Stunned State Findings

Findings have been entirely rehauled as of version 2.7 thanks to a much better understanding of how Stun actually works! As a result, terms such as Stun Recalc have been deprecated in favour of more accurate explanations.

I put a lot of work into testing this stuff with very minimal assistance from others. If my work is used please provide a link or credit if possible, it means a lot, thank you!

Upon attacking an enemy, their Daze Meter will increase based on the Daze DMG dealt by an attack. Different enemies require different amounts of Daze to fill the Daze Meter.

Stun Start

When an enemy’s Daze Meter reaches 100%, hitting the target with a Heavy Attack will trigger a Stun Start, applying the Stunned effect to an enemy, enabling the enemy’s Stun DMG Multiplier and allowing for Chain Attack Windows to be triggered.

The specific multihit of an attack must have the HeavyAttack property in order to trigger a Stun Start and put the target into the Stunned State.

The specific multihit of an attack must have the CauseStun property in order to trigger a Stun Reset and open the Chain Attack Window.

The game’s definition of a “Heavy Attack” is an attack that includes at least the CauseStun property, usually found on the final multihit of strong attacks or the final Basic Attack in a Basic Attack string. Most attacks with CauseStun also have the HeavyAttack tag but this is not always the case.

Non-Active Agents can trigger Stun Start but can not trigger a Stun Reset. If an Active Agent moves too far from the Stunned target during an attack, it is possible to avoid triggering the Chain Attack Window.

If Basic Attack or Special is held during a Heavy Attack with Manual Chain enabled, a Stun Reset will not trigger. Chain Attacks and Ultimates are unaffected by Manual Chain and will always trigger a Stun Reset if applicable.

Stun Resets and Chain Attack Windows

When an enemy’s Stun Meter is changing colours rapidly, a Stun Reset can be triggered by hitting the target with a Heavy Attack. Doing so will open the Chain Attack Window, where Game Time is slowed down and the player has 2.5 seconds to select a Chain Attack to one of the non-Active Agents in the party.

Enemies have a specific number of Stun Resets that can be triggered, denoting how many Chain Attacks can be performed.

Normal Enemies: 1 Chain Attack

Elite Enemies: 2 Chain Attacks

Boss Enemies: 3 Chain Attacks

Triggering a Stun Reset reapplies the Stunned effect to an enemy, causing the Stun Meter to start again from 100% with a new Decay Rate based on how much time has passed before the Stun Reset was triggered. Please see the Decay Rate and Time Modifier sections for how Decay Rate works and how an enemy’s new Decay Rate is determined.

When all Stun Reset attempts are used up, the enemy’s Stun Meter turns grey, indicating that no more Chain Attacks can be performed.

Chain Window Time Slow

This section is still awaiting further testing and may be updated in the future if new discoveries are made.

When triggering a Chain Attack Window, Game Time is not slowed exactly on the same frame, instead waiting a set duration before slowing Game Time down to 1.5% of the game’s normal speed. If a value is not specified on an attack, the Time Slow will begin 0.375s after triggering the Window. However, some attacks have specific values ranging from 0.05s to 1.6s.

Unfortunately, documenting the beginning Time Slow value for every attack in the game is beyond the scope of this Findings document but a list of possible Time Slow values will be provided below based on current testing:

0.05s, 0.1s, 0.15s, 0.2s, 0.225s, 0.25s, 0.3s, 0.35s, 0.375s, 0.4s, 0.45s, 0.5s, 0.55s, 0.6s, 0.65s, 0.675s, 0.7s, 0.725s, 0.75s, 0.775s, 0.8s, 0.9s, 0.95s, 1s, 1.1s, 1.2s, 1.4s, 1.5s, 1.6s.

Measured from the 1st frame of triggering the Chain Attack Window to the first visible slowed frame.

There is currently one known instance where Game Time is not slowed to 1.5% of the game’s normal speed, being Alice’s EX Special Attack: Aurora Thrust - Northern Cross, instead slowing Game Time to 0.5% of normal speed 0.2s after triggering the Chain Attack Window.

