I'll ignore DSM's insults and provocations. I just saved a big rewrite of the combat section of that page. Now it's organized starting with the simplest (weapon ratios) all the way down to the EQEmu codebase explanation.
I also found a way to simplify the max damage calculation:
Mod = (2/3 * Strength + Weapon Skill + atk - Minus Factor + 150)/100
This works as long as strength/skill/atk values aren't high enough to cap the modifier value. Comparing across all the examples:
Code:
Simple Full Actual
SK 2h 258 257 258
Shaman 1h 91 84 84
Monk throwing 29 29 30
SK archery 152 152 155
Monk tstaff 146 146 144
Monk epic 44 44 44
Monk IFS 173 173 171
SK 1h 126 126 127
25 wurmy 76 76 76
24 cleric pwc 51 50 49
The only one where it doesn't hold is the shaman with avatar.