Buff

Most often, a buff refers to a temporary beneficial spell or effect placed on a player. Buffs can range in effect from simple personal shields to buffs which augment almost every category of stats a given player may have for their race or class.

Buffs can be of two types: those that expire over time (simple buff like Arcane Intellect) and those that are dependent of the environment around you (like the AoE effect given by Headmaster's Charge).

You can dismiss an active buff that expires over time by right-clicking on its icon.

Most buffs do not stack with other similar buffs. One prominent exception is heal over time spells, heal over time spells from multiple characters and different heal over time spells from the same character (such as a druid's Regrowth and Rejuvenation) will stack with eachother.

Buff can also be used as a verb, i.e. "to buff" means to apply buffs.

Buff is also used to represent a change to a class or ability that makes it more effective or useful. It is the opposite of a nerf.

List of notable buffs obtained from other players

By class

Death Knight:

• Abomination's Might - attack power (percentile)
• Horn of Winter - agility and strength
• Improved Icy Talons - melee haste

Druid:

• Mark of the Wild/Gift of the Wild - armor, all attributes, and resistances for target/target's party
• Thorns - reflective damage for target
• Innervate - massive short term mana regeneration for target

Hunter:

• Aspect of the Pack - run speed for party
• Aspect of the Wild - nature resistance for party
• Trueshot Aura - attack power for party

Mage:

• Arcane Intellect/Arcane Brilliance - intellect for target/target's party
• Amplify Magic - increased incoming spell damage and healing for target
• Dampen Magic - decreased incoming spell damage and healing for target
• Focus Magic - increased critical strike chance for target

Paladin:

• Auras - Auras affect the Paladin's party/raid
  • Devotion Aura - increased armor
  • Retribution Aura - reflective damage
  • Concentration Aura - reduced loss of casting/channeling time from damage
  • Shadow Resistance Aura - shadow resistance
  • Frost Resistance Aura - frost resistance
  • Fire Resistance Aura - fire resistance
  • Crusader Aura - increased mount speed
• Blessings - Blessings affect single targets, while greater blessings affect the target's class in party/raid
  • Blessing of Might/Greater Blessing of Might - increased attack power
  • Blessing of Wisdom/Greater Blessing of Wisdom - inceased mana regeneration
  • Blessing of Kings/Greater Blessing of Kings - all attributes increased
  • Blessing of Sanctuary/Greater Blessing of Sanctuary - reduced incoming damage and power regeneration on migitated damage
• Hands - Hands are short term buffs, affect single targets
  • Hand of Protection - protection from physical attacks
  • Hand of Salvation - threat reduced over time
  • Hand of Freedom - immunity from movement impairing effects
  • Hand of Sacrifice - transfer of damage to the caster

Priest:

• Power Word: Fortitude/Prayer of Fortitude - stamina for target/target's party
• Power Word: Shield - short term damage absorption for target in Priest's party
• Power Infusion - short term increase in spell damage and healing for target
• Divine Spirit/Prayer of Spirit - spirit for target/target's party
• Shadow Protection/Prayer of Shadow Protection - shadow resistance for target/target's party

Rogue: rogues have no buff for party members.

Shaman:

• Earth Shield - healing and reduced spell interruption from damage for target
• Water Breathing - target can breathe under water
• Water Walking - target can walk on water
• Totems - Most totems affect the Shaman's party and last 1 or 2 minutes
  • Strength of Earth Totem - strength & agility
  • Grace of Air Totem - agility (this totem is no longer in game)
  • Fire Resistance Totem - fire resistance
  • Frost Resistance Totem - frost resistance
  • Nature Resistance Totem - nature resistance
  • Windfury Totem - Increase melee haste
  • Flametongue Totem - additional fire damage
  • Stoneskin Totem - increase armor
  • Mana Spring Totem - mana regeneration
  • Mana Tide Totem - short term mana regeneration
  • Totem of Wrath - spell power and crit chance
  • Healing Stream Totem - heals party
  • Windwall Totem - incoming ranged damage reduction (this totem is no longer in game)
  • Tranquil Air Totem - threat reduction (this totem is no longer in game)
  • Wrath of Air Totem - spell haste

