I'm trying to find out just how the various buffs for weapons stack, such as whether they are additive, multiply or some combination. For example...

Let's look at a simple Daedric Dagger.
- Base weapon damage - 11
Improving the weapon to Legendary status adds 10 damage. Improving it while having the "Daedric Smithing" perks doubles the improvement to +20 damage.
- Running weapon damage - 31
This is where it gets trickier. Having all 5 perks of "Armsman" makes one-handed weapons do twice as much damage. Having the "Assassin's Blade" perk from "Sneak" gives a damage multiplier of 15(!). Just how do these bonuses interact?
- Option A: 31 [weapon damage] * 2 [Armsman 5] * 15 [Assassin's Blade] = 31 * 2 * 15 = 930 damage
- Option B: 31 [weapon damage] * (2+15) [Armsman 5 + Assassin's Blade bonuses] = 31 * (2+15) = 31 * 17 = 527 damage

The same questions would apply for Swords, Maces & Axes (Armsman and Backstab bonuses) , as well as for Bows (Overdraw and Deadly Aim)

And that doesn't even get into the issue of enchanting a dagger for, say, elemental damage or for critical damage (say, using Bows with "Critical Shot" or Swords with Bladesman. I would at least like to know how the options I give above are sorted out.

armsman will effect the amount of damage the 1 handed weapon does when you view the weapon. So when you view the daedric dagger and it says what damage it does you just multiply that by 15. With swords you multiply it by 6.

On a related note... in Archery, when you've got the bonuses to damage (as well as that from the Sneak perk "Deadly Aim"), does it apply to the combined damage of both the bow and the arrow, or just the bow?
Another example...

Basic damage of Daedric Arrow - 24
Basic damage of basic Daedric Bow - 19
Bow "improved" to Legendary while having Daedric Smithing perk - 39 damage
Total basic damage for Legendary bow & Daedric arrow - 39 + 24 = 63 damage

Now... Overdraw 5/5 gives a 100% damage bonus. However, does that apply to just the bow or to the combined bow & arrow damage? That is, is the damage [(39 * 2) + 24] or [(39 + 24) * 2]
The same question applies to the "Deadly Aim" perk. Bow only or Bow & Arrow combined?

Daedric Perk says "Can create Daedric armor and weapons at forges, and improve them twice as much." but the definition of twice as much is a bit misleading. At smithing level 91 you can make +10 improvement to your bow with perk, at level 100 +7 improvement without perk. So, if you do not do enchanting or alchemy, the smithing damage improvement is only +10, not 20.

Overdraw and any other bonus is applied to (Bow Base Value + Smithing Improvement + Arrow Value)

So it would be (19 + 10 + 24) * 2

But you are forgetting that your archery skill also helps. 50% at Archery skill 100

(19 + 10 + 24) * 2 * 1.5 = 159

This is the damage you will inflict when you shoot. When your sneak hit is successful, you will get double of this value 159 * 2. With Deadly Aim, it will be 159 * 3

If you look at the Damage Value on the lower right side of the screen, the value displayed will be 159 + 24 = 183. It erroneously adds the damage value of the arrow one more time. It's a display bug. You can look at the value at the main inventory screen under the bow when both the bow and the arrow are selected for the correct value.

If you enchant, you can get more damage in 2 ways. You can get stronger smithing by wearing Fortify Smithing enchanted outfit. And you can wear Fortify Archery gear in battle.
You can get +20 damage instead of +10 for your bow if you enhance your smithing with enchanting.
You can improve the damage your bow and arrow does by 160% by wearing 4 pieces of 40% Fortify Archery outfit.

So, your new calculation will be (19 + 20 + 24) * 1.5 * 2.0 * 2.6 = 491

If you add alchemy to the mix, your smithing power doubles again and you can make +42 improvement to your bow
(19 + 42 + 24) * 1.5 * 2.0 * 2.6 = 663



I think you will enjoy reading this thread. http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1342463-complete-character-design-freedom-damage-resist-caps-and-ridiculous-damage-thread-10/

Much appreciated, abacus. This was exactly the sort of answer I was hoping for!

Seconded. I always appreciate it when someone takes the time to post a comprehensive answer like that.