Debuff

This article explains the mechanics of debuffs (i.e. negative effects) in Arknights.

Attributes[]

There are two types of attribute debuffs: multiplier and direct.

Multiplier[]

Multiplier debuffs reduce the corresponding value by a set percentage which stacks multiplicatively with each other, calculated by the following formula:

$a = 1 - [(1 - x_1) \times (1 - x_2) \times \dots ~ (1 - x_n)]$

Where:

a represents the final multiplier debuff.
x represents the value of each multiplier debuff.
n represents the scaling multiplier debuff's count (1st, 2nd, etc.).

For example, the interaction of Meteor's Armor Breaker and Pramanix's Natural Deterrent would be calculated by the following method, assuming that both is at Level 7 (to simplify the calculation, the percentages are converted into decimals):

${\displaystyle \begin{align} a = 1 - [(1 - 0.3) \times (1 - 0.45)] \\[1em] a = 1 - [0.7 \times 0.55] \\[1em] a = 1 - 0.385 \\[1em] a = 0.615 \end{align}}$

As the result, an enemy affected by both Armor Breaker and Natural Deterrent at Level 7 will have their DEF reduced by 61.5%, rounded up to 62%.

Direct[]

Direct debuffs reduce the corresponding attribute by a fixed amount that is subtracted directly from the original values before the multiplier debuff(s) are applied.

Damage amplification[]

Damage amplifications, as its name suggests, increases the corresponding type of damage taken by a set percentage which stacks multiplicatively with each other, calculated by the following formula:

$a = (1 + x_1) \times (1 + x_2) \times \dots ~ (1 + x_n)$

Where:

a represents the final amplification.
x represents the value of each amplification.
n represents the amplification's count (1st, 2nd, etc.).

For example, the interaction between Saria's Calcification and Skyfire's Arts Sniper would be calculated by the following method, assuming that the former is at Level 7 and the latter is the Elite 2 version (to simplify the calculation, the percentages are converted into decimals):

${\displaystyle \begin{align} a = (1 + 0.4) \times (1 + 0.15) \\[1em] a = 1.4 \times 1.15 \\[1em] a = 1.61 \end{align}}$

As the result, an enemy affected by both Level 7 Calcification and Elite 2 Arts Sniper will take 61% more Arts damage.

Against enemies[]

Operator	Skill/talent	Range/target	Value
Carnelian	Mark of Gluttony	Enemies hit by Carnelian's attacks while active	20% from Carnelian's attacks, can stack additively to 100%
Saria	Calcification	□　　　　　□□□　　　□□□□□　 □□□■□□□ 　□□□□□　　　□□□　　　　　□	Arts L1-L3: 20% L4-L6: 30% L7: 40% M1: 45% M2: 50% M3: 55%
Sesa	Vulnerability Deconstruction	Blocked enemies while Sesa is deployed	Physical E1: 7% E2: 15% P5: +2%
Skyfire	Arts Sniper	Blocked enemies while Skyfire is deployed	Arts E1: 7% E2: 15% P5: +3%
W	Insult to Injury	Stunned enemies within attack range	18% (+3% P5) Physical

Interference Mines apply a 50% damage amplification to all damage types on enemies caught in its detonation.

Against friendlies[]

Operator	Skill/talent	Range/target	Value
Quartz	All-Out Clash	Self while active	25%

Fragile[]

Main article: Fragile

Other debuffs[]

Debuff	Information
Bind	(Enemies only) Cannot move.
Critically Wounded	(Enemies only) Speed reduced by 80%, cannot be blocked, and will automatically be defeated after 10 seconds. If Critically Wounded targets are defeated before they expire, the attacker gains some SP.
Levitate	(Enemies only) Disables the unit and makes them treated as an aerial target. Only lasts for half as long if the enemy's weight is higher than 3.
Silence	(Enemies only) Prevents the use of abilities with certain exceptions.
Sleep	(Enemies only) The unit is disabled but are invulnerable.
Slow	(Enemies only) Speed reduced by 80%.
Weightless	(Enemies only) Reduces weight by 1; multiple instances of Weightless do not stack.

Distance-based damage[]

Certain methods apply a debuff on enemies which causes them to take damage based on how far they move in a similar manner to Bloodseeker's Rupture in Defense of the Ancients; while under the debuff, the distance the enemy move is checked every 0.066 seconds and they will take damage per 1 tile moved if the enemy moves between a distance check (no damage will be dealt if the enemy does not move between a distance check).

Operator	Skill	Damage per tile	Duration
Nightmare	Night Phantom	1200 Pure	L1-L3: 5 seconds (~75 checks) L4-L6: 6 seconds (~90 checks) L7: 7 seconds (~106 checks) M1: 8 seconds (~121 checks) M2: 9 seconds (~136 checks) M3: 10 seconds (~151 checks)
Weedy	Liquid Nitrogen Cannon	1200 Pure	L1-L3: 4 seconds (~60 checks) L4-L6: 5 seconds (~75 checks) L7-M1: 6 seconds (~90 checks) M2: 7 seconds (~106 checks) M3: 8 seconds (~121 checks)

With the HOK-X Operator Module, Hookmaster Specialists apply a distance-based damage debuff to enemies being dragged by their skills which deals 800 Arts damage per tile.

Originally it was possible for an enemy under distance-based damage debuffs to take damage should they are moved from a Tunnel Entrance to the corresponding Tunnel Exit between a distance check, which can be used to trivialize certain enemies if the distance between the Entrance and Exit is far enough. An update fixed this by making the debuff deal no damage if the enemy is moved more than 4 tiles between a distance check; the maximum distance that enemies can be shifted is 3.4 tiles, so moving an enemy past 4 tiles is only possible if the enemy is warped through Tunnels or scripted events.