Arterial Strike

Arterial Strike is a skill in the offense tree. It is a level 500 skill, and has dependency on Spectral Knight, which in turn has dependency on Shatter Armor. However, until Shatter Armor and Spectral Knight which reduces or eliminates opponent's armor, Arterial Strike is more like Adept Learner or Librarian and gives extra xp for killing creatures. The skill uses 20 stamina, and has a base duration of 60 minutes. Here's the official description :

Gain additional 0.1% xp per point for every additional round of combat. (Note that this does not activate if conserve activated)

So, if you have been following my blogs, you will know I am a big proponent of 1-hitting. Note the word 'additional' in the description. That means you do not get any extra xp if you 1-hit. So what use is it if you are 1-hitting?

Well, even if you are 1-hitting, you will miss, at least 2% of the time. And that was why we need the shield imp. Each time you use an imp, you get 17.5% more xp (than you would in a single attack). So assuming you are using the 16x doubler, and no CA, then that 17.5% translates to 2.8 stam in xp. Since the buff uses 20 stam, the break even will be 20/2.8 = 7.14. If you use CA, then you can reach the breakeven even sooner. Refer to the chart below for the breakevens. Note the breakeven number 7.14 is not limited to imp blocks, but should include dodges, shockwave, or any other incidences that may require you to go 2 combat rounds.

Doubler and CA	Breakeven
16x Doubler with no CA	7.14
16x Doubler with CA25	6.72
16x Doubler with CA50	6.35
16x Doubler with CA75	6.02
16x Doubler with CA100	5.71
16x Doubler with CA125	5.44
16x Doubler with CA150	5.19
16x Doubler with CA175	4.97
11x Doubler with no CA	10.39
11x Doubler with CA36	9.52
11x Doubler with CA72	8.79
11x Doubler with CA109	8.16
11x Doubler with CA145	7.62
11x Doubler with CA175	7.14

Does that mean AS is better when you use 16x doubler, or when you use CA? Actually, that's a little misleading. A hunting session is not defined by a fixed number of hits (and therefore the ratio of misses), but typically defined by the stam used. When you use 16x doubler or a higher CA, you will be killing fewer creatures. Assuming you are 1-hitting smoothly, and misses only 2% of the time, then the breakeven is about a 6000 stam hunt. That said, if you are encountering tough creatures, with nullify, dodge, first strike, and the 2-hit rates are higher than 2%, then it might even be worth getting it for a shorter hunt.