[Mini-Guide] Making Yourself Stronger With Debuffs!

[Xenocho]

Good day to you. I'm Remmystarr or Xenocho, as you may know me.

I would like to share an important aspect in the current meta of Dragon Nest for PVE, which is the application of debuffs. As I could not find such information on the forum, I thought of doing a write up myself. As I am quite experienced with the mechanics of Dragon Nest, I feel that I am able to contribute to the forum and make the forum and overall player base better. Therefore, I hereby present my mini-guide on debuffs.

Disclaimer:

19th Jan 2019: Firstly, I'd like to apologise for not updating this guide thoroughly. Currently, the meta changed to debuffs being overwritten by the last cast, regardless of level, so you can ignore the whole section on level priority for debuffs (a bit more detail will be added in that section but it is not significant).

The information compiled here are based on information obtained from Skill Simulators, peers as well as personal tests. The descriptions provided are based on personal experience and advice from peers.

In this write-up, the follow debuffs have been excluded due to uniqueness to class and not considered a general debuff applied:
Burn (Fire skills, Sorceress and Fire skills, Alchemists) Time Stop (Time Stop and Time Dodge, Force Users), Slow (Slow Area, Force Users and Frostbite, Elestra and Cling Snake, Screamers), Electrocution (from lightning skills, Clerics), Bind (from Bind Relic and Holy Bolt, Clerics and Bubble Bubble, Academics), Wax (from Wax, Academics), Poison (Poison Pool, Sorceress and Poison skills, Physician), Dark Burn (Abyss Walker skills, Bringers), Invulnerable Point (Class Mastery I, Flurry) and so on.

Acknowledgements:

I would like to thank the people whom have contributed in the guide, in terms of discussion on classes, discussion on calculations, discussions on format, contributions in writings and information, as well as general support for the idea. If you have been contacted by me regarding any of these matters, thank you very much. In addition, contribution for ideas on this thread are also vital in the improvement of this write-up as a whole. I truly appreciate your help in making this work out.

With that out of the way, let's begin. I hope you enjoy.


What are debuffs?
- As buffs are beneficial stats applied to characters, debuffs are the opposite, which are negative effects applied on characters. In the context of this guide, debuffs refer to negative stats applied onto monsters/bosses.
- The negative stats of the debuffs of Dragon Nest at the moment increases the damage received by the targets. These can be directly or indirectly and are separated into the categories shown below:

1. Damage debuff: Target receives 20% more damage, applied to both magical and physical damage
2. Elemental debuff: Target elemental resistance reduced by 20%, applies to skills which deal elemental damage only
3. Critical resist debuff: Reduces a target's critical resistance by 20%, increasing the chance of critical hits
4. Ice debuff: Target receives 20% more damage, applied to both magical and physical damage
5. Reduce ATK debuff: Reduces a target's damage output by 20%, applies only to attacks made by the debuffed target
6. Curse: Target elemental resistance reduced by up to 6%, applies to skills which deal elemental damage only

- The above summarises the categories of debuffs. Therefore, each class would have one or more of skills which apply the different categories of debuffs above.
- Each debuff applied has an icon on the boss (except for Reduce ATK debuff, CMIIW), as shown below:

Side note: editing these images and constantly observing the Golem's face invoked some sympathy in me

Why should I cast debuffs?
- Damage increment following the application of debuffs are factorial, increasing by 20% for each debuff applied. Due to this method of damage calculation, the more debuffs applied, the higher your damage will become.
- Refer to below for an example of calculations:

Remmystarr casts Magma Punch (fire elemental skill) on Manticore (0% elemental resistance):
(No debuff) Magma Punch deals 100,000 damage.

In most situations, the applications of Damage and Ele debuffs would usually result in 44% damage increment:
(Damage)Magma Punch deals 100,000 × 120% = 120,000 damage
(Damage,Ele) Magma Punch deals 100,000 × 120% × 120% =144,000 damage

Under 8 man parties, the applications of Curse and/or Ice debuffs can result in up to 81.4% damage increment:
(Damage,Ele,Ice) Magma Punch deals 100,000 × 120% × 120% × 120% = 172,800 damage
(Damage,Ele,Curse) Magma Punch deals 100,000 × 120% × 126% = 152,000 damage
(Damage,Ele,Ice,Curse) Magma Punch deals 100,000 × 120% × 120% × 135% = 181,440 damage

Notes:
- Ele reduces elemental resistance by -20% while Curse reduces elemental resistance by -6%; in total, -26% elemental resistance and resulting in +26% damage in calculations (refer to Slight elaboration on some debuffs below)

When do you use debuffs?
- Debuffs are best used before the start of DPS windows, in order to maximise the damage of each following skill used. Always ensure that debuffs are present on the boss.
- In cases where many players are present, usually support classes or classes with better debuffs should be applying the debuffs.
- It is recommended that all players constantly apply debuffs, similar to solo-play; players may not be required to cast debuffers only if in experienced raid parties with proper task division.

[Xenocho]

Slight elaboration on some debuffs:
1. What is and how does elemental debuff work?
- The effectiveness of elemental debuff depends on the elemental resistance (ele resist) of the target. Ele resist are stats present on the monsters which reduce the damage received for that particular element by a certain %. For most cases, ele resist of monsters are at 0% but it varies for raids (refer to the boss stats here).
- For cases where ele resist is 0%, the application of ele debuff reduces ele resist to -20%, which increases the total damage by 20% as shown below:

- In addition, the effect is more significant if the elemental resistance is above 0%. The comparison below shows the effect of elemental resist debuffs for bosses in Rune HC, which has 30% elemental resistance:

- In summary, elemental debuffs are one of the key debuffs, especially in raids and should be applied always.

2. What is and how does critical resist debuff work?
- Critical resist are stats present on monsters which reduce the chance of players dealing a critical hit on them. Critical resist debuffs reduce these stat values, increasing the chance of players dealing a crit and are most effective when critical resist is high.
- The calculations below show how they work, based on the highest critical resistance found, which is in Deep Sea Dragon Nest (Hard Core) at 40% (39.68% actually):
- Calculations for the effect of boss critical resistance on player critical chance, and the influence of the critical resist reduction debuff are as shown:

- Using the values of the critical chances, the values are converted into total damage output based on the critical damage stat of players:

- The effect of critical resist debuff is also compared for Rune Dragon Nest HC for players dealing with end-game content:

- Lastly, for anyone interested in the a table comparing critical chances, critical damage and effective critical damage output, you may check out this table, which I hope is helpful:

- In summary, the critical damage debuff increases the critical chance of players by a small margin, thereby increasing the player's total damage output as well.
- Higher critical damage results in a larger damage output following the application of critical resist debuffs.
- It can be said that critical resist is not significant in the current raids but is useful in some of the current nests.

