Baranar's Star vs. Monsters Immune to Physical Damage

I calculated some numbers for Baranar's Star against PIs. Damage per second is better for Vengeance but you run out of mana VERY quickly with it. Look at the Damage per Mana figures (that is how much damage you deal per mana).

Assumptions:

  • No other elemental damage on equipment (except for Baranar's Star).
  • Average weapon damage is 147 (i.e. no +min/max damage equipment, only the normal ED on Baranar's Star)
  • Vengeance is level 28 (+232% damage, mana cost 10.7 per attack).
  • Zeal deals 5 hits, mana cost 2 per 5-swing zeal.
  • No elemental immunities on PIs
  • Conviction lowers resistances from 0% to -100% (the cap), thus effectively doubling elemental damage.
  • Hit probability is not taken into account, but I assume that its effect is not very big, because Baranar's star gives +200% to AR.
  • Attack speed depends on the aura used. Assumed speeds are mentioned in parentheses in the results section.

    Results - Damage vs. PIs with Baranar's Star:

    Damage per Second
    Vengeance+Fanaticism (speed 8 frames): 4139
    Vengeance+Conviction (speed 10 frames): 6623
    Zeal+Fanaticism (speed 4 frames): 1884
    Zeal+Conviction (speed 5 frames): 3015

    Mana Cost per Second
    Vengeance+Fanaticism (speed 8 frames): 33.4
    Vengeance+Conviction (speed 10 frames): 26.8
    Zeal+Fanaticism (speed 4 frames): 2.5
    Zeal+Conviction (speed 5 frames): 2.0

    Damage per Mana
    Vengeance+Fanaticism: 124
    Vengeance+Conviction: 248
    Zeal+Fanaticism: 754
    Zeal+Conviction: 1508

    In summary:
    Vengeance deals about 2.2 x more damage than zeal against PIs, but you run out of mana very quickly. In terms of mana efficiency, Zeal is about 6 times better than Vengeance. I'd recommend using Zeal when you have problems regaining mana. Most paladins do, because they rely mainly on mana leech to regain mana. Unfortunately mana leech doesn't work against PIs. However, if you somehow find enough mana to support Vengeance, go with it. It deals a lot more damage than Zeal vs. PIs.