WoW - The "Daze" Mechanic

We’ve looked into the "Daze mechanic" more and more to provide detailed information on how the mechanic functions - this will now hopefully explain some of the werid things and minor discrepancies that WoW players notice when running away from mobs and regularly being affected by “Daze”. It’s a big World of Warcraft topic that’s now been brought up heaps since the release of the game, and trying our hand at explaining it in a bit more detail was something that we thought was very important to help WoW players better know how it affects each of them.

First a big explanation on how the daze mechanic works. The chance to be dazed in WoW is determined a lot by the character’s base defense ratings (as compared to the mobs actual level), or technically speaking the defense of the hero / character versus the attack skill of the enemy mob (which is always maxed out at [5 x mob level]). A high level 70 mob would have an attack of like 350 when compared to a level 70’s hero / character defense rating of 350. The base chance is around 20% and this actually lowers or raises based on the overall difference between player defense and mob attack, to a minimum of 0% chance, or maximum of 40% chance.

This total formula is really in fact altered to have a lot lower chance to "daze characters" below the level 30 mark. Then the chance for a level 1 character to be "dazed" by an equal level mob is now less than 1%, and the overall chance then scales up to level 30 where it reaches the base 20% mark (assuming that an equal mob level vs defense at all times). This is to allow the players / heros still learning the game to avoid certain death as they may still not be accustomed to the game or how their character’s power compares to the mobs. As an example of this reduction for heros / characters under the level 30 mark, a level 10 hero / player would have an approximate 7% chance to be "dazed" against an equal level mob group. This lowered chance for the characters under 30 is more than likely the largest contributor in players comparing low-level characters to their level 70’s and then assuming a change was made in the expansion to increase the daze level.

Other important factors that may give a sense that the daze is occurring more and more often may include the lack of actual level 60 ranked mobs that are roaming throughout the leveling or questing areas in Azeroth, when compared to the large amount of level 70 (and higher) mobs roaming throughout Outland. As it’s based on probability there’s a good chance that you will run into streaks where you’re dazed more or less often. Aside from keeping a maxed defense rating the best thing you can do to keep from being dazed is to simply avoid the aggro radius of mobs you don’t intend to fight.

The actual WoW code has been looked over many times, and it’s a very plainly set comparison of mob to player. We find that the perceived increase to being dazed is a perception that is mainly influenced by some or all of the explanations above, and other variables. Through our WoW testing we’ve confirmed that the code is working properly, and all tests performed showed the chance to be dazed was well within what was expected.

Now that the game mechanic has been explained a bit better, and further testing has gone in to at least fact checking that we are within the realm of acceptable probability, we turn to the function of the daze mechanic and why it’s even in the game. The most basic explanation is that we want it to be scary to run near or through a group of monsters. Players should be avoiding them if they don’t want to engage in combat, and not running through or within aggro range without consequence. A cautious and more alert player is less likely to be dazed than one who is haphazard and careless. We certainly support more thoughtful and careful approaches to combat situations or travel routes, and we find the daze mechanic performing as expected in helping to encourage it.

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