Damage calculation

[Ostoia]

Can someone explain to me how is damage calculated on weapons? Does elemental damage is the same as slash etc. As in if I add elemental damage mod with higher % it would automatically do more damage, or it works differently with normal and elemental damage types?

[Vulbjorn]

All elemental damage mods add flat +% stated on the mod that is calculated from your total weapon's damage (IPS, impact, puncture, slash) combined, after multishot mods and flat +% mods are applied. However, mods that raise some specific IPS element such as Slash mods will not add to total IPS damage and will not increase your elemental mod damage.

When you add any damage mod - weapon just automatically does more damage. That Status chance you see is for when your weapon procs, i.e. - chance for one of the installed damage types (IPS, elementals) to trigger and cause it's effect. What damage type will trigger is determined by the amount of damage that type has (I.e. highest damage types on your weapon will always have a tendency to proc the most).

In short - adding elemental damage makes your weapon flat out stronger, always. And it doesn't need anything special to start pumping that damage.

[Donitsi]

"...Elemental Damage is applied in addition to a weapon’s physical damage types. Weapon Damage = (Impact b Impact + Puncture b Puncture + Slash b Slash) + (Elemental). "

"The main feature of the Damage 2.0 system is that all damage dealt by any weapon or ability belongs to a certain damage type, and every target has specific resistances and vulnerabilities to different damage types. Exploiting enemy vulnerabilities and avoiding resistances by means of weapon selection and mod installation may significantly improve players' damage output. "

-Warframe Wiki

http://warframe.wikia.com/wiki/Damage_2.0

I'll take Burston to my example. I can't explain this well and my English sucks often when it comes to writing and if somebody wants to insult me consider giving me critism why my example and numbers suck instead.

Burston
Impact: 10
Puncture:10
Slash: 10

In total: 30 physical damage. Put +90 toxin mod in free slot and the weapon now deals now 27 toxic damage and 30 physical damage.
Toxic Damage (+90) x Physical Damage (30)= Element damage

What if you put Sweepin Serration (+120% Slash damage) on Burston instead?
Slash Damage(10) x Sweepin Serration (+120%) = Slash damage. Now stats look like this:

Impact:10
Puncture:10
Slash:22

If Burston was dealing pure Slash damage (30) Sweepin Serration may or may not be good idea. You have to take in account the enemy resistance. It's a bad idea to fight Grineer with Slash damage because it deals -15% damage to Ferrite Armor. Meanwhile Corrosive deals +75% bonus damage to the enemies with ferrite armor.

[serker31]

Originally posted by Tulipunahapero:

It's a bad idea to fight Grineer with Slash damage because it deals -15% damage to Ferrite Armor. Meanwhile Corrosive deals +75% bonus damage to the enemies with ferrite armor.

Not really. Continuing explanations, even if TS did not ask for such advanced things:
1) For every type of damage you do with your weapon or ability, it is separate calculation.
2) Various types of health, armor and shields have their own resistances and vulnerabilities, they all listed there: http://warframe.wikia.com/wiki/Damage_2.0 .
3) For some reason, health and armor resistances/vulnerabilities will stack. Grineer cloned flesh take 25% more damage from slash, but ferite armor take 15% less damage. So if you shoot typical armored grineer soldier, slash damage will be 1.25 * 0.85 = 1.0625x effective. In theory.
4) Last but not least, resistances and vulnerabilities also participate in armor formula. Slash damage deal 15% less damage to units with ferrite armor, and effective armor vs. slash is 15% higher. On other hand, ferrite armor is 75% vulnerable to corrosive damage, so effective armor vs. corrosive is 4 times lower, and damage dealt will be 75% higher to begin with.
5) Too bad that most dangerous grineer units use alloy armor, which is quite indifferent to corrosive, 50% resistant to slash and 75% weak to radiation. If you want to deal all-round good damage to grineer, use Viral, cloned flesh is 75% weak to it.