Damage Calculation
Damage Composition and Variance
Damage Composition
PSO2's damage is divided into the following:
- Player Damage (Base Stats, Mag Stats, Augments, etc.)
- Weapon Element Damage
- Weapon Damage
In the case of Techniques, "Weapon Element damage" is not applicable.
Damage variance only applies to Weapon Damage. For this reason, there is no damage variance when attacking without a weapon equipped (AKA bare-handed). The minimum value of Weapon Damage always ranges between 10% and 90%. When under conditions which are too good or too bad outside the range of 10-90%, the resulting minimum Weapon Damage will always be capped within 10%-90%. A critical hit removes this variance, resulting in 100% of Weapon Damage being applied.
Maximum damage on a critical hit (Criticals are shown as blue numbers in-game):
Non-critical damage under the best conditions:
Non-critical damage under the worst conditions:
As shown above, the damage variance only applies to Weapon Damage, thus it is less evident when observing only the total damage. Since Techniques do not have Weapon Element Damage, it is slightly easier to notice the damage variance compared to other types of attacks.
It should also be noted that Summoner Pets have a wide damage variance.
Damage Variance
The above section can be summarized as the following table:
| Maximum Damage | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Player Damage | Weapon Element Damage | Weapon Damage 100% | |
| Minimum Damage | Damage Variance | ||
To determine the minimum damage, there are two broad categories.
- Rare weapons (
and above) → fixed 90%
- Note that while it was previously possible to have less than 90%, it is no longer the case currently.
- Non-rare → calculated based on the difference in DEX between the player and the enemy, weapon rarity, and weapon grind.
- Common, uncommon, Red weapons, non-main primary types (Vibras Weapon's TEC power) → calculated minimum damage has a small modifier, resulting in generally less minimum damage.
In the case of non-rare, the value of minimum damage is not dependent on weapon attack. If we were to compare between a weapon with 500 attack and another weapon with 1000 attack, under the same surrounding conditions (same difference in DEX between the player and the enemy, same weapon rarity, same level of weapon grind), the calculated minimum damage of both weapons would still be the same.
See Minimum Damage for more details on minimum damage calculation.
Damage Calculation Formula
Damage Type Reference
When calculating damage, there is an implied understanding to what the damage type an attack is. There are many different attacks with varying properties affecting how damage is calculated.
Key:
- Attack Power
- The ATK stat from which the damage is calculated. Increasing the specified ATK stat will increase damage. Other ATK stats have no effect.
- Defense Power
- The enemy's DEF stat against which the damage is calculated. The higher the specified DEF stat, the less damage can be dealt to the enemy. Similarly, other DEF stats have no effect.
- Weapon Element Damage
- The ATK stat from which the Weapon Element Damage is calculated. This is dealt as elemental damage and is affected by elemental Part Boost multiplier. For example, when attacking an enemy with fire weakness with a fire element weapon, the Weapon Element Damage is increased by the enemy's fire Part Boost multiplier.
- Part Boost
- The specific type of Part Boost multiplier used. This differs for each part on the body of the enemy hit by the attack. If the Part Boost is specified as "RNG Pwr", the damage will be affected by headshot multiplier when attacking the head of an enemy. If the Part Boost is specified as "Elemental Attribute", the damage is considered as elemental attribute damage and is affected by elemental Part Boost multiplier. Note that this is independent from Weapon Element Damage which is always affected by elemental Part Boost multiplier.
- Final Attack Type
- The final damage type of the attack. This is used to determine the effects of class skills, Skill Rings, Potentials, etc. For example, if the Final Attack Type is "Ranged", the damage will be boosted by Ranger's skill "Advanced Precision Hit".
