Hey all, since I haven't really seen one here yet, I was thinking of having one thread where we can compile a database of equations for damage calculations and whatnot. I think it would help to have one centrallized location for this stuff; I like doing FFXI math, but it's still pretty annoying to have to switch through wiki pages for finding optimimum attributes for whatever WS or spell.
I think it would help for people less familiar with the game mechanics as well. So, to the mathematicians out there, if you want to post something, I'll move it to this post under a bunch of spoilers.
Thank you :)
Under construction
Physical Attack Damage Calculation
The expected damage of one's physical attacks (excluding Ranged Attacks for now) is expressed in a formula as follows:
Physical Damage = Base Damage * pDIF
Further calculations are needed to find the two terms above:
1.) Base Damage
Base Damage is the sum of two values:
Base Damage = Weapon Base Damage (D) + fSTR
Weapon Base Damage is just the number listed on the weapon (for Hand-to-Hand weapons, this number is added by three).
fSTR is a term relating the attacker's STR value and the defender's VIT value. For higher values, this is approximated as
fSTR = (character STR - enemy VIT+4)/4
There is a limit (or perhaps 'range') to the value of fSTR. To describe this, another variable is needed: Weapon Rank.
Weapon Rank is a value held by a weapon (duh) and is
Weapon Rank = Weapon Base Damage / 9
(This value is an integer, so you must round down.)
You need this value to determine fSTR's
upper and
lower bounds:
The lower cap of fSTR is the weapon's Weapon Rank.
The upper cap of fSTR is the weapon's Weapon Rank + 8.
Using fSTR and Weapon Base Damage, you can compute Base Damage.
2.) pDIF
This becomes a bit more complicated.
You can take a look
here for more detailed information on the topic. It is not entirely known at the moment.
What we do know:
It depends on the ratio between your Attack and the opponent's defense. This ratio has an upper cap: 2.0 for one-handed weapons and 2.25 for two-handed weapons.
A Level Correction Function is placed on this ratio.
cRatio (corrected ratio) = Ratio - (target's level - attacker's level) * 0.05
In other words, you experience a damage penalty when attacking higher-level enemies.
As for calculating your
average pDIF (this is what goes into the equation), refer to the following approximations, courtesy of the BGWiki:
If 0 ≤ cRatio < 0.3 → pDIF = 1.0585 × cRatio ^ 2 + 0.3391 × cRatio + 0.0239
If 0.3 ≤ cRatio < 1.3 → pDIF = -0.12311 + cRatio × 1.129179
If 1.3 ≤ cRatio < 1.5 → pDIF = 0.7486 × cRatio ^ 2 - 1.5814 × cRatio + 2.1349
If 1.5 ≤ cRatio → pDIF = 1.129573 × cRatio - 0.24878
Furthermore, the following equations are applied for critical hits:
If 0 ≤ cRatio < 1.63 → pDIF = 0.948491 + cRatio × 1.045043
If 1.63 ≤ cRatio → pDIF = -0.7153 * cRatio ^ 2 + 3.4303 × cRatio - 1.0385
Remember that these are
average pDIF values, and that there are upper and lower values for the term. For more information on pDIF, refer to the link above.
What does this mean for you?
It pretty much confirms the obvious: Higher damage weapons will increase your damage. Every 9 weapon damage, though, your fSTR range increases, further increasing your damage potential. If you want to maximize fSTR, you might want to consider adding more STR to accomodate to your current weapon rank (don't sacrifice important stats like haste though~).
You will generally deal less damage against higher-level monsters as opposed to lower-level monsters.
The attack value determines the value of pDIF on your end, further increasing your general damage.
Which stats to stack for a TP build?
Haste.
Not kidding, the potency of Haste only increases as you stack it. You should shoot for the 26% gear cap of Haste (explained later) as soon as you can. It gives
increasing returns. You should make this your highest priority, after accuracy is high enough.
Accuracy.
Sure, you can hit fast/hard, but that amounts to nothing if you're not touching anything. You want to make sure your hit rate is close to 95% if you can. This is an easy way to increase your DPS. Sure, you can always use accuracy food, but you could be using attack food! Just be sure to not overdo it, since hit rate does cap at 95%.
Double Attack/Triple Attack/Quadruple Attack.
Be careful with these. I mean, they don't hurt. They can definitely help you with gaining TP. You want to make sure that you're not putting
too much into these stats. They have
dimishing returns - in other words, the higher your current values of DA/TA/QA, the
less gain you get by adding more.
I'm not saying these are bad. The change from 0% DA to 1% DA is enormous (since it actually grants you the ability to attack twice) but I would not use DA as a substitute for Haste while Haste is uncapped, ever. These are sometimes subject to different opinions, but this is the general consensus.
Attack/STR.
These won't benefit you as much as the others as far as DPS goes, but each point of Attack or STR will help you with pDIF. Generally, attacking faster is better than hitting harder.
Store TP.
This guy right here is another really important one for 2-handers. I don't know about you, but I find it really annoying when I find myself sitting at 98% TP on DRG or SAM. You have to calculate for yourself how to gear for Store TP, since each weapon has its own characteristics. Slower jobs will require less STP to hit an x-hit build than a faster job will. Don't forget to count in delay reduction from Dual-Wield or Sword Grip if you want to reach that x-hit. More info on Store TP later.
Dual Wield.
Once again, be careful. Haste beats an equivalent level of Dual Wield, because Dual Wield actually reduces your TP per hit; it's just usually easier to find higher levels of Dual Wield. You really do want to reach the delay reduction cap, but concentrating on Dual Wield when Haste is equally efficient option will result in an unnecessary loss in TP.
Depending on the job, several other factors comes into play. Be sure to find out what is good for your job besides these. Ranged Attack jobs follow a different set of rules.
