Damage[]
Damage is the amount of damage that a character deals to a target.
The main formula showed in the Survivor Selection screen is:
Final Total Damage = (Base Damage + (Weapon’s Damage × (1 ± Weapon Modifier)) × (1 + Weapon/Survivor Damage Traits Percentage) × (1 + Damage Badges Percentage)
To make the calculation more concrete, We will Michonne at level 31 as an example. The damage shown on her profile picture, when wielding a level 34 Skeggox, is 30,953.
Total Damage[]
Total Damage in the game is built up of two elements: Base Damage and Weapon Damage. These are added together.
Base Damage[]
Base damage is the damage that your survivor would deal without any modifiers. The Base Damage is defined by the survivor class, level, number of stars (normal and pink stars) and your hero modifier (if your survivor is a hero).
The formula for base damage is calculated by this formula:
Base Damage = Class Base Damage × (1 + Normal Star Modifier + Pink Star Modifier + Hero Bonus Modifier))
These are the tables of the Class Base Damage and the Hero Bonus Modifiers:
In our example, Michonne, a warrior at level 31, would then have 4.714 Class Base Damage, for a common 1-star survivor.
The Class Base Damage is increased by 10% by each additional Normal Star you have until legendary (which is 5 stars, meaning you can get up to 40% with only Normal Stars Modifier), and a 5% increase for each Pink Star.
In our example, Michonne has 4 pink stars, so she's getting a 40% increase in Normal Stars, and 20% for Pink Stars.
Additionally, heroes have a bonus in their base damage and health that's shown in the table previously showed. This is the Hero Bonus Modifier, and is added in the same part as Stars Modifiers.
In our example, Michonne gets a hero bonus of 30%. Considering the hero bonus with the Normal and Pink Stars modifiers, her base damage will be 4.714 × (1 + 40% + 20% + 30%) = 8.956,6, which rounded down, means that her base damage will be 8.956.
Note that it is not possible to see the base damage in-game anywhere.
Weapon Damage[]
Weapon Damage is the damage that your weapon would deal. You can find information about how weapon damage is calculated and their damage variations in the Equipment page.
In our example, Michonne is wielding a level 34 Daryl's Skeggox, Its damage would be then 6.072 (base damage) × (100% (Warrior Weapon Modifier) + 40% (Weapon Rarity Modifier)) = 8.500 (value rounded down).
If you compile all the abilities who affects Weapon Damage, it would look like this (Updated in April 2025):
(Weapon Damage) × (Breakthough Trait Damage Increase) × (100% + CRM Trident's Damage) × (100% + Asthenia Damage) × (100% ± Damage variation)
Total Damage Modifiers[]
Total Damage Modifiers are the modifiers that are applied to the final damage, like Damages and Badges.
All the Traits that buffs Total Damage (Like Abraham's Bitch Nuts or Jesus's Hands to Hand, Lethal, Strong, Marksman, etc.) will be added up first, and will multiply the total damage. Conditional Traits (traits that only give extra damage with a certain condition) are also included in this part.
All the badges that buffs Damage will be added up by themselves (they don't stack with Traits), and will multiply the total damage. They are calculated summing up all their base values and their bonuses, then multiply the total with 20% (if they have a set bonus active), and then that badge will be multiplied by the total attack.
In our example, Michonne has 8956 + 8500 = 17.456 Total Damage. Since Michonne has Lethal in her Skeggox, the total damage will be impulsed by 10%, so it will be 17.456 × (1 + 10%) = 19.201,6
Michonne has also three 17% Damage badges and with the Set bonus activated (boosting the percentages by 20%), meaning that the badges are boosting (17% + 17% + 17%) × 1.2 = 61.2% of her total damage.
Since Michonne, with the Trait boost, is dealing 19.201,6 damage, her final damage will be 19.201,6 × (1 + 61.2%) = 30.953. This is the damage shown on her profile picture.
