IMPORTANT: This is for ASPD minmaxing only, and will require you two stat reset potions (or just one if you haven’t distributed your stats yet e.g. just rank resetted or something). Please do this only when you have a spare stat reset potion after the test.
Before anything else, make sure no other program or devices are using your internet connection in a way that may cause random throttling as this may affect the results of your tests possibly rendering them inaccurate.
Recording vids
1.) Make sure you’ve already selected your ranks and distributed the skills that affects DEX or ASPD in some way (e.g. DoV, Frenzy, etc.) as well as attributes that does the same (I can’t think of any but maybe there is, just check). You must also be equipped with the appropriate weapon type. If possible, equip the weapons and cards you intend to use especially those that affects ASPD (e.g. +DEX)
2.) Go to inside the Highlander Master’s Training Hall in Klaipeda.
3.) UNLESS you’ve already resetted your stats and haven’t distributed them yet, use your stat reset potion. Remove shop buffs as well as any extra hits that may just confuse your counting later on. Don’t wear gear that adds extra hits as well (e.g. Cafrisun set, Manahas, etc.)
5.) To start, put 100 invested points in DEX.
6.) Now use all possible buffs that affects your ASPD (e.g. Running Shot). For Frenzy, you might need to max out the stacks first by hitting any of the practice post. I’m not sure how ASPD from DoV is computed post-rework so you might need to look into that first.
7.) Press F12 to start recording and you can start hitting the practice post (your counting starts at the 1st strike). Maintain this for at least 30 seconds (the longer, the better and the more accurate your results will be) before you can press F12 again to stop recording.
8.) You might need to wait for your ASPD buffs to be ready again. While doing so, you can now increment your DEX invested according to your preference. I chose to add 50 each time as I was too lazy to do it in lesser amounts which means more numbers to crunch. You can do it in 30’s, 20’s, or even 10’s if you’re meticulously min-maxing.
9.) Repeat steps 6-8 until you’ve spent all your stat points in DEX.
Sample test video:
Gathering data
1.) Open up the 1st vid you recorded and let it play to the point where you can start counting the hits (after your buffs are up and you’re on full stack if applicable). Pause right at when the 1st hit (“1”) displays on the screen.
2.) Record the StartTime - the time the first counted hit appears. You can use Notepad or something similar for this.
3.) Not sure about other video players, but on VLC you can right-click on the video then choose “Playback > Speed > Slower” to slow down the video speed for easier counting of hits.
4.) Now play the video and START counting. Up to how many hits is up to you. I’m lazy so I stopped at 30 hits but things would’ve been even more accurate if I went 50 or more hits. STOP counting at the desired number of hits you want to go with (use this same max count for the other videos) and PAUSE the video right as the last counted hit appears.
A simple technique I use to ease this boring part is to just form a fist with my hand, count 1 to 10 and lifting a finger each time I get to 10 indicating that I’ve just counted 10 hits so by the third lifted finger that’s already 30 hits.
5.) Record the EndTime - the time the last counted hit appears as well as the total number of hits (which we shall label as TotalHits) you’ve counted.
6.) Repeat steps 1-5 for all other videos.
Results time
The equation is simple (note: the difference between EndTime and StartTime should be in seconds):
TotalHits / (EndTime - StartTime) = HitsPerSecond
UPDATE: I just realized that if all your counted TotalHits are the same for all videos, then you can immediately tell which video with a specific DEX investment has the best result by simply deducting the EndTime with the StartTime. The lesser the number of seconds, the faster you were hitting.
For example:
60 / (35 - 13) = 2.73 HPS
The higher your HPS is, the better - BUT you have to be wary and see at which point in DEX investment your HPS stopped increasing or barely increased as this means you’re reaching your cap ASPD as influenced by your ping.
For me, 250-336 DEX invested resulted into the same 2.73 HPS while 200 DEX put me at 2.58 HPS and all these are with no equip DEX bonuses yet except for +14 from Max Peta. Putting more DEX past that no-increase mark (likely around 225 for me) for the sake of ASPD alone would be a waste as those points could have gone to other stats instead (e.g. STR or CON).
Things to consider before ending your test
You also have to take into consideration the way you would play most of the time and how far in terms of gear investment would you go. Will you be wearing gear w/ DEX bonuses in the future? Do you usually play with a Chronomancer (Quicken) e.g. ET, Solmiki? Perhaps then you might just need a lesser amount of DEX if your investing in it just for ASPD.
Also, DEX is NOT just for ASPD so if your build stat-, gear-, and skill-wise benefits from the Block Pen, Crit Atk, and Evasion that DEX also brings, then you’ll probably want to get more of it even if it’s no longer increasing your ASPD.
Another thing to take note of is the way the game is optimized in that when there are so many things happening on your screen, your FPS tends to go down which consequently reduces your HPS. (thanks @roflmaopapa for mentioning this) Is your build solely for WBing? There’s a lot of people contending for popular bosses which means lots of stuff popping on screen - an FPS Dropfest! This means your invested DEX won’t provide its optimal ASPD benefit.
Lastly, there are cases where OPTIMAL doesn’t equate to maximum if you consider how points spent would’ve gone to another stat instead. In an AA-Chaplain build for example:
At this point, you should have a better idea of how much DEX you really need so you can reset it to the amount you’re clearly comfortable with.
Sorry this turned out long but I hope it helps!