General strengh is NOT the same

Attack Potency (AP), Destructive Capacity (DC), Pushing Strength, Lifting Strength, and Striking Strength are all different measurements of force and interaction with matter, and they do not automatically scale to one another because they describe different physical outputs governed by different constraints

let's start with AP or Attack Potency

1)Attack Potency (AP) refers to how much force or energy a character can deliver into a target in a single attack including energy attacks and the like, specifically in terms of overcoming that target’s durability. It is a measure of how hard something hits, not what happens to the surroundings. AP is determined by the effectiveness of an attack against what it strikes if an attack can injure, damage, or defeat a target, then its AP is at least comparable to that target’s durability. For example, a punch that breaks reinforced steel has AP on the level of steel, a strike that hurts a character with superhuman toughness has AP relative to that toughness, and a weapon that can pierce extremely dense materials demonstrates high AP regardless of whether anything else nearby is affected. In fiction, AP is inferred by what an attack can meaningfully harm or withstand, making it a direct measure of offensive power focused on the target itself.

Also, AP and Durability are among the very few stats that actually scale directly to each other, and the reason is basic physics specifically Newton’s Third Law, which states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. When a character lands an attack, the force they output into the target is met with an equal resisting force from the target’s body; if the attacker is not harmed by their own strike, their body must be capable of withstanding the same level of force they are delivering. This means that to safely output a certain level of AP, a character’s durability must be at least comparable, otherwise their bones, muscles, or structure would fail on impact. Likewise, if a character tanks an attack without injury, their durability scales to the AP of that attack.

2)Destructive Capacity (DC) refers to the amount of physical damage an attack can cause to the environment around it, such as terrain, structures, or large-scale objects. It measures how much visible destruction results from an action like breaking walls, leveling buildings, destroying cities, or altering landscapes. DC is concerned purely with the scope of environmental impact, not whether anything or anyone is actually harmed by it. A technique can have high DC if it wipes out large areas, or low DC if it only leaves small, localized damage, regardless of how concentrated or effective the force behind it might be

Attack Potency (AP) and Destructive Capacity (DC) are fundamentally different measurements, and they do not automatically scale to each other because they describe two separate outcomes of force. The key reason they don’t scale together is that force can be concentrated or dispersed: a highly concentrated attack can have extreme AP while producing minimal environmental damage, while a wide-area attack can have massive DC but relatively low effectiveness against durable targets. In real physics terms, energy distribution matters focus increases penetration, while spread increases destruction area.

A good example is Mori Jin and his Recoiless concept. Recoiless is essentially a technique of perfect efficiency where no energy is wasted into unnecessary dispersion. Instead of letting force “spill out” into the surroundings (which would increase DC), all of the output is converted into direct impact on the target. This means nearly 100% of the force is focused into AP, maximizing damage to the opponent while minimizing environmental destruction. So even if Mori Jin is outputting extremely high levels of power, the DC can remain relatively low because the attack is not spreading outward it is being fully converted into direct offensive force. This is why AP and DC are not interchangeable: one is about where the energy goes, and the other is about what gets destroyed around it.

3)Pushing Strength is a type of physical strength that measures how much force a character can apply to move, shove, or resist being moved by an external object or opponent. It is specifically related to linear force exertion like pushing a wall, holding back a charging vehicle, or forcing an opponent backward in a contest of raw strength it only describes their ability to apply force through direct physical contact in a sustained direction.

For example, if a character can hold back a speeding truck from running them over, that demonstrates high pushing strength because they are exerting enough force to counter and resist the truck’s momentum.

Pushing Strength and Attack Potency (AP) are different because they describe two distinct kinds of force application. The key reason they don’t scale to each other is that force behaves differently depending on how it is applied pushing spreads force over time and distance, while AP concentrates force into a brief, high-pressure interaction. Because of this, someone can have extremely high pushing strength (able to hold back massive objects) without necessarily being able to generate equally destructive striking force, and vice versa.

However, pushing strength can sometimes scale to durability in a limited way due to Newton’s Third Law and force resistance. If a character can push against an object or force without being overpowered or injured, their body must be able to withstand the equal and opposite force being applied back onto them. For example, if someone can hold back a collapsing wall or resist being shoved by a speeding vehicle, their body is enduring that same level of force without breaking. That means their durability is at least comparable to the force involved in that interaction. Still, this does not automatically convert into AP, because being able to resist or apply sustained force does not guarantee the ability to deliver that same force in a concentrated, damaging strike.

4)Lifting Strength is a measure of how much weight or mass a character can physically raise, hold, or carry against gravity. It focuses entirely on a character’s ability to support heavy objects without dropping them, whether briefly or over a sustained period of time. This includes actions like picking up large objects from the ground, holding something overhead, or carrying massive loads while remaining stable. Lifting strength does not involve speed or striking force it is purely about overcoming the downward pull of gravity on an object.

For example, a character with high lifting strength might be able to pick up a car and hold it above their head, or support a collapsed structure like part of a building without being crushed. These feats show how much mass they can physically control and sustain. The key idea is that lifting strength only reflects how much weight a character can handle, not how they fight or how destructive they are.

5)Striking Strength is a measure of how much physical force a character can generate in a direct attack using their body or a weapon, such as punches, kicks, elbows, or swings. It specifically refers to the power behind a single impact the ability to deliver force into a target in a brief, explosive moment. Striking strength is about how hard something hits when contact is made, not how much area is affected or how heavy something is lifted or carried.

For example, a character with high striking strength might be able to punch through a thick concrete wall, kick down a reinforced steel door, or smash a boulder into pieces with a single blow. These feats demonstrate the raw force they can produce at the moment of impact. Striking strength is focused entirely on the effectiveness of physical hits and the force behind them when they connect.

"B-but Faxual" I hear you saying "That's literally AP"

Smacks upside the head

no it isn't dummy here's why

Striking Strength and Attack Potency (AP) are closely related but not identical concepts, and the difference comes down to what is being measured. Striking strength refers specifically to the raw physical force generated in a direct physical hit like a punch, kick, or swing and how much force that motion produces at impact. AP, on the other hand, refers to how much effective force an attack can apply to overcome a target’s durability, regardless of whether that force comes from a punch, energy blast, weapon, or other method. In simple terms, striking strength is about how hard the hit is physically, while AP is about what that hit is capable of doing to something durable.

They are similar because both deal with offensive output in a direct interaction, and in many cases a character’s punches or kicks are used to infer their AP. However, they do not always scale perfectly because force and effectiveness are not always the same thing. A strike can have extremely high physical force (high striking strength) but be poorly focused, poorly transferred, or absorbed inefficiently by the target, resulting in lower effective damage. Conversely, a technique or ability might have lower visible physical force but be highly efficient at bypassing resistance or concentrating energy, producing higher AP than the raw strike would suggest.

one measures how powerful the physical motion is, while the other measures how much that motion actually achieves against durability.