3. Can debuffs stack?
- In the current meta, debuffs from the same category will not stack; only one debuff from each category can be present on the boss at all times. Casting two damage debuff will still provide only 20% bonus damage.
- Only in ONE situation does it stack: Light Fury's Unseen Art 5% damage debuff stacks with the 20% damage debuff, resulting in 25% total damage debuff.
- Due to the system above, debuffs like Ice and Curse are unique and may be wanted by parties due to providing additional damage as an additional debuff to the entire party.
- When 90 cap was introduced, EX debuff skills were applied as unique and independent debuffs, allowing them to stack within the same category. However, this was fixed and does not work anymore.

4. What are overwriting debuffs and how does it work?
- In the current meta, debuffs may be replaced by another debuff in the same category, regardless of skill level.
- Players should always cast their desired debuff prior to using a high damage skill to ensure that their debuff is present (in case a recently cast debuff has a short duration).

- 19th Jan 2019: The information below is outdated but I will leave this here to explain how it works in the past.
- Previously, debuffs can only be replaced by another debuff if the skill level of the debuff cast is higher.
- The condition for the replacement of this debuff is that the skill level of the debuff must be equal or higher than the skill level of the debuff applied earlier. Examples are as shown below:

Case 1:
Archer casts Bullseye Lv 1 to apply damage debuff on Aisha.
Aisha currently has a damage debuff which lasts 60 seconds.
Warrior casts Provoking Slam Lv 3 to apply damage debuff on Aisha.
Aisha currently has a damage debuff which lasts 10 seconds.
= In this case, the debuff applied by Archer was replaced by the debuff applied by Warrior because Provoking Slam Lv 3 has a higher level than Bullseye Lv 1.
Case 2:
Archer casts Bullseye Lv 6 to apply damage debuff on Aisha.
Aisha currently has a damage debuff which lasts 60 seconds.
Warrior casts Provoking Slam Lv 3 to apply damage debuff on Aisha.
Aisha currently has a damage debuff which lasts 60 seconds.
= In this case, the debuff applied by Archer was not replaced by the debuff applied by Warrior because Provoking Slam Lv 3 has a lower level than Bullseye Lv 6.

- Despite the example, do not raise debuff skills to high levels unless they are DPS skills. Many classes face SP limitations and this is probably the worst way to waste them.
- While overwriting debuffs usually occur in parties, it is not of significance except for special cases, such as Shooting Star's damage and ele debuff (described below). Therefore, do not worry about it.

Summary of all classes and their debuffing potentials
- 19th Jan 2019: The information below is outdated for some of the classes so please take it with a pinch of salt. I have not been updating it but it should be accurate for most classes.
- The image below is a compilation of all the debuffers present across all classes, which makes comparisons easier for selecting DPS or support characters for a raid party.
- This list does not take into consideration whether the particular class/skill is good or bad in debuffing. Please refer to the class-specific description to find out more.
- PSA: Please try not to be too picky for nests as they are relatively easy with less punishing mechanics and attacks. Be kind to all players, especially if you are geared, to create a more positive community.

Before moving on to the class-specific with more details, I'll introduce the format used in this write-up:

• Skill: Name of skill that applies debuff onto the boss
• Sustainable? The comparison of duration vs CD to determine if debuff is present on boss at 100% of the time.
• Skill used in DPS rotation? Whether the skill is normally cast as part of the DPS rotation. If not, the class will need to cast it as an additional skill before or during DPS rotations

- If information is described as 'It depends,' further details are listed in description for elaboration. Additional descriptions are also provided as elaboration for further understanding of the skill and its usage.

[Xenocho]

-Reserved space

[Xenocho]

Warrior
Gladiator
1. Damage debuff
Skill: Provoking Slam
Sustainable? No [Duration: 9s | Cooldown: 21s]
Skill used in DPS rotation? It depends
- A skill with relatively low damage with fast cast.
- Not a very high damage skill (usually left at Lvl 1) and therefore may not often be used unless no other damage debuffers are present.
- Some Gladiator players already have a habit of casting this skill, therefore can be said to be 'included in DPS rotations.'
- If better damage debuffers are present, avoid casting to prevent overwrite due to poor sustainability of debuff.

2. Crit debuff
Skill: Front Shove EX
Sustainable? Yes [Duration: 10s | Cooldown: 13s | Refer below]
Skill used in DPS rotation? Yes
- One of the key skills used in the DPS rotation.
- Can be sustainable due to availability to reset CD every 3s with Evasion Slash (depends on playstyle).
- Due to being used off CD whenever possible, the crit debuff is usually always present with a Gladiator in party.
- Considered as one of the better crit debuffers due to constant availability.

Moonlord
1. Damage debuff
Skill: Provoking Slam
Sustainable? Yes [Duration: 10s | Cooldown: 9s]
Skill used in DPS rotation? Yes
- One of the key skills used in the DPS rotations and is cast off CD.
- Due to being used off CD whenever possible, the DMG debuff is usually always present with a Moonlord in party.
- Considered as one of the better damage debuffers due to constant availability.

2. Crit debuff
Skill: Cyclone Slash EX
Sustainable? Yes [Duration: 10s | Cooldown: 6s]
Skill used in DPS rotation? Yes
- One of the key skills used in the DPS rotations and is cast off CD.
- Cyclone which remains on field also refreshes crit debuff duration, extending duration further.
- Due to being used off CD whenever possible, the crit debuff is usually always present with a Moonlord in party.
- Considered as one of the better crit debuffers due to constant availability.

Barbarian
1. Damage debuff
Skill: Taunting Howl
Sustainable? Yes [Duration: 10s | Cooldown: 10s]
Skill used in DPS rotations? No
- A skill with relatively low damage with fast cast.
- While this skill is not used in DPS rotations, it is easy to use due to fast cast time.
- Recommended to use to off CD debuff bosses unless better damage debuffers are present.


Destroyer
1. Damage debuff
Skill: Taunting Howl
Sustainable? Yes [Duration: 10s | Cooldown: 10s]
Skill used in DPS rotations? No
- A skill with relatively low damage with fast cast.
- While this skill is not used in DPS rotations, it is easy to use due to fast cast time.
- Recommended to use to off CD debuff bosses unless better damage debuffers are present.

2. Reduce ATK debuff
Skill: Maelstrom Howl
Sustainable? Yes [Duration: 20s | Cooldown: 5s]
Skill used in DPS rotations? Yes
- Skill with decent damage and large AoE, making it easy to hit the boss and apply a rare debuff to reduce the attack power of the boss.
- Depending on playstyle, the reduce atk debuff is usually always present with a Destroyer in party.
- Recommended to be used off CD.
- Considered one of the better reduce ATK debuff due to constant availability.

