disable vs. dmg proc runes - e.g. stun/stagger v. burn/bleed/poison/etc

[jacozilla]

disable vs. dmg proc runes - e.g. stun/stagger v. burn/bleed/poison/etc

This isn't a what is best thread - it's an observation / question regarding do these runes actually work -

I've only unlocked 2 slot witcher swords so I've added only 10% - two greater runes, but so far my observation is that:

A) 10% dmg pro runes - like poison, bleed, etc - go off all the time. Not constantly or anything - just saying in regular combat I regularly see the dmg proc effect and see the poison/bleed/etc dmg numbers floating over the monster as it ticks off. So good.

B) 10% disable runes - specifically the kinds I've tried - stager and stun - I've never once seen happen (with major caveat that since I don't know what it looks like when it does happen, perhaps I am just missing the signal that it happened as unlike dmg runes there are no number effects to easily tell.

-however, I saw a video posted by someone showing what stagger looks like on a wyvern he fought that had it chain staggered, and far as I can tell / recall, I've never yet seen my blows stagger anyone - monster or human. And for sure I've never seen the stun effect that is supposed to be like the axii disabled effect.

-whatever it is supposed to look like, I've never seen any opponent I fight take a break / get disabled in any way when using stagger or stun runes. My char screen does show that they stack, that two 5% runes give me 10%, etc - so I know the percent is being registered at least on the display value.

So my question is - do stun / stagger runes work for anyone? If so - what the heck does it look like when it goes off, because either I'm missing something really major or my game is bugged (always possible) and just never getting any stun / stagger rune to work.

If 10% = 10%, then adds more confusion because I would have expected to see stun / stagger effects at least once given how many times I see poison/bleed/ etc go off.

 

[ryofu]

I lean more towards the runes that have a 100% uptime, eg 5% sign intensity, +5 attack power or +30 armor pierce. not sure how effective armor pierce is in this game so i am usually just using the sign intensity to power up my Quen on death march

 

[zombievac]

They work for me, I can't say if they work as often as they should - but Stun or stagger (I can't remember which looks like what), but they stand there holding their head for a few seconds - I think that's stun. Stagger causes them to shamble backwards for a couple seconds I believe.

FYI, I believe (and logically) it's best to mix the runes you apply if you have them. I.E., it's better to have 5% stagger, 5% freeze, etc rather than two 5% staggers stacked. Mainly because some enemies are resistant to a particular effect, and also because the effects can stack on each other I believe.

 

[Goodmongo]

Stun and stagger seem to work really well against humans. In fact I usually get an instant kill show when it happens. Not sure how it works against monsters.

I was trying to get the poison, bleed, blinded effect achievement and put one 5% (max level rune) in a single sword. I don't have the achievement so either they die before all three are applied or they aren't working fully. Too often the battle stats fly by too fast to read.

 

[Lieste]

Some monsters have resistance to will effects (I think this includes stun) and force effects (probably stagger).

I've seen all of stagger, freeze and stun applied, but not nearly as often as mid-game. I'm now usually one-shot killing mobs (either instantly, with a single hit, or after 2-3 seconds due to bleeding)... This makes my swords last a *lot* longer, but limits the utility of burn/stun/stagger runes.

For stronger monsters where these effects do go off reasonably often, they are actually swamped by the 6% per hit instant kill, combined with Whirl.