A Guide to rDPS, nDPS, aDPS and cDPS
In Shadowbringers, the addition of the Dancer job made it difficult to evaluate personal performance, since normal DPS ranks padded with Dancer abilities dominated at the top end. In order to counter this problem, three new DPS metrics have been introduced: rDPS, aDPS and nDPS.
With Endwalker, players requested yet another metric to be added and thus cDPS was added.
What are rDPS, nDPS, aDPS and cDPS?
rDPS stands for "raid-contributing DPS", and it is measuring how much damage you actually brought to the raid. The formula for it is:
rDPS = DPS - (damage gained from others' external buffs) + (damage given to others by your own external buffs)
For example, if you are a Monk, your rDPS would subtract out damage you gained from external buffs like Mug or Battle Voice, but it would also add in damage you gave to others from Brotherhood.
nDPS stands for "neutral DPS", and it is measuring damage you did with the damage you gained from external buffs removed. The formula for it is:
nDPS = DPS - (damage gained from others' external buffs)
For example, if you are a Monk, your nDPS would subtract out damage you gained from external buffs like Mug or Battle Voice, and it would NOT add in damage gained from Brotherhood.
aDPS stands for "adjusted DPS", and it is measuring how much damage you did with only single target padding removed. AOE padding is still allowed. The formula for it is:
aDPS = DPS - (damage gained from a set of specific single target buffs)
The buffs removed by this metric include Devilment / Standard Finish, Astrologian cards, and Left Eye.
cDPS stands for "Combined DPS" and is measuring how much damage you've done with single target padding removed and adding how much your damage you've given to others with your buffs. The formula for it is:
cDPS = DPS - (damage gained from a set of specific single target buffs) + damage others gained because of your buffs.
As aDPS, cDPS does not include Devilment / Standard Finish, Astrologian cards, and Left Eye. But it will add any damage your buffs contributed to the raid as your own, much like rDPS.
Keep in mind that if you're one of the jobs that have zero AOE buffs that benefit others, this is literally the same as aDPS. This is true for any tank job, Samurai, White Mage, Sage, Black Mage and Machinist.
For example, if you are a Ninja receiving buffs from an Astrologian and Dragoon. cDPS would not include those, but would still include the damage gained from Divination and Battle Litany as well as the damage from your Mug ability.
Why Have Multiple Metrics?
rDPS is great for showing how much damage you really contributed to the raid, For utility jobs like Dancer and Ninja, the metric depends on people making good use of your buffs, so some damage you contribute to the raid is out of your control.
nDPS is great for showing how well you executed your rotation. This allows, for example, Dancers and Ninjas, to see how well they did even if placed with underperforming partners or groups.
aDPS removes single target padding, but still rewards you for playing to AOE buffs. It also doesn't include your buff contributions, so this metric allows you to evaluate how well players are aligning their damage bursts with external AOE buffs.
cDPS allows you compare how well you and your raid played into burst windows and AOE buffs. It's a good way to look at job balance between eachother, and seeing which jobs have strong buffs while also providing good damage during other job's AOE buff windows.
rDPS Detailed Math
For information about the detailed math of calculating rDPS, please check out the FFLogs Buff Allocation Math documentation by joncho#3796. It goes into detail about both the Shadowbringers math and the Endwalker math.
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