Dark Avenger
1. Damage debuff
Skill: [Nightmare] Dark Stinger
Sustainable? Yes [Duration: 10s | Cooldown: 7s]
Skill used in DPS rotation? Yes
- One of the key skills used in the DPS rotation.
- Available only when transformed into the Dark Avenger.
- Similar to the Front Shove of Sword Masters and often used as first skill.
- Considered as one of the better damage debuffers due to constant availability.

2. Ele debuff
Skill: Soul Cutter
Sustainable: Yes [Duration: 15s | Cooldown: 25s | Refer below]
Skill used in DPS rotations? No
- A skill with relatively long cast time and low damage.
- Sustainable use due to Soul Cutter INS with Class Mastery 2 which does not share CD with the original skill.
- Slow cast time and not used in DPS rotation causes slight inconvenience for DA to use. This effect is slightly reduced with Harmonize present in party, which reduces the level of inconvenience.
- Recommended to be used only when no other ele debuffer is present in party due to focus of DA as DPS.


Archers
Snipers
1. Damage debuff
Skill: Bullseye
Sustainable? Yes [Duration:60s | Cooldown: 10s]
Skill used in DPS rotations? No
- A skill with very short cast time and almost no damage at all.
- Very useful skill due to combination of long duration, short cooldown and fast cast.
- Although not part of DPS rotations for Bow Masters, Bullseye is still often always used.
- Additional debuff icons also appear on boss if Bullseye is present, serving as a reliable indicator whether boss has been debuffed with Bullseye or not. Bullseye does not show the standard damage debuff icon:
- Strongly recommended for Bow Masters to use Bullseye to apply danage debuff on the boss.
- Considered as of of the better damage debuffers due to constant availability plus benefits listed above.



2. Crit debuff
Skill: Aerial Chain Shot EX
Sustainable? No [Duration: 10s | Cooldown: 12s]
Skill used in DPS rotations? It depends
- A skill with decent damage and average casting time.
- Not sustainable due to downtime of 2s and not reduced by [Awakening Passive] Siege Stance
- Usually considered as decent Stomp-saviour skill.
- May or may not be applied in DPS rotations, depending on playstyle. Some Snipers ignore the skill due to awkward movement and low damage of the skill, in addition to better DPS skills available.
- Not recommended to be considered as crit debuff skill due to the availability of the debuff strongly depends on the Sniper's playstyle.

Artillery
1. Damage debuff
Skill: Bullseye
Sustainable? Yes [Duration: 60s | Cooldown: 10s]
Skill used in DPS rotations? No
- A skill with very short cast time and almost no damage at all.
- Very useful skill due to combination of long duration, short cooldown and fast cast.
- Although not part of DPS rotations for Bow Masters, Bullseye is still often always used.
- Additional debuff icons also appear on boss if Bullseye is present, serving as a reliable indicator whether boss has been debuffed with Bullseye or not. Bullseye does not show the standard damage debuff icon (refer below).
- Strongly recommended for Bow Masters to use Bullseye to apply danage debuff on the boss.
- Considered as of of the better damage debuffers due to constant availability plus benefits listed above.



2. Crit debuff
Skill: Rapid Shot EX
Sustainable? No [Duration: 10s | Cooldown: 13s]
Skill used in DPS rotations? Yes
- One of the key skills used in the DPS rotation.
- Almost always present due to Rapid Shot EX being a key skill for Artillery DPS rotation.
- Not sustainable due to 3s downtime despite being cast off CD for DPS.
- Usage depends on the playstyle but is usually recommended to be cast off CD for DPS rotation.

Tempest
1. Damage debuff
Skill: Binding Shot EX
Sustainable? Yes [Duration: 10s | Cooldown: 11s | Refer below]
Skill used in DPS rotations? Yes
- A skill with decent damage and is often included in DPS rotations.
- Almost always present due to Binding Shot EX being one of the key skill for Tempest DPS rotation.
- Not sustainable due to 1s downtime if used with no other buffs.
- Usually sustainable due to constant uptime of Spirit Boost buff, reducing CD of this skill to 6.6s only.
- Usage depends on the playstyle but is often reliable in reapplying damage debuff.
- Can be considered as one of the better damage debuffers due to constant use in DPS rotations.

2. Crit debuff
Skill: Circle Shot
Sustainable? No [Duration: 10s | Cooldown: 14s]
Skill used in DPS rotations? No
- A skill primarily designed as an emergency i-frame with air-time.
- Not sustainable due to 4s downtime.
- Usage depends on playstyle if the skill is kept for emergency use.
Windwalker
1. Damage debuff
Skill: Blooming Kick EX
Sustainable? Yes [Duration: 10s | Cooldown: 10s]
Skill used in DPS rotations? Yes
- A high priority DPS skill, which is often used off CD and with sufficient Air Current.
- Blooming Kick EX and the AC version do not share CD, allowing constant application of DMG debuff.
- Due to being used off CD whenever possible, the damage debuff is usually always present with a WW in party.
- Considered as one of the better damage debuffers due to constant availability.

2. Crit debuff
Skill: Circle Shot
Sustainable? No [Duration: 10s | Cooldown: 14s]
Skill used in DPS rotations? No
- A skill primarily designed as an emergency i-frame with air-time.
- Not sustainable due to 4s downtime
- Usage depends on playstyle if the skill is kept for emergency use
- Not recommended to be use as an emergency skill for Windwalkers, but rather used to setup for positioning and/or DPS rotation.

Silver Hunter
1. Damage debuff
Skill: Rising Wind
Sustainable? No [Duration: 10s | Cooldown: 14s / 28s ]
Skill used in DPS rotations? Yes
- One of the key skills used in the DPS rotations and is cast off CD most of the time
- Not sustainable due to having 4s downtime (due to being Transformed most of the time, the CD of the skill is usually 14s).

1. Ice debuff
Skill: Trap Master, Trapper
Sustainable? It depends [Duration: 5s | Cooldown: 30s | Refer below]
Skill used in DPS rotations? No
- A trap skill which has 40% chance of casting Freeze on a target for approximately 5s
- Skill has long cooldown but can set up to 10 traps, making it potentially possible to trigger the traps 1 by 1 to freeze it. Realistically, this situation has too many assumptions to make it work and therefore not feasible/practical.
- Use of trap skills contradict with the playstyles of Silver Hunters due to constant air-mode and also usually not learnt due to SP limitations
- Not recommended to consider Silver Hunter as a possible ice debuffer and should focus on the role of DPS.

