Talk:Standard (upgrade path)/@comment-75.84.41.92-20140603213936/@comment-3492791-20140603214953

Scaling is determined by player stats, and thus can only be compared to non-scaling weapons if specific stats are provided. As to element damage, it's sort of complicated. Let's say for example you make a Fire weapon. When you hit someone both the physical and fire damage are applied separately. The physical damage is divided by the enemy's physical defense, and the fire damage is divided by the enemy's fire defense. Since the damage is being divided twice, it can end up being far lower than it appears compared to a standard weapon which must only bypass physical defense.

Which path is best depends on what your stats are and what enemy you're fighting. Typically though the higher level you get, using standard weapons with augmentations yield the highest damage.