How does the calculator model critical and direct hits?

It uses expected value. Each hit's average damage is multiplied by (1 + critRate × (critMult − 1)) and by (1 + dhRate × (dhMult − 1)), which correctly weights the bonus damage by how often each bonus triggers.

Why multiply the crit and direct-hit factors instead of adding them?

In Final Fantasy XIV critical and direct hits roll independently and stack multiplicatively, so a hit can be both. Multiplying the two expected-value factors reproduces that independence rather than double-counting it.

What should I enter for base hit damage?

Use the average non-crit, non-direct damage of a single hit from a parser or tooltip. If you only have potency, the relative comparison still works because DPS scales linearly with that base figure.

How is the buff multiplier applied?

Party and self buffs that raise damage by a percentage are entered as a single combined multiplier (for example 1.10 for a 10 percent buff) and multiply the final expected DPS, matching how multiplicative buffs stack in game.

Is this exact for my real parse?

It is an expected-value model, so it predicts the long-run average rather than any single fight. Variance, skill speed, downtime, and procs make real parses fluctuate around this number.

Final Fantasy XIV DPS Calculator

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Damage per second in Final Fantasy XIV is an expected-value problem: most hits land for base damage, but a fraction crit, a fraction direct-hit, and some do both. This calculator weights every outcome by how often it happens to give you the correct long-run DPS for comparing gear and rotations.

How it works

Each hit’s expected damage multiplies the base by two independent factors, one for critical hits and one for direct hits, then by your buff multiplier:

critFactor = 1 + critRate × (critMult − 1)
dhFactor   = 1 + dhRate   × (dhMult   − 1)
exp hit    = baseHit × critFactor × dhFactor × buffMult
DPS        = exp hit × hits per second

Because crit and direct hit roll independently and can both apply to the same hit, their factors multiply rather than add — this is the standard model used by theorycrafters and matches the game’s damage rolls over many hits.

Example and tips

A 1,000-damage hit with a 25 percent crit rate at 1.5× crit damage, a 25 percent direct-hit rate at 1.25× direct damage, and no buffs has an expected value of 1000 × (1 + 0.25×0.5) × (1 + 0.25×0.25) = 1000 × 1.125 × 1.0625 ≈ 1195 per hit. At 1.5 hits per second that is roughly 1,793 DPS. Compare two gear sets by entering each one’s crit and direct-hit numbers and reading off the higher expected DPS.