The DPR calculator has been an absolute treasure while developing new subclass handbooks, allowing us to provide actual math to back up our assertions and speculation about the effectiveness of various options and the opportunity costs for doing one thing over another. But it didn’t support once-per-turn damage bonuses, which made DPR calculations for some builds require some extra manual math.
No longer. The DPR calculator now supports once-per-turn damage boosts. This makes it much easier to calculate DPR for characters that rely on damage boosts like Sneak Attack or the Horizon Walker Ranger’s Planar Warrior.
What does this let me do?
Ask yourself: “How much does two-weapon fighting improve a rogue’s damage output?” Well, you could spend a bunch of time doing that math manually, or you could open up the DPR calculator and work it out in just a few minutes.
Let’s assume short swords, 16 Dexterity, and +2 Dex at levels 4 and 8.
| Level | One Weapon | TWF | % Difference | One Weapon (Adv.) | TWF (Adv.) | % Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6.85 | 8.02 | 17% | 9.46 | 10.67 | 13% |
| 2 | 6.85 | 8.02 | 17% | 9.46 | 10.67 | 13% |
| 3 | 9.30 | 11.64 | 25% | 12.87 | 15.30 | 19% |
| 4 | 9.95 | 12.29 | 24% | 13.75 | 16.18 | 18% |
| 5 | 12.40 | 15.92 | 28% | 17.16 | 20.81 | 21% |
| 6 | 12.40 | 15.92 | 28% | 17.16 | 20.81 | 21% |
| 7 | 14.85 | 19.54 | 32% | 20.57 | 25.44 | 24% |
| 8 | 15.50 | 20.19 | 30% | 21.45 | 26.32 | 23% |
| 9 | 17.95 | 23.81 | 33% | 24.86 | 30.95 | 24% |
| 10 | 17.95 | 23.81 | 33% | 24.86 | 30.95 | 24% |
| 11 | 20.50 | 27.44 | 34% | 28.28 | 35.57 | 26% |
| 12 | 20.50 | 27.44 | 34% | 28.28 | 35.57 | 26% |
| 13 | 22.85 | 31.06 | 36% | 31.69 | 40.20 | 27% |
| 14 | 22.85 | 31.06 | 36% | 31.69 | 40.20 | 27% |
| 15 | 25.30 | 34.58 | 37% | 35.10 | 44.83 | 28% |
| 16 | 25.30 | 34.58 | 37% | 35.10 | 44.83 | 28% |
| 17 | 27.75 | 38.30 | 38% | 38.51 | 49.46 | 28% |
| 18 | 27.75 | 38.30 | 38% | 38.51 | 49.46 | 28% |
| 19 | 30.20 | 41.92 | 39% | 41.92 | 54.09 | 29% |
| 20 | 30.20 | 41.92 | 39% | 41.92 | 54.09 | 29% |
Answer: Almost 40% at high levels, and TWF becomes a larger boost as you add more Sneak Attack damage.
You can use sneak attack only once per turn, so all these calculations are incorrect
Sneak Attack being once per turn is precisely why I used Sneak Attack as the example here. Having a second attack improves your DPR not by adding a second Sneak Attack roll, but by adding a second chance to apply your once-per-turn damage boost. If I was saying Sneak Attack worked twice per turn, the increase in DPR would be nearly 100% because the only thing you’re losing is you ability score modifier on the off-hand attack.
I see… Didn’t thought of that.
So I suppose in a column without advantage its supposed that an ally is nearby the enemy so that Sneak Attack could be executed?
Also, which AC all this is compared against? Dynamic AC according to character lvl? Would appreciate a column with enemy’s AC
It’s following the Fundamental Math.
How about building in the Halfling Lucky trait? (Chance of a 1 goes down to 1 in 400, or 0.25%. Chance of rolling everything else therefore increases to 5.25%. Chance of a critical 20 goes up to 5.25%.)
I’ve had that one on the to-do list for a while. Thanks for the motivation to do it! If you clear your browser’s cache and check the page, you should see a toggle for it labeled “halfling?”
Thank you for this awesome tool. It makes planning my characters so much easier!
I am curious what formula you use to calculate hit chance for once per turn damage boosts. It seems to differ from what is used in the LudicSavant DPR speadsheet (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?582779-Comprehensive-DPR-Calculator-(v2-0!)).
Normally the two tools are in alignment, but I seem to get different results for the DPR of once per turn damage boosts, particularly when doing 2 or more attacks.
I pulled the to-hit chances from tables generated by AnyDice. They’ve been accurate every time I’ve checked them, but it’s always possible that I have an error somewhere.