Xenoblade 3: Effects explained

Note: This post might be incomplete. Data will be added as I make new findings.

The damage formula is a chain of multiplications. Several effects are grouped together to form a single term in the multiplication.

Multiplier group 1

Effect description	Notes
Boosts allies' damage by ...% and reduces enemy Block Rate by ...% (does not stack).
Flare Element	+5%/element, max +15%
Boosts damage by ...% for every enemy in battle (max. 200%).
Boosts damage dealt when attacking broken/toppled/launched enemies by ...%.	Also includes Universal Annihilation
Grants a ... increase to damage dealt when attacking enemies during combos.
Boosts damage dealt when attacking enemies targeting you by ...%.
Grants a ... increase to damage dealt the more enemies target you (up to a maximum of 300%).
Boosts damage dealt indoors/outdoors by ...%.
Boosts damage dealt by ...% when HP is at ...% or lower/higher.
Species Expert
Boosts damage dealt when attacking from behind/the front/side by ...%.
Boosts damage dealt when attacking higher-level enemies by ...%.
Boosts damage dealt while an ally is incapacitated by ...%.
... boosts damage dealt when an ally is down/has low HP.
Boosts damage dealt by ...% for the first 30 seconds of battle.
Boosts damage dealt by ...% per enemy defeated (to a maximum of 250%).
Boosts damage dealt by ...% each time an ally is incapacitated (to a maximum of 200%).
Boosts auto-attack damage by ...%.
Boosts damage dealt by ...% when fighting a unique or boss monster.
Deal ...% more/less damage but take ...% more/less damage.
Boosts damage against enemies performing Arts by ...%.
Deals ...% more damage against enemies who are at 30% HP or less.	Includes the Chain Attack version
Deal ...% more and take 25% less damage while within a field effect.
Boosts damage dealt by Fusion Arts by ...%.
Each attack that hits boosts damage dealt by ...% (max. 255%). Missing cancels the boost.
Boosts damage dealt by ...% when Awakened.
Boosts damage dealt for each active buff.
Boosts damage dealt by ...% when afflicted with a debuff.
Grants a small increase to damage dealt (max. 500%) for each buff active on all allies.	+50%/buff (+30% without the upgrade)
Grants a small increase to damage dealt for each debuff active on all enemies (up to a maximum of 500%).	+50%/buff (+30% without the upgrade)
Boosts damage dealt by physical/ether Arts by ...%.
Grants a small increase to damage dealt, based on heat gauge level.
Boosts damage to Moebius by ...%. Cannot be blocked.
Boosts damage dealt by ...% after receiving no damage for a set time.
Boosts damage dealt by ...%, but reduces max HP by half.
Boosts damage dealt for each Soulhacker Art or Skill learned.	(Attack Mastery and Final Countdown)
After own revival, deal ...% more damage and take ...% less damage for a fixed time.
Boosts damage dealt by ...% when on land/in the water.
Boosts damage dealt by ...% when attacking a debuffed enemy.
Evading deals ...% of Attack damage and boosts damage dealt by ...% (up to max. of 300%).
Boosts damage dealt and Critical Rate by ...% on critical hit.
Boosts damage dealt by ...% when landing a critical hit (up to a maximum of 150%).
Boosts damage dealt by ...% when using a Talent Art (up to a maximum of 200%).
Each time you perform a cancel, boosts damage dealt by ...% (to a maximum of 150%).
Buffing an ally boosts damage dealt by ...% (up to a maximum of 200%).
Debuffing an enemy boosts damage dealt by ...% (up to a maximum of 150%).
Each elemental discharge boosts damage dealt by ...% (up to a maximum of 400%).
Own combo reactions boost damage dealt by ...% (up to a maximum of 500%).
Awakening (buff)	+75% damage dealt (base)
Attack Up (buff)	+25% damage dealt (base)
Reduce All ~ Origin Blade (debuff)	-30% damage dealt (base)
Interlink bonus/penalty	-20% (Lv. 0), 50% (Lv. 1), 150% (Lv. 2), 300% (Lv. 3)
Boosts elemental damage by ...% and elemental buff effects by ...%.	Acts as a damage additive to elementals
Boosts elemental damage by ...%.	Acts as a damage additive to elementals

Defensive multiplier group

(Subtract the total from 100%)

Effect description	Notes
Reduces damage taken by allies in a fixed radius by ...%.
Reduces damage to allies by ...%, and boosts HP recovery by ...% (does not stack).
Reduces damage taken by all allies while Art is active by ...%. Also counters attacks directed at self.
Earth Element	-5% damage taken/orb, max -15%
After own revival, deal ...% more damage and take ...% less damage for a fixed time.
Reduces damage taken by ...% when recharge for all Arts is depleted.
Defender Mastery
Stance Effect: Shadow Parade
Reduces damage taken by ...% while performing Art.
Stance Effect: Determination
Deal ...% less/more damage but take ...% less/more damage.
Slightly boosts damage dealt when an ally is down/has low HP. (see note)	"Low HP": <= 30%. Some variations of this effect (e.g. Healer Lucky Seven's skill) also reduce damage taken
Reduces damage taken by ...% when HP is at ...% or lower.
Reduces damage taken by ...% per enemy defeated (max. 20%).
Awakening (buff)	-25% damage taken (base)
Defense Up (buff)	-15% damage taken (base)
Reduce All ~ Origin Blade (debuff)	+50% damage taken (base)
Interlink bonus/penalty	+40% damage taken (Lv. 0), +0% (Lv. 1), -30% (Lv. 2), -60% (Lv. 3). (Scrapped feature that would affect heat buildup speed.)
(DLC4, enemy-only) Enemy count debuff	-30% damage taken for each enemy in the fight (excluding self), max -90%

