Be an Ally--Give a Buff
Ally buffs, or temporary boosts to your toon given to you by another player, are quite popular, both in team play and outside of combat entirely. Even just standing around under Atlas, people come by and randomly buff you with Mystic Fortune, Fortitude, Speed Boost, or whatever kind of buff they've got to give. I enjoy a few rounds around Atlas Plaza buffing the level 1-6 heroes who are out getting their first bits of experience--it's great to give a new hero resistance to damage, a little boost to their speed, etc.
In team play, buffs are often necessary, especially against enemies who deal specific types of damage or who have holding/immobilizing/sleep powers. Buffs can mean the difference between those last few points of health and getting defeated. For a Scrapper, a shot of Fortitude can mean being able to survive that red boss, for instance!
Are you a player who likes giving out buffs? If you are, or even if you're just curious about what all types of buffs are in the various powersets available, read on to find out!
Acronyms and Shorthand
res - resistance
recovery - rate at which you gain back Endurance
regen - rate at which you gain back Health
dam - damage
def - defense
Controller powers - holds, immobilizations, sleep attacks, disorienting attacks and slow attacks
List of Ally Buffs (Available to Controllers and Defenders)
| Power Set | Available Buffs | What Each Buff Boosts |
|---|---|---|
| Cold Domination | Ice Shield | Melee Def; Fire, Cold, Energy, Negative, Ranged, AoE Def; End Drain Res; Lethal, Cold, Fire Res | Glacial Shield | AoE, Ranged, Energy, and Negative Def | Frostwork | Damage Res, Toxic Res |
| Dark Miasma (Defenders only) | Shadow Fall | Def, Fear Res; Energy, Negative, Psionic Def |
| Empathy | Fortitude | Damage resistance |
| Clear Mind | Negative status-effect Res | |
| Recovery Aura (all allies) | Recovery | |
| Regeneration Aura (all allies) | Regen | |
| Adrenalin Boost | Regen, Recovery | |
| Force Field | Deflection Shield | Smashing, Lethal, Melee Def; Toxic Res |
| Insulation Shield | Fire, Cold, Energy, Negative, Ranged, AoE Def; End Drain Res | |
| Dispersion Bubble (all allies) | Def (all); Immob, Disorient and Hold Res | |
| Force Bubble (all allies) | Melee, Short-Ranged Def | |
| Kinetics | Speed Boost | Movement speed; Slow Res |
| Increase Density | Disorient, Immob, Hold Res; Knockback, Repel, Teleport Protect; Smashing, Energy Dam Res | |
| Inertial Reduction (all allies) | Jump | |
| Radiation Emission | Accelerate Metabolism (all allies) | Run speed, attack speed, Recovery, Dam; Sleep, Hold, Disorient, Immob, End Drain Res |
| Sonic Resonance | Sonic Barrier | Smashing, Lethal, Toxic Res |
| Sonic Haven | Fire, Cold, Energy, Negative Res | |
| Disruption Field | Ability to damage foes | |
| Sonic Dispersion (all allies) | All Damage (except Psi) Res; Immob, Disorient, Hold Res | |
| Sonic Repulsion | Ability to repel foes | |
| Clarity | Negative status-effect resistance | |
| Storm Summoning | O2 Boost | Disorient, Sleep, End Drain Res (plus a nice targeted Heal), Perception |
| Steamy Mist (all allies) | Stealth, Def, Fire, Cold, Energy, Confuse Res | |
| Thermal Radiation (Controllers only) | Thermal Shield | Lethal, Smashing, Fire Res; small amount of Cold Res |
| Plasma Shield | Energy, Negative, Fire Res | |
| Thaw | Negative status-effect Res; Cold Res | |
| Forge | Damage, To-Hit |
List of Buffs Available to All Heroes
| Power Pool | Available Buffs | What Each Buff Boosts |
|---|---|---|
| Concealment | Grant Invisibility | Stealth, Def |
| Medicine | Stimulant | Negative status-effect Res |
| Magic Booster Pack | Mystic Fortune (you will get a randomly-chosen buff from the list to the right when someone casts this on you) | Death (Damage, Recharge, Special Debuffs) |
| The Fool (Movement rate, Recharge, but takes away a bit of To-Hit) | ||
| The Hermit (Accuracy, Perception, Def) | ||
| The Lovers (Regen, Recovery, Special Buffs) | ||
| The Magician (Special Debuffs, Controller power duration, Damage) | ||
| The Moon (Special Debuffs, Controller power duration, Def) | ||
| The Sun (Damage Res, Damage, Special Buffs) | ||
| The Tower (Damage, though you will take a 10% hit to your Health when you first get this fortune) | ||
| Wheel of Fortune (Damage Res, Def, Status-effect Protect) |