Warlock:

• Unending Breath - underwater breathing for target
• Detect Invisibility - increase detection of invisibility for target
• Demonic Pact - Adds a percentage of the Warlock's spell power to all party or raid members on minion crit
• Imp
  • Blood Pact - health for Warlock's party or raid
  • Fire Shield - reflective damage & fire resistance for target
• Felhunter
  • Fel Intelligence - increased spirit and intellect for Warlock's party or raid

Warrior:

• Battle Shout - attack power
• Commanding Shout - health

Draenei hunters, paladins or warriors:

• Heroic Presence - physical hit

Draenei mages, priests or shamans:

• Inspiring Presence - spell hit

By type

Similar buffs do not stack with eachother unless otherwise specified.

Attack power (percentile)

• Melee
  •  [Abomination's Might]: Tier 6 Blood talent, 2 ranks, gives [Blood Strike], [Heart Strike] and [Obliterate] a chance to increase party and raid members' melee attack power by 10%.
• Melee and ranged
  •  [Trueshot Aura]: Tier 7 Marksmanship talent, 1 rank, +10%.
  •  [Unleashed Rage]: Tier 8 Enhancement talent, 3 ranks, triggered by the shaman's melee critical hits, +10% @ max rank.

Attack power (additive)

•  [Blessing of Might] / [Greater Blessing of Might]: +550 @ max rank (687 fully talented with [Improved Blessing of Might], a tier 2 Retribution talent with 2 ranks), each paladin can only have one active blessing per target.
•  [Battle Shout]: +548 @ max rank (685 fully talented w/ [Commanding Presence], a tier 3 Fury talent with 5 ranks), the same warrior cannot have both Battle Shout and Commanding Shout active at the same time, however it will stack with another warrior's Commanding Shout.

Armor

•  [Mark of the Wild] / [Gift of the Wild]: +750 @ max rank (1050 fully talented with Improved Mark of the Wild), stacks with other armor buffs.
•  [Devotion Aura]: +1205 @ max rank, Improved Devotion Aura (Tier 4 Protection, 3 ranks) raises armor bonus to +2008.5. Each paladin can only have one aura active at a time.
•  [Stoneskin Totem]: +1150 @ max rank (1380 fully talented with [Guardian Totems], a tier 2 Enhancement talent with 2 ranks), each shaman can only have one active Earth Totem at a time.

Base stats

• All stats (stack with eachother)
  •  [Mark of the Wild] / [Gift of the Wild]: +37 (+52 fully talented with Improved Mark of the Wild).
  •  [Blessing of Kings] / [Greater Blessing of Kings]: +10%, each paladin can only have one active blessing per target.
• Agility and strength
  •  [Strength of Earth Totem]: +155 (+178 fully talented with [Enhancing Totems], a tier 1 Enhancement talent with 3 ranks), each shaman can only have one active Earth Totem at a time.
  •  [Horn of Winter]: +155 at max rank.
• Intellect
  •  [Arcane Intellect] / [Arcane Brilliance]: +60 @ max rank.
  •  [Fel Intelligence]: +48 @ max rank (53 fully talented w/ [Improved Felhunter], a tier 6 Affliction talent with 2 ranks), Felhunter ability.
• Spirit
  •  [Divine Spirit] / [Prayer of Spirit]: +80 @ max rank.
  •  [Fel Intelligence]: +64 @ max rank (70 fully talented w/ [Improved Felhunter], a tier 6 Affliction talent with 2 ranks), Felhunter ability.
• Stamina
  •  [Power Word: Fortitude] / [Prayer of Fortitude]: +165 @ max rank (214 fully talented with [Improved Power Word: Fortitude], a tier 2 Discipline talent with 2 ranks).

