Compare two weapons side-by-side with detailed DPS calculations, affix analysis, and effective damage metrics.
DPS Mode calculates sustained damage over time, factoring in attack speed. Best for evaluating overall clear speed and sustained combat scenarios.
Burst Mode shows damage per single hit, ignoring attack speed. Best for builds focused on big crits, Overpower hits, or slow but powerful abilities.
Critical hits multiply your damage significantly. The formula is: Base Damage × (1 + Crit Chance × Crit Damage). For example, 50% crit chance with 150% crit damage gives you a 1.75x damage multiplier on average.
Most damage bonuses in Diablo 4 are additive with each other. Vulnerable, Core Skill, Close Enemies, and conditional damage all add together in one bucket. This means stacking diverse damage types is more effective than over-investing in one category.
Attack speed increases DPS linearly but has practical limits. Very fast weapons can feel better for on-hit effects and resource generation, while slower weapons often have higher base damage and work better for Overpower builds.
A weapon with 3 Greater Affixes (yellow star) is often better than one with higher base DPS but regular affixes. Greater Affixes provide 50% more value.
Ensure the weapon's damage bonuses align with your skills. A Core Skill damage roll is worthless if you're running a Basic Skill build. Close Enemies damage doesn't help ranged builds.
Resource generation, cooldown reduction, and Lucky Hit chance aren't calculated in raw DPS but can dramatically improve your actual gameplay experience and effective damage output.
Calculator results are theoretical. Always test new weapons in the content you're actually running. A 5% DPS increase might feel worse if the attack speed doesn't match your rotation.
A lower-tier weapon with perfect tempers and lucky Masterwork crits on key affixes can outperform a higher-tier weapon with poor upgrades. Factor in upgrade potential.
This calculator shows theoretical maximum damage. In practice, conditional damage bonuses (Close/Distant Enemies, CC Damage, Elite Damage) may not always be active. A weapon with unconditional damage (Vulnerable, Core Skill, Crit stats) is often more consistent.
Barbarians benefit from high base damage weapons for Overpower builds. Two-handed weapons typically offer better damage per hit but slower attack speed. Arsenal system allows mixing weapon types for different skills. Prioritize Vulnerable Damage and Damage to Close Enemies as you're always in melee range.
Rogues excel with fast attack speed weapons for rapid combo point generation and on-hit effects. Daggers offer the highest attack speed but lower base damage. Prioritize Critical Strike Chance and Vulnerable Damage. Dual-wielding allows two weapons - use this calculator for each hand separately.
Sorcerers care less about weapon DPS since most damage comes from spells, but weapon affixes still matter. Prioritize Intelligence, Core Skill Damage, Vulnerable Damage, and Critical Strike stats. Wands offer faster cast speed while Staves provide more raw damage for Firewall/Hydra builds.
Druids use Two-handed weapons (Staves, Polearms) and weapon damage affects Werebear/Werewolf attacks. Prioritize Vulnerable Damage, Damage to Close Enemies, and Critical Strike for Werewolf builds. Spirit builds care more about Willpower and skill-specific damage.
Necromancers primarily use Scythes and Two-handed Swords. Weapon damage matters for Bone and Blood skills but less so for minion builds. Prioritize Intelligence, Core Skill Damage (for Bone Spear/Blood Lance), and Vulnerable Damage. Lucky Hit chance is valuable for proc-based builds.
Spiritborn can use Quarterstaves, Glaives, or Dual-wielding. Attack speed scales well with their rapid-hit combos. Prioritize Dexterity or Willpower depending on your Spirit Hall choice, along with Core Skill Damage and Vulnerable Damage. Balance between attack speed and damage per hit based on your skill rotation.
Diablo 4 uses multiplicative damage buckets. The main buckets are:
Final Damage = Bucket 1 × Bucket 2 × Bucket 3 × Bucket 4. This is why balancing across buckets is crucial.
Overpower hits deal bonus damage based on your Maximum Life and Fortify. Unlike critical hits, Overpower damage is separate and can stack with crits for massive burst. High damage-per-hit weapons benefit more from Overpower builds. This calculator doesn't account for Overpower as it requires Life/Fortify values.
Lucky Hit chance determines how often weapon and skill effects trigger. Fast attack speed weapons proc effects more frequently even with lower Lucky Hit chance per hit. Slow, hard-hitting weapons need higher Lucky Hit chance to compete. This isn't reflected in pure DPS but affects practical gameplay.
Barbarians gain bonuses from Weapon Expertise based on weapon type mastery. A weapon with slightly lower stats but matching your highest expertise can outperform a better weapon of a different type. Factor in your expertise levels when comparing weapons.
Higher item power doesn't always mean better weapon. A lower item power weapon with perfect Greater Affixes often outperforms a higher item power weapon with bad rolls.
Some skills scale with weapon damage, others don't. Ensure your weapon choice benefits the skills you actually use. Check skill tooltips for scaling information.
Very slow weapons can feel clunky even with higher DPS. Consider how attack speed affects your rotation, mobility, and ability to react to dangerous situations.
Due to additive damage buckets, stacking multiple sources of the same damage type gives diminishing returns. Diversify your damage bonuses across different categories.
The highest DPS weapon isn't worth it if you can't survive. Sometimes accepting slightly lower damage for defensive stats or resource generation is the right choice.
Masterwork upgrades can transform a mediocre weapon into an exceptional one. A weapon with 12 ranks invested is significantly stronger than an unupgraded alternative.
Input all stats from both weapons you want to compare. Include damage range, attack speed, and all affixes. Be accurate - small differences can change the outcome.
Configure your character's base stats from gear, paragon, and other sources. This includes your crit chance/damage, main stat total, and any damage bonuses not on the weapon.
Select DPS mode for sustained damage comparison or Burst mode for single-hit damage. DPS mode is better for most builds, but Overpower builds should check Burst mode.
Check the winner, percentage difference, and detailed breakdown. Look at which multipliers are contributing most to damage. Small percentage differences (under 5%) are often negligible.
Consider the numbers alongside practical factors like attack speed feel, resource generation, and defensive utility. Sometimes the "worse" weapon might feel better in actual gameplay.
Need help optimizing your entire build? Check out our other Diablo 4 calculators for defense optimization, damage scaling, and more.