Character Build DPS Calculator
Compute the theoretical damage per second (DPS) of any character build by entering weapon damage, attack speed, and damage multiplier. Use it to compare gear loadouts or optimize builds before committing resources.
About this calculator
Damage per second (DPS) measures how much damage a build deals on average every second, assuming continuous attacking. The formula is: DPS = weaponDamage × attackSpeed × (damageMultiplier / 100). Weapon damage is the base hit value, attack speed is expressed in attacks per second (APS), and the damage multiplier is a percentage bonus from skills, buffs, or gear (e.g., 150% means 1.5× base damage). Dividing the multiplier by 100 converts it to a decimal scalar. DPS scales linearly with each variable, so doubling attack speed has the same effect as doubling weapon damage. This model is a theoretical ceiling — it ignores armor, resistances, critical hits, and downtime — but it is the standard benchmark for comparing builds in isolation.
How to use
Suppose your weapon deals 850 damage, your attack speed is 1.8 APS, and your damage multiplier is 175%. Plug in: DPS = 850 × 1.8 × (175 / 100) = 850 × 1.8 × 1.75 = 850 × 3.15 = 2,677.5 DPS. Now consider swapping to a weapon with 920 damage at 1.6 APS with the same multiplier: DPS = 920 × 1.6 × 1.75 = 2,576 DPS. Despite the higher weapon damage, the slower attack speed results in lower DPS — the calculator makes this tradeoff immediately visible.
Frequently asked questions
How does attack speed affect DPS compared to raw weapon damage in RPG builds?
Attack speed and weapon damage are equally weighted in the DPS formula — a 10% increase in either produces exactly the same 10% DPS gain. However, attack speed also affects how quickly you can apply on-hit effects, procs, and debuffs, giving it hidden value beyond raw DPS. Builds relying on poison stacks or life-steal per hit benefit disproportionately from high attack speed. Weapon damage, meanwhile, scales better with percentage damage bonuses, making hybrid assessments important when optimising a complete build.
What is the damage multiplier in a character build DPS calculator?
The damage multiplier is a percentage that scales your base weapon damage upward, typically sourced from skill passives, set bonuses, buffs, or talent trees. A multiplier of 100% means no bonus — your damage is unchanged. A multiplier of 200% means every hit deals twice the base weapon damage. In the formula, it is divided by 100 to convert it to a decimal (e.g., 200% becomes 2.0). Most games stack multiple multipliers additively or multiplicatively, so always check whether bonuses combine before entering a single figure.
Why does theoretical DPS differ from actual in-game DPS during combat?
Theoretical DPS assumes perfect uptime — you attack every second with no pauses, misses, or movement delays. In practice, you dodge, reposition, cast abilities, or wait for cooldowns, all of which reduce actual damage output. Enemy mechanics like invincibility frames, damage caps, and resistances further widen the gap. Critical hit variance means individual bursts can far exceed or fall below the average. Use theoretical DPS as a relative comparison tool between builds, not as an absolute prediction of combat performance.