[Xenocho]

Sorceress
Saleana
1. Ele debuff
Skill: Phoenix Storm
Sustainable? No [Duration: 10s | Cooldown: 18s]
Skill used in DPS rotation? Yes
- One of the key skills used in Saleana's DPS rotation and is not usually cast as the first skill
- Not sustainable due to downtime of approximately 8s.
- Advisible to be left at Lv 1 to prevent overwrite of other better Ele debuffs.
- Usage of the skill depends on the Saleana's playstyle and should not be considered as a proper ele debuffer

2. Crit debuff
Skill: Inferno EX
Sustainable? No [Duration: 10s | Cooldown: 16s]
Skill used in DPS rotation? Yes
- One of the key skills used in Saleana's DPS rotation and usually used as the first skill.
- Can be cancelled early with left click while still applying both Crit debuff and [Burn] status.
- Recommended to start off DPS rotations with Inferno.

Elestra
1. Ele debuff
Skill: Phoenix Storm
Sustainable? No [Duration: 10s | Cooldown: 18s]
Skill used in DPS rotation? No
- A support skill with low damage to apply Ele debuff
- Not sustainable due to downtime of approximately 8s.
- Should be left at Lv 1 to prevent overwrite of other better ele debuffs.
- Recommended to be cast off CD only if no other ele debuffers are present.

2. Ice debuff
Skill: Ice Sphere
Sustainable? It depends [Duration: 8s | Cooldown: 25s | Refer below]
Skill used in DPS rotation? Yes
- A support skill with low damage which is guaranteed to apply ice debuff due to large number of hits of the skill.
- Not sustainable despite travel time of Ice Sphere which may extend duration to 12s, resulting of a downtime of approximately 13s.
- Skill becomes sustainable when Elestra is within Glacial Field and Ice Sphere is cast after the previous one has expired (Glacial Field causes Ice Sphere to have 3 CTC whenever summoned).
- Ice Sphere contributes to frame-lag for most users, especially in raids. This effect is reduced by having only one on the field only at all times.
- Considered as one of the better ice debuffers due to constant availability.

Skill: Glacial Field
Sustainable? No [Duration: 2s | Cooldown: 40s]
Skill used in DPS rotation? Yes
- A support skill which creates a large AoE on the ground with a chance to apply ice debuff on targets while dealing low damage inside every second.
- Large AoE which lasts 20s makes it relatively easy to hit targets and the cast delay of the skill can be cancelled using Freezing Field EXi
- Each hit has 30% chance to apply debuff, with the first 10 hits applied at a higher rate than the remaining 20 hits.
- Not reliable due to low chance of Ice debuff and a downtime of approximately 20s.
- While not reliable on its own, skill is essential precursor to the sustainability of ice debuff from Ice Sphere

Smasher
1. Damage debuff
Skill: Force Mirror EX
Sustainable? It depends [Duration: 12s | Cooldown: 25s]
Skill used in DPS rotation? No
- A support skill which summons a Force Mirror which constantly applies DMG debuff to targets within its AoE every few seconds.
- Sustainable if the Force Mirror is not removed by summon wipes, as the Mirror's last debuff will usually last until Mirror is ready to be summoned again.
- Not sustainable if the Force Mirror is constantly being removed from the field, resulting of downtime of up to 12s.
- Positioning of the mirror is very important. Force Mirror is summoned physically on the field, it may block and prevent melee characters from being able to hit the boss effectively.
- Recommended for Smashers to cast skill before initiating DPS rotations.
- Considered as one of the better damage debuffers due to constant availability.

2. Crit debuff
Skill: Nine Tail Laser
Sustainable? Yes [Duration: 10s | Cooldown: 13s]
Skill used in DPS rotation? Yes
- One of the Smasher's key skills for DPS and fast gathering of [Laser Energy].
- Sustainable due to duration for full skill hits and if Meditation buff (-10% CD) is present together with Class Mastery I (-10% CD), reducing CD to effectively 10.4s.
- Skill is also stored up to 3 CTC which allows constant refresh of crit debuff. However, usage of skill depends on playstyle.
- Due to being used off CD whenever possible, the crit debuff is usually always present with a Smasher in party.
- Considered as one of the better crit debuffers due to constant availability.

Majesty
1. Damage debuff
Skill: Force Mirror
Sustainable? Yes [Duration: 12s | Cooldown: 25s]
Skill used in DPS rotation? No
- A support skill which summons a Force Mirror which constantly applies DMG debuff to targets within its AoE every few seconds.
- For more details, refer to Smasher.
- Majesty may or may not learn this skill depending on the skill build due to skill point limitations.
- Recommended for Majesties to cast skill before initiating DPS rotations.
- Considered as one of the better damage debuffers due to constant availability.

2. Ele debuff
Skill: Gravity Ascension EX
Sustainable? No [Duration: 10s | Cooldown: 24s]
Skill used in DPS rotation? Yes
- A support skill which is applied as an AoE on the field and deals decent damage.
- Skill cast delay can be cancelled with Blink without affecting the skill.
- Debuff is re-applied on each hit and the last hit occurs 6s after cast, extending duration to approximately 16s.
- Not sustainable due to downtime of up to 8s
- Almost sustainable with CD plate (-20% CD) and Meditation (-10% CD) with a CD of 16.8s.
- Recommended for Majesties to include it at the start of DPS rotations.

Black Mara
1. Damage debuff
Skill: Black Mara
Sustainable? It depends [Duration: 15s | Cooldown: 5s | Refer below]
Skilled used in DPS rotations? Yes
- An essential skill used to transform into Black Mara to initiate their DPS rotation.
- Damage debuff may not be available during the time when the Black Mara is not transformed.
- Sustainability heavily depends on playstyle.
- Should not be considered as a reliable damage debuffer for the party.

1. Ele debuff
Skill: Meaningless
Sustainable? Yes [Duration: 60s | Cooldown: 9s]
Skill used in DPS rotation? Depends on playstyle
- A melee-ranged support skill with weak damage to apply ele debuff.
- Very useful debuff due to long duration, short cooldown and fast cast.
- Recommended for Black Maras to include it as the first skill in their DPS rotations.
- Considered as one of the better ele debuffers due to constant availability.


Cleric
Guardian
1. Damage debuff
Skill: Armor Break
Sustainable? No [Duration: 7s | Cooldown: 10s]
Skill used in DPS rotations? Yes
- A relatively low damage but important skill used for debuff, bubble gain and threat generation.
- Not sustainable due to downtime of 3s despite being cast off CD.
- Decent SA so it is not easily cancelled.
- Recommended to be cast off CD.

2. Reduce ATK debuff
Skill: Justice Crash
Sustainable? Yes [Duration: 20s | Cooldown: 14.5s]
Skill used in DPS rotations? Yes
- A high damage skill with i-frame which applies a rare debuff to reduce the attack power of the boss.
- Depending on playstyle, the reduce atk debuff is usually always present with a Guardian in party.
- Recommended to be cast off CD.
- Considered as one of the better reduce ATK debuffers due to constant availability.

