Damage per second

= Damage Per Second =

DPS or "Damage Per Second" is a way of measuring how much damage a character or mob can deal in one second. UI modifications such as Cosmos include tools to enable players to track their DPS.

Burst DPS
Burst DPS means dealing huge amounts of damage over a short period of time (5-10 seconds); Mages are very good at this, but once their Mana runs out there's little else they can do.

Sustained DPS
Sustained DPS refers to the DPS level a character can maintain over an extended period of time. Rogues are very good at this, because they can keep fighting as long as they have health; their Energy regens very quickly.

Weapon DPS
Weapons will often be quoted along with a DPS figure. This provides a useful means of comparing weapons; however, your personal DPS using that weapon will vary hugely depending on your level, your stats, the mobs your are fighting and many other factors.

Spell DPS
Some sites will quote the DPS for a spell. This may be calculated as Damage / (Cast Time + Recast Time) or just as (Damage / Cast Time) - beware of the difference. DPS monitoring tools sometimes struggle with spells due to their one-hit nature, and the ability to cast combinations of spells.