This site makes extensive use of JavaScript.
Please enable JavaScript in your browser.
Classic Theme
Thottbot Theme
What DPS is, and how it's measured
Post Reply
Return to board index
Post by
Squishalot
http://www.wowhead.com/?forums&topic=143007&p=1824386
This is a thread in the Mage forums with one poster asking about how DPS is measured.
Apart from the obvious immediate /facepalm reaction, it suddenly struck me that there aren't any stickies anywhere on what DPS is, how it's measured, why it's important, and why it's important not to be a meter maid. It's not even in the PvE forum.
So I took the time out to actually give the OP a thoughtful reply.
DPS is essentially the amount of damage you do, divided by the time taken in the fight. But don't get too hung up over the number, because there are issues with the way it's calculated.
1) Addons like Recount divide by the active time in the fight. So time spent casting, channeling, GCDs of instant cast spells, any time you are 'in combat', basically. Note - in case you have a tank, this can also include the time after picking up a mob, and all the while you're running around picking up more without doing anything other than running.
2) Addons like Recount fail to take into account 'absorb' effects into DPS. If damage is absorbed, the amount absorbed doesn't go into your DPS figures. So in some fights, the specific fight mechanics may result in you having particularly poor DPS (eg, see the Frost Mages in the first fight listed in that thread you linked).
3) Most serious raiders really couldn't care less about DPS as a number in itself. The bigger concern is the amount of total damage done. An Arcane mage can stand and deliver huge DPS in the first 30 seconds of a fight and top the meters by running away or dying for the rest. They'll do the least amount of damage, because they weren't active for most of the fight, but because they blew all their cooldowns, they'll be at the top of the DPS meter. A serious raider will realise what happened, and ignore the high DPS number, and boot you for not pulling your weight.
4) On that note, DPS is an indicator about how much damage you can do over the length of a fight. It's a substitute measure of performance -
the key measure is how much damage you do, full stop
. DPS is just a nice way of presenting that in an 'easier to read' number.
To answer the rest of your questions:
Is it the damage devided from start of a fight till the end of a fight?
For measurement purposes, ideally, yes, meaning that those pesky Arcane mages and Rogues who die after blowing cooldowns won't be at the top. But remember that Recount won't consider that.
Are phases like Evocation skipped for that count?
Nope, time spent Evocating is time spent not doing damage, and thus, your damage per second falls.
Is it the Damage you do devided by the Time you are actually castin harmfull spells (cast bar running)?
As I said above - it goes for all spells, and pretty much any time you're in combat.
How are instant spells put into this equation?
To the best of my knowledge, if you're at a test dummy, for example, an instant cast spell is worth 1.5 secs of active time, less haste, being the GCD. Any other spell would be the maximum of the casting time and the GCD. But how Recount calculates it is meaningless - if you just want to be the best damage dealer you can be, you should aim to top the 'damage done' meters, although will usually mean topping the DPS meters as well, for all intents and purposes.
Is there anything that I missed?
Post by
svirve
I actually thought it was going to be a retard question but he had actually put some thought into it.
Oh btw squishy, rogues don't have CDs, at least not the ones that are serious and play mutilate.
Try cats and mages ;p
Post by
Squishalot
Meh, we're low-ish level, but my girlfriend spec's Subtlety, meaning that she's got great upfront wtfroflpwnambush burst, plus plus, if she uses Shadow Dance. I'm still a bit cut that I could sit there and pound an elite dinosaur for half a minute to kill it on my Warrior tank, whereas she can floor it in five seconds flat ;p
But I take your point. And yes, the question was fairly well thought out, so I figured it deserved a reasonably well thought out reply.
Post by
299264
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
Post by
Quest
DPS = Damage done divided by the amount of time in combat to a minimum of your global cooldown.
Post by
PureGold
"in combat" refers to you doing damage from what I've noticed. I can do a 10k envenom and stop there with a 10k dps as long as I have no dots on the target it will never change. Dots bring dps down which is why arcane is always high dps. Either way damage done > dps.
Post by
Quest
DPS depends on the meter, they dont all do it correctly. You can get different DPS between skada and recount and still come out to the exact same damage done, and that's how I sort too.
I say you need to min to your GCD because you cannot cast your next attack untill that GCD is over, so thats the cutoff. 10K oneshot on a 1.5GCD 6.
