New World Mechanics: Buffs, Debuffs, And Crowd Control
This is a guide from a series of guides about core New World mechanics. The first guide of this series was about critical chance and critical damage. Today, we will try to join the flats about all buffs, debuffs, crowd control, and damage over time effects.
Disclaimer* Crowd control is a kind of debuff, but these effects deserve to be observed as a specific game design aspect.
Buffs In New World
| Effect | Description | Note |
| Cleanse | Removes and provides immunity to all debuffs. | |
| Empower | Increases attack damage. | 50% is a cap. |
| Fortify | Increases damage absorption. | 50% is a cap. |
| Haste | Increases run and/or sprint speed. | 50% is a cap. The Haste Elixir from the siege armory ignores the cap. |
| Heal | Restores health over time. |
Debuffs In New World
| Effect | Description | Note |
| Slow | Reduces run and/or sprint speed. | 50% is a cap. |
| Rend | Reduces damage absorption. | 30% is a cap. |
| Weaken | Reduces attack damage. | 50% is a cap. |
| Disease | Reduces healing. | 50% is a cap. |
| Exhaust | Reduces stamina regeneration. | |
| Silence | Disables abilities but allows basic attacks. | |
| Root | Disables movement including dodging but allows basic attacks and abilities. | |
| Stun | Disables all actions. | Effect ends early if the target gets hit. |
| Stagger | Disables all actions. | Can be prevented with Grit. Abilities that say they “knock back” function the same as Stagger. |
| Knockdown | Disables all actions. | Can be prevented with Grit, and will make you vulnerable to some attacks that have bonuses against downed opponents |
Crowd Control Effects In New World
Slow, Stun, and Root have durations that can be increased or decreased.
Knockdown and Stagger cannot have their durations increased or decreased, but the duration and animations for these effects are often different from one skill to another.
Increases to Slow, Stun, and Root duration:
1. Medium Armor Bonus (10%)
2. Heavy Armor Bonus (20%)
3. 300 CON (20%)
Decreases to Slow, Stun, and Root duration:
* Armor Perk: Freedom (7.77% per piece at 625 Gearscore).
The Freedom tooltip claims to reduce “Slows, Stuns, and Silences.” There is no information if it affects “Silence”, but it definitely affects Root, despite not mentioning this.
Breakaway Rolls
If you are staggered repeatedly in a short amount of time, the game will grant you a “breakaway roll” that allows you to light roll without collision, even if you are in heavier armor.
This dev post mentions that the intent is to help with stagger locking in PvE, but breakaway rolls also can be triggered in PvP:
Hidden Grit
The following abilities have Grit throughout most or all of the animation even though no Grit is mentioned in the tooltip: Shockwave, Clear Out, Wrecking Ball, Maelstrom (first spin only, and only if No Reprieve perk is taken).
“Attacks Are Uninterruptible”
The game uses the “uninterruptible” phrasing to mean different things.
For Hatchet Berserk (with the Uninterruptible Attacks skill tree perk), “attacks are uninterruptible” just means you have Grit. You can still be stunned while attacking (and, therefore, your attacks are not uninterruptible).
For Rapier Riposte (with the Insult to Injury skill tree perk), “attacks become uninterruptible” is actually true, and you can’t even be stunned while attacking. This ability is the only thing in the game, as far as I know, that will prevent you from being stunned.
Source: morrolantv.com
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