Stunning

Stun is an important tactic during Combat. Stun can knock an enemy out of action temporarily, allowing the team to concentrate on other dangers, to escape the area, or to debuff an enemy enough to take down.

Sources of Stun

• Dazzlers: A Dazzler is an item which can stun a single enemy target in line of sight. There are several types of Dazzler available, with different ranges.
• Concussion Grenades: A Concussion Grenade can be Thrown like a normal grenade. Any target - friend or foe - within the Area of Effect will be stunned. Some enemies can use a type of Concussion Grenade.
• Shock Mines: A Shock Mine can also be Thrown. When it lands, it activates as a mine with a small Area of Effect. The first enemy entering the Area of Effect will be stunned and the mine will disappear. If one or more enemies are within the Area of Effect when the Shock Mine lands, the Shock Mine triggers immediately and a random enemy within AoE is stunned. Note that the mine affects a random enemy, not necessarily the closest.
• Stun Bats: Some melee weapons can apply a stun effect when used with an Ion Batt ammo.
• Talents: Several Talents can stun an enemy. Many but not all require Line of Sight. Some require hitting the target with a weapon. Most stun Talents have Upgrades which apply additional debuffs on the enemy.

Stun Effects on Enemies

When stunned, an enemy gets a -2 Action Point penalty, gains the Stunned effect for a certain number of Turns, and becomes Alerted. While the enemy is Stunned, they cannot move or take any actions. They cannot report to the Security AI. Even though they are Alerted, they cannot share Alert Status with their allies. These effects will last until they are no longer Stunned. Becoming Stunned will break Overwatch.

The Stunned enemy will become Alerted but in some circumstances the one who stunned them may not become Spotted.

Stun Break

Enemy bosses have a talent or gear which allows them to Break Stun. Bosses include:

• Captains and Captain equivalents
• Officers of various kinds: KEM Doc, FireCOM, Barrage, etc.
• Hardened Targets
• Head Hunters
• Drones

Most of these enemies have 40%, 50%, or 60% chance of a Stun Break at the beginning of each Turn that they are Stunned. Big drones have a 90% chance of Stun Break. If they successfully Break Stun, they can take the rest of their turn but suffer the -2 Action Point penalty.

Since Stun Break is checked only at the beginning of an enemy's turn, the Shock Mine can interrupt the turn of an enemy even if they have a Break Stun talent. If the mine is placed in the path of a boss and the boss walks into the mine and triggers it, they will lose the rest of their Turn.

Stun Effects on Mercs

Some enemies can use a form of Concussion Grenade which can affect mercs in the squad. Unlike Enemies, mercs who are Stunned do not lose turn completely. A Stunned merc will get a -2 Action Point penalty for as long as the Stunned effect lasts.

Stun Tactics

Stun can be used for many purposes.

• Stop one enemy while the team takes down another enemy
• Stop an enemy from reporting in while the team moves onward with the job
• Interrupt an Overwatch; this can be useful even against bosses with Break Stun
• Weaken a powerful enemy with an upgraded stun Talent with debuffs so they can be taken down more easily; this can be effective even against bosses with Break Stun, if they are never given a chance to take their turn
• Plant a Shock Mine in the enemy path, even a boss, to stun them for the rest of the Turn

When deciding whether to use a stun effect, check whether the intended target has a Break Stun talent. Click their picture on the Timeline to open their profile. Stun is most effective against lesser enemies. But stun can also be useful against bosses as long as there is no expectation that the effect will last long.