Now that Dark and Darker is playable again,
I’ve been able to test a few remaining uncertainties regarding the game’s damage formula. With those mysteries cleared up, I finally
feel confident in presenting exactly what the game’s damage formula IS. ((((Base Damage + Weapon/Magical Damage)*
Power Bonus) + Additional Damage) * Location Bonus * Damage Reduction * Projectile Reduction)
+ True Damage Let’s break this down bit by bit. We start off with our Base Damage, which is
the value shown on a weapon, skill, or spell. Added to this is any instance of Weapon Damage
or Magical Damage on gear. Right off the bat, there is an exception to
this rule. For instances of Physical Damage that are
NOT direct weapon attacks, Weapon Damage will not apply. This means that things like Achilles Strike,
Rupture, Caltrops, and so on will NOT benefit from Weapon Damage bonuses on your gear. Once you’ve added your base damage and Weapon/Magical
Damage, you then multiply this total by your Power Bonus. After this, you add any “Additional” Physical
or Magical damage. It’s here we see the key difference between
Weapon Damage and Additional Damage. Additional Damage does not benefit from Power
Bonus, however, it WILL apply to those alternative forms of damage, like Rupture. Because it doesn’t benefit from Power Bonus,
it also holds a niche in low-Strength builds, as Additional Damage won’t be affected by
a negative Power Bonus. Magic users, on the other hand, cannot get
Magical Damage as an enchantment on gear. It only exists on Spellbooks and Crystal Balls. Their only other source of Magic Damage is
the “Additional” type or the “True” type, neither of which benefit from Power
Bonus. This means that while casters often have massive
Magic Power Bonuses, it doesn’t help as much as it would on a physical class. Once you’ve added up your base and Weapon
Damage, multiplied it by Power Bonus, and added Additional Damage, we finally start
dealing with universal multipliers. First we have the location bonus, that is,
bonus damage from headshots or negated damage from hitting limbs. When hitting limbs, this multiplier is 50%. For headshots, it’s 150% by default, but
wearing most headgear will reduce this. The reduction is additive, so wearing a Leather
Cap, for instance, will modify it to become 143%. There are also perks that modify this multiplier,
adding 10% with Barbarian’s Executioner, and 15% for Ranger’s Sharpshooter. Once again, this is additive. A Leather Cap versus an Executioner Barb will
result in 153%. Next, we have Damage Reduction. This is normally a simple matter of multiplication,
but certain abilities CAN modify this. For example, Armor Penetration on gear, Thrust,
and Reckless Attack all multiply their Reduction Percentage, while Melt will simply subtract
a flat 10%. In terms of priority, flat bonuses from Melt,
Barricade, Taunt, etc. all apply first, then Weakpoint’s special 50% multiplier, then
armor penetration. Finally, we have Projectile Reduction. The only way to get this stat is through plate
armor, the Projectile Resistance perk on Fighter, or as an enchantment on gear. This stat only applies to projectiles, and
what counts as a projectile can be somewhat arbitrary. Arrows, bolts, and throwables are obvious,
but a lot of spells are also projectiles. The direct hit portion of fireball, magic
missiles, and ice bolts are all counted as projectiles, but Zap, Hellfire, and Curse
of Pain are not. Once we’ve multiplied all of that, we finish
things off by adding True Damage. True Damage is unaffected by any other calculations. It doesn’t benefit from Power Bonus or Headshots,
but also isn’t reduced by any forms of Damage Reduction. You can also think of Cleric’s Perseverance
as a sort of “Negative True Damage”, as it subtracts 3 at the end of any damage calculation,
although it doesn’t seem to be able to reduce damage below 1. And that’s that! You now know your damage. Note that in instances of multiple damage
sources at once, you need to calculate each individual source individually. For example, hitting with an Ignited Crystal
Sword will result in 4 calculations. One for the Physical portion of the sword,
one for the Magical portion, one for the initial Ignite Damage, and one for the Ignite Damage
Over Time. Speaking of Damage Over Time, all of these
calculations occur at the START of the DOT, and the end result is simply divided by the
number of seconds that the DOT lasts. DOTS also do benefit from power bonuses, and
