Unless otherwise stated, a knock down lasts 2 seconds; it can be extended to 3 seconds using Stonefist Insignias or certain skills. Junundu Tunnel and Reaper's Sweep can knock down for 3 seconds; three other skills can knock down for 4 seconds (Choking Breath, Backbreaker, and Psychic Instability). A knocked-down target cannot be knocked down again until they get up; however, they can be knocked down again the instant they begin to rise (see quarterknocking).
Some foes carry Stun on Critical Hit, causing knock down to foes against whom they score a critical hit. Others carry Stun Immunity which prevents them from being knocked down. Characters inside a Siege Devourer or Desert Wurm are immune to knock downs.
A small number foes, including Shiro Tagachi, can be difficult or impossible to knock down for other reasons.
- The warrior armor upgrade component Stonefist Insignia increases the duration of all knock downs inflicted by the Warrior by 1 second. This upgrade cannot extend durations beyond 3 seconds.
- The skill Earthbind sets a minimum duration of knock downs to 3 seconds. It also bypasses Stun Immunity, but has no effect on other skills that prevent knock downs.
|Skills that cause knock down|
These skills always cause knock downs on foes:
These skills inflict knock downs on foes under certain conditions:
|Skills that prevent knock downs|
These skills can be used to prevent one or more knock downs:
|Skills that benefit from knocked down foes or allies|
These skills have additional effects if specifically targeting knocked down foes:
These skills also have effects if targeting a knocked down foe or affecting a knocked down ally:
|Skills that require knocked down foes|
These skills have no effect unless targeting knocked down foes:
- Some creatures do not have an animation for being knocked down. Instead, they perform the animation for being interrupted and stand motionless until the knock down is over.
- Knock downs are most often used as interrupts and snares.
- Characters are knocked down when consuming Battle Isle Iced Tea.
- Warriors and Elementalists have more knock down skills than the other professions.
- Necromancers and Paragons are the only professions without any skills that can cause knock downs.
As stated above, knocked down characters cannot use skills with an activation time or aftercast delay. Even a single knock down can make a difference in combat, and knock downs can be used for various purposes.
- A common tactic is to knock down monks while spiking another character, to prevent monks from healing them.
- Knocking down (and otherwise snaring) flag and relic runners and kiting players is a good tactic.
- Knock-lock is the technique of repeatedly inflicting knock downs on targets to shut them down.
|The Guild Wars 2 Wiki also has an article on Knock down.|
- The game sometimes refers to knock down as stun in some internal (and normally inaccessible) skill descriptions.