Base
| Method of Attack | Attack Power | Defense Power | Weapon Element Damage | Part Boost | Final Attack Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal Melee Attack | MEL Pwr | MEL Def | MEL Pwr | Melee | Melee | |
| Normal Ranged Attack | RNG Pwr | RNG Def | RNG Pwr | Ranged | Ranged | |
| Technique | TEC Pwr | TEC Def | None | Elemental Attribute | Tech | |
| Bare hands | MEL Pwr | MEL Def | MEL Pwr | Melee | Melee | |
| Talis Attack | TEC Pwr | TEC Def | TEC Pwr | Tech | Melee | |
| Harmonizer Normals | TEC Pwr | TEC Def | None | Tech | Tech | Enhanced Attack disabled |
| Jet Boots (Without Switch Strike) | TEC Pwr | TEC Def | TEC Pwr | Melee | Melee | |
| Jet Boots (With Switch Strike) | MEL Pwr | MEL Def | MEL Pwr | Melee | Melee | |
| Pets (Without Switch Strike) | TEC Pwr | TEC Def | TEC Pwr | Tech | Tech | Pets stats are used in lieu of weapons, not the stats of the Harmonizer. |
| Pets (With Switch Strike) | MEL Pwr | MEL Def | MEL Pwr | Tech | Tech | Pets stats are used in lieu of weapons, not the stats of the Harmonizer. |
| Pets (With Switch Shoot) | RNG Pwr | RNG Def | RNG Pwr | Tech | Tech | Pets stats are used in lieu of weapons, not the stats of the Harmonizer. |
Class Skills & Others
| Method of Attack | Attack Power | Defense Power | Weapon Element Damage | Part Boost | Final Attack Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guard Arts | MEL Pwr | MEL Def | None | Melee | None | |
| DS Whirlwind | MEL Pwr | MEL Def | MEL Pwr | Melee | Melee | |
| Katana Counter Edge | MEL Pwr | MEL Def | MEL Pwr | Melee | Melee | |
| Braver Combat Finish | MEL Pwr | MEL Def | MEL Pwr | Melee | Melee | |
| Sidestep Tackle | MEL Pwr | MEL Def | MEL Pwr | Melee | Melee | |
| SB Photon Blades | MEL Pwr | MEL Def | MEL Pwr | Melee | Melee | |
| Ranger Tools (Traps, Bullets/Rounds, Bombs) | RNG Pwr | RNG Def | None | Ranged | None | Stationary Fire, Mobile Fire, etc, not applicable |
| Stylish Roll Arts | RNG Pwr | RNG Def | RNG Pwr | Ranged | Ranged | |
| Rod Shoot | TEC Pwr | TEC Def | TEC Pwr | Tech | melee Damage | |
| Tech Explosion (Wand Focus) | TEC Pwr | TEC Def | TEC Pwr | Elemental Attribute | Melee | |
| Detonation Skills | TEC Pwr | TEC Def | None | Tech | Tech | |
| JB Double Jump | TEC Pwr | TEC Def | None | Elemental Attribute | None | |
| Elemental Burst | TEC Pwr | TEC Def | None | Elemental Attribute | None | |
| Soaring Blades Tackle | MEL Pwr | MEL Def | MEL Pwr | Melee | Melee | |
| Perfect Reversal B | MEL Pwr | MEL Def | MEL Pwr | Melee | Melee | |
| Switchblade Surprise (Form Potential) | MEL Pwr | MEL Def | MEL Pwr | Melee | Ranged | |
| SP Auto Action (MEL Pwr) | MEL Pwr | MEL Def | None | Melee | None | Not treated the same as a weapon |
| SP Auto Action (RNG Pwr) | RNG Pwr | RNG Def | RNG Pwr | Ranged | None | Not treated the same as a weapon |
| SP Auto Action (TEC Pwr) | TEC Pwr | TEC Def | None | Elemental Attribute | Tech | Treated as an uncharged technique with weapon scaling |
| Photon Blast (MEL Pwr) | MEL Pwr | MEL Def | None | Melee | None | Not treated the same as a weapon |
| Photon Blast (RNG Pwr) | RNG Pwr | RNG Def | None | Ranged | None | Not treated the same as a weapon |
| Photon Blast (TEC Pwr) | TEC Pwr | TEC Def | None | Tech | None |
Photon Art & Technique Exceptions
| Method of Attack | Attack Power | Defense Power | Weapon Element Damage | Part Boost | Final Attack Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Physical Moves from TMG PAs | RNG Pwr | RNG Def | RNG Pwr | Melee | Ranged | |
| Wild Wallop Impact Slider Kick Kamikaze Arrow Kick Kickshot Combo Kick |
RNG Pwr | RNG Def | RNG Pwr | Melee | Melee | |
| Kamikaze Arrow Dash | RNG Pwr | RNG Def | RNG Pwr | Ranged | Melee | |
| Volkraptor Explosion Banishing Arrow Explosion |
None | None | None | Attribute-less | Not Applicable | |
| Zanverse Boost Effect | None | None | None | Wind Attribute | None | Is not boosted by Wind Mastery skills |
Maximum Damage
| Maximum Damage | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Player Damage | Weapon Element Damage | Weapon Damage 100% | |
| Minimum Damage | Damage Variance | ||
To calculate the Maximum Damage as shown in the figure above:
- Replace Attack Power, Defense Power, and Part Boost in the formula with their respective values.
