When modding a weapon, the order in which bonuses are applied follows a consistent pattern. When combining different kinds of damage bonuses, the following rules apply:
Mods of the same Type
All mods that add a bonus of the same type have their bonus added together. For example, if a weapon has Serration giving +165% damage and Heavy Caliber also giving +165% damage, it will receive a total of +330% damage.
This is true of all bonuses, not just damage. Combining Speed Trigger (+60% Fire Rate) and Shred (+30% Fire Rate, +1.2 Punchthrough) will give a total of +90% Fire Rate.
Damage Types
Mods primarily increase damage in one of four different ways:
- Some mods increase the base damage of the weapon. This is usually written as simply "+X% damage". For example, see Hornet Strike and Serration
- Some mods increase physical damage types. Script error: The function "Proc" does not exist., Script error: The function "Proc" does not exist., and Script error: The function "Proc" does not exist. are the physical damage types. For example, see Fanged Fusillade or Piercing Caliber.
- Some mods increase primary elemental damage types. Script error: The function "Proc" does not exist., Script error: The function "Proc" does not exist., Script error: The function "Proc" does not exist., and Script error: The function "Proc" does not exist. are the primary elemental damage types. For example, see Pathogen Rounds or Hellfire.
- Some mods increase damage against enemies of a certain faction. For example, see Bane of Corpus or Bane of Infested
The Damage Application Order
When calculating damage, first base damage bonuses are added together and applied. For example, the Karak has a base damage of 27. Equipping a max rank Serration (+165% base damage) adds 1.65 * 27 = 44.55 additional damage for a total of 71.55 damage. The added damage will be of the same type(s) the weapon innately deals.
Then, all elemental and physical damage bonuses are calculated based on the modified base damage. For example, adding a Hellfire (+90% Script error: The function "Proc" does not exist. damage) to a Karak that already has Serration equipped will add 90% of 71.55 for a total of 64.4 Script error: The function "Proc" does not exist. damage. This damage is added to the base, and the Karak now deals a total of 135.95 damage if you add together all damage types.
After that, faction damage bonuses are applied to all damage types. A Karak equipped with Serration, Hellfire, and Bane of Corpus (+30% damage against Corpus) will deal an extra .3 * 71.55 = 21.47 physical damage and an extra .3 * 64.4 = 19.32 Script error: The function "Proc" does not exist. damage for a total of 176.74 damage of all types.
For weapons that fire multiple projectiles like Shotguns or Cernos Prime, this damage is split evenly across all projectiles to get the base damage per projectile. If the weapon only fires one projectile at a time, all of the damage is the base damage per projectile.
If the weapon has Multishot from a mod like Split Chamber, it will fire additional projectiles, each of which will deal the base damage per projectile. For weapons that only fire a single projectile, Split Chamber's 90% multishot will cause each shot to randomly have a 90% chance to fire two projectiles instead of one. Since Cernos Prime already fires 3 arrows per shot, adding Split Chamber will make it fire 3 * .9 = 2.7 additional arrows, so each shot will fire at least 5 arrows, and 70% of shots will fire 6.
On continuous beam weapons like the Glaxion, the damage of the beam simply has the multishot chance added. For example, adding Split Chamber to a Glaxion will act as an additional 90% total damage bonus.
Once damage is calculated, it may be affected on impact by Critical Hit mechanics or modified based on the opponent's armor. For detailed calculations of how various damage types affect different types of enemies, see the Damage page.
Calculating Physical Damage
Physical damage mods apply only to base damage of the same type. For example, at max rank Fanged Fusillade increases Script error: The function "Proc" does not exist. damage by +120%. The Karak does 27 damage split into 12.15 Script error: The function "Proc" does not exist., 8.1 Script error: The function "Proc" does not exist., and 6.75 Script error: The function "Proc" does not exist.. A Karak equipped a max rank Fanged Fusillade will gain (6.75 * 1.2) = 8.1 additional Script error: The function "Proc" does not exist. damage for a total of 14.85 Script error: The function "Proc" does not exist. and 35.1 total damage.
If a Physical damage mod is added to a weapon that does no physical damage of the corresponding type, the mod will have no effect. For example, the Amprex does entirely Script error: The function "Proc" does not exist. damage when unmodded, so Fanged Fusillade will do absolutely nothing.
Calculating Elemental Damage
Elemental damage mods apply to all damage done by a weapon. For example, a max rank Hellfire adds 90% Script error: The function "Proc" does not exist. damage to a rifle. If a Karak was equipped with a max rank Hellfire, it would gain 27 * .9 = 24.3 Script error: The function "Proc" does not exist. damage.
Each two different elemental mods will be added up into a Combined Element, with different damage multipliers against certain enemies. For combined elements, the slots are ordered from left to right, top row then bottom row, with any inherent elemental damage (from the weapon) added last. For example, if both Hellfire (+Script error: The function "Proc" does not exist. damage) and Cryo Rounds (+Script error: The function "Proc" does not exist. damage) are equipped on an Amprex, they will combine to add Script error: The function "Proc" does not exist. damage to the weapon's base Script error: The function "Proc" does not exist. damage. If only Hellfire is used, it will combine with the Amprex's base Script error: The function "Proc" does not exist. damage to make Script error: The function "Proc" does not exist. damage instead.
If multiple mods of the same element are added, only the first is used when making combinations. For example, if Hellfire, Cryo Rounds, and Thermite Rounds are added to an Amprex, no matter what the order is the weapon will deal Script error: The function "Proc" does not exist. and Script error: The function "Proc" does not exist. damage since the Script error: The function "Proc" does not exist. element has already combined with Script error: The function "Proc" does not exist., so the second Script error: The function "Proc" does not exist. mod simply increases the amount of Script error: The function "Proc" does not exist. damage dealt.
Combining Physical and Elemental Damage
Both Physical and Elemental damage are combined in the same step and are based only on the weapon's base damage and any mods that effect base damage.
In terms of raw damage, this makes a +90% Script error: The function "Proc" does not exist. damage bonus superior to +90% Script error: The function "Proc" does not exist. damage bonus unless the weapon deals all of its damage as Script error: The function "Proc" does not exist.. In terms of actual impact, the total effect varies based on the armor type of enemy being damaged.
Total Damage Formula
If you're interested in simply calculating the total damage per shot fired, the equation (ignoring multishot and criticals) is:
Base Damage * (1 + Base Damage Bonus) * (1 + Elemental Damage Bonus + Weighted Physical Bonus) * (1 + Faction Damage Bonus) = Total Damage
Weighted physical damage is the physical bonus multiplied by the percentage of base damage that is made up of the specific physical bonus.