The game will return to normal speed 0.375s after the Chain Attack Window ends, whether by selecting a Chain Attack, cancelling the Chain Window or letting the timer expire.

Stun Duration

Stun Duration Formula

The duration of an enemy’s Stunned State is calculated with the following formula:

. This value can not exceed 100% if added to by other sources.

is the current Decay Rate of the enemy’s Stun Meter, dictating the speed at which the Stun Meter reduces.

refers to effects such as Lighter’s Collapse effect, “extending the enemy’s Stunned duration by 3s.” Stun Pause effects take place first before the Stun Meter starts decaying.

Stun Pause

Stun Pause effects take place before Stun Decay, indicated by a golden glow appearing around the Stun Meter and prevents the enemy’s Stun Meter from decaying for a set duration. This duration is included in an enemy’s total Stun Duration, allowing Agents such as Hugo Vlad’s Totalize to gain additional DMG Multiplier based on the enemy’s remaining Stun duration.

Although an enemy’s Stun Meter may appear like Stun Decay Cooldowns happen before a Stun Pause takes place, this is slightly misleading. Most Stun Pause effects have a 1s delay on actually applying to an enemy if triggered at Stun Start. If triggered anywhere else during an enemy’s Stunned State, even during the first Stun Decay Cooldown, the Stun Pause will take effect immediately. As a result, Stun Decay Cooldowns and Stun Pauses can occur at the same time, resulting in a lower effective Stun Duration overall. Effects such as Yixuan’s M2 and Banyue’s M1 specifically do not have this 1s delay and will always apply immediately regardless of when they’re triggered.

The game also states that Stun Pause effects “can trigger on the same target only once and the Stun duration bonus does not stack with similar effects”, this is slightly untrue. When triggering multiple Stun Pause effects at the same time, their durations overlap, resulting in only the longest Stun Pause actually taking effect. Multiple different Stun Pause effects from different sources can be applied in the same Stun, such as Dialyn’s +2s Stun duration increase and M2 Yixuan’s +3s Stun extension, and will increase the enemy’s Stun Duration if applied at different times.

Decay Rate

Decay Rate determines how quickly an enemy’s Stun Meter decays per second the Stunned state is active. For example, if a Boss enemy has a Decay Rate of 8.33%/s, the Stun Meter will reduce by 8.33% every second, resulting in a Stun Duration length of 12 seconds. The enemy’s Current Decay Rate can be determined by the following formula:

refers to the enemy’s previous Decay Rate value. If a Stun Reset has not occurred then the “previous” Decay Rate will be the enemy’s Base Stun Decay stat.

refers to effects such as the Metamorph Deadly Assault buff, where “the enemy recovers from Stun 15% slower”. This is a separate modifier on the Decay Rate stat, where positive Decay Slow values cause the enemy’s Stun Meter to decay quicker.

Although all enemies have their own Stun Decay Rate stats, the values are generally standardized as:

Normal Enemies: 15.38%/s - 6.5s Stun Duration

Elite Enemies: 10%/s - 10s Stun Duration

Boss Enemies: 8.33%/s - 12s Stun Duration

Some examples of unique Stun Decay Rates include:

Jane, Mors and Pulchra: 14.28%/s - 7s Stun Duration

Bellum, Guardian Mark II and Faubauti: 7.69%/s - 13s Stun Duration

Discordant Solo - Vesper and Sanguine Sweeper: 6.66%/s - 15s Stun Duration

Time Modifier

Calculating an enemy’s New Decay Rate used to be explained as part of a mechanic called Stun Recalcs. This has now been separated into its own explanation as prior understandings of a Stun Recalc combined two different mechanics that technically aren’t related to each other.

The Time Modifier is an additional multiplier based on how much time has passed since the last Stun Reset. This is used to calculate an enemy’s new Stun Decay Rate after triggering a Stun Reset.

refers to the percentage left on the counter to the left of the Stun Meter. This counter starts at 100% and decreases smoothly based on the Current Decay Rate per second.

Percentage Stun Meter Increases

Certain effects, such as triggering Impair on Unknown Corruption Complex’s legs or destroying Sanguine Sweeper’s Corruptive Barrier increase the enemy’s Current Stun Meter by a fixed percentage. These effects work both when an enemy is and is not Stunned, allowing either for reaching the next Stun quicker or for gaining additional Stun Duration in a Stunned state.

