How does attack power affect DPS in WoW?

Attack power adds (attack power ÷ 14) × weapon speed of bonus damage to every swing. Because the bonus scales with weapon speed, slower weapons gain more flat damage per point of attack power, which is why two-handers benefit so strongly from it.

Why does weapon speed matter for the same DPS weapons?

Two weapons can list identical DPS but a slower one lands bigger individual hits and gains more from attack power and flat damage bonuses, while a faster one applies on-hit effects more often. The formula here uses average damage per second, but the breakdown shows the per-hit values.

How is crit factored in?

The crit factor is one plus your crit chance times the extra damage a crit deals — for a standard 2× crit that is one plus your crit chance. The tool multiplies raw swing damage by this factor to average in critical hits.

What counts as the buff bonus?

Enter the combined percentage from damage buffs, talents, and effects that scale your overall output, such as a battle shout or a damage-increase aura. The tool applies it as a final multiplier on top of the raw DPS.

Does this cover spell or ranged DPS?

It models the classic melee auto-attack formula based on weapon damage, speed, and attack power. Spell damage uses spell power and cast times instead, so this calculator is aimed at melee weapon DPS comparisons.

World of Warcraft DPS Calculator

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Comparing two weapons or gear sets by tooltip DPS alone is misleading once attack power, crit, and buffs enter the picture. This calculator applies the real World of Warcraft melee formula so you can see the effective DPS each setup actually produces.

How it works

Average swing damage starts from the weapon’s range, then attack power adds a speed-scaled bonus. Crit and hit chance adjust the average, and buffs apply last:

avg weapon  = (min damage + max damage) / 2
ap bonus    = (attack power / 14) × weapon speed
avg hit     = avg weapon + ap bonus
crit factor = 1 + crit chance × (crit multiplier − 1)
raw dps     = (avg hit / weapon speed) × hit chance × crit factor
buffed dps  = raw dps × (1 + buff%)

The (attack power / 14) × weapon speed term is the canonical WoW melee bonus, which is why slower weapons gain more flat damage per point of attack power.

Example and tips

A slow two-handed weapon with high attack power often beats a fast weapon of equal tooltip DPS once the formula is applied, because the AP bonus is larger per swing. Use the raw-versus-buffed breakdown to separate your gear’s contribution from temporary buffs, and re-run the numbers for each candidate weapon to find the genuine upgrade rather than the one with the bigger tooltip number.