Multiplier group 2

(Add 100% to the total)

Name	Value
Power Charge (buff)	50% (base)
Accelerating Attacks	50%
Element Genesis	up to 300%
Raging Force	up to 613%

Multiplier group 3

(Add 100% to the total)

Name	Value
Cancel bonus	varies
Supercharged	up to 90%
Piercing Laser	up to 120%

(DLC) Challenge gauntlet emblems 1

(Add 100% to the total)

Name	Value	Parameter Values
Attack Up	Param%	40/80/120/180/240/300
Dexterity Up	Param%	20/40/60/80/100/120
Attack Up After Use	Param%	100/150/200/260/320/400
Debuff/Combo Duration Up	Param%	20/40/60/80/100/120
Combo to Attack	Param% * Smash/Burst count	40/45/50/60/70/80
Curse to Attack	Param% * Curse count	8/12/16/24/32/40
Rescue to Attack	Param% * Revive count	20/24/28/35/42/50
Focus: Role	Param% * Member count	15/20/25/32/40/50
Agnus/Kevesi Zeal	Param% * Member count	20/30/40/55/70/85
Other Zeal	Param% * Member count	30/40/50/65/80/100
Last-Ditch Effort	Param% * (100% - Charge%)	70/140/210/300/400/500
Moneybags	Param% * floor(Score / 10000)	25/30/35/42/50/60

Note: Riku & Manana get the "Zeal" bonus for both Keves and Agnus, and they also count towards both forces.

(DLC) Challenge gauntlet auto-attack emblems

(Add 100% to the total)

Name	Param% Lv. 1	2	3	4	5	6
Auto-Attack Up	120	150	180	220	260	300
Area Attack	10	20	30	40	50	60
Absorb HP	10	20	30	40	50	60
Debuffing Attack	10	20	30	40	50	60

Moebius M fight

Name	Value	Notes
Player->Player damage, if attacker has Eclipse Soul	50%	Likely meant to nerf allies that lose control.
Player->Player damage, if attacker does not have Eclipse Soul	1%	Likely used in the second fight. Curiously, this is also what makes self-damage with glitches very low.

Independent multipliers

Name	Multiplier
User Attack	varies (as seen on the Characters menu) + Stability (read more)
Art/Auto-attack/Elemental damage multiplier	varies. Flare/Earth: 200%, Aqua: 150%
Critical hit	125% (base)
Launch/Smash/Burst damage bonus	125% (launch), 150% (burst), 150% (smash, base)
Chain/Shackle Ring	up to 180%
Enemy defenses	100% (bypassed), or 100% - defense
Attack blocked	50% (base) / 25% (base, when Eye of the Storm is fused)
Random variance	90%-110% (random, read more)
Chain attack damage ratio	varies
Fusion damage bonus, if supported by the art that generated the hit	150%
Attacking an enemy from behind, if it hasn't noticed the player	150%
Multi-hit damage correction	1/(number of damage hits), can be 2/n or more, depending on the art/hit. As of 1.1.0, does not apply to fused Master Arts that do not spawn bullets normally (and that have multiple fusion hits) -- only eligible art is Quickdraw
AOE penalty	100% (main target), 75% (other enemies) -- also works for enemy attacks
(DLC) Emblem: Defense Up	100%-Param% (Param: 10/15/20/26/32/40)
(DLC4) Weakness	150% + Effect%, weaknesses are Front/Side/Back/Combos

Useful buffs/debuffs

Buff	Effect	Duration	Max duration	Base chance (Debuff type)
Attack Up	+25% damage (see Multiplier group 1)	20s	40s	--
Awakening	+75% damage dealt (see Multiplier group 1), -25% damage taken (see Defensive multiplier group), +50% recharge speed	20s	40s	--
Critical Rate Up	Critical hit rate: +25%	20s	40s	--
Critical Hit Plus	Critical damage bonus: +50 percentage points	20s	40s	--
Phys./Eth. Def. Down	Does nothing if defense is 0. If > 0, multiplies it by 75% (base). If < 0, multiplies it by 125%.	15s	30s	75% (Phys./Eth.)
Reduce All (Origin Blade)	-30% damage dealt (stacks with Multiplier group 1), +50% damage taken (see Defensive multiplier group), -30% accuracy/evasion	60s	60s	guaranteed
Resistance Down	Break and debuff resist: -25 percentage points	15s	30s	75% (Ether)
Bleed	4% of art damage every 2 seconds	46s	92s	100% (Phys.)
Blaze	8% of art damage every second	10s	20s	100% (Ether)
Freeze	6% of art damage every 1.5 seconds	21.5s	43s	unavailable
Toxin	12% of art damage every 4 seconds	24s	48s	100% (Ether)

Other

Effect description	Notes
Boosts Smash damage by +...%	Net additive. Unlike the Smash damage bonus, which applies to both the art's and Smash's damage, this only boosts the special damage dealt when the enemy touches the ground after being smashed.