Crit

• Buffs
  • Melee and ranged
    •  [Leader of the Pack]: Tier 7 Feral Combat talent, 1 rank, active while in Bear, Dire Bear and Cat forms, +5%.
  • Spell
    •  [Moonkin Aura]: [Moonkin Form], a tier 7 Balance talent ability, applies this buff while active, 5% spell critical strike chance bonus.
    •  [Focus Magic]: Tier 3 arcane talent, increases the target's chance to critically hit with all spells by 3%. When the target critically hits the caster's chance to critically hit with spells is increased by 3% for 10 sec.
• Debuffs (listed for completeness because Totem of Wrath applies both a buff and a debuff)
  • Attack and spell
    •  [Heart of the Crusader]: Tier 2 Retribution talent, 2 ranks, causes judgements to increase critical strike chance against the target by 3% at max rank.
    •  [Totem of Wrath]: Tier 9 Elemental talent ability, 3% to attacks and offensive spells, each shaman can only have one active Fire Totem at a time.
  • Spell
    •  [Enduring Winter]: Tier 6 frost talent, 3 ranks, gives frost talent spells a 100% chance to apply the Winter's Chill debuff @ max rank, increasing spell critical strike chance by 1% per stack, stacks up to 5 times.
    •  [Improved Scorch]: Tier 4 fire talent, 3 ranks, gives [Scorch] a 100% chance to apply the Improved Scorch debuff (or applications of the Improved Scorch debuff if glyphed) @ max rank, increasing spell critical strike chance by 1% per stack, stacks up to 5 times.
    •  [Improved Shadow Bolt]: Tier 1 Destruction talent, 5 ranks, causes [Shadow Bolt] to increase spell critical strike damage against the target by 5% @ max rank.

Damage (percentile)

•  [Sanctified Retribution]: Tier 5 retribution talent, 1 rank, +3% damage.

Haste

• All
  •  [Improved Moonkin Form]: Tier 7 Balance talent, 3 ranks, requires [Moonkin Form], causes [Moonkin Aura] to 3% haste @ max rank.
  •  [Swift Retribution]: Tier 9 Retribution talent, 3 ranks, causes auras to grant 3% hast @ max rank.
• Melee
  •  [Improved Icy Talons]: Tier 6 Frost talent, 1 rank, requires rank 5 [Icy Talons] and rank 3 [Improved Icy Touch]}}, grants all party and raid members 20% melee haste whenever the death knight debuffs a target with [Frost Fever].
  •  [Windfury Totem]: 16% (20% fully talented with [Improved Windfury Totem], a tier 5 Enhancement talent), each shaman can only have one active Air Totem at a time.
• Spell
  •  [Wrath of Air Totem]: 5%, each shaman can only have one active Air Totem at a time.

Healing percentage

•  [Tree of Life Form]: Tier 9 Restoration talent ability. While in Tree of Life Form, increases healing received by all party and raid members within range by 6%.
•  [Improved Devotion Aura]: Tier 4 Protection talent, 3 ranks, causes all your auras to increase healing received by 6% at max rank.

Health

•  [Blood Pact]: Imp ability, +1330 maximum health @ max rank (+1729 fully talented with [Improved Imp], a tier 1 Demonology talent with 3 ranks).
•  [Commanding Shout]: +2255 @ max rank (~2818 fully talented w/ [Commanding Presence], a tier 3 Fury talent with 5 ranks), the same warrior cannot have both Battle Shout and Commanding Shout active at the same time, however it will stack with another warrior's Battle Shout.

MP5

•  [Blessing of Wisdom] / [Greater Blessing of Wisdom]: 91 @ max rank (109.2 fully talented with [Improved Blessing of Wisdom], a tier 4 Holy talent with 2 ranks).
•  [Mana Spring Totem]: 91 @ max rank (109.2 fully talented with [Restorative Totems], a Tier 4 Restoration talent with 5 ranks), each shaman can only have one active Water Totem at a time.

