As an example. If you already have a Fero 3 item how important and how great an increase is it going to Fero 5? Or is it not really necessary? I realise it's a 6% increase but in the magical and confusing world of EQ calculations what is the actual dps increase?
It depends what your current Double Attack skill is. Let's say you're level 70 with 260 skill. Here's the equation for Double Attack chance: Code: Double Attack Chance = (Skill + Level) * Mod / 500 = (260 + 70) * [ Ferocity III (9%) ] / 500 = (330) * (1.09) / 500 = 72% Code: Double Attack Chance = (Skill + Level) * Mod / 500 = (260 + 70) * [ Ferocity V (15%) ] / 500 = (330) * (1.15) / 500 = 76% So Fero III -> V is like a 4% increase to Double Attack. The DPS question is harder to answer, but as a rough estimate I would say it would increase your melee DPS by 4%. You will miss more, triple attack more, and flurry more (by the same %) from increasing your double attack. Double attack is the one of the best ways to increase your DPS (when you have a choice) because your triple/flurry increase on top of that. Look at a fight on gamparse, longer is better. You want the duration (s), total melee hits (slash/pierce/crush), and average melee hit. As an example we'll say you did 500 hits, avg hit of 250, for a 2 minute fight (120s) = 1041 DPS. Code: DPS increase (roughly) = (avg melee hit * total melee hits * 0.04) / duration = (250 * 500 * 0.04) / 120 = 41.7 DPS (4% increase)