STR vs ATK

[Nodoka]

I usually see people in my linkshell ask which is better, something that gives X STR or Y ATK, and almost always, people choose the Y ATK item. My question is this, why?

The only thing that separates the Taru from the Elvaan melee damage dealers is that Elvaan get alot more STR. People keep telling me ATK is better than STR because each STR is .5 ATK, but then that would make it a completely useless stat, and that seems like it destroys the game's race balances.

My question is this. Does anyone know what either does? Some people say STR raises the amount of damage you can do and ATK allows you to hit more for your max damage. While I'm not a melee, i would rather go for STR items anyday.

Can anyone fill me in on whatever you know about this?

[lun4tic]

Following Vit's example, Str might raise minimum damage and add .5 to Atk, while Atk might raise maximum damage. Or vice versa.

[Nodoka]

What about stuff like AGI and +Acc gear? Why do people go nuts for +Acc and ignore AGI stuff? (Or is accuracy dex? Whichever one is accuracy..)

[Kasmier]

accuracy is dex

[Cometgreen]

I've heard the same as you. STR increases your overall damage, while ATK increases the highest amount of damage possible, kind of like raising a "damage cap". I'm not sure if this is true, but I would rather go for more STR, just because I've seen better damage with more strength.

As for your second question, people prioritize. AGI increases evasion and ranged accuracy, so all though it sounds like Ninjas and Rangers would love AGI, they would much rather get equipment that focuses on what they need (evasion for Ninjas, Ranged accuracy for Rangers). It's the same with dex and accuracy: it's better for a Dark Knight to get +accuracy, while it's better for a thief to get +DEX.

Cometgreen

[Izual]

The reason thf buffs up on dex/agi is because the modifiers for sneak and trick are enhanced by dex and agi, respectively.

As for str vs. atk, it depends on the situation. The difference comes from the different relationship between str/vit and atk/def. It's speculated that str/vit is a linear relationship, meaning that increasing str will always net the same relative gain. Atk/def however is believed to be an exponential relationship. What this means in game terms, if the monster is much higher than you i.e. something you would level on, increasing your atk will net a greater benefit. If the monster is much lower than you, like for farming, adding str is the only way to increase your damage because your atk has likely reached a 'soft cap' on low-level farming mobs.