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Buff is a term used in some video games, especially MMORPGs, to describe an effect (usually cast as a spell) that temporarily enhances a player.^[1] Buffs may last for a predetermined amount of time, or until the player actively cancels them. Almost all MMORPGs include some buffs. There is great variety in what buffs can do, both in individual MMORPGS and between games, but common types of buffs:

• Increase the stats of the target. This can include things like strength, dexterity, hit points, magic points, and so on. Increased stats often allow for greater damage-dealing capability or greater survivability. Examples of this kind of buff include EverQuest's Avatar (increases Attack Rating, Strength, Dexterity, and Agility), World of Warcraft's Mark of the Wild^[2], and Lineage II's Bless the Soul (increases maximum MP) and Bless the Body (increases maximum HP).
• 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 type of buff are EverQuest's Spirit of the Wolf and World of Warcraft's Aspect of the Pack^[3].
• 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 see invisible, or water breathing for traveling or fighting underwater.
• Augment one or more of the elemental resistances of the target. These would be used when traveling in hazardous regions like lava fields, or when combating mobs who primarily attack with a particular element. An example of this is Zenith from Priston Tale.
• Increase the attack speed of the target ('haste'). This allows for same or higher damage done to the mob the target is fighting in a smaller amount of time.

Buffs in many cases don't generate as much hate as other actions players can perform, such as direct damage spells, healing spells, or debuffs.

In many MMORPGS, classes with the ability to buff other players are also the healing classes, such as Clerics, Priests, and Paladins. The players of these classes are often begged for buffs by beginning players, who want the buffs to be able to kill mobs faster. Buffing classes often complain that they receive very little respect, and that many players take them and their buffs for granted.

"To buff" is also used as a verb, referring to the act of putting a buff on a player, and "buffed" as an adjective, referring to a player with buffs active. Occasionally, "buff" is used to refer to changes introduced by a game update which make a particular class, skill, spell, or tactic stronger. In this sense, it is the opposite of a nerf.

[edit] Debuff

In MMORPG terms, a debuff (or hex) is an effect that may negatively impact a player character (PC) or a non-player character (NPC) in some way other than directly dealing damage.^[1] Effectively, these are the reverse of buffs. For every buff effect that increases some quantity, there is usually a debuff that decreases it. Some of the following things are done by typical debuffs:

• Reduce the physical attributes (stats) of the target. This kind of debuff weakens the target, often causing it to do less damage or take more.
• Reduce the movement speed of the target (snare). Snares are often used in kiting, or to stop a target from fleeing combat.
• Inflict other negative status effects on the target, such as blindness, slow, or silence. The affected enemy will no longer be as capable as it was.
• Decrease the resistance of the target to fire, cold, magic, etc. This kind of debuff makes a mob more vulnerable to special attacks such as spells.

There are other effects that are technically debuffs, but are primarily used for crowd control, and thus in a different conceptual category. These include 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), mezzes or sleeps (cause target to cease all activity for a fixed length of time, or until damaged), and fears (causes target to randomly run around for a brief period of time, effectively disabling all actions).

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 mob to leave the tank and attack the debuffer.

[edit] Curing debuffs

Methods for curing debuffs vary as widely as the effects themselves and the games in which they appear. Some status effects go away on their own after a certain amount of time has elapsed. Most games contain items capable of healing status effects. Often these items heal a specific status effect (such as Antidotes, which in many games cure Poison), though many games also include one or more universal status effect removing items (such as Full Heal from the Pokémon series, or Remedy in the Final Fantasy series). Many games also include magic spells that can eliminate status effects (such as the Esuna spell from the Final Fantasy series). Most of the time status effects are removed at the end of a battle, however in some games they continue to persist until either they are cured, they are slowly removed over time, until the character rests (such as at an inn, temple, or in a tent), or until the character dies/faints, as in the Pokemon series.

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b} Kaelin, Mark (03 May 2006). "Playing a MMORPG is not all fun and games, you better have the right vocabulary". Tech Republic. CBS Interactive, Inc.. http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10878_11-6068231.html. Retrieved 15 December 2009. 
2. ^ Mark of the Wild - Spell - World of Warcraft
3. ^ Aspect of the Pack - Spell - World of Warcraft