Most of the information comes from research by Tonfa and Terence Fergusson.
Damage has several factors.
power = Skill's base (shown in-game)
bonus = Bonus for a hit (such as with the last hit of the final Lv3s)
cSM = "Caster's" STR/MGC
cM = The mood factor to STR/MGC*
cF = Caster's formation bonus for STR/MGC**
tSM = Target's STR/MGC
tV = Target's VIT
tR = Target's Resistance
W = Weakness type bonus, such as OAir
var = A bit of randomness. The damage's variance.
You take both STRs if it is an attack type, and both MGCs if it is a magic type. In no case do you take one of each.
From here, the information is all from Terence Fergusson and Tonfa.
*The mood factor is applied to the attacker's STR/MGC. If a positive mood, then add Chapternumber to the attacker's STR/MGC. If a negative mood, then it adds negative Chapternumber to the attacker's STR/MGC. The defender's mood does not matter.
**The Formation bonus is also equal to chapter. It's a MGC boost for Magic formation and STR for Attack Formation. It's also equal to the chapter number. Only for the player's skills.
maximum[(cSM + cM + cF -tSM), 0]
Bah, I don't understand it.
http://boards.gamefaqs.com/gfaqs/genmessag...23777070&page=0Post 76 and 77 explain it.