# DeKaTeK's Ability Calculator
**Know what your spells really do, and what a new item will change for the way you actually play.**
The default game tells you that an item has +7 Shadow damage and +5 Intellect. It does not tell you whether that is worth equipping. DeKaTeK's Ability Calculator adds the missing numbers to your tooltips: the full formula behind every damage and healing spell, your DPS or HPS, and the percentage change an item would give, worked out from the spells you cast most recently.
Made for **WoW Forever**. Works for **Warlock, Mage, Priest, Druid, Shaman and Paladin**. There is no window to open and nothing to set up: install it and hover over a spell or an item.
## What it adds to the game
### 1. The full formula on every spell tooltip
Hover over a damage or healing spell and you get coloured lines under the normal text:
```
Formula: 13-18 + 42.9 (50 SP x 85.7%) = 58.4
Crit: 10.0% Hit: 96.0%
DPS: 19.4 (3.0s cast)
Expected: 58.8 per cast
```
- **White** is the spell's base damage or healing.
- **Green** is the bonus from your spell power, with the percentage of spell power that spell receives.
- **Orange** is the final number.
- **Yellow** is your DPS or HPS.
- **Expected** is the average per cast once your hit and crit chance are included.
**What this changes for you:** you can see how much of a spell comes from its base value and how much from your gear. You can also compare spells directly. For example, you can check if a slow, big spell or a fast, small one gives you more DPS at your current gear, without using a spreadsheet.
Direct damage, damage over time, spells with both (such as Immolate, which shows Direct, Over 15 sec and Total lines), channelled spells and heals are all supported. Healing spells show HPS instead of DPS.
### 2. Item comparison based on the spells you really use
Hover over any item and the addon compares it with what you are wearing in that slot. It takes your last 10 casts, calculates them again with the new item, and shows the difference for each spell and in total:
```
Vs equipped: +7 Shadow, +5 intellect
Shadow Bolt: 10.0 -> 10.5 DPS (+5.0%)
Total (last 10 casts): 12.3 -> 12.8 DPS (+4.1%)
```
Gains are green and losses are red.
**What this changes for you:** you no longer need to guess or follow a general stat list. The result depends on what you actually cast, so a Shadow damage item scores well for a Shadow Bolt Warlock and shows no gain for a Fire build. If you change your spells, the comparison follows within 10 casts.
The comparison counts spell power, school damage such as +Shadow, healing, Intellect, spell crit and spell hit. It reads the normal stat lines and "Equip:" lines of items, and common enchant wordings. It also handles the awkward slots:
- **Rings and trinkets** are compared with the weaker one you have equipped.
- **Two-handed weapons** are compared with your main hand and off-hand together.
- **Empty slots** count as a pure gain.
Healers get their own HPS lines, so a healing item is judged by your heals, not your damage.
If you have not cast anything yet, the addon uses your class's main spell (for a Warlock, Shadow Bolt) and marks the line as "default sample", so a fresh character still gets a useful result.
### 3. Wand support
Levelling casters spend a lot of time shooting a wand, so wands are included too.
- The **Shoot tooltip** shows your wand's damage, speed, average hit, DPS and expected damage per shot.
- Each wand shot counts as a cast in your last 10, using the wand's own speed.
- Hovering over a wand adds a line such as `Shoot: 11.7 -> 14.2 DPS (+21.4%)`, or `(new)` if you have no wand equipped.
**What this changes for you:** wands often carry spell power or Intellect as well, so you see both effects at once: the new wand DPS and the change to your spells.
### 4. Remembers your casts
Your last 10 casts are saved for each character and stay there after you log out, so item comparisons work as soon as you log in.
Things that do not scale with your stats, such as bandages and explosives, are ignored, so they do not spoil the result.
## Commands
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
| `/dkac` | Shows the help |
| `/dkac spells on` or `off` | Turns the spell tooltip lines on or off |
| `/dkac items on` or `off` | Turns the item comparison on or off |
| `/dkac casts` | Prints your current sample of casts |
| `/dkac reset` | Clears your recorded casts, useful after changing your build |
| `/dkac probe` | Prints technical details, useful when reporting a bug |
## How the numbers are calculated
WoW Forever does not let addons read the combat log, so this addon cannot see your real damage. It sees which spells you cast and calculates the **expected** result from the spell text, your spell power, crit, hit and haste. That means:
- Numbers are estimates based on formulas, not measured damage. They are best used to compare items and spells.
- Spell power percentages are based on classic values, so they may differ on some spells.
- Set bonuses are not counted.
- The addon reads English game text, so it works best with the English client.
Found a wrong number? Please post the output of `/dkac probe` with the spell or item name, and it can be fixed quickly.
DeKaTeK's Ability Calculator Team