Crusader
1. Damage debuff
Skill: Armor Break
Sustainable? No [Duration: 7s | Cooldown: 10s]
Skill used in DPS rotations? No
- A relatively low damage skill which makes the skill used essentially for debuff and threat generation.
- Not sustainable due to downtime of 3s despite being cast off CD.
- Decent SA so it is not easily cancelled.
- Recommended to be cast only if no other damage debuffers are present in the party.

2. Ele debuff
Skill: Holy Relic EX
Sustainable? No [Duration: 10s | Cooldown: 14s]
Skill used in DPS rotations? Yes
- A skill with decent damage and often used in skill rotations for DPS (depending on playstyle).
- Not sustainable due to downtime of 4s despite being cast off CD.
- Holy Orb generated via Awakened Holy Relic does not contribute to ele debuff application.
- Recommended to be cast off CD if no other damage debuffers are present in the party.

Saint
1. Damage debuff
Skill: Bind Relic EX
Sustainable? It depends [Duration: 2s | Relic duration: 27s | Cooldown: 37s]
Skill used in DPS rotations: Yes
- Relic constantly applies debuff until it disappears, allowing the duration to be effectively considered 28s.
- Not sustainable without CD plate or if relics are killed by boss attacks or removed by summon clears, removing the debuff from field.
- May be sustainable with use of CD plate to reduce CD to 29.6s.
- Recommended to be cast even if other damage debuffers are present.

Inquisitor
1. Ele debuff
Skill: Mind Breaker EX
Sustainable? Yes [Duration: 10s | Cooldown: 10s]
Skill used in DPS rotations: Yes
- One of the key skills used in the DPS rotations and is cast off CD.
- Mind Breaker's orb lasts for awhile on the field and may extend duration up to 12s (exact duration untested).
- Due to being used off CD whenever possible, the ele debuff is usually always present with an Inquisitor in party.
- Considered as one of the better ele debuffers due to constant availability and use in DPS rotations.

Arch Heretic
1. Damage debuff
Skill: [Nightmare] Execute
Sustainable? Yes [Duration: 10s | Cooldown: 10s]
Skill used in DPS rotation? It depends.
- A fast casting skill with decent damage.
- Present only when transformed into Arch Heretic.
- May or may not be included in DPS rotation, depending on playstyle.
- Can be considered as one of the better damage debuffers due to constant availability depending on playstyle.

2. Ele debuff
Skill: Evil Hands
Sustainable? It depends [Duration: 10s | Cooldown: 13s | Refer below]
Skill used in DPS rotation? It depends
- A fast casting skill with high damage.
- May or may not be included in DPS rotation, depending on playstyle.
- Not sustainable if used alone.
- Can be sustainable if used with CD plate, reducing CD to 11.2s.
- Can be considered as one of the better ele debuffers due to constant availability depending on playstyle.

[Xenocho]

Kali
Dark Summoner
1. Damage debuff
Skill: Summon Puppet
Sustainability? No [Duration: 10s | Cooldown: 15s]
Skill used in DPS rotation? No
- A support skill which summons a Puppet to apply damage debuff to targets nearby.
- Unsustainable due to downtime of 5s.
- Overall considered unreliable due to short duration and downtime.
- Recommended to be used if no other damage debuffers are present in the party.

2. Crit debuff
Skill: Revenge Hand EX
Sustainability? It depends [Duration: 10s | Cooldown: 18s | Refer below]
Skill used in DPS rotation? Yes
- One of the key skills used in Dark Summoner's DPS rotation.
- Unsustainable due to downtime of 8s.
- Can be considered sustainable with additional hit from [Awakened Passive] and under Phantom Avenger buff (-30% CD), which reduces CD to 12.6s.
- Availability of the debuff varies according to the playstyle of the Dark Summoner.

Soul Eater
1. Damage debuff
Skill: Summon Puppet
Sustainability? No [Duration: 10s | Cooldown: 15s]
Skill used in DPS rotation? No
- A support skill which summons a Puppet to apply damage debuff to targets nearby.
- Unsustainable due to downtime of 5s.
- Overall considered unreliable due to short duration and downtime.
- Recommended to be used if no other damage debuffers are present in the party.

2. Crit debuff
Skill: Soul Scream
Sustainability? No [Duration: 17s | Cooldown: 34s]
Skill used in DPS rotation? It depends
- A support skill which deals relatively lower damage than other SE skills.
- Relatively unique as a crit debuff skill as also increases critical rate of characters attacking the boss (how it works, unconfirmed and untested).
- May be included in DPS rotation as pre-requisite to get enough bubbles for Soul Liberation.
- Unsustainable due to downtime of 17s.
- Usage depends on playstyle as it can be connected to Enhanced Dragon Soul.

3. Curse
A unique debuff which can only be applied by Soul Eaters, which greatly increase their potential as support classes in parties. Each hit from curse-applying skills reduce elemental resist by 5% and is capped at -15% elemental resist max. Curse elemental resist reduction is unique and stacks with the standard ele debuff, reducing elemental resist up to 35% (increasing total damage by 12.5% at 0% target elemental resistance ).

Skill: Spirit Paper
Sustainability? It depends [Duration: 10s | Cooldown: 13s | Refer below]
Skill used in DPS rotation? Yes
- One of the key skills used in the Soul Eater's DPS rotation.
- Applies 3 curse layers very quickly, making this skill very reliable for application of Curse.
- Branding targets with Stigma of Curse cause more birds to appear, which are auto-aimed to the branded targets.
- Unsustainable due to downtime of approximately 2s.
- Can be sustainable with the application of CD reduction via Cling Snake and Cling Snake EXi.
- Recommended to be used off CD.
- Considered as one of the better curse debuffers due to constant availability.

Skill: Summon Totem
Sustainability? No [Duration: 10s | Cooldown: 28s | Refer below]
Skill used in DPS rotation? Yes
- Summon a Totem which deals damage and applies a curse debuff with each hit.
- 3 hits from Totem required befored maximum curse amount is applied, which takes around 6 seconds as it deals approximately 1 hit per 2s.
- Final curse applied by Totem lasts 10 seconds, reducing Curse downtime to only 3s. However, earlier applications of curse will be removed with only 1 curse layer remaining for the last 6 seconds of the buff.
- Less reliable than casting Spirit Paper for Curse application due to speed and sustainability.
- Usage depends on the playstyle of the SE as it improves the damage of some skills.

Blade Dancer
1. Damage debuff
Skill: Mist Step
Sustainability? Yes [Duration: 10s | Cooldown: 18s | Refer below]
Skill used in DPS rotation? No
- A low damage but fast casting skill which applies damage debuff.
- Cooldown can be reduced or reset by increasing up to Lv 9 to have 10s CD or successfully hitting the target, respectively.
- Not usually fit into rotations of Blade Dancers due to availability of other DPS to skills all the time.
- Recommended to be cast every 10s if there are no other damage debuffers in the party.

