Outriders has a plethora of mechanics and systems that players will want to master if they wish to complete the game's hardest content. Status effects are one such mechanic, inflicting devastating effects that can swing a skirmish.
Status effects are nothing new for looter shooters or ARPGs, but Outriders has a few nuances tied to status effects that are only explained in menu guides. If you're a fire-wielding Pyromancer or a time-bending Trickster, you'll want to understand the status effects at your disposal, what they do, and how to counter enemy status effects. Let's start by explaining what status effects are.
What Are Status Effects?
Status effects are powerful debuffs that can inflict deadly damage over time effects (or DoTs), reduced damage output, or reduced movement speed. Certain abilities, weapons, and weapon mods come with status effects.
There are eight status effects in Outriders, separated into three separate categories:
Crowd Control
- Ash: Encases an enemy in ash, preventing them from moving or attacking for 2.5 seconds.
- Freeze: Encases an enemy in ice, preventing them from moving or attacking for 3.5 seconds.
- Slow: Reduces an enemy's movement speed by 30-75%, depending on its status resistance. The duration of your slows is dependant on the skill or mod that applied it.
Damage Over Time
- Bleed: Damages targets equal to 2.5% of your Ability Power every 0.5 seconds, lasting for 5 seconds.
- Burn: Damages targets equal to 3.7% of your Ability Power every 0.5 seconds, lasting for 6 seconds.
- Toxic: Damages targets equal to 3.5% of your Ability Power every 0.5 seconds, lasting for 6 seconds.
Debuffs
- Vulnerable: Enemies take 15% increased damage for 10 seconds.
- Weakness: Enemies deal 30% less damage for 6 seconds.
You can only apply one of each status effect to a given target. If you reapply a status effect, the duration of said effect will refresh. When you're in a multiplayer lobby, each player can apply one status effect to a given target, meaning you could potentially have three of the same debuff on a target if you coordinate your attacks.
Status Effect Scaling And Resistance
The strength of your status effects rely on one of two things:
- Any status effect scaling on your gear or mods
- The enemy's status effect resistance
In general, only tough Elite enemies have a noticeable resistance to status effects, breaking out of freezes and slows much more quickly than fodder enemies. You can counteract this somewhat by scaling your status effect strength through gear, but Elite enemies have a mechanic that makes them immune to stun-locking—the process of stunning an enemy indefinitely. Fortunately, there are ways for players to obtain status immunity as well.
Scaling Status Effects
Your only source of status effect strength is from the "Status Power" attribute found on armor. This randomly rolls on armor pieces, so keep a lookout for this attribute whenever you receive a new item.
Additionally, some weapon mods and skill tree nodes provide additional bonuses for applying status effects on combatants. For example, the Pyromancer's Incinerate passive will inflict the Ash status when the Burn status ends, morphing Burn from a powerful damage over time effect to a crowd control primer.
Status Immunity
Both players and Elites can become immune to status effects under certain conditions:
- Elite Status Immunity: When multiple status effects are afflicted in a short time, Elites will become immune to all crowd control status effects (Ash, Freeze, and Slow), denoted by a blue circle to the left of their health bar. If the circle is white, you can interrupt them. Additionally, crowd control status effects get weaker as they're applied to the same target.
- Player Status Immunity: Certain armor mods and abilities grant status immunity for a short time, such as the Technomancer's Cold Purification armor mod. While active, status effects cannot be applied to you.
Countering Status Effects
There are a few ways you can counter negative status effects mid-combat:
- While affected by Ash or Freeze, use your melee ability to break free.
- Rolling removes the burn status effect prematurely.
- Bleed status effects only damage you while moving. Stay in cover to negate the Bleed DoT.
- The Toxic status effect can be purged by healing yourself.