suffer from damage reductions, so be aware of that when considering whether to bring
things like Poison Weapon. And now, a few random clarifications and fun
facts. First, is that with Early Access came the
introduction of a new mechanic. There’s no “official” name for this,
but it’s effectively a forced scaling on bonus damage that only applies to certain
portions of certain skills. How it works is that your bonus damage, be
it Weapon or Additional, and your Power Bonus are all individually cut in half before the
damage calculation is run. One skill with this scaling is Achilles Strike,
or specifically the “damage when you take a step” part of Achilles Strike. If we were to calculate this damage with the
+5 Physical Damage from Axe Specialist, it’d look something like this. These are all of the skills that we know of
so far that carry this new restriction. Another thing of note is the fact that just
about every single perk that claims to give “bonus damage” in the game, is actually
just adding that number to your Power Bonus. Back Attack, Ambush, Blunt Weapon Mastery,
Arcane Mastery, Combo Attack, the list goes on. This can make some perks slightly misleading
in their effectiveness. The Two-Hander perk boosts your Power by 5%,
which may make you assume that it’s making you do 5% more damage. But in reality, Barbarian starts with 115%
Physical Damage, and so the bonus is actually a net benefit of 4.3%. This also means that the bonus damage perks
for Rogue and Ranger are MORE impactful than you might think, as those classes start with
very low Physical Power. Worth noting is that these bonuses are all
additive with each other. Think of the “increased” logic in Path
of Exile. Ambush, Back Attack, and Weakpoint combined
would add 130% to Rogue’s existing Power Bonus, rather than all being multiplied separately. While we’re talking about Physical Power,
a common question that is asked is whether Weapon Damage, Physical Power, or Additional
Damage is the best idea. The answer is, “it depends”, but generally,
the logic goes as such. If you already have positive Physical Power
Bonus, then each individual point of Weapon Damage will be more impactful than an individual
point in any other stat. Take Barbarian, for instance. They have a 115% multiplier on their Weapon
Damage, meaning that each point of Weapon Damage is effectively 1.15 points of damage. The game DOES keep track of decimal damage
and health, so this IS important. Because of this, point-for-point, Weapon Damage
will be the most impactful for their damage. The exception is in the case of external Physical
Damage, such as Achilles Strike. Sure, Weapon Damage will be impactful on all
of your weapon swings, but it will NOT affect the damage dealt by Achilles. If you’re trying to build around a particular
skill like this, then Additional Damage is your best bet. Same goes for if your Power Bonus is in the
negative. Additional Damage doesn’t benefit from Power
Bonus, but it also isn’t hurt by a negative Power Bonus, so it’s technically more useful
than Weapon Damage if you’re a low-Strength class like Ranger or Cleric. And to cap off this damage-type comparison,
Strength is also an very important consideration. Strength gives Physical Power inherently,
meaning that it does add to your damage, even if it’s not as significant as Weapon Damage
if Physical Power is already above 0%. BUT, it also gives HP, meaning that it not
only increases your damage, but it also increases your survivability. It’s for this reason that Strength is often
top priority, no matter what class you play. Another odd quirk with this system is what
exactly is affected by limb and headshot multipliers. Whether something does or doesn’t seems
entirely arbitrary. For example, Cleric’s Smite, Wizard’s
Ignite, and Warlock’s Blow of Corruption all add an instance of Magical Damage to their
physical attacks. But for some reason, Ignite and Blow of Corruption
benefit from headshots, while Smite does not. Even jankier is the fact that Ignite’s afterburn
benefits from headshots as well. And that should give you a pretty solid foundation
to work with when it comes to the game’s damage calculations. If there are any major changes to this system,
there will be an update in the comments, or possibly a new version of this video. Sadly, a lot of in-game perk and skill descriptions
are often vague, misleading, or downright incorrect, so if you want more accurate descriptions,
be sure to check out the Dark and Darker wiki.
