Quick definition:A measure of how much damage a weapon, character or ability deals on average each second, used to compare different options in a fair way.
Meaning
Damage per second, or DPS, summarises how quickly something deals harm. It is calculated by multiplying damage by how often the attack happens, and may include extra factors such as critical hits, reloads and delays between attacks. Many games show the figure directly on weapon screens, which makes comparisons easy.
Players use it to compare weapons, build characters and judge how long a fight might last. A boss with a time limit, for example, may demand a minimum DPS from the group, and failing to reach that number means the fight cannot be won.
The number has limits. A weapon with high theoretical DPS may be hard to hit with, or require standing in danger, so real results differ from the listed figure. Training dummies and testing tools let players measure actual output under realistic conditions.
Origin:Damage per second, usually abbreviated to DPS, comes from the need to compare weapons with different speeds and strengths. Players of online role-playing games and shooters used the figure to rank options, and it later became a common stat in game menus. The idea is mathematical, simply dividing damage by time.
Example:Kai compares two swords in a shop. One hits hard but slowly, the other hits weakly but quickly. The menu shows that the fast blade deals more damage per second, so he buys it, even though each single strike looks less impressive than the slow weapon's heavy blow.
Did you know?DPS is also used as a role name, so a player who focuses on damage is called a DPS. The figure can be misleading, since it often ignores travel time, reload time, missed shots and the ability to survive.