- Weapon Attack Power refers to the relevant Attack Power of the weapon, excluding Augments (affixes).
- 1.05 is from the latent 5%, colloquially referred to as the "Mystery Multiplier" in the Japanese community.
- This multiplier did not exist during PSO2's intial Japanese launch, however its existence was confirmed with the release of subclasses.
- With the exception of a few attacks, all damage is eventually affected by it. The only exception currently confirmed is the direct damage from Zonde.
- On a side note, when calculating enemy's attack multiplier based on red damage numbers when hit by an enemy's attack. Dividing the damage by 1.05 reveals a rounder value, suggesting that there is a high probability that even the enemies themselves are affected by this multiplier.
- Total Multiplier is the product of all the relevant damage multipliers except Part Boost. This includes the 1.05, PA notation, Skills, Potential Abilities, etc.
- For Pets, use Pet's Attack Power instead of weapon's.
- Pet's default base ATK → Weapon Attack Power
- Pet Plus Stats → Augments (affected by Shifta).
- Stats from Sweets → Augments (unaffected by Shifta).
- Interactions between Pet stats and Shifta will be explained in detail later in the section regarding buffs.
Damage Source = (Total Attack Power - Defense Power) x Part Boost Weapon Element Damage = Weapon Attack Power x Element Percentage x Elemental Part Boost (If Technique: Weapon Element Damage = 0) Total Multiplier = 1.05 x PA Notation x Skill Multiplier x Potential Multiplier etc. Maximum Damage = (Damage Source + Weapon Element Damage) ÷ 5 × Total Multiplier
Advanced Calculation (same formula but distributed into parts): Show/Hide
Player Damage = (Total Attack Power from Base Stats, Units, Mag, Augments, etc. ÷ 5) × Part Boost × Total Multiplier Weapon Attack Damage = (Weapon Attack Power ÷ 5) x Part Boost x Total Multiplier Weapon Element Damage = (Weapon Attack Power x Element Percentage ÷ 5) x Elemental Part Boost x Total Multiplier (If Technique: Weapon Element Damage = 0) Defense Damage Reduction = (Defense Power ÷ 5) × Part Boost × Total Multiplier Maximum Damage = Player Damage + Weapon Attack Damage + Weapon Element Damage - Defense Damage Reduction
Minimum Damage
| Maximum Damage | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Player Boost | Weapon Element Type | Weapon Damage 100% | |
| Minimum Damage | Damage Variance | ||
To calculate the Minimum Damage as shown in the figure above:
- Non-rare weapons are defined as
through 
and the Red Series of weapons.
Weapons that were not mentioned are defined as Rare Weapons. Although Melee/Ranged Weapons and Techniques share a similar damage formula to that of non-rare weapons, there's a growing number of differences that split them apart. However, not all weapons however have been thoroughly tested and may yield different exceptions to the formula.
- After the update on Oct 08, 2014, it was found that:
- The weapons that shared the same formula as non-rare weapons were: The Vibras Weapon Series, and Dalz Varley.
- The weapons that shared the same formula as rare weapons are: Rikauteri.
- Skills and other offensive abilities that are not bound by main-class usage include: Techniques, Sidestep Tackle, Tool-related skills (Gravity Bomb, traps, etc), Detonation Skills (Such as Freeze Detonation), Mag Auto Actions, and Photon Blasts.
- The Grind Level is defined as the current Grind Level of the weapon. For instance, a weapon of
at +10 is written as 160% of its original attack power. Thus 160% becomes 1.60 in decimal format.
- Weapon Modifier reference:
- DEX modifiers: through +10 is 30.0, through
+10 is 37.5.
- DEX modifiers:
- It was often confusing to use the term "Minimum Attack Power" in the formula, so this variable was changed to "Effective Attack Power".
