Every hit compares the attacker's level with the target's level and multiplies the damage:
Level Difference and Damage
How many levels above or below the target you are changes your damage more than almost any other single factor.
The Rules
- Attacker below the target's level: damage is multiplied by the penalty table below. 5 levels under already costs 40% of your damage, and at 16 levels under you deal about 10%.
- Attacker above the target's level: damage is multiplied by 1 + 8% per level of advantage. 10 levels over means 1.8x damage, and there is no cap.
- Equal level: no change, 100% damage.
- Damage can never drop below 1 from the level penalty alone.
Why this matters
A character 5 levels under a boss loses more damage than most buffs can give back, and a heavily
underleveled team deals single digit percent damage. On the flip side, overleveling content is a
real power source: grinding a few levels for a wall boss is often worth more than a gear upgrade.
Underlevel Penalty Table
The exact multiplier per level gap, straight from the game's data. Highlighted rows are the gaps players ask about most.
| Levels Under Target | Damage Dealt |
|---|---|
| 1 | 92% |
| 2 | 84% |
| 3 | 76% |
| 4 | 68% |
| 5 | 60% |
| 6 | 52% |
| 7 | 44.2% |
| 8 | 37.57% |
| 9 | 31.93% |
| 10 | 27.14% |
| 11 | 23.07% |
| 12 | 19.61% |
| 13 | 16.67% |
| 14 | 14.17% |
| 15 | 12.04% |
| 16 | 10.24% |
| 17 | 8.7% |
| 18 | 7.4% |
| 19 | 6.29% |
| 20 | 5.34% |
| 21 | 4.54% |
| 22 | 3.86% |
| 23 | 3.28% |
| 24 | 2.79% |
| 25 | 2.37% |
| 26 | 2.02% |
| 27 | 1.71% |
| 28 | 1.46% |
| 29 | 1.24% |
| 30 | 1.05% |
| 31 | 0.89% |
| 32 | 0.76% |
| 33 | 0.65% |
| 34 | 0.55% |
| 35 | 0.47% |
| 36 | 0.4% |
| 37 | 0.34% |
| 38 | 0.29% |
| 39 | 0.24% |
| 40 | 0.21% |
| 41 | 0.18% |
| 42 | 0.15% |
| 43 | 0.13% |
| 44 | 0.11% |
| 45 | 0.09% |
| 46 | 0.08% |
| 47 | 0.07% |
| 48 | 0.06% |
| 49 | 0.05% |
| 50 | 0.04% |
| 51 | 0.03% |
| 52 | 0.03% |
| 53 | 0.03% |
| 54 | 0.02% |
| 55 | 0.02% |
| 56 | 0.02% |
| 57 | 0.01% |
| 58 | 0.01% |
| 59 | 0.01% |
The curve starts gentle, 8% per level for the first 6 levels, then compounds harder and harder.
From 15 levels under, every extra level costs roughly 15% of what little damage remains.
Overlevel Bonus
Being higher level than the target is a flat linear bonus with no table and no cap: 1 + 0.08 x (your level minus target level).
| Levels Over Target | Damage Dealt |
|---|---|
| 0 (equal) | 100% |
| 5 | 140% |
| 10 | 180% |
| 15 | 220% |
| 25 | 300% |
Example
A level 60 Cora hitting a level 55 event mob deals 1.4x her normal damage before any other
modifier. The same Cora at level 50 against a level 60 story boss deals only 27.14% damage.
Extra Notes
- The level multiplier applies inside the main damage pipeline, together with the defense formula (see the Damage Formula page).
- Critical hits, weakness attacks, and buff effects multiply on top of the level result.
- One special game mode skips the level check entirely and uses raw damage, so fixed-power event modes can feel suddenly easier.