66
k DPS in my book.
Some meters may begin as soon as anyone in your raid enters combat, some may begin as soon as you make your first hit, etc. Its always best to use damage done.
Post by
Squishalot
"in combat" refers to you doing damage from what I've noticed. I can do a 10k envenom and stop there with a 10k dps as long as I have no dots on the target it will never change. Dots bring dps down which is why arcane is always high dps. Either way damage done > dps.
Ah, I forgot to mention dots. However, it shouldn't make a difference except for target dummy testing. Your dots in a fight all add up to damage done, and there's no extra time at the end. So your Arcane DPS is no different to your Affliction DPS, except for the fact that Affliction Warlocks don't do enough damage.
Quest - have I said anything wrong, or do you think I need to clarify anything in my reply?
Post by
Quest
Like you said the difference between target dummy and a boss is the dots stop when the boss dies and no matter how hard I try and cant get that last HP off the TD :(
Lets hope the final boss in Cata isn't a target dummy; Azeroth will be doomed.
Post by
Achloryn
Are phases like Evocation skipped for that count?
Nope, time spent Evocating is time spent not doing damage, and thus, your damage per second falls.
I wanna clarify this a bit.. If you're using recount, when you're evocating as a mage, the only time your DPS will fall is if you've got a DoT of some sort on the mob.. As an arcane mage, if you pause to evocate in active combat, your DPS will not change, but (obviously) everyone else's damage will go up while you continue to feed your mana bar.
Post by
Quest
Are phases like Evocation skipped for that count?
Nope, time spent Evocating is time spent not doing damage, and thus, your damage per second falls.
I wanna clarify this a bit.. If you're using recount, when you're evocating as a mage, the only time your DPS will fall is if you've got a DoT of some sort on the mob.. As an arcane mage, if you pause to evocate in active combat, your DPS will not change, but (obviously) everyone else's damage will go up while you continue to feed your mana bar.
DPS
should
change while youre in active combat and you stop doing damage, or only have a mage dot up. That sounds like an addon being a bad!
Post by
PureGold
That is recount for ya. Only if you are doing dots does it go down.
Post by
Quest
Sounds like recount (or that version/configuration?) is being lazy and not using the API for incombat and notincombat stuff and is relying on if you're doing damage or not to assume if youre in combat or not witch is a terrible way to do it.
Though recount has a sync feature I think, so it should correct itself if you have other people around you telling it who was in combat first, and who was in combat last and that being the 'encounter time'. Because its highly unlikely all DPS will stop within that time. Still.. kinda a crappy way to do it
Post by
AnrDaemon
Unfortunatelly, it is.
It record if you dealing or taking damage, even if you're out of combat. Falling damage, for example.
Post by
Achloryn
Are phases like Evocation skipped for that count?
Nope, time spent Evocating is time spent not doing damage, and thus, your damage per second falls.
I wanna clarify this a bit.. If you're using recount, when you're evocating as a mage, the only time your DPS will fall is if you've got a DoT of some sort on the mob.. As an arcane mage, if you pause to evocate in active combat, your DPS will not change, but (obviously) everyone else's damage will go up while you continue to feed your mana bar.
DPS
should
change while youre in active combat and you stop doing damage, or only have a mage dot up. That sounds like an addon being a bad!
you're right.. it should change while you're in active combat, but it doesn't.. now, if you have an active dot on a mob (living bomb, ignite, whatever) and stop to evocate while it's still rolling, then yes the dps will drop during that time... Arcane and frost mages, however, don't see their dps dropping cause of that..
Post by
Quest
Sounds like a bug in the addon. DPS is measured in damage done, divided by seconds from your first attack till your final attack (rounded up to the next global cooldown) in any given situation.
If an addon is giving a free ticket to some classess or some abilities pausing DPS while still in combat, then you're going to get inaccurate DPS numbers.
Time does not stop for evocate.
Post by
Squishalot
If an addon is giving a free ticket to some classess or some abilities pausing DPS while still in combat, then you're going to get inaccurate DPS numbers.
Time does not stop for evocate.
All the more reason for using damage done. :)
Post Reply
You are not logged in. Please
log in
to post a reply or
register
if you don't already have an account.