If you compile all traits and abilities who affect Total Damage, it would look like this (Updated in April 2025):
((100% + Lethal + Princess's Royal Rampage + Magna's Pitfall + Quinn's Closing Time (Secondary Target) + Negan's Mark + Aaron's Help Hand + Merle's Jackass + Rosita's Deadly Tactics + Dwight's Desperation + Simon's Redact Them + Outlaw Negan's Knock-Knock + Gauntlet Aaron's Overload - (100% - Gauntlet Aaron's Overload Assist Attack (if is Assist Attack)) + Daryl's Critical Damage - (100% - Weapon's Recoil (80% reduced Damage)) × (Jadis's A) + RGG's Heirloom Burn Damage + Detonation (20% on Burning Damage) + Strong + Marksman + Starbound Rifle's Reduced Damage + Jesus'Hand to Hand + Abraham's Bitch Nuts + Sniper Harness + Power Strike + GW Damage Bonus Sectors) × Firing Squad + Multishot Launcher's Charged load × Coup de Grace × (100% - Fighter Rosita's Fighting Fury) + Connie's Better Together + First Strike
Final Damage[]
The final damage is normally the one showed by the profile picture, but in-mission, there may be some other modifiers applied to the final damage, depending on the situation, like Conditional Traits Modifiers, Attack result (Body shot, normal attack, critical hits and Charge Attacks), Carol's Cookies and Damage Resistance
Conditional Traits Modifiers[]
The Conditional Traits Modifiers are the modifiers that are applied to the final damage only when a certain condition is fulfilled. That includes Power Strike (that only happens when you don't move), Sure Shot and other traits.
Normally, these traits buffs total damage, and in that case, these modifiers are added together in the Trait Total damage Modifier. But there are some traits that add up in the Weapon's Damage and Damage based on Target's Health.
When a trait buffs Weapon's Damage, the total value of the Weapon's Damage is multiplied by the trait value. Example: Weapon that boosts Weapon Damage by 200% in a weapon those total damage is 8.500, will make the Weapon Damage turn into (8.500 × (1 + 200%)) = 25.500.
When a trait buffs Damage based on Target's Health, the total value of the Damage based on Target's Health is then added in the Final Total Damage (after the Total Damage Modifiers), since the damage will be based on the Target's Health.
If you compile all abilities that affects this flat damage, it would look like this (Updated in April 2025):
(Mercer's Man At Arms + Closing Time (Main Target) + Daryl's Maximum Health + Beth's Lethal Aid) × (1 + Negan's Mark)
Attack Result[]
The Attack Result is the result of the attack, and can be a Body Shot, a Normal Attack, a Critical Hit or a Charge Attack.
A normal attack is an attack that's not affected by any attack result multiplier.
If your attack results in a Body Shot, you must multiply the Final Total Damage by 0.5 (or 0.65 for melee survivors).
If your attack results in a Critical Hit, you must multiply the Final Total Damage by (1 + Class Critical Damage Boost + Critical Damage Traits Buffs + Critical Damage Badges).
If your attack result is a Charge Attack, you must multiply the Final Total Damage by (1 + Class Charge Damage Boost₁ + Critical Damage Traits Buffs+ Critical Damage Badges) × (1 + Traits Charged Attacks Damage Buffs)
This Final Total Damage is then modified by damage based on the target's health and Carol's Cookies, after which finally damage resistance is applied to get the damage dealt to the target.
₁Charge Damage Boost == Critical Damage Boost, except for Shooters and Scouts, which is 100% instead of 50%.
Little bug: Razor increase[]
The Razor weapon trait has an undocumented feature in that it adds 4% of damage. This is not shown on the profile picture damage figure, but it is added to damage to any attack. This is strangely enough added as a separate multiplication before other modifiers. Note that the Piercing trait does not have this hidden functionality.
So Michonne's real damage is not 30,953 but rather 17,456 × 1.04 × 1.1 × 1.612 = 32,191.
Carol's Cookies[]
Carol's Cookies buffs the Final Total Damage by (1 + Cookie Buffs Percentage). They are unique, since the buff happens after everything else, including Health-based damage.
Damage Resistance[]
Damage Resistance nerfs the Final Damage by their Percentage.
Assuming an attack done by Mercer on a Metalhead, with Men-At-Arms activating and with Carol's Cookies, the damage could look like (20,000 + health-based damage 100.000) × (cookies +130%) = 276.000 - 50% damage reduction = 138.000 damage to the Metalhead.
Final Damage Formula[]
Final Damage = (((((Class Base Damage × (100% + Normal Star Modifier + Pink Star Modifier + Hero Modifier) + Weapon Damage × (100% + Weapons Damage Modifiers) × (1 ± Weapon Modifier)) × (100% + CRM Trident Damage Multiplier)) × (100% + Sum of Normal Damage Buffs that comes from Traits) × (100% + Damage Badge Buffs Percentages) × (1 + Razor Extra Damage Bug) × Attack Result Modifiers) + Health-Based Damage) × (1 + Carols Cookies Buff Percentage)) × (100% - Damage Resistance Percentage)