2. Crit debuff
Skill: Graze Dance EX
Sustainability? It depends [Duration: 10s | Cooldown: 13s | Refer below]
Skill used in DPS rotations? Yes
- One of the key skills used in the Blade Dancer's DPS rotation
- Each hit applies the crit debuff, including the hits from the ball. This extends duration up to 12s.
- Skill casting can be cancelled at any time with other skills, which should only be done after the ball is summoned.
- Not sustainable if cast alone and cast again after cooldown, with a downtime of 1s.
- Can be considered sustainable if playstyles involve resetting the CD of this skill using Squall Flaker or with the collection of 10 Second Turn points, reducing remaining CD by 60%.
- Considered as one of the better crit debuffers due to constant availability but will still vary on the playstyle.

Spirit Dancer
1. Damage debuff
Skill: Mist Step
Sustainability? Yes [Duration: 10s | Cooldown: 18s | Refer below]
Skill used in DPS rotation? No
- A low damage but fast casting skill which applies damage debuff.
- Cooldown can be reduced or reset by increasing up to Lv 9 to have 10s CD or successfully hitting the target, respectively.
- May fit into rotations of Spirit Dancers if all other DPS skills are on cooldown.
- Recommended to be cast every 10s if there are no other damage debuffers in the party.

2. Crit debuff
Skill: Dusk Hunter EX
Sustainability? It depends [Duration: 10s | Cooldown: 11s | Refer below]
Skill used in DPS rotations? Yes
- One of the key skills used in the Spirit Dancer's DPS rotation
- Not sustainable if cast alone and cast again after cooldown, with a downtime of 1s.
- Can be considered sustainable if playstyles reduces CD via Class Mastery system, casting Illusion Dance or saves CTC to ensure constant debuff.
- Considered as one of the better crit debuffers due to constant availability but will still depend on the playstyle.

[Xenocho]

Academic
Shooting Star
1. Damage debuff
Skill: [Awakened] Biochemical Missile EX
Sustainable? Yes [Duration: 13s | Cooldown: 0s]
Skill used in DPS rotation? No
- A skill with relatively lower damage but is always available due to 0 CD system of SS skills.
- Awakened passive gives 2nd explosion, which refreshes the 10s debuff duration, extending it to 13s total.
- 15% additional damage given to the SS due to Awakened passive skill.
- Due to being available always, the damage debuff is usually always present with an SS in party.
- For the benefit of SS, not recommended for other damage debuffers to overwrite this debuff applied by the SS.
- Considered as one of the better damage debuffers due to constant availability.

2. Ele debuff
Skill: [Awakened] Chemical Grenade
Sustainable? Yes [Duration: 18s | Cooldown: 15s]
Skill used in DPS rotation? Yes
- A skill with low damage but essential in SS DPS rotation to activate Mine Thrower EXi.
- Awakened Passive reduces CD from 20s to 15s, ensuring sustainability.
- 15% additional damage given to the SS due to Awakened passive skill.
- Due to being used off CD whenever possible, the ele debuff is usually always present with an SS in party.
- For the benefit of SS, not recommended for other ele debuffers to overwrite this debuff applied by the SS.
- Considered as one of the better ele debuffers due to constant use off CD.

Gear Master
1. Damage debuff
Skill: Big Mecha Bomber EX
Sustainable? It depends [Duration: 10s | Cooldown: 24s]
Skill used in DPS rotation? Yes
- One of the key DPS skills of a GM which is also present as EXi skill and usually used off CD.
- Proper usage of skill can apply DMG debuff before applying full hit damage.
- Not sustainable due to downtime of 4s, even with the availability of BMB EXi.
- Potentially sustainable with CD plate, which reduces CD to 19.6s. However, it is very unlikely that BMB is applied 10s after another in practical situations.
- Usage depends on playstyle and is not recommended to be considered as a damage debuffer for the party.

2. Ele debuff
Skill: Chemical Grenade
Sustainable? No [Duration: 18s | Cooldown: 20s]
Skill used in DPS rotation? No
- A skill with low damage to apply ele debuff.
- Not sustainable due to 1s downtime.
- Sustainable if running with Meditation buff in party (-10% CD from Sorceress), reducing CD to 18s.
- Recommended to be cast off CD.
- Considered as one of the better ele debuffers with Meditation buff in party.

Adept
1. Ele debuff
Skill: Magma Punch
Sustainable? Yes [Duration: 10s | Cooldown: 7s]
Skill used in DPS rotations? Yes
- One of the key skills used in the DPS rotations and is cast off CD most of the time.
- Due to being used off CD whenever possible, the ele debuff is usually always present with an Adept in party.
- Considered as one of the better ele debuffers due to constant availability and use in DPS rotations.

2. Ice debuff
Skill: Ice Beam EX
Sustainable? No [Duration: 5s | Cooldown: 25s]
Skill used in DPS rotations? Yes
- One of the key skills used in the DPS rotations and is cast off CD most of the time.
- Not always present due to 80% success chance if cast EXi. However, normal cast hits 17 times, almost ensuring that ice debuff is applied (chance of not applying ice debuff in 17 hits is 0.000000000131072%).
- Not sustainable due to long downtime of at least 10 seconds (including CD plate and C-tail).
- Recommended to use Ice Beam EXi instead of normal cast due to significantly higher damage and role of Adept as DPS.
- Not as reliable as ice debuffer when compared to Elestra but can still be useful in most cases due to high success chance.

Skill: Summon Slime
Sustainable? No [Duration: 5s | Cooldown: 30s]
Skill used in DPS rotations? No
- Skill summons a Slime which has a few attack options, with ice debuff included in one of them.
- Must be cast with at least 6 bubbles available to cause Slime to cast ice as its first attack.
- Ice is not applied at 100% (may be 50%, uncertain and undetermined).
- Not reliable due to long cool down of skill, not 100% success chance and uncertainty of Slime attack patterns, reducing chances of ice debuff application.
- Not recommended to be cast by the Adept as bubbles should be used for DPS skills instead.

Physician
1. Damage debuff
Skill: Love Virus
Sustainable? It depends [Duration: 15s | Cooldown: 19s | Refer below]
Skill used in DPS rotations? No
- A skill with poor damage and cast only to apply damage debuff.
- Usually not sustainable with 4s downtime. However, Ctail buff reduces CD to 14.82 seconds, making it sustainable if cast off CD.
- Due to being used off CD whenever possible, the DMG debuff is usually always present with an Physician in party.
- Considered as one of the better damage debuffers due to constant availability.

