Buff (MMORPG terminology)

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Buff is a term generically used in many MMORPGs to describe an effect (usually cast as a spell) which beneficially enhances the target PC or NPC. There are many types of buffs, for example:

Increase the physical attributes of the target (stats). These would allow the target to wear heavier armor by increasing strength, or make the target more dextrous or intelligent.
Increase the movement rate of the target. Often this is extremely useful in very large game worlds, allowing the target to spend less time traveling. Examples of this buff are EverQuest's Spirit of Wolf (SoW) or to a lesser extent Aspect of the Pack in World of Warcraft.
Change how the target interacts with the world. This may include levitation to make the target float above the terrain and avoid pits, vision enhancements like ultravision, or water breathing for traveling or fighting underwater.
Give the target additional hit points (HP), magic points (MP), or increase the regeneration of either HPs or MPs. An examples of this kind of buff are EverQuest's Avatar (increases hit points and armor class), Koadic's Endless Intellect (increases base mana and mana regeneration), and Regrowth (increases hit point regeneration).
Increase or decrease the target's physical size in the game. This kind of buff may allow more PCs to fit in a small area, or make a main tank easier to see and target because of an increased size.
Augment the fire, cold or magic resistance of the target. These would be used when traveling in hazardous regions like lava fields (fire resist), or when combatting MOBs who primarily attack with cold.
Increase the attack speed of the target ('haste'). This allows for greater damage done to the MOB the target is fighting, especially if used in combination with a slow debuff on the MOB.

Buffs in many cases don't generate as much hate as debuffs, direct damage spells, or heals.

SoW (Spirit of Wolf above) has become somewhat of a generic term used in other MMORPGs populated by former EverQuest players, because of its popularity in game. Various peripheral merchandise such as mouse pads or T-shirts bearing reference to these spells is available.

Other MMORPGs utilize buffs as well, including Kingdom of Loathing, Asheron's Call, City of Heroes, Anarchy Online, Lineage 2 and Dark Age of Camelot.

Debuff

In MMORPG terms, a debuff is an effect that may negatively impact a player character (PC) or a non-player character (NPC) in some way other than reducing their hit points. Some examples of debuffs are:

Reduce the movement speed of the target (snare). Snares are often used in kiting, or to stop a target from fleeing combat.
Decrease the resistance of the target to fire, cold, or magic. This kind of debuff makes a MOB more vulnerable to special attacks such as spells.
Reduce the physical attributes (stats) of the target. An example of this are spells that weaken the target, reducing their damage or causing them to unquip armor (that is now too heavy for them) resulting in an increase in successful attacks for the debuffer.
Make the target unlucky. This kind of debuff will change how the game "rolls" for the target, making them less successful in saving throws or critical damage rolls.
Blind the target. When used on a PC, this usually will either negatively affect their chance to hit or blank their screen. When used on an NPC this just negatively effects their chance to hit, though some games implement a panic response in the MOB and make it flee from the combat.
Reduce the attack speed of the target (slow). This debuff is used to help the tank mitigate damage coming from the MOB. Slow is primarily used against melee opponents, as a spellcaster's attacks would not be slowed.
Silence the target. This debuff causes loss of spellcasting abilities for the target. Can be devastating against a target with weak melee but strong casting abilities.

There are other effects that are technically debuffs, but are primarily used in crowd control. These are roots (stop target movement, may in some games cause target to attack nearest PC instead of its intended target), stuns (interrupts spells, removes combat queues), and mezzes / sleeps (cause target to cease all activity for a fixed length of time, or until damaged).

Debuffs have a downside, in that in many games a debuff causes a lot of hate in NPC targets. If used too early in an encounter, a debuff might cause the tank to lose the focus of the MOB. The MOB will likely attack the debuffer.

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