Damage per second Damage per second ( DPS or dps ) is a measure of the damage dealt by a person or group over one second . DPS is a more practical measure of damage output than plain damage , as it allows characters of differing levels and classes to effectively compare their damage output . The term dps is also sometimes used to describe the act of applying damage to a target ( as in " all dps on the boss " or " stop all dps " ) , or to refer to a class whose primary role in a group is dealing damage ( as in " Gundrak group needs one more dps to roll " ) , i . e . damage dealer . There are UI modifications which enable players to track their DPS . Some players will be able to get an effective idea of DPS from getting their Hit Cap for bosses of their level . You can find out your Hit Cap by mousing over Hit Rating in your Character Attributes Menu , which is to the right of your Character Info UI frame . For the easiest way to determine Hit Cap , use 17 % for most DPS at Level 70 and above . This includes Caster and Ranged DPS . Your hit chance will drop as you level until you get gear that is your level with Hit Rating . At max level , getting Hit Rating will be much easier as you do not have to worry about the rating dropping with Level Gain . Burst DPS . " Burst DPS " refers to damage dealt over a relatively short period of time . High burst damage is the preferable form of damage against targets at / with relatively low health . Most classes have at least a few spells or abilities that generate high damage very quickly . This type of damage is preferred in PvP environments , but is usually too expensive or has too long a cooldown to be sustainable . Sustained DPS . " Sustained DPS " refers to constant damage dealt over an extended period of time . High sustained damage is the preferable form of damage against targets with relatively high health . Every class is capable , when specced and geared properly , of doing good sustained damage . Hunters , Mages , Rogues , and Warlocks tend to have the highest sustained dps , as " pure " dps classes . Weapon Damage Per Second ( DPS ) Formula . The general formula for your weapon ' s DPS is : So , for example a with minimum damage of 97 , a maximum damage of 181 , and a weapon speed of 2 . 60 , the formula would be : Some weapons also have extra damage , e . g . " Holy Damage " . This should be factored in by adding the min and max values to the above averaged weapon damage . Suppose the above hammer dealt an additional 20 - 40 Holy Damage . Then the formula would look like : Formula for : Tooltip DPS & Damage Range : . Damage Ranges ( for melee ) : Note : Dual Wield Penalty only applies to off - hand weapons and can change depending on how you are spec ' d . Example : A rogue with dual - wielding specialization at 5 / 5 would use 0 . 75 as the penalty value , for dual - wielding specialization 0 / 5 you would use 0 . 5 as the penalty value . Damage Ranges ( for ranged ) : Note : " Weapon Speed " is your actual fixed value on your weapon , not your Attack speed . Tooltip DPS Note : " Attack speed " is not your fixed value on your weapon . It is adjusted for any speed enchants / buffs / procs . Example # 1 ( melee ) : 1354 Attack Power 5 / 5 Dual - wield specialization = 75 % damage from off - hand = 0 . 75 Slice and Dice activated ( 40 % speed increase ) Main Hand : Off Hand : Example # 2 ( ranged ) : 1323 Ranged Attack Power 5 / 5 Serpent ' s Swiftness = 20 % increase in Ranged Combat Attack Speed Ranged Weapon : With a attached ( + 10 damage ) Firing ammunition ( Adds 34 DPS ) Individual Spell DPS . The DPS of a single spell can be calculated as either ( Damage / Cast Time ) or ( Damage / Cast Interval ) . The former , also referred to as " damage per cast time " ( DPCT ) is the amount of damage dealt over time spent casting the spell . The latter is used to express the spell ' s damage contribution over the total combat time , a figure used to express its damage contribution relative to other spells . For most calculations , an instant spells ' cast time is treated as the GCD , 1 . 5 seconds / ( 1 + Spell Haste ) . Some spells have a reduced GCD as affected by talents . formula _ 1 where " H " is the spell hit percent , " D " is the base damage , " P " is spell power , " C " is the spell power coefficient , " B " is the critical damage bonus , " S " is the critical strike percent , " H " is the spell haste percent , and " T " is the base casting time .