What does "potency" mean in terms of damage?

[Stabbey]

I've reached the point where I'm needing to make exclusive choices between upgrades to skills, and getting a better handle on what that means would help me decide better.

I get the general idea that more potency = better damage, but I don't have a great grasp on the difference it makes.

For example, Holy Charged Shot has two possible upgrades:

A) Puncture - Increases potency of the single-target shot by 15.
B) Ricochet - Hit every enemy around the target with 10 potency of damage

Or Rapid Fire

A) Disabling Shots - Each arrow reduces the target's damage by 2% for 2 turns
B) Arterial Shots - Each arrow causes 2 potency of bleeding damage per turn for 2 turns.

My inclination is that I'd want the lowered damage, because I don't know what 4 difference potency of damage means.

[Frost]

Potency is the base number that everything else multiplies off of. So for example, if one skill has 10 potency and another has 20, that second skill will do 2x the damage of the first. It's a way to compare skills' base damage across classes before stats/etc are factored in.

[faiNt']

I think it's like a percentage of your damage. 10 being 1.0x
throw some of those aoe damage potions (craftable) and compare it to your current damage on the character

[SeraphX2]

Why does everything always have to be so cryptic? Why not just spell it out that way? This question should not have needed to be asked and too many games do this.

[Kandidaten]

Originally posted by SeraphX2:

Why does everything always have to be so cryptic? Why not just spell it out that way? This question should not have needed to be asked and too many games do this.

I found it quite clear. Not sure if it is because I play many games or not, or because of the expected result compared to the cost of certain abilities.