Welcome to the ESO Status Effects & Mechanics Guide for ESO (Elder Scrolls Online)! In this guide we will take a look at Elemental, Disabling, Soft CC, Counter and Other Effects that function as buffs and debuff mechanics in both PvE and PvP. Those effects and mechanics offer very strong buffs and debuffs and can be used to your advantage in combat.

Table of Contents:

Elemental Status Effects

Elemental status Effects or also known as secondary effects that are triggered from combat mechanics. Every elemental effect can trigger these additional effects.

  • Fire (Burning Status Effect): Target burns for additional damage over 4 seconds.
  • Lightning (Concussed Status Effect): Instant damage and adds extra damage if target was recently Concussed. Applies Minor Vulnerability for 4 seconds, increasing their damage taken.
  • Frost (Chilled Status Effect): Instant damage. Applies Minor Maim for 4 seconds, reducing target’s damage done. Also applies Minor Brittle increasing the critical damage done to the target (Minor Brittle only procs with Frost Staff equipped, more info here).
  • Disease (Diseased Status Effect): Instant damage, Also deals additional damage in a 6 meter radius around the target. Applies Minor Defile for 4 seconds, decreasing healing taken and health recovery.
  • Poison (Poison Status Effect): Deals Poison Damage over 4 seconds. Is considered execute damage. Deals 100% bonus damage to targets under 100% health.
  • Physical (Sundered Status Effect): Instant damage and grants you 100 Weapon and Spell Damage for 4 seconds.
  • Magic (Overcharged Status Effect): Instant damage. Instantly restores 65 Magicka to its activator. Applies Minor Magickasteal for 4 seconds, causing attackers to restore Magicka.
  • Bleed (Hemorrhaging Status Effect): Target bleeds over 4 seconds, stacks up to 3 times and increases damage per stack by 25%.

The way status effects are applied was detailed in the 2.1 patch notes:

Standardized the chance an ability has to apply a secondary effect, such as burning, chilled, or concussed. These chances are:

  • Weapon enchants 20%
  • Single Target Direct Damage 10%
  • Area of Effect Direct Damage 5%
  • Single Target Damage over Time 3%
  • Area of Effect Damage over Time 1%
  • Light and Heavy Attacks 0%

Elemental status effect with a destruction staff and Elemental Force passive apply the secondary effect at double the chance listed above. You can also increase the chance to apply the status effects with the charged trait. A one handed weapon with gold quality will increase chance by 240% and a two handed weapon twice as much.

  • Chilled, Concussion, Burning and all other status effects can be procced against shielded enemies since Update 23

Disabling Effects [Loss of control]

  • Knocked Down: Totally disabled, knocked to the ground and cannot move or perform actions.
  • Stunned: Unable to move, attack, or perform any actions, frail to further cc during stun.
  • Off balance & Heavy Attacks:
    • Using a Heavy Attack against an Off Balance will restore twice as much resources.
    • Using a Heavy Attack against an Off Balance enemy will only consume the Off Balance debuff if the enemy is successfully stunned.
      • Using a Heavy Attack against an Off Balance boss enemy will not consume the Off Balance effect, as bosses are immune to crowd control effects.
      • You can use Power Lash on an enemy until the Off Balance effect expires or is consumed.
    • Using a Heavy Attack against an Off Balance enemy player character will stun them, in the same way that it stuns monsters.
      • You can use Power Lash to stun enemy Players.
    • Using a fully-charged Heavy Attack against an Off Balance enemy will restore double the amount of resources.
    • Boss enemies can only be set Off Balance for 7 seconds with a 22 seconds cooldown. After the first Off Balance debuff ends on a boss enemy, they will be immune to subsequent Off Balance debuffs until this immunity duration is over.
  • Disoriented: Long but fragile disable (cannot perform action). Unlike stun, disorient will break from any damage taken. Disorient goes through block.
  • Silenced: Unable to cast spells, can move and use physical attacks.
  • Feared: Targets will cower in terror, unable to move while feared. (If feared by an NPC, you will not cower in terror, but rather run away in terror)
  • Pull: Pulled to the caster, while in air unable to perform any actions. Counts as hard cc as it triggers immunity on target in pvp.
  • Knockback: Pushed away from caster for 5 meters. Note: Spells can have Knockback in conjunction with other status effects like a knock down/stun/disorient effect.

Soft CC [Hinders Movement]

  • Immobile: Rooted, but can perform actions.
  • Snared: Slowed movement speed, but can perform attacks or other actions.

Other Effects

  • Taunted: Forced to attack you (PvE only) for 15 sec.
  • Blind: Raised chance to miss. Meridia Set for example makes you miss 100% when the blind effect is applied.
  • Bleed: Physical damage over time effect. This functions the same as physical damage, but is classified as a “Bleed”.
  • Immovability: “Immunity to knockback and disabling effects”, does not affect soft cc. Animation effect: swirling wind around the character). Gained when hard CC ends (naturally or when broken/reflected), from activating Immovable (heavy armour skill) or from potions.
  • Magicka /Stamina AoE: Magicka AoE can not be dodged while Stamina AoE can be dodged.
  • Unblockable: Some abilities can not be blocked. For example Petrify (you also get stunned), Fear, Werewolf Roar, Encase, Talons etc.

Counter Status Effects

  • Break Free: costs stamina; removes stun, disorient, knockdown, also get 7 seconds Immovability.
  • Dodge: costs stamina, breaks soft CC like immobilize. Using it repeatedly within 3 seconds will increase the cost further.
  • Cleanse/Purge/Purify: Removes negative effects.
  • Block: negates any attempt to CC, even if you take partial damage from the attack itself. Except Fear, Werewolf Roar, Petrify.
  • Reflect: negates attempt to CC and gives the effect to its caster instead. Channeled skills or AoE can not be reflected.
  • Invisibility: avoid attack completely if timed correctly, but does not prevent aoe effects from hitting.
  • Snare Break: Remove snare. Forward Momentum for example.

Heavy Attacks from Bosses

Heavy Attacks from bosses in ESO apply several debuffs to the tank depending on the following conditions.

Note: Most of the older Trials don’t have these special debuffs, this is mostly for the newer raids to keep in mind:

  • If the heavy attack is dodged
    • Seethe: Overwhelmed by anger from a missed attack. For 12 seconds damage done by the enemy increased by 60%.
  • If the heavy attack is blocked (and not fully shielded)
    • Hindered: Healing your missing health is prevented for 12 seconds or until 39760 points of healing are received. (Trauma / Healing Absorption)
    • Hindered is immune to skills that remove negative effects.
    • Qcell’s Dreadsail Reef Helper (addon) will show healers a broken heart on top of the tanks, indicating the healing absorption needs to be outhealed.
    • Rattled: You are shaken up for 12 seconds.
      • Damage done decreased by 70%.
      • Damage taken increased by 40%
      • Rattled is immune to skills that remove negative effects.
  • If the heavy attack is not blocked or is fully shielded
    • Devitalized: You are weakened for 8 seconds.
      • Physical Resistance and Spell Resistance decreased by 60%
      • Damage taken increased by 30%
      • Damage shields are decreased by 30%
      • Devitalized is immune to skills that remove negative effects.