How is Damage per Second figured?

I have nothing equipped except for a bow. Working with my passives, I can easily come up matching the raw damage numbers listed on the character sheet. What I can't figure is how those raw numbers are becoming my listed DPS.

DPS: 108.1
Chance to Hit: 85%
Attacks per Second: 1.57
Main Hand Total Combined Damage: 39-119 (All Physical)
Main Hand Crit Chance: 5%
Main Hand Critical Multiplier: 150%

So I figure, the average of 39 and 119 is 79, which should be my average damage per attack.
79 damage per attack, multiplied by attacks per second (1.57) comes up to 124.03 damage per second. This doesn't match the 108.1 - not even close.
So I figured, accuracy must factor in (and threw on a helmet with nothing but accuracy to test, before removing it again -- it increased my DPS).
So 124.03 x 0.85 brings us to 105.42. Much closer to 108.1, but not quite - the listed damage is higher.
So I figured, throw in critical damage, which should be an increase of 7.5% (1.5 x 0.05).
105.4255 x 1.075 = 113.33. Now we're too high.

What gives?
I come up with this:

Average non-crit: 79
Average crit: (avg * CD multiplier) 118.5

Crit-normalized average = crit rate * average crit + ( 1 - crit rate ) * average non-crit = .05 * 118.5 + .95 * 79 = 80.975

DPS = crit-normalized average * APS * hit% = 80.975 * 1.57 * .85 = 108.1

Your figuring of crit dmg is off.
Let a man walk alone -
Let him commit no sin.
Let him bear few wishes,
Like an elephant in the forest.
Last edited by Zakaluka on Aug 5, 2012, 2:45:52 AM
Hmm, yes. I see what you're saying. Let's see if this fixes my spreadsheet.
If you are going where I think you're going, and trying to compare different build choices you can make in terms of max dps:

you will find that crit builds are very skillpoint-inefficient. That is, haste/%dmg nodes are worth far more DPS per skillpoint than crit/critdmg nodes, until the very late game. And even when you break that line, dps gained per skillpoint (in total) would be higher in a low-crit build.

But, there are quite a few more crit nodes available than flat haste/dmg nodes, so if you're really going allout glass-cannon crit is the better option. Otherwise, hybrids work well with crit too.

As usual, though, there are plenty of people out there who disagree with all that :)
Let a man walk alone -
Let him commit no sin.
Let him bear few wishes,
Like an elephant in the forest.
Last edited by Zakaluka on Aug 5, 2012, 3:00:37 AM
"
Zakaluka wrote:
As usual, I will get flamed for saying this, though :)


Maybe, but not from me.

I will point out that crit-heavy builds have things going for them aside from just damage, though.
I have wandered through insanity;
I have walked the spiral out.
Heard its twisted dreamed inanity
In a whisper, in a shout.
In the babbling cacophony
The refrains are all the same:
"[permutations of humanity]
are unworthy of the name!"
as skivverus said, it is definitely true. Crit has a LOT of utility in this game.

And also skivv, sometimes I go back and reword my posts so I sound... a little less belligerent :) It's tempting.
Let a man walk alone -
Let him commit no sin.
Let him bear few wishes,
Like an elephant in the forest.
Nope, not going for crit build. Considered one at one point, but decided against. This is actually more for skill planning in general, but also for gear comparisons where I can look at a piece for one character and compare it to my spreadsheet instead of swapping toons only to find it's not actually a superior piece. Of course, this also means determining order of operations for modifying damage and such, with regards to weapon bonuses, elemental damage bonuses, etc.

I also do it simply because I enjoy doing it.

I figured the best place to start was figuring out how to calculate basic damage correctly first, as I know I've tended to screw that up in the past and then wonder why nothing else works.

Running into another oddity that doesn't seem intuitive at all, however. Throwing on an amulet that adds 3-5 physical damage doesn't have the same effect as would a bow with a 3-5 higher physical damage stat. So now I need to figure out what mods are or aren't affecting that.
Last edited by Calessa on Aug 5, 2012, 3:16:59 AM

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