A Dose of Doppelganger

Introduction

I have written this article to provide facts, figures and ideas on Doppelganger Card which as far as I believe is bloated on RO private server. You might be so excited to use this card on your favorite weapon and hit lock your enemy to death. Thinking probably, that the super mega ultra blazing speed you see on private servers can also be seen here on Ragnarok's official server.

Yet those who first used the Doppelganger card were largely disappointed by the fact that it does not deliver what they expect from it. I myself once believed that this card can push your ASPD to the limit with damage numbers flowing faster than Niagara falls and I believe you're thinking the same thing.

On this guide, I am hoping to present you facts to the real ASPD formula of the said card and hope to give you ideas on how to exploit its potential for your playing enjoyment.

Hey boy, what're you doing here?

It was in the first few weeks of Philippine Ragnarok Online when I chanced upon a swordie beneath the Geffen dungeon. I know the dungeon is a bit creepy and hard for this swordie's level and since I was a priest I tried to approach him, hoping to help him get out. Suddenly this swordie swiftly run straight towards me and *bang* im dead. Shocked, this boy's avatar and movement is different. It made me draw the conclusion that this is not a normal player. I checked his name and browsed some ragnarok guides and was surprised to learn that an MVP killed me - the name is Doppelganger.

I'm sure some of you have had similar stories with Doppelganger and vowed someday you'll take revenge. That's not all, part of your vengeance is a lingering hope that this monster would drop his prized card, the card which all of us believed would push our attack speed to the limit.

Doppelganger Card has a 0.01% chance to be drop, has an attribute "Enable to Fast-Attack all the time" and can be inserted to any weapon. Now, the description failed to provide the exact number therefore players began to speculate to its real benefit. Early RO private servers set this card to +50 ASPD. Players began to believe this and wasted no time in hunting Doppelganger hoping to blitz their opponents with fast attack speed. Up until this date, there were still players who believe these bloated numbers and few players who actually own this card sent complaints to the official distributor explaining that the card is bugged because it gives way below what they expected.

 

The Gods Blessed us with a Card

Philippine Ragnarok Online will start to sell MVP cards weeks after Valkyrie and Valhalla server was introduced. On March 5, 2008, Doppelganger Card will be available for 7,000 RoK Points. Players who have extra cash in their pockets can buy it through the Armory of Gods by buying LU game cards and converting it to RoK Points. Each 100 denominated game card is equal to 2,000 RoK Points so you will be needing PHP350.00 to accumulate 7,000 RoK Points. You can buy as many cards as your pocket will allow you and this card's availability is limited probably for the whole month of March. After March (not sure on this) this card will no longer be available in the Armory.

 

You Say Numbers

The card's description only tells us that this card will "Enable to Fast-Attack all the time" but doesn't give the exact % not unlike Cecil Damon Card which explicitly tells us that it gives additional 5% ASPD at the cost of -30 hits. We are expecting higher numbers than Cecil Damon Card because Doppelganger Card is in fact a card dropped by an MVP.

ratemyserver.net steps up and includes a private server script they used for the card.

{ bonus bAspdRate,10; },{},{}

From that script, it states that Doppelganger card is giving 10% ASPD. The number might be different from the official one but at least it brings us closer to the fact. We will assume that Doppelganger is indeed giving 10% ASPD bonus.

 

Truth Shall Set Us Free

I loaded game time for my account so I could use it on Sakray. I asked one game tester there to supply me 9 pieces of Doppelganger Card, 9 pieces Cecil Damon Card, 2 Main Gauche [1], 2 Composite Bow [1] and an Infiltrator [1].

I will use the battle build Scholar with auto-bolt and blitzer build Hunter. I chose them because they relied heavily on ASPD to cast their main killing skill -- auto-bolt for scholar and auto-blitz for sniper.

iRO Wiki posted this ASPD formula and we will be using this to validate our test.

source: http://irowiki.org/wiki/ASPD


ASPD = 200-(Delay*DelayDecrease)
* Delay = (250-AGI-(DEX/4))*(200-ASPD Base)/250
* DelayDecrease = 1-Speed Mod

Auto-Bolter Scholar

I am not here to make a complete scholar guide instead I will just focus on auto-bolter build.

Auto-bolter scholar relies heavily on his ASPD to activate his auto-bolt spell. With only 25% as his maximum chance to cast, it is highly advisable that he hit his opponent as fast as possible. Rules dictate that the more he hits, the higher the chance that his auto-bolt skill will trigger.

I was able to reach 181 ASPD with my level 99 fully buffed, high agi sage using Neo Sage Diary. With that speed, I was able to take down Ice Titan almost easily. Now that I have a professor at Sakray, I wish to try the benefits of a quad carded main gauche. Will Doppelganger card beat my fastest 181 ASPD? Let's find out.

The bonus ASPD is astonishingly fast and was able to kill Ice Titan in an average of 10 seconds. Auto-bolt is triggered like theres no tomorrow coupled by the double bolt for double damage.

Here's a screenshot of and ASPD of a no-weapon scholar.

ASPD = 200-(Delay*DelayDecrease)

Delay = (250-79-(10/4))*(200-155)/250
= (250-79-2.5)*(45)/250
= 7447.5/250
= 30.33

Delay Decrease = 1 - speed mod
= 1 - 0
= 1
Delay Deacrease = 1

ASPD =200-(Delay*DelayDecrease)
=200-(30.33*1)
=200-30.33
=169.67

Screenshot with an ordinary book equipped.

Screenshot with a Neo Sage Diary (+5% ASPD)

Screenshot with a single doppelganger card dagger (+10% ASPD)

ASPD = 200-(Delay*DelayDecrease)

Delay = (250-79-(10/4))*(200-147.5)/250
= (250-79-2.5)*(52.5)/250
= 8846.25/250
= 35.385
Delay Decrease = 1-Speed Mod
= 1-0.10(1 Doppel Card)+
= 0.85

ASPD = 200-(35.385*0.90)
= 200-(31.8465)
= 168.1535

And finally a screenshot with a quad doppelganger card dagger (+40% ASPD)

ASPD = 200-(Delay*DelayDecrease)

Delay = (250-79-(10/4))*(200-147.5)/250
= (250-79-2.5)*(52.5)/250
= 8846.25/250
= 35.385
Delay Decrease = 1-Speed Mod
= 1-0.40(4 Doppel Card)
= 0.60

ASPD = 200-(35.385*0.60)
= 200-(21.231)
= 178.769

 

Blitzer build Hunter

A Hunter's best friend is his/her falcon. Pumping Luck and Agi enable their falcons to have more chances of blitzing through enemies disregarding the thickness of their armor.

A happy falcon kills your enemy dead in seconds therefore it is necessary that you keep the falcon flying. With doppelganger card, your ASPD will increase dramatically giving your falcon more chances to fly.

 

Conclusion

The Doppelganger card is not for everybody. Though it makes your ASPD faster, your ability to deal damage through damage-modifier-cards like hydra (bloody) is negated, making your damage weaker and I guess it will hurt more than benefit characters who rely on weapon damage.

Nevertheless, certain builds can exploit its full potential and stacking 4 of them on a single weapon will yield better results. Auto-bolter sage/scholar's ability to inflict damage through their bolts is deadlier than ever. Couple this with Soul Linker's Spirit of Sage and you have him in god mode.

Same with Blitzer build Hunter and Sniper. They can literally hit lock their opponent and kill mobs instantly by giving their falcons enough chances to fly.

There's a lot more possibilities for Doppelganger Card that I chose not to cover here. It's up to you to find out.