As mentioned earlier in Damage Variance, minimum damage can be calculated as the following:
Weapon Modifier = For non-rare weapons: 50 × (Grind Level - 1) For Pets: -50 (If self-inflicted damage, use 0 instead) Guaranteed Minimum Attack = (Player DEX x PA DEX Modifier - Enemy DEX + Weapon Modifier) x 2 90% Cap = Weapon Attack Power x 90% 10% Cap = Weapon Attack Power x 10% Effective Attack Power = If Rare Weapon: 90% Cap If non-rare: 90% Cap if Guaranteed Minimum Attack > 90% Cap 10% Cap if Guaranteed Minimum Attack < 10% Cap Guaranteed Minimum Attack otherwise Minimum Weapon Damage = Effective Attack Power ÷ 5 × Part Boost x Total Multiplier
Applying Buffs
| Maximum Damage | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player Damage, Mag Stats | Weapon Element Damage | Weapon Damage 100% | |||
| Base Stats + Mag + Attack Stat Ups, etc | Weapon & Armor Abilities | Photon Flare, etc | Minimum Damage | Damage Variance | |
Shifta, Drinks, Alliance Tree Buffs, etc can only be applied to the "Base Stats + Mag + Attack Stat Ups, etc" section on the figure above. This includes the Player's Base Stats, Mag Stats and Skills, and Stat Up skills (Such as MEL Pwr Up or RNG Pwr Up). "Stat Up" does not include skills that give you a dynamic stat bonus such as Photon Flare.
A fraction of the stats caused by Buffs are preserved, even if you cannot view them in-game. Under very high multiplier conditions, damage cannot be reproduced without taking this fractional part into account.
Additionally, not only does Shifta increase a pet's attack power, but it also affects the affixed Augments and set bonus (if available) of your units, as well as a Pet Plus Stats.
Thus the formula calculation for Shifta is { (Base Stats + Mag + Attack Stat Ups) × Alliance Tree × Shifta Essence + Unit Augments + Pet Plus Stats } × Shifta.
The Effect of Shifta on Pets
The effects of Shifta on Pets works differently than it does on normal players, thus it's insufficient to just multiply a Pet's Attack Power by Shifta's multiplier.
- Thus the formula for Shifta becomes:
Shifta x [No Weapon Attack Power + Pet Plus Stats + Support Roll Attack Boost].
No Weapon Attack Power is having no weapon equipped, only Unit Affixes, Unit Set Effect, Mag Stats and Attack Power Skills.
The above formula assumes that the Shifta applied is your own, as Shiftas from another player can introduce unknown variables to the calculation.- A Pet's base stats (not the Pet Plus Stats) are not affected by Shifta.
- The Attack Boost granted by Cookies are not affected by Shifta.
- A Harmonizer's Attack Power is not affected by Shifta.
- Using Switch Skills will cause the Attack Power type to change on Units, as noted by the above section Damage Type Reference. For instance, if one were to have Switch Shoot active, not only will the Attack Power change from TEC Pwr to RNG Pwr, but the if the Unit equipped has any RNG Pwr affixes or a set bonus with RNG Pwr, it will use those values instead of the TEC Pwr values.
- A Player's Attack Power Boost from Shifta has no effect on the Pet itself. Must be applied on to the Pet.
- A Pet's Elemental Attributes are not affected by Shifta.
Criticals and Expected Values
When you deal critical damage, the damage will show up in-game as a blue damage number. The default critical percentage is 5%, and cannot go any lower than that or higher than 6%. Maybe even 5%. Each skill is closer to the actual measurement when added up.
The higher the critical rate, the higher the average damage will be than the mid-range (the average of the highest and lowest damage). To calculate the expected value considering the critical rate, the following is recommended.
Mid-range = (Maximum Value + Minimum Value) ÷ 2 Expected Value = Mid-range + Critical Rate x (Maximum Value - Mid-range)
And taking Critical Strike into account:
Mid-range = (Critical without Maximum Value + Maximum Value) ÷ 2 Expected Value = Mid-range + Critical Rate × (Critical with Maximum Value - Mid-range)
The expected value calculated by this method and the average value in the actual measurement showed about 1% damage variance in the amount of damage in crafts with large damage variance. Whether it's due to the calculation from this formula or the sample size, one cannot be used to measure over a thousand samples. However, it is much more useful than trying to obtain the expected value from the Maximum and Minimum average.