Reflective damage

•  [Thorns]: Only damages attackers.
•  [Retribution Aura]: Each paladin can only have one aura active at a time.
•  [Fire Shield]: Imp ability.

Replenishment

•  [Hunting Party]: Tier 10 Survival talent, 5 ranks, gives [Arcane Shot], [Explosive Shot] and [Steady Shot] a 100% chance to apply Replenishment @ max rank.
•  [Enduring Winter]: Tier 9 frost talent, 3 ranks, requires [Water Elemental], gives [Frost Bolt] a 100% chance to apply Replenishment @ max rank.
•  [Judgements of the Wise]: Tier 7 Retribution talent, 3 ranks, gives Judgement spells a 100% chance to grant Replenishment @ max rank.
•  [Vampiric Touch]: Tier 9 Shadow talent ability, while active, causes the priest's [Mind BLast] spell to grant Replenishment.
•  [Improved Soul Leech]: Tier 7 Destruction talent, 2 ranks, requires 3 ranks of [Soul Leech], causes [Conflagrate], [Incinerate], [Shadow Bolt], [Shadowburn] and [Soul Fire] to grant Replenishment when they triger Soul Leech.

Resistance

•  [Mark of the Wild] / [Gift of the Wild]: +54 to all resistances at max rank (75.6 fully talented with Improved Mark of the Wild).
•  [Aspect of the Wild]: Nature (130 @ max rank), each hunter can only have one aspect active at a time.
•  [Fire Resistance Aura]: Fire (130 @ max rank), each paladin can only have one aura active at a time.
•  [Frost Resistance Aura]: Frost (130 @ max rank), each paladin can only have one aura active at a time.
•  [Shadow Resistance Aura]: Shadow (130 @ max rank), each paladin can only have one aura active at a time.
•  [Shadow Protection] / [Prayer of Shadow Protection]: Shadow (130 @ max rank).
•  [Fire Resistance Totem]: Fire (130 @ max rank), each shaman can only have one active Water Totem at a time.
•  [Frost Resistance Totem]: Frost (130 @ max rank), each shaman can only have one active Fire Totem at a time.
•  [Nature Resistance Totem]: Nature (130 @ max rank), each shaman can only have one active Air Totem at a time.
•  [Fire Shield]: Fire (63 @ max rank, ~81.9 fully talented with [Improved Imp], a tier 1 Demonology talent with 3 ranks), Imp ability.

Spell power

•  [Improved Moonkin Form]: Tier 7 Balance talent, 3 ranks, requires [Moonkin Form], causes [Moonkin Aura] to grant spell damage equal to 15% of the druid's spirit @ max rank.
•  [Flametongue Totem]: +144 (~165.6 fully talented with [Enhancing Totems], a tier 1 Enhancement totem with 3 ranks), each shaman can only have one active Fire Totem at a time.
•  [Totem of Wrath]: Tier 9 Elemental talent ability, +280 @ max rank, each shaman can only have one active Fire Totem at a time.
•  [Demonic Pact]: Tier 10 Demonology talent, 5 ranks. Causes the demon's criticals to grant the party or raid 10% of the warlock's spell power for 12 seconds @ max rank.

Miscellaneous sustainable shared buffs

• Falling speed decrease (ends in combat)
  •  [Slow Fall]: Requires a reagent unless glyphed.
  •  [Levitate]: Also allows water walking, requires a reagent unless glyphed.
• Speed increase
  •  [Aspect of the Pack]: +30% run speed, dazed when hit.
  •  [Crusader Aura]: Increases mounted speed by 20%. Each paladin can only have one aura active at a time.
• Water breathing
  •  [Water Breathing]: Requires a reagent unless glyphed.
  •  [Unending Breath]: No reagent cost.
• Water walking (ends in combat)
  •  [Path of Frost]: No reagent cost.
  •  [Levitate]: Also slows falling speed, requires a reagent unless glyphed.
  •  [Water Walking]: Requires a reagent unless glyphed.

