 | 33 |
Damage Examples
For the following damage calculations we will use the following attributes and skill levels:
700 Strength
120 Tactics
120 Anatomy
Targeting a mob with 0 resists, we get the following damage ranges:
| Base Damage | Low | High |
| 18-25 | 83 | 115 |
| 24-33 | 110 | 153 |
| Difference | 27 | 38 |
As the chart above shows, there is a difference of 25% damage per hit between 4-slot and 5-slot Base Damage.
The problem further extends itself when you add chivalry into the mix:
| Base Damage | EoO Low | EoO High |
| 18-25 | 151 | 209 |
| 24-33 | 200 | 276 |
| Difference | 49 | 67 |
While there is still a 25% damage difference, the fact that each hit is higher will yield a greater loss of DPS.
You end up losing 49 to 67 damage per hit without base damage maxed out.
To give you another example of how damaging it can be to forget base damage:
A pet with 18-25 Base Damage and 700 Strength will hit for the same as a pet with 24-33 Base Damage and 325 Strength.
This is equivalent to 1125 wasted intensity value on your pet.
Moral of the story: Check base damage every round or at the very least when completing 4 > 5.