Damage calculations

Messing aroud with the planner and some ideas, i found myself doing some damage calcs for spells but i'm unsure of the grammar of the equation (which piece goes where).
I came up with something like:

base damage * (gear+enhancements) * (metamagics)

But it can be even something like:

base damage * (gear+enhancements+metamagics)

So for example scorching ray with superior combustion item, damage line up to 30%, maximize and empower on:

(4d3+12) * (1 + 0,5 + 0,3) * (1 + 1 + 0,5) = 72 - 108

or

(4d3+12) * (0,5 + 0,3 + 1 + 1 + 0,5) = 52,8 - 79,2 ?

Thanks for sharing your insight in this matter.

You have a base potency of 100%
Then you add enhancement potencies (such as 20% for the first rank of arcane fire potency)
Then you add item potencies (Such as 50% from superior combustion or 75% from Superior Inferno)
**Note: Item potencies OVERLAP -- they do not stack. Most folks run around with 50% potency from items. Using a superior clickable will result in a +25% increase in item potency for a total item potency of 75% (as the item describes).
Metamagic potencies are added on top of everything.

So,
100% Base Potency
+40 to 50% Possible enhancement potency (Based on class enhancements)
+50-75% Item Potency (Superior Combustion vs. Superior Inferno for example) - Excludes Eardweller
+50-175% Metamagic Potency (Anywhere from Empower to Empower Healing + Maximize on a Radiant Servant casting Cure Spells)
Total: 240% to 400% potency

So, if Spell X normally hits for 50 points of damage you could be dealing 120 to 200 points of actual damage before critical depending on your enhancements, equipment, and feat choices.

Once your damage is calculated you directly multiply that result to determine your critical damage. Your critical multiplier is factored up the same was your base damage is calculated.

So, if you have a x3 total critical multiplier, then that same 50 damage spell could end up popping something for 600 points of actual damage assuming good gear/feats/enhancements.

There was a recent topic on this here: http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=332793

Gear (like Potency or Spark) is added on to enhancements (the elemental damage lines), while metamagics (maximise and empower) are added together, but those two figures are multiplied seperately. So your first version

base damage * (gear+enhancements) * (metamagics)

is basically the correct one. The Sorcerer capstone is actually added with the metamagics if I remember correctly.

Thanks for the replies, so it seems the first calc is the correct one, now i'm only a little confused about critical hits. Spell critical hits don't work like weapon/unarmed critical hits, there is not multiplier just an additive percentage of damage, right?

So tu use again my first example expanding the ipothesis to crit damage amplification +75% we have:

base damage --> (4d3+12) * (1 + 0,5 + 0,3) * (1 + 1 + 0,5) = 72 - 108
on crit ------> (72 - 108) * (1 + 0,75) = 126 - 189

and that's it, right?

Except that the base crit multiplier is 1.5, so if you have no enhancements and a plain Fire Lore item, you have a 6% chance of doing 1.75x damage. If you have all the enhancements and a Major Fire Lore item, you have an 18% chance of doing 2.75x damage.