Shield Strike vs Potion of Fatality

Shield Strike gives a 17.5% chance of 1-hitting a 2-hit scenario.
Wither buff at level 175 gives a 35% chance, much better than Shield Strike.
Potion of Fatality gives a Wither buff at level 350, and therefore a 70% chance.

Shield Strike = 17.5%
Wither 175 = 35%
Wither 175 + Shield Strike = 46.375%
Wither 350 = 70%
Wither 350 + Shield Strike = 75.25%

If you shop for wither potions, you can usually get them below 300k (2 fsps).
For that value, using the Wither potion alone is probably greater value than Wither 175 + Shield Strike (when you consider their stam cost).

But why am I even comparing them when you can really have both?
I am seeing many players, asking for Shield Strike buffs to go with their Wither buffs, and that to me, does not make sense.

Volkers Set

Happy New Year.

So I just completed my first levelling hunt for 2010. I was less well prepared than I liked to, and when I reached level 710, I realized I still have yet to buy the Volkers set. The guild's set was in use, so I bought them in a hurry (108 fsps total), and forged them (20 fsps + 6.6 mil). Equivalent of 173 fsps total. Each item has a durability of 160, so that leads to a little more than 0.5 durability loss. I expect to lose 2 durability on each item for a single hunt, using UB 190, and that still works out cheaper than using a UB 200 potion of indestructibility (which now cost 11 fsps). This 2 durability loss per hunt and 3 levels minimum per hunt also means that this single set should get me all the way through level 950, so I am satisfied that I won't need to buy a 2nd set.

So now we get the cost out of the way, let's compare this with other sets. From level 475 to 710, there are 4 sets that consists of Gloves + Amulet pair. All stats below refer to perfect items (if craftable), and fully forged (unless otherwise noted).

Ornates of the Lamia set (level 475)
Ornate Bracers of the Lamia (262 attack, 502 defense, 402 damage)
Ornate Choker of the Lamia (402 attack, 212 defense, 552 damage)
Ornate of the Lamia set bonus (325 attack, 225 defense, 375 damage)
Total (989 attack, 939 defense, 1329 damage)

Cadeyrns set (level 475)
Cadeyrns Battle Grips (372 attack, 502 defense, 332 damage)
Cadeyrns Battle Gorget (672 attack, 212 defense, 322 damage)
Cadeyrns set bonus (240 attack, 235 defense, 450 damage)
Total (1284 attack, 949 defense, 1104 damage)

Polar Spine set (level 650)
Polar Spine Grips (84 attack, 964 armor, 659 damage)
Polar Spine Neckpiece (522 attack, 426 armor, 759 damage)
Polar Spine set bonus (450 attack, 650 damage)
Total (1056 attack, 1390 armor, 2068 damage)

Volkers set (level 710)
Volkers Gauntlets (930 attack, 740 damage)
Volkers Amulet (500 attack, 1170 damage)
Volkers set bonus (440 attack, 1020 damage)
Total (1870 attack, 2930 damage)

So Volkers set has more total stats than any of the other 3 sets. This can be expected because it is a higher level set and a crystalline set too. But because its stats is divided only between attack and damage (no defense like the Ornate of the Lamia and Cadeyrns, or armor like Polar Spine), it is so much more desirable than any of the sets above. Even if you need to go defensive, it will be better to use this set and switch one of the other damage item to a defensive item. I'll illustrate it by comparing Ornates with damage boots and Volkers with defensive boots.

Ornates of the Lamia set (level 475)
Ornate Bracers of the Lamia (262 attack, 502 defense, 402 damage)
Ornate Choker of the Lamia (402 attack, 212 defense, 552 damage)
Ornate of the Lamia set bonus (325 attack, 225 defense, 375 damage)
Boots of Aeroni (237 defense, 47 hp, 1105 damage)
Total (989 attack, 1176 defense, 2434 damage)

Cadeyrns set (level 475)
Cadeyrns Battle Grips (372 attack, 502 defense, 332 damage)
Cadeyrns Battle Gorget (672 attack, 212 defense, 322 damage)
Cadeyrns set bonus (240 attack, 235 defense, 450 damage)
Boots of Aeroni (237 defense, 47 hp, 1105 damage)
Total (1284 attack, 1186 defense, 2209 damage)

Volkers set (level 710)
Volkers Gauntlets (930 attack, 740 damage)
Volkers Amulet (500 attack, 1170 damage)
Volkers set bonus (440 attack, 1020 damage)
Boots of Yelaow (185 attack, 1126 defense) *not forged
Total (2055 attack, 1126 defense, 2930 damage)

The small difference in defense is traded for a lot of damage and attack. Since armor is mostly useless in hunting setup, and Volkers set has more attack and damage than Polar Spine set, it is preferred. In summary, at level 710, switch to Volkers set and stop using any of the other 3 sets, even for defensive setups.

(Credits : Thanks to robotussin for showing me the Cadeyrns set for their stats).