Stagger is a short term physical debilitation which causes interruption to a person or creature's actions. It can be caused by physical attacks or spells, explosions, or even by running into someone.
Weapon and armor ability and resistance to stagger is measured by Stagger Power and Stagger Resistance.
Overview[]
Generally stagger interrupts a creature or ally's action and leaves them briefly unable to attack or defend.
A character or creature's Stagger Threshold is an innate value that, when reached, results in being staggered. Attacking will inflict Stagger Damage. Once stagger damage exceeds the threshold stagger will occur - this interrupts the target including any spell or other attack they were using.
Stagger damage is innate and different for each attack and creature. For allied attacks it is also multiplied by the character's Stagger Power, which comes primarily from their equipped weapon.
Stagger Power[]
Pawn with Gryphic Victory. The Stagger Power values show in the Status menu are those of the longsword (291) for the primary weapon, and unarmed (100) for the secondary.
The Stagger Power of a weapon indicates effectiveness of a Weapon at causing stagger. It can be consider a (percentage) multiplier.
Stagger power can be increased further by equipping certain Jewelry and particular Augments. For Unarmed Combat the base stagger power is 100.
The stagger damage inflicted with an attack uses a spell or skills core stagger damage and multiplies it with the stagger power of the weapon used.
Arisen and Allies[]
Stagger Resistance (a percentage) reduces the incoming stagger accumulation. It works identically Elemental Resistances in that it represents the percentage of Stagger damage from enemy attacks this is absorbed and resisted. Accumulated stagger damage will also decay over a short period of time.
Stagger Resistance comes primarily from Armor and Clothing and none from weapons. It is not thought that Character Weight or Encumbrance has an effect.
Additionally the innate resistance of the Warrior class to stagger and knockdown is much higher than other classes
Foes[]
All foes have a Stagger Threshold - when this is reached it results in the foe being stagger. Stagger Damage can be inflicted with any attack. Continued, cumulative attacks will eventually inflict enough stagger damage to reach the threshold.
Some stances will only apply a bonus modifier to stagger damage to specific body parts. For example, when a Drake attempts to possess a pawn, striking the arm with which it holds the pawn provides a bonus that other body parts do not.
There are some specific actions that cause stagger. For example, hitting a Drake's arm when it is possessing a pawn, or its muzzle when it is preparing the breath attack is much more likely to cause stagger. Hitting a Cyclops with lightning reliably causes stagger followed by a prolonged stunned state.
Equipment and Skills[]
Armor and Jewelry[]
| Item | Stagger Power |
|---|---|
| Cursed King's Belt | +50 |
| Barbed Nails | +100 * |
| Virtuoso Ring | from +11 to +20 |
| Preceptor Ring | from +21 up to +30 |
| Master Ring | from +31 up to +40 |
| Item | Stagger Resistance |
| Ogre Bone | 16% * |
| Stonewall Earring | 15% * (at heavy Encumbrance) |
| * Also boosts knockdown | |
In general the 'heavier' the armor the better the resistance - with Very Heavy Armor Sets, and Heavy Armor Sets having the best resistances, and the Hellfire Armor Set the best of all. A gold rarified Set of Duke's Clothing has 96% stagger resistance.
- For weapons stagger power increases with enhancing.
- For armor and clothing, stagger resistance increases with enhancing only for Leg Armor
- For armor and clothing, resistance is generally very similar to knockdown resistance or power.
- For weapons, power is generally identical to knockdown power.
- Clothing and cloak resistances are generally small or zero.
Augments[]
Several Augments and earrings improve stagger resistance :
| Augment | Effect |
|---|---|
| Audacity | Protects against stagger accumulation while charging a physical attack. |
| Gravitas | Protects against stagger accumulation while intoning a spell. |
| Periphery | Increases blocking ability with shields. |
| Stability | Prevents the staggering or knockback effect of wind buffets such as from enemy wings, or from Explosive Barrels. |
Skills[]
Some skills such as Pommel Bash have high stagger output. Most melee attack will accumulate both stagger and knockdown, but some only cause one effect.
Similar effects apply to spells. A Sorcerer's Magick Billow only staggers, but when used when Jumping it causes knockdown.
Unstoppability[]
A few skills and spells can be used to temporarily bestow the "unstoppable" bonus. There appears to be two types. The First increases Stagger Resistance to 100%. The following skills, fall into this category:
- Magick Archer's Bracer Arrow and Great Bracer Arrow.
- Mage's Spellscreen and High Spellscreen.
- Jewel of Antilight. A tool that can be used by any vocation to cast High Spellscreen.
The second variant of this bonus, again increases Stagger Resistance to 100%. But also bestows invulnerability to wind buffets (akin to Stability) and ground shock waves. The following grant this bonus:
- Fighter's Stone Will and Steel Will.
- Warrior's innate bonus. Whenever a warrior is in the middle of an attack, he receives this bonus.
Note that Strider's Instant Reset can be used to quickly recover from stagger.
Shields[]
- Main article: Blocking.
- See also: Blocking ability
Stagger resistance does not apply to blocking with shields - each shield has an invisible "blocking ability" that is unaffected by armor or other equipment - only the augment Periphery can improve the shields blocking ability.
In general the better the shield the better the blocking ability. In terms of offensive strikes (such as Cymbal Attack) the shield's stagger power is used, just as it would be with a primary weapon.
Video[]
Dragon's Dogma - Gorecyclops Hunting the Great White
@ 9min21sec "Let's talk about stagger/knockdown"
Notes[]
- Stagger Resistance and Stagger Power are in game stats for equipment. The terms stagger damage, stagger threshold are not found in game, and so are not listed in any menu. (See also Hidden stat)
- Stagger accumulation works almost identically to Knockdown.
- Staggered enemies do not take more damage.
- Staggered enemies are not "out of battle stance" - this effect refers to not having drawn a weapon, or creatures struck before they are aware of an enemy.
- If an attack, either magickal or physical, is not powerful to damage a foe at all, they will not be staggered either.
- The same rings true for enemy attacks on party members.
- If the Arisen or Pawns are picking up items, gathering from Gather spots or mining they are performing animations that guarantee a foes attack will stagger.