how do you compare different stats to compare DPS (from looking at AH items?)

[RemJay24]

Having a problem determining if some items are better than others for my Witch Doctor (lvl 49 atm) when I browse the auction house. For example, I found a neck piece on the AH with nearly 100 int. Though my current neck (lvl 27) sports +6-10 dmg AND 11% attack speed. How do I compare the two (or three in this case) stats? In terms of WoW, I would figure out their EP values... but this isn't WoW. Perhaps its even more complicated to ask this question, as different spells affect different stats.

Any suggestions or helpful hints would be appreciated. Thanks!

[Archimand]

well attack speed will inflate your dps but you wont actually do more damage

my attack speed is 2.06 so my dps is 8xxx however with my 105% weapon damage attack i avarage 4xxx so

the dps on weapon and int will be the biggest increase to damage while attack speed is abit misleading for ppl that need to manage resources

crit chance and crit damage also factor into your avg damage

Edit: im not saying attack speed is bad im just saying how it work
also for casters it can deplete your resources rather quickly
would rather attack slower so ill have time to regen arcane power

[RemJay24]

ah, makes sense. Just gives you faster time to pump out spells, but clearly depletes your resource (mana for me).

[Reucht]

I'm having difficulties with this aswell, but as a guideline I do this:

- try to find the same stats but better
- compare sell value (vendor sell, not AH)
- learn from comparing rares in your inventory

For the rest I would also appreciate some tips :P

[Deleted]

Right now as a lvl 51 DH I sort my items as follows. Set level to a ~5 level range so right now its 46-52, set my priority stats to Dex + Vit, set max buyout at 10-15k and search for rare only. After that I click to view the cheapest buyout first then view the items according to their sell price from vendors. What you find is most the items will be around the same price say 400g-500g but on rare occasions you find an item that's 600g,700g, even 800g+. These are the items that have vastly improved stats over other items at the same level, just a case of them figuring out if its the right stats you want to change.

[saberon]

Right now as a lvl 51 DH I sort my items as follows. Set level to a ~5 level range so right now its 46-52, set my priority stats to Dex + Vit, set max buyout at 10-15k and search for rare only. After that I click to view the cheapest buyout first then view the items according to their sell price from vendors. What you find is most the items will be around the same price say 400g-500g but on rare occasions you find an item that's 600g,700g, even 800g+. These are the items that have vastly improved stats over other items at the same level, just a case of them figuring out if its the right stats you want to change.

I recommend you also search Magic as well. In most cases, you can find pieces significantly better than Rares.

@OP: Your primary stat (Int) is a modifier of your weapon damage. Thus, +damage is always the superior stat unless the differences are massive (eg. 100 int or +1 dmg). Furthermore, as a WD, if you're using Soul Harvest, Intellect has even less value in comparison to +dmg.

Unfortunately, there is no way to do a proper comparison via the AH, however I apply the following general rules when upgrading:
- The best rings contain +dmg. So... only buy those. And only upgrade to better +dmg rings.
- Weapons should be based entirely on +dmg. Forget your primary stat on a weapon. Forget it. If your weapon has anything on it besides +damage and a socket, its a waste of itemization. As for that socket? Biggest ruby you can find.
- For the rest of your items, focus on upgrading your Primary Stat (and Vitality if need be).

Doing that, you're always doing a direct upgrade as opposed to a cross-stat upgrade, and as such you can see at a glance if its better or not.

[Lathais]

This is really the only flaw in the AH and something I am not sure how it got overlooked. Perhaps it's a technical issue, but I am sure it will get fixed soon or eventually. The enhanced comparative tooltips really should be there in the AH.

Also, above poster is almost entirely correct. + Damage is king, then your primary stat. If you are melee, Vit may be more important than primary stat, at the very least equal to. Leech/Haelth on hit/health on kill are also good, at least for melee.

[Digits]

This is really the only flaw in the AH and something I am not sure how it got overlooked. Perhaps it's a technical issue, but I am sure it will get fixed soon or eventually. The enhanced comparative tooltips really should be there in the AH.

Also, above poster is almost entirely correct. + Damage is king, then your primary stat. If you are melee, Vit may be more important than primary stat, at the very least equal to. Leech/Haelth on hit/health on kill are also good, at least for melee.

I hope so, so very much they'll add this. Certain upgrades are very hard to figure out without doing the math. This is mostly an issue with +damage versus main stat, and the math behind that makes my head hurt. Adding 1 and 1 together is complicated enough for a simpleton like me.

[Lathais]

I hope so, so very much they'll add this. Certain upgrades are very hard to figure out without doing the math. This is mostly an issue with +damage versus main stat, and the math behind that makes my head hurt. Adding 1 and 1 together is complicated enough for a simpleton like me.

It's damage * Primary Stat, not that hard, but definitely harder than it should be. I am a Barb and sitting at around 550 Str, so 1 point of damage is equal to 550 points of Str. No comparison, +dmg is far far superior to Primary Stat.

[Digits]

It's damage * Primary Stat, not that hard, but definitely harder than it should be. I am a Barb and sitting at around 550 Str, so 1 point of damage is equal to 550 points of Str. No comparison, +dmg is far far superior to Primary Stat.

There are certain situations where stats are better than +damage, I've found. Some items I expected to be clear upgrades would cost me several hundred dps.

[Deleted]

I recommend you also search Magic as well. In most cases, you can find pieces significantly better than Rares.

My only problem with that is the marketplace is already saturated with tonnes of useless or inadequate rare items, adding magic to the list will make it even more tedious to sieve through.

[saberon]

My only problem with that is the marketplace is already saturated with tonnes of useless or inadequate rare items, adding magic to the list will make it even more tedious to sieve through.

This is true. However, I find that if I put in a more definitive search field, it narrows it down to 1 or 2 pages. (i.e. Changing the search from Dex to 50 Dex Minimum will remove 80% of the items).
If that still leaves you with a bunch of pages, sort by buyout and then modify your search parameters again. For example, if I find a +80 Dex item for 4k buyout, I'll change the search parameters to 80 Dex Min to remove everything that is more expensive while containing less. Overall, finding that one huge upgrade will only take me a few minutes. All you need to do is constantly narrow the field.

[Maelstrom51]

A great way to find good gear on the auction house is to constantly refresh a specific search. There are often AMAZING deals that get bought out within a minute of the posting going up, and you want to be the person that buys it. I've personally made over 5 million gold profit using that strategy.

[Jersovic]

If you take the time to compare the stats, the item will definitely be long gone by the time you try to buy it. This auction house moves so fast I can spend an hour trying to buy an item before I finally get my hands on one.

[Digits]

Another flaw I've found is that when comparing weapons it doesn't show modified dps on your equipped weapon if you put a +damage gem in it, just the base dps. I don't know if that goes for the ones on sale too because they frequently already have a gem in them. Not a big deal but something to keep in mind.