How the Weapon DPS Calculator works

Weapon DPS is a property of the item alone. This page shows exactly how the calculator reads the item text and what it computes from it.

Checked against Path of Exile 2 version 0.5 on 2026-11-11. ← Back to the calculator

What is read from the item text

When you press Ctrl+C over an item, the game copies a text block. Lines are separated into sections by --------. The calculator looks for these lines (anywhere in the text, case-insensitive):

Line	Used for
`Physical Damage: 98-164 (augmented)`	physical range
`Fire Damage: 39-75 (augmented)`	a weapon with a single element shows it on its own line
`Elemental Damage: 20-31 (fire), 2-91 (lightning)`	two or more elements: one line, each range tagged; the untagged first-game form is accepted too
`Chaos Damage: 5-9`	chaos range
`Critical Hit Chance: 5.00%`	shown next to the result (not part of DPS)
`Attacks per Second: 1.45`	multiplier for every DPS figure
`Quality: +14% (augmented)`	the "at 20% quality" estimate

The displayed ranges already include quality, the weapon's own mods and socketed runes (the (rune) lines), so no mod is applied twice. (augmented) only marks that a value is modified and is ignored. Thousands separators (414-1,043) are handled.

Formula

avg(type) = (min + max) / 2
pDPS = avg(physical) × APS
eDPS = (avg(fire) + avg(cold) + avg(lightning)) × APS
cDPS = avg(chaos) × APS
Total = pDPS + eDPS + cDPS

Quality estimate

On martial weapons each point of quality gives 1% more physical damage, a separate multiplier on top of the weapon's own "increased Physical Damage" mods. We checked this against base-type stats: a Slicing Quarterstaff (29–60) with a 30% rune and 20% quality shows 45–94, which is 29 × 1.30 × 1.20 and 60 × 1.30 × 1.20, not the additive 1.50. So if the displayed physical damage is P at quality Q:

P₂₀ = P × 1.20 / (1 + Q / 100)

The estimate is shown only when Q < 20 (the default maximum; some currency pushes quality to 30%). Quality does not change elemental or chaos damage.

Worked example

Physical Damage: 98-164 (augmented)
Fire Damage: 20-35 (augmented)
Critical Hit Chance: 5.00%
Attacks per Second: 1.10

avg(phys) = (98 + 164) / 2 = 131 → pDPS = 131 × 1.10 = 144.1
avg(fire) = (20 + 35) / 2 = 27.5 → eDPS = 27.5 × 1.10 = 30.25
Total = 174.35

Notes and limits

Crossbows show Attacks per Second for the loaded magazine; the reload time is displayed but not folded into DPS, which matches how the trade site lists them.
Weapon DPS ignores your character: added damage from gear and tree, increased/more multipliers, critical damage bonus, accuracy. Use the hit & crit damage calculator for that.
Two weapons of different classes (for example a bow and a crossbow) are compared only by their numbers; skill availability is up to you.

Sources and version

Item text format: parser test fixtures of the open-source Sidekick overlay (real items copied from the client), checked 2026-11-11.
Quality on martial weapons as 1% more physical damage per point, default maximum 20%: poe2db.tw Quality page and base-type stats (Slicing Quarterstaff, Siege Crossbow) reconciled with copied items.
pDPS/eDPS/total definitions without crit: the same convention as the trade site and overlay tools.
Re-check scheduled for the 1.0 patch notes on 11 December 2026 (line wording, quality rules).

Path of Exile 2 is a trademark of Grinding Gear Games. This site is an independent fan-made tool and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Grinding Gear Games. Game names are used only to describe what the calculators are for. No game art, icons or logos are used. Formulas are compiled from public sources and may lag behind patches — each tool shows the game version it was checked against.