Miscellaneous sustainable exclusive buffs

•  [Leader of the Pack]: Tier 7 Feral Combat talent, 2 ranks, causes [Leader of the Pack] aura to cause those affected to heal themselves for 4% of their maximum health @ max rank whenever their attacks crit.
•  [Amplify Magic]: Increases spell damage taken and spell healing received, mutually exclusive with Dampen Magic.
•  [Dampen Magic]: Decreases spell damage taken and spell healing received, mutually exclusive with Amplify Magic.
•  [Blessing of Sanctuary] / [Greater Blessing of Sanctuary]: Tier 5 Protection talent. Reduces damage taken by 3%, restores 2% of the target's maximum mana whenever the target blocks, dodges or parries a melee atttack, each paladin can only have one active blessing per target.
•  [Concentration Aura]: Grants a 35% chance to ignore pushback (50% with 3 ranks of Improved Concentration Aura, a Tier 4 Holy talent). Each paladin can only have one aura active at a time.
•  [Improved Concentration Aura]: Tier 4 Holy talent, 3 ranks, causes all of the paladin's auras to reduce Silence and Interrupt effects' duration by 30% at max rank.
•  [Earth Shield]: Tier 9 Restoration talent. Causes incoming attacks to heal the target (consuming 1 change per heal, healing has an internal cooldown) and reduces pushback by 30%. Improved by various Restoration talents. Each shaman can only have one Earth Shield at a time, and each character can only benefit from one Elemental Shield at a time.
•  [Healing Stream Totem]: HoT, each shaman can only have one active Water Totem at a time.
•  [Detect Invisibility]: Invisibility detection.
•  [Soulstone]: Gives the target a self-rez.
•  [Heroic Presence]: Draenei racial passive, +1% hit/spell hit, only affects party members.

List of notable buffs from environment

Lordaeron's Blessing

Increases stamina by 5%.

Lasts: 30 min

How to get: Take control of the northpass tower in Eastern Plaguelands, click the altar that appears outside the door.

Notes: Persists in Scholomance, Stratholme and Naxxramas.

Fire Resist

Increases fire resistance by 83.

Lasts: 1 hour

How to get: Mind Control (either by the Priest spell or the Engineering device) a Scarshield Spellbinder, found in Blackrock Spire.

Notes: Sometimes the tooltip will say differing amounts of Fire Resistance, but the buff always provides 83 resistance. Stacks with Paladin aura.

Rallying Cry of the Dragonslayer

Increases critical chance of spells by 10%, melee and ranged by 5% and grants 140 attack power, for characters below level 61.

Lasts: 2 hours

How to get: When the head of Onyxia or Nefarion is returned the players located in (or nearby) Orgrimmar or Stormwind are buffed with this buff.

Spirit of Zandalar

Increases all stats for a value depending on level for 2 hours.

(Old Effect: Increases movement speed by 10% and all stats by 15% for 2 hours.)

Duration: 2 hours (As of 1.11, this buff no longer persists through death)

How to get: When the Heart of Hakkar is turned in to Molthor on Yojamba Isle as part of The Heart of Hakkar quest, players on the Isle and in Booty Bay will receive the buff.

Warchief's Blessing

Blessing of the Warchief: Increases health by 300. 15% haste to melee attacks. 10 mana regen per tick.

Lasts: 1 hour

How to get: When the head of Rend Blackhand is returned after a player completes "For the Horde!", the end of the first part of the Onyxia prequest chain, all players located in Orgrimmar are buffed with this buff.

Songflower Serenade

Increases critical strike rating and spell critical strike rating by 70 and all attributes by 15.

Lasts: 1 hour

How to get: Cleanse a Corrupted Songflower in Felwood.

See also

• Debuff
• Nerf
• Healing
• HoT
• DD
• DoT
• Area of Effect
• Utility