DPA

Abbreviation

Damage Per Activation Time

1. The amount of damage done by an attack, divided by the length of time for the attack animation to display on screen (aka the "activation" or "casting" time). Also called DPCS, or Damage Per Cast Second.
2. A metric used to compare the effectiveness of two powers, now preferred over the older Brawl Index.

DPA differs from DPS in that it neglects Recharge time. Once a character has achieved a full Attack Chain without recharge gaps, DPA is the more useful measure.