Damage Calculation

Damage calculation is a complex process in Elden Ring, relying on many different factors.

Base Damage
Every weapon has an initial damage amount in one or two damage types. This damage is only increased with the weapon's upgrade level.

Attribute Scaling
Attribute scaling is a property of weapons and consumables that increases their damage relative to a character's attributes. The higher a weapon's scaling, the more damage is increased for every point in a given attribute. Scaling is displayed in-game using a letter grade system, but internally the values are treated as percentages and can vary significantly even within the same letter grade. If a character doesn't meet the requirements for a weapon, all attribute scaling is set to 0, and the weapon's base damage is reduced by 40%, displayed in-game as negative scaling.

To determine how much attribute scaling increases damage for a given character, a hidden statistic called attribute saturation is used. The specific values for attribute saturation vary based on the weapon, damage type, and attribute used to calculate it. For an example, almost all Elemental damage has 40% saturation at 20 in the relevant attribute, 80% at 50, 95% at 80.

To determine the final damage increase from scaling: "base damage * attribute scaling * attribute saturation"This is done for each stat and damage type individually. As an example, let's calculate the scaling for a Longsword+25 at 60 Strength and 10 Dexterity. Its base damage is 269.5, its attribute scaling is 75% for Strength and 49.5% for Dexterity, and the attribute saturation used for it is 75% and 11.65%. (Strength) 269.5 * 0.75 * 0.75 = 151.59375 (Dexterity) 269.5 * 0.495 * 0.11654 = 15.54672 151.59375 + 15.54672 = 167.14047

Defense Formula
When an attack connects, the game finds the ratio between the attack power ($$a$$) and the target's defense ($$d$$), and then determines the formula used to calculate the actual damage dealt :

  If $$\frac{a}{d} < 0.125$$, the final damage is $$a \cdot 0.1$$  If $$\frac{a}{d} < 1$$, the final damage is $$a \cdot (\frac{19.2}{49} \cdot (\frac{a}{d} - 0.125)^2 + 0.1)$$  If $$\frac{a}{d} < 2.5$$, the final damage is $$a \cdot (-\frac{0.4}{3} \cdot (\frac{a}{d} - 2.5)^2 + 0.7)$$  If $$\frac{a}{d} < 8$$, the final damage is $$a \cdot (-\frac{0.8}{121} \cdot (\frac{a}{d} - 8)^2 + 0.9)$$  If $$\frac{a}{d} \ge 8$$, the final damage is $$a \cdot 0.9$$ 

This calculation is the same for both players and enemies. Each damage type is calculated individually, reduced by that damage type's negation, and added together.