I ran some code that optimizes damage against my artifact pool and compared The Catch vs Skyward Spine:
- My best SS is better than my best TC. Both having >220 ER.
- HOWEVER, they are VERY CLOSE. I am talking like 1.5% dmg difference.
My guess:
You are getting SO MUCH elemental and additional damage already that the 30% doesn't outweigh the high base attack of SS.
Some notes: I am showing base stats, but conditional stats are accounted for (e.g. burst bonus)
Spine has 2 NO and 2 TF; The Catch has 4pc NO, both use ATK%/ATK%/CR
| Weapon (best by dmg) | Effective dmg (full rotation) | CR | CD | ER | Elemental DMG | ATK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skyward Spine | 416003 | 67.0 | 123.1 | 223.1 | 63.6 | 2503 |
| The Catch | 410417 | 60.2 | 139.4 | 229.2 | 51.7 | 2075 |
Here is a pic of my code's output for top weapon/artifact combinations: https://imgur.com/a/2z8hSNF