2. Ele debuff
Skill: Magma Punch
Sustainable? Yes [Duration: 10s | Cooldown: 7s]
Skill used in DPS rotations? No
- Not a key skill in DPS rotations but generally casted due to fast cast speed.
- Physician needs to take note of distance before casting Magma Punch due to small AoE.
- Due to being used off CD whenever possible, the ele debuff is usually always present with a Physician in party.
- Considered as one of the better ele debuffers due to constant availability.

3. Ice debuff
Skill: Summon Slime
Sustainable? No [Duration: 5s | Cooldown: It depends | Refer below]
Skill used in DPS rotations? No
- Skill summons a Slime which has a few attack options, with ice debuff included in one of them.
- A key skill used by Physicians due to cast of party buff Sacrifice.
- Must be cast with at least 6 bubbles available to cause Slime to cast ice as its first attack.
- Ice is not applied at 100% (may be 50%, uncertain and undetermined).
- Often neglected if Sacrifice is used immediately before Slime can attack.
- Can be repeatedly cast if the Physician constantly reduces CD with Injector EX spam. However, Slime count is limited to 2.
- Recommended to cast whenever available to assist party DPS as a support.

Ray Mechanic
1. Damage debuff
Skill: Plasma Grenade
Sustainable? Yes [Duration: 20s | Cooldown: 12s]
Skill used in DPS rotations? No
- Easy to use debuff skill when the Ray Mechanic is not riding in Alfredo.
- Skill cannot be used when Ray Mechanic is riding Alfredo.
- Effective duration up to 24s due to extra hits and final explosion lasting up to 4.5s, which reapplies the debuff on every hit.
- Presence of debuff heavily relies on the playstyle of the Ray Mechanic, such as whether Alfredo riding is used most of the time.
- Should not be considered as a reliable damage debuffer for the party.

2. Crit debuff
Skill: Atomic Blade
Sustainable? Yes [Duration: 10s | Cooldown: 5s]
Skill used in DPS rotations? Yes
- Easy to use debuff skill when the Ray Mechanic is not riding in Alfredo.
- Atomic Blade, Enhanced Atomic Blade and Ultimate Atomic Blade can apply the debuff.
- Skill effect is different and debuff is not present when Ray Mechanic is riding Alfredo.
- Effective duration may be extended due to extra hits from Ultimate Atomic Blade hits
- Presence of debuff heavily relies on the playstyle of the Ray Mechanic, such as whether Alfredo riding is used most of the time.
- Should not be considered as a reliable crit debuffer for the party.

[Xenocho]

Assassin
Abyss Walker
1. Damage debuff
Skill: Nightfall
Sustainable? No [Duration: 11s | Cooldown: 30s]
Skill used in DPS rotation? Yes
- A skill which creates an AoE on the ground to deal decent damage and applies damage debuff to enemies in AoE
- Recommended to cast and leave it on field at the start of DPS rotations.
- Not sustainable due to downtime of almost 20 seconds.
- Not effective against mobile bosses as debuff is applied only when target is within the skill AoE.

Light Fury
1. Damage debuff
Skill: Sunshine Spark
Sustainable? No [Duration: 10s | Cooldown: 15s]
Skill used in DPS rotation? Yes
- One of the key skills used in the DPS rotations and is usually cast off cooldown.
- Debuff duration can be extended due to hits from traveling and final explosion to approximately 13s.
- Not sustainable due to downtime of approximately 2s
- Recommended to be cast off CD

Raven
1. Damage debuff
Skill: Punishment EX
Sustainable? It depends [Duration: 15s | Cooldown: 20s | Refer below]
Skill used in DPS rotation? Yes
- A skill which is usually included in DPS rotations and is usually cast off cooldown (due to Raven's "[Awakened Passive] Chain Combination")
- Long cast time extends debuff duration by 2s up to 17s.
- Not sustainable due to downtime of 3s
- Sustainable with the use of CD plate (subjective to playstyle).
- Depending on playstyle, the damage debuff is usually always present with a Raven in party.
- Considered as one of the better damage debuffers if Raven using CD plate

2. Crit debuff
Skill: Applause
Sustainable? It depends [Duration: 10s | Cooldown: 13s | Refer below]
Skill used in DPS rotation? Yes
- A skill which is usually included in DPS rotations and is usually cast off cooldown (due to Raven's "[Awakened Passive] Chain Combination")
- Additional hit extends debuff duration by 1s up to 11s.
- Not sustainable due to downtime of 2s
- Potentially sustainable with the use of CD plate (subjective to playstyle).
- Depending on playstyle, the crit debuff is usually always present with a Raven in party.
- Considered as one of the better crit debuffers if Raven using CD plate

Ripper
1. Ele debuff
Skill: Blade Runner EX
Sustainable? Yes [Duration: 11s | Cooldown: 8s]
Skill used in DPS rotation? Yes
- Skill with decent damage and decent cast time, usually cast in DPS rotations as a debuff skill.
- Easy to miss due to melee aspect of skill and dashing forward motion.
- Due to being used off CD whenever possible, the ele debuff is usually always present with a Ripper in party.
- Considered as one of the better ele debuffers due to constant availability.

2. Crit debuff
Skill: Applause
Sustainable? No [Duration: 10s | Cooldown: 13s]
Skill used in DPS rotation? No/It depends
- A skill with fast casting time with decent AoE.
- Not usually used as a DPS skill for Ripper as it is non-Fire ele.
- Not sustainable due to downtime of 3s.
- Rippers may or may not learn this skill depending on the skill build due to skill point limitations.
- Should only be used if there are no other crit debuffer in the party.

[Xenocho]

Lancea
Flurry
1. Damage debuff
Skill: Shutter Bounce
Sustainable? No [Duration: 10s | Cooldown: 12s]
Skill used in DPS rotations? It depends
- A skill with decent damage but slow casting.
- Time between first hit and second hit is approximately 0.5s, extending the total debuff duration up to 11s.
- Not sustainable due to downtime of 1s.
- Often used only as a filler skill by Flurry due to availability of other skills.
- Recommended to be cast if no other damage debuffers are present in party.

2. Crit debuff
Skill: Stab Screw EX
Sustainable? Yes [Duration: 15s | Cooldown: 12s]
Skill used in DPS rotations? Yes
- A skill with decent damage with fast cast but narrow AoE.
- Usually cast in DPS rotations due to 6 hit nature in combination with Class Mastery I effect.
- Currently does not appear to trigger the crit resist debuff icon (whether crit resist debuff applied not confirmed; require testing).
- Recommended to be cast off CD but may be subjective to playstyle.
- Considered as one of the better crit debuffers if used within 15s always.

