A technical question about ice pick/thana card

[lrellok]

i have been told that ice pick and thana card have the same effect, and will presume this to be true for the purposes of my question(s).  If this is untrue, please add the question "what is the difference between thana card and Ice Pick?"

My main inquiry is how crit and the ice pick script interact.  I have been told that Critical ignores some portion of the targets defense.  The way that IP/TC reads, it increases damage proportionally based on the targets defense.  would this mean that criticaling with an ice pick would negate the damage increase (as it negate defense and so nothing to increase), or does it mean that the damage is exponentially increased, as the defense is negated but the increase to damage remains. 

also, it is implied on RO market that Ice Picks can be created, along with several others, if one has a hammer of the blacksmith, at an NPC.  Where and how might this be accomplished??

[Tira]

Ice Pick and Thanatos are identical. The formula deals more damage based on def of target, in a ratio of 50:50 to base def versus Vit def.

Critical hits IGNORE defense completely. Therefore, if you critical hit while using an Ice Pick or Thanatos card, you will do lower damage than a regular hit.

Ice Picks cannot be created. They can be slotted (Slot Enchant NPC). I think the slotted version will also drop from RSX at card rate soon.

[lrellok]

so incan samuri specter would not work well on a ice pick??

[Reyl]

It depends on the enemy's defense. Usually Incantation Samurai will deal better damage, since players rarely have enough DEF for Ice Pick's formula to maximize its damage. I can't recall exactly, but it takes around 50+ DEF for Ice Pick/Thanatos to become a definitively better choice. This can vary greatly from server to server, since customs might have mindless amounts of DEF added on top, or refine rates might give +1 DEF per upgrade instead of the default 2/3 (roughly). There are some other obscure factors that come into play as well, such as wearing Evil Druid and attacking an Acolyte class with Divine Protection.

It really comes down to testing. Try both of them out, see what works best for you in most situations, and then use that. Or if it's relatively balanced, you might even want to consider switching off the weapons depending on who you fight.

[Rena]

A) Critical hits ignore all of a target's DEF and flee, but not lucky dodge or reduction gear like the thara frog card.  They also always do top-end damage.

B) Both critical hits and incantation samurai negate the damage increase from the ice pick.  The ice pick already ignores defense, you don't need them anyway. 

C) The person above is correct, thanatos and ice pick work the same way.

Hope this helps.  ^^