Quote:
Originally Posted by LightningHell
Wait, that doesn't sound right...
Ok. 13 Energy Storage. Ether Prodigy guy using an enchanting staff, 79 max energy (though that isn't important). Ether Prodigy gives 44 energy per cast over 22 seconds, net 39. 40 energy regenerates naturally over 30 seconds. Stable exhaustion energy gain of 79 energy per 30 seconds, or 7.9 pips (+3.9 bonus). Can be used with any amount of exhaustion to get this benefit. Trivial to maximize benefit.
Second Wind, with an Insightful Staff, same Energy Storage (84 max energy). Used under perfect conditions every 30 seconds for stable exhaustion - 5 current energy with 31 points of exhaustion. Second Wind is used, exhaustion goes to 41, down to 40 by resolution for 40 energy gain with 40 exhaustion. Current energy goes from 5 to 0 on cast, regenerates just short of 3 by resolution, just short of 4 before you can cast your next spell. End condition of 44/44 energy with 40 exhaustion when next spell can be cast. Net 35 energy bonus, plus 40 energy regen, for 75 energy per 30 seconds, 7.5 pips, +3.5 pip bonus. Must be used in that exact situation (31 exhaustion, 5 energy) to get this benefit. Virtually impossible to maximize.
Same setup, two +15/-1 weapons. 13 Energy Storage (111 max energy). Perfect start condition is 5 current energy, 45 exhaustion. On use, exhaustion goes to 55, regenerates to 54 by resolution. Energy goes to 0, regenerates to 1 by resolution, 2 before you can cast anything. Second Wind gives back 54 energy, net 49. End state - 56/57 energy, 54 exhaustion. Can't do anything with that odd energy unfortunately. Two pips of regen return 20 energy over 30 seconds, net energy 69 over 30 seconds, for 6.9 pips (+2.9 pip bonus).
The +15/-1 foci are not good with Second Wind, though you aren't punished as severely for going onto them. You can approximate the no-swap scanario by swapping up after Second Wind and only swapping down to keep going, but you're going to have so much exhaustion to use this optimally (27 max energy on first focus using the sets above) that you'll never be able to sit on first focus for long, and probably won't get more energy out of the exchange than you would if you had never swapped in the first place.
Due to the weaker returns, the inflexibility, the requirement that you sit at awful exhaustion, and the cast time, Second Wind is strictly inferior to Ether Prodigy as a long term energy solution, by a very wide margin.
Interesting cases: ramping up for more energy while building exhaustion.
Ether Prodigy: Cast every 22 seconds, permanent 6 pips of regen. 68 net energy and change every 22 seconds, net +5.3 pips regen. Accumulate 2.6- exhaustion over 30 seconds.
Second Wind, maxed ramp: fired off on recharge. Net 97 extra energy over 30 seconds from 5 casts, net +9.7 pips regen. Accumulated 40 exhaustion over 30 seconds - right into steady state mode. Percentage of those 30 seconds spent casting Second Wind: 45.83-% Energy in surplus of Ether Prodigy in that 30 second window: 44.
Second Wind, Prodigy level exhaustion accumulation: One cast every 22 seconds. 13 casts before you hit steady state wall. Net energy returns of 4, 7, 9, 12, 15, 17, 20, 23, 25, 28, 31, 33, 36. Total energy returned: 260 over 266 seconds. Average net pips: +2.93. Over the last 6 casts: 176 energy over 6 casts of taking 134 seconds. Average net pips of the 'power zone' on Second Wind: +3.94 pips regen at Prodigy level exhaustion usage. Second Wind never outperforms Ether Prodigy when used at Prodigy levels of usage.
Second Wind, powered every 15 seconds from 11 to 40 exhaustion: 5 casts for 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 net energy over 62 seconds. 125 energy net, +6.04 pips regen over those 62 seconds. Energy over Ether Prodigy during those 62 seconds: 8.
The situation where Second Wind outperforms Ether Prodigy is over short timeframes of less than a minute. The ability to spam Second Wind in those situations allows you to net upwards of 40 more energy in less than 30 seconds, though scaling down to around 10 at the minute mark. This benefit, however, comes at a serious cost to your time spent casting, and thoroughly trashes your exhaustion in the process. The cost to casting time is significant enough to nullify the energy benefit entirely. For example, when maxlining Second Wind over 30 seconds, you only have 16 seconds of free time in which to cast spells with your extra 9.7 pips of energy. The only spells in the entire game that can consume energy at that rate, in that timeframe, would have 15 energy costs and 1 second cast times, or 25 energy, 2 second cast spells. For all other spells, casting time is a bigger limit than energy, spacing out the Second Winds even more and minimizing the benefit.
Hence, in a straight comparison between the two, there is no reason to use Second Wind over Ether Prodigy. In order to justify using Second Wind, you need to have a build that uses other enchantments, which cannot be used with Ether Prodigy, or you must be playing in an environment where Ether Prodigy is unreliable due to enchantment removal (but Second Wind is not unreliable from interrrupts). Straight up, the two aren't even close.
Peace,
-CxE