Sting Breezer
1. Damage debuff
Skill: Shutter Bounce
Sustainable? No [Duration: 10s | Cooldown: 12s]
Skill used in DPS rotations? It depends
- A skill with decent damage but slow casting.
- Time between first hit and second hit is approximately 0.5s, extending the total debuff duration up to 11s.
- Not sustainable due to downtime of 1s.
- Often used only as a filler skill by Sting Breezer due to availability of other skills.
- Recommended to be cast if no other damage debuffers are present in party.

2. Ele debuff
Skill: Arcane Focus
Sustainable? Yes [Duration: 10s | Cooldown: 5s]
Skill used in DPS rotations? Yes
- A skill with decent damage and fast cast.
- Often used in DPS rotations to complement the After-Image nature of Sting Breezer skills.
- Due to importance in DPS rotations and used frequently, the ele debuff is usually always present with a Sting Breezer in party.
- Considered as one of the better ele debuffers due to constant availability.


Machina
Defensio
1. Damage debuff
Skill: Flow Up
Sustainable? Yes [Duration: 10s | Cooldown: 10s]
Skill used in DPS rotations? It depends
- A skill with decent damage and fast cast.
- Not necessary to deal full hit to apply damage debuff, but can be useful in debuff sustainability.
- Use in DPS rotations heavily revolves around playstyle, whether Foot Stomp is used as Gear Step and whether it is transitioned into Flow Up.
- Recommended to be cast if no other damage debuffers are present in party.

2. Reduce ATK debuff
Skill: Beyond the Wall EX
Sustainable? Yes [Duration: 10s | Cooldown: 10s]
Skill used in DPS rotations? No
- A support skill with small AoE and bonus air-time during cast.
- Usually cast by Machina for HP shield.
- Recommended to be cast off CD if Defensio is playing the role of tank to apply a rare debuff to reduce the attack power of the boss.
- Can be considered one of the better Reduce ATK debuff due to constant availability if used with CD plate and used off CD always.

Ruina
1. Damage debuff
Skill: Flow Up
Sustainable? Yes [Duration: 10s | Cooldown: 10s]
Skill used in DPS rotations? It depends
- A skill with decent damage and fast cast.
- Not necessary to deal full hits to apply damage debuff, but can be useful in debuff sustainability.
- Use in DPS rotations heavily revolves around playstyle, whether Foot Stomp is used as Gear Step and whether it is transitioned into Flow Up off CD.
- Recommended to be cast if no other damage debuffers are present in party.

2. Ele debuff
Skill: Flow Through EX
Sustainable? It depends [Duration: 10s | Cooldown: 12s | Refer below]
Skill used in DPS rotations? It depends
- A skill with low damage and fast cast.
- Skill creates mini vortex which continuously hits the enemy, extending duration up to 12s.
- Usually used in DPS rotations due to trigger of Kidney Blow EXi but may revolve around playstyle, whether Foot Stomp is used as Gear Step and whether it is transitioned into Flow Through off CD.
- Recommended to be cast if no other damage debuffers are present in party.
- Can be considered as one of the better ele debuffers due to constant availability but is subjective to the playstyle of the Ruina.

[Xenocho]

Changelog
13/07/2017 - Completion of guide on CC forum; minor edits to the formatting
14/07/2017 - Updated section on WW and Tempest based on recommendations; correction on information on Blade Dancer and Armor Break; minor edits to the formatting and grammar
15/07/2017 - Corrected the information on Dark Avenger and summary table; corrected calculations on critical resist debuff; minor edits to formatting and grammar
16/07/2017 - Added images for debuff icons; added section on why cast debuffs; minor edits to formatting and grammar
18/07/2017 - Corrected and updated information on Sniper, Silver Hunter, Crusader, Flurry, Ruina
08/09/2017 - Completion of guide on ED forum; added general info on ice debuff vs ele resist (4).
19/09/2017 - Added Ray Mechanic into the compilation.

[Xenocho]

Additional info:

Nvin on Windwalker gameplay:

I'd just say my opinion about this, if I may.

I do not advise to rely on the "i-frame" of Circle shot as I personally find it unreliable. A good thing about Windwalkers is that we have a lot of passive escapes to utilize (chain trampoline, butterfly float, spiral kick). For i-frame, I find Swift Attack better than Circle Shot.

I think the skill is better used as some sort of cushion (near a opponent) and make a U-turn with spiral kick and blast an AC Skill (Either RS or BK). This also works on the current meta as most boss on nests are agile.

SheepClan and Bumper on ice-related Sea Dragon Heraldries:
Sheep:

A clarification here, the one I'm using should be Sea Dragon Breath & Sea Dragon Frost Nova (I have both)

If I'm not mistaken, there are 3 special skills related to Sea Dragon:

1. Sea Dragon Frost Nova (Link: https://www.youtube....h?v=mxR-SVmBdnk)
- Shoot a frost nova at the pointed location. (Good burst)

2. Sea Dragon Breath (Link: https://www.youtube....h?v=tVNqD0ZXzQs)
- Shooting Ice breath continuously at pointed areas for few sec (Literally useless & easily cancelled)

3. Summon Sea Dragon (Link: https://www.youtube....h?v=S8Mxf8E3010
- Summon sea dragon to unleash a huge area of ice breath

I'm not sure No. 3 is available in our server, I believe they excluded that in SEA. (I seen a thread here discussing about this)

So I concluded that, Skill No 1 & 2 does not give Ice Debuff.

Bumper:

If it's the Sea Dragon's Heraldry Ice Frost from this event, then yes it does freeze and gives extra 20% damage.
Probably not a lot of players have it since it says 15 days duration in the event page but it's actually permanent.
180s cooldown though so there's that.

The skill have 6 hits and will freeze from the first hit.
Last for 13 seconds if I leave it alone.
If I hit the subject it will break after 10 hits whether from skills or just simple left click combo.
What I am unsure is if the 5 hits of the SDN skill itself is included or not in which it will take 15 hits before it breaks instead of 10.
Did it in BTG and in nests, the result is consistent.

Guess it's impractical for party play as 10 or 15 hits won't last more than few seconds unless a party organize to use high damaging skills after that freeze but then the time taken to set that up is not worth it anyway.

[Xenocho]

If there is such a thing like the spoiler tag from CC forums please let me know. The images are a bit too big and distracting but this is easier than converting it into text and posting it here. Thank you

[Chelly]

This is one hella long post!
great job tho!

"Side note: editing these images and constantly observing the Golem's face invoked some sympathy in me"
Rofl.

[MrKitz]

WAHHHHHHHH!!!!! yeahhhh this is awesome thread we got here...Thank you Xenocho... i like your thread very much.. gonna tell n link your post to my friend.. this knowledge about buff n debuff very helpful.. great job!!

[cortisol]

Wow, great job and thanks for the post