D&D Average Damage Calculator – 5e Attacks & Spells

⚔️ D&D Average Damage Calculator

Calculate expected DPR for attacks, spells & crits in D&D 5e

Calculator Mode
⚔ Single Attack
🔁 Per Round (DPR)
✨ Spell Damage
Quick Presets
Damage Dice
Attack Roll Modifier
▼ Disadvantage
● Normal
▲ Advantage
Critical Hit Range
Results
Avg Damage Per Hit
-
on a successful attack
Crit Damage
-
double dice + bonus
Avg Damage Per Round
-
all attacks combined
Expected DPR
-
accounting for hit chance
Damage Dice Reference
d4avg 2.5
d6avg 3.5
d8avg 4.5
d10avg 5.5
d12avg 6.5
Common Weapon & Spell Damage Reference
Weapon / Spell Damage Dice Avg (No Bonus) Notes
Dagger / Shortsword1d4 / 1d62.5 / 3.5Light, finesse
Longsword (1H)1d84.5Versatile (1H)
Longsword (2H)1d105.5Versatile (2H)
Greataxe1d126.5Heavy, two-handed
Greatsword2d67.0Heavy, two-handed
Rapier1d84.5Finesse
Fireball (3rd)8d628.0Dex save, half on save
Fireball (upcast 4th)9d631.5+1d6 per level above 3rd
Eldritch Blast1d105.5+1 beam per 5 levels
Magic Missile (1st)3x(1d4+1)10.5Auto-hits, 3 darts
Sneak Attack Lv11d63.5Rogue feature
Sneak Attack Lv53d610.5Rogue level 5
Divine Smite (1st slot)2d89.0+1d8 per slot above 1st
Divine Smite (2nd slot)3d813.5Paladin feature
⚔ Critical Hit Damage: On a critical hit in D&D 5e, you roll ALL damage dice twice. This means your flat modifiers (like Strength or proficiency) are NOT doubled — only the dice themselves are. A Greatsword (2d6) crit rolls 4d6 + your bonus.
✨ Spell Damage & Saves: Many spells (like Fireball) deal half damage on a successful saving throw. If your target has a 50% chance to save, your effective average damage is 75% of the base — not 50%. Always factor in the save chance for accurate DPR.

 

To find the average damage in DnD, start with the average of dice. The average roll for a die is the sum of all numbers divided by the number of sides. For d6 it is 3.5, for d8 4.5, for d10 5.5, and so on.

D4 has an average of 2.5, because it does not have zero. So 2d4 averages 5 and adding 2 reachs 7

How to Calculate Average Damage in DnD

Fast trick for fireball: 8d6 is 8 times 3.5, so 28 damage. Or think 4 times 7, same result, but simpler. For big sets of dice, websites as anydice.com help to find the avergae quickly.

For average damage per round, start with the dice and add flat bonuses, like Strength modifier or magic weapon bonus. For instance, Craig usually does 1d10+3 with his Glaive and adds 1d6 from Hex. D10 averages 5.5, d6 3.5, together 9 damage.

Think also about hits. At AC 11 there is a 50% chance to hit; every point of AC lowers it by 5%. Proficiency bonus helps by 5% each point.

With standard accuracy of 65% the math changes a lot. Chances for hits, critical hits, advantage, disadvantage and bonus dice as Elven Accuracy all affect the average damage for a round.

Level 5 monk does 3 attacks for 2d8+1d6+12, average 24.5 damage per turn without spending Ki. A fighter with a longsword does 1d8+2 or +3, average 7 or 8. Level 20 fighter with +3 longsword does 1d8+8 each hit; assuming all land, it averages 36 damage for a basic round.

Optimized user of Eldritch Blast with Agonizing Blast and Hex, who maxes his 16 to 20 in Tier 2, does average 12, 28, 42 or 56 damage per round according to the tier.

For average critical damage, double the dice and add flat bonuses once. If your role is to do damage, aim for double or triple the standard values, to cover party members that do zero damage. Using average damage for PCs is not in the rules and would be unusual, but a DM can do that to speedup the game.

 

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