The actual Stun Duration gained from these effects varies depending on the enemy’s Current Decay Rate, as it adds a fixed amount to the Stun Meter regardless of the Current Decay Rate. However, these effects can not cause the Stun Meter to exceed 100%.

For example, Sanguine Sweeper has a base Decay Rate of 6.66%/s, resulting in a base Stun Duration of 15s. If Sanguine Sweeper’s Stun Meter’s Current Stun was at 80% remaining or lower with no Stun Resets triggered, the Stunned state would have 12s remaining at the base Decay Rate before ending. If his Corruptive Barrier is broken during this period, his Stun Meter increases by +20%, granting an extra +3s of Stun Duration.

However, if the Stun Meter’s Current Stun is at 90% remaining when Sweeper’s Corruptive Barrier is broken, the Stun Meter will cap at 100%, resulting in only a +10% Stun Meter increase for an extra +1.5s of Stun Duration.

If a Stun Reset was triggered at 90% remaining on the Stun Meter’s Current Stun while Sweeper had his default Decay Rate of 6.66%/s, 1.5 seconds would’ve passed, resulting in a new Decay Rate of 7.4%/s with 13.5s left on the Stunned state. Now, breaking the Corruptive Barrier when the Stun Meter’s new Current Stun is at 80% or lower will result in only a 2.7s increase in Stun Duration.

Effective Stun Duration Increases

Stun Decay Cooldown

Stun Decay Cooldown was previously explained as a part of a mechanic called a Stun Recalc. Stun Decay Cooldown develops on the ideas of Stun Recalcs but separates it from the calculation of the enemy’s Decay Rate as they are technically differing effects.

When triggering a Stun Start or Stun Reset, there is a 1 second Decay Cooldown performed before any Stun Pause effects apply and before the Stun Meter starts decaying. This is indicated by the percentage to the left of the Stun Meter cycling rapidly between random numbers.

Stun Decay Cooldowns can allow for up to 4 extra seconds of effective Stun Duration if a Stun Start and 3 Stun Resets are triggered on an enemy.

If a Stun Decay Cooldown is applied whilst another is currently active, the duration of the Stun Decay Cooldown will not be refreshed or added to.. As a result, any additional effective Stun Duration is lost if a Stun Reset is performed while a Stun Decay Cooldown is still active. This can happen quite commonly if the Chain Attack Window is opened on the same hit that starts a Stun, as both the Stun Start and Stun Reset effects are triggered at the same time, or if a short Chain Attack is used early into the Chain Attack sequence such as Nicole’s Chain.

There is currently only one way to apply a Stun Decay Cooldown whilst another Stun Decay Cooldown is active, and that is if the Stun Reset being triggered is the final Stun Reset before an enemy’s Stun Meter goes from Rainbow to Gray. In this situation, a Stun Decay Cooldown will always trigger, refreshing the duration of the currently active Decay Cooldown.

Freeze Anomaly

Triggering Freeze on a Stunned enemy causes any Stun Decay, Stun Decay Cooldown or Stun Pause to also “freeze”, resulting in additional effective Stun Duration. The duration of Freeze is determined by the following formula:

refers to effects such as Sacrifice - Bringer increasing the duration of Anomaly effects by 5 seconds, which in this case also increases the duration of Frozen by 5 seconds.

refers to an enemy’s specific Frozen RES stat, decreasing the length they are frozen for. This is dependant on the enemy’s Rank and is as follows:

Normal Enemies: 0% Frozen RES

Elite Enemies: 50% Frozen RES

Boss Enemies: 75% Frozen RES

Freeze can also be ended early by hitting a Frozen enemy with a Heavy Attack to trigger Shatter.

Thank You To:

Lin-0 - Making me realise the difference between Stun Start and Stun Reset Decay Cooldowns

Artrais - Finding that Stun Recalcs (now Stun Decay Cooldowns) were fixed/updated to match the actual stat value.

Blaine - Proofreading my madness.