Combat Logging - Damage Numbers

[TankAviator]

I apologize if this has been covered somewhere else, but I was unable to find it. Does anyone know if the damage recorded in the combat logs are pre- or post- the damage mitigation step? In other words, are they directly comparable to each other as damage applied to the target's health, or do we need to factor in white vs. yellow damage types and the mitigation step?

The reason I ask is I have been hearing some small debates over whether Guardians should prioritize Master Strike (white) or Plasma Brand (yellow). Looking at my parse from my last HM EV, and taking into account details like DOTS and multiple strikes, I see that Master Strike beats Plasma Brand by about 250 DPS in my logs.

The problem here is that I don't know if this is pre- or post- damage mitigation. If this is pre- damage mitigation then its possible that Plasma Brand beats Master Strike in damage applied to health per second. If this is post- damage mitigation then Master Strike is clearly the better ability to prioritize.

Thanks for your time.

[Kaedis]

It's post-mitigation. The damage reported is how much is actually applied to the target's health.

On a side note, the only thing "white" versus "yellow" (which is Melee/Ranged versus Force/Tech) affects is susceptibility to defense (Melee/Ranged can be defended, Force/Tech cannot). The mitigation is based on the type of damage dealt (Kinetic, Energy, Internal, Element), not the type of the attack.

Also note that as Plasma Brand is a Force effect, it scales with your Force Bonus. Master Strike scales with your Melee Bonus and your Melee weapon damage. Which will be superior may fluctuate based on how much your weapon is superior or inferior to the rest of your gear, item-level-wise.