Damage calculation¶

When a swing connects (see Hit chance), damage resolves in two phases:

Base scaling - roll the weapon's flat Min/Max, then scale by Tactics, Str, Anatomy, and quality.
Percentage stack - multiply by talent and specialty bonuses, slayer multipliers, weapon-ability scalars, and the rest.

Damage to and from creatures runs at full before defense; player-vs-player swings deal half. Player armor uses the predictable percentage curve below against wild creatures.

Fighting another player? PvP weapon damage additionally runs on rails: the roll uses only the top half of the weapon's dice and armor mitigates a flat amount. The full PvP pipeline and per-weapon tables live on Melee damage in PvP. This page describes the PvM math.

Phase 1 - base scaling¶

The roll starts from the weapon's Min/Max and adds these modifiers:

Damage-level offset (Ruin / Might / Force / Power / Vanq): adds 2 × level − 1, so Ruin = +1, Might = +3, Force = +5, Power = +7, Vanq = +9.
Tactics scalar: (Tactics − 50) / 100 - +50% at 100 Tactics.
Strength + Anatomy: +1% per 5 points of each, capped by the stat cap.
Crafting quality: Exceptional adds +20%.
Weapon-specific bonus: a flat per-item adder on a handful of weapons (Tribal Spear = +25%).
Durability: a damaged weapon loses output linearly, bottoming out at 50% at 0 HP.

Pre-bonus damage

roll = Random(MinDamage, MaxDamage) + damageLevelOffset

scale = 1
      + (Tactics  − 50) / 100        // +50% at 100 Tactics
      + Str             / 500        // +20% at 100 Str
      + Anatomy         / 500        // +20% at 100 Anatomy
      + (Exceptional ? 0.20 : 0)
      + weaponBonus / 100            // Tribal Spear = +25

base = roll × scale
base × = (durability < max ? 0.5 + 0.5 × (cur/max) : 1)

Tactics, Str, Anat at 100 each, Exceptional = `×2.10`¶

A fully-trained warrior baseline:

Modifier	Contribution
Base (1.0)	1.00
Tactics 100 → `(100−50)/100`	+0.50
Str 100 → `100/500`	+0.20
Anatomy 100 → `100/500`	+0.20
Exceptional craft	+0.20
Total multiplier	× 2.10

So 100/100/100 plus an Exceptional weapon turns every raw damage roll into roughly 210% of its label value, before any talents, specials, or slayers touch it.

Phase 2 - percentage bonuses¶

Phase 2 adds up every percentage bonus, then multiplies the Phase-1 damage by 100 + total percent, capped at +300%. The sources:

Source	Approx contribution
Weapon-ability primary/secondary specials	varies; usually `×1.30 - ×1.50`
Macing PvM proc (Pierce)	`×1.50` on triggering hit (`+×1.50` if armor already 0)
Fencing PvM proc (Cripple)	`×(1.25 + hit_chance)` on triggering hit
Archery PvM proc (Hinder)	varies per rank
Macing/Fencing/Archery talent damage bonuses	per-rank %, see talent pages
Superslayer	+100%
Enemy of One (player)	+50% vs marked type
Honor (Virtue) active	+25%
Perfection ladder	up to +50% over Perfection ladder
Pack Instinct (multiple summons/pets)	+25 / +50 / +75 / +100%
Killer talisman	varies
Specialty melee / ranged bonus	percentage points
Crown Regalia Hunt gems	active total against creatures only
Double Strike penalty	−10%
Silver slayer vs. undead/necro-form	+25%

Hunt gems add their active Crown Regalia total to melee and ranged damage only when the target is a creature. Hex gems use the spell-damage pipeline instead and do not enter this weapon Phase 2 stack. Neither family increases damage against players.

After Phase 2, armor mitigation resolves and the final number lands on the target.

Player armor against creatures¶

There are three armor families: Light (leather), Medium (chainmail), and Heavy (plate). Chainmail includes a coif, chest, legs, sleeves, gloves, and gorget. Shields remain separate and use their existing parry rules. Mixed suits are allowed; each equipped slot contributes its normal share.

Against wild creature melee and ranged weapon hits, shields resolve first, then:

rating = weighted worn AR + virtual armor + raid-only armor rating
reduction = min(75%, rating / (50 + rating))
damage taken = round up(incoming damage * (1 - reduction))

Worn AR includes the existing material, exceptional quality, ordinary magic protection, and durability modifiers. Raid-only rating is weighted by equipment slot in the same way. Positive damage stays at least 1; an already-zero hit stays zero at this armor step. The same rules apply in the overworld, dungeons, and raids.

Total rating	Armor reduction
20	28.6%
35	41.2%
50	50%
100	66.7%
150 or more	75%

Profile > Stats > PvM Armor Reduction shows this armor step. Other damage-reduction effects are separate, not additive to this number. Armor does not reduce ordinary spell damage, poison, or scripted percentage-health raid mechanics. Failed raid mechanics that kill the group are still lethal. Magic Resist handles spells.

PvP is separate: normal materials, exceptional quality, and normal magic gear retain their existing advantages. Additional raid-only armor rating contributes nothing against players or player-owned pets and summons. Player attacks against monsters, and monsters' own armor, retain their existing rules.

Studded, ringmail, bone, dragon, and woodland armor are retired from player equipment, crafting, vendor stock, loot, and coffer storage. Existing retired playtest equipment and coffer counts are removed. NPC costumes and fixed scenery are preserved. Leather variants and metal helmet styles remain available within the light/heavy families.

Worked example - Broadsword¶

Weapon: Broadsword, Min 5 / Max 29 / Speed 45.

Attacker: Player, 100 Tactics, 100 Anatomy, 100 Str, Exceptional craft, no talents, no special.

Defender: a creature, so the PvP halving does not apply.

Step	Min	Avg	Max
Raw roll	5	17.0	29
× 2.10 (Tac+Str+Anat+Exc)	10.5	35.7	60.9
Final, no extras	10-11	~35	60-61

Add a +10% damage talent (T1 Swords) and the final range climbs to 11 - 67 (avg ~39).

A superslayer swing (+100%) on the same Broadsword: 21 - 122 (avg ~71).

Worked example - Bow¶

Weapon: Bow, Min 14 / Max 36 / Speed 25. Same archer profile (100 Tactics/Str/Anat, Exceptional):

Step	Min	Avg	Max
Raw roll	14	25.0	36
× 2.10	29.4	52.5	75.6
Final, no extras	29-30	~52	75-76

A Headshot talent crit (× 2) pushes an upper-roll bow hit to ~150 raw damage before armor.

What does not apply¶

There is no elemental damage split, no damage-increase item property, and no per-element resists. The "100% Physical" line you see on a weapon tooltip is informational only: every player swing is physical, with no cold, fire, poison, or energy portion.