Daze

Daze is a type of snare debuff. Daze can be applied by mobs - "Creature daze" - or other players - "Player daze" - and each form functions differently.

Creature daze
Creature daze is a 50% snare debuff, which often forces its target to dismount if mounted. All mobs have a chance of applying daze when they hit a player in melee range that is facing away from the mob. The daze mechanic is intended to prevent players from carelessly running past large groups of mobs.

All mob creatures have a chance to daze on each melee hit, ranging from 0% to a maximum 40%. Chance to daze is primarily a function of player level - mobs that are below a player's level have less chance to daze, while mobs above his level have a higher chance, with equal level mobs having a base 20% chance.

The base chance of 20% is decreased for players under level 30. For example, a level 10 player running from a level 10 mob will only have a 7% chance to be dazed.

A player can only be dazed from behind and within melee range of the attacking mob. This is most common when running away from it, but it can also happen while standing still if the mob approaches from behind, or when backing up if the mob overshoots you while following you. Due to server latency, it can sometimes appear that a mob has dazed from a long distance, or in front of the player.

It has been confirmed that friendly mobs (for escort quests for example) can daze other mobs that are running away. It also seems that the dazed debuff can't be applied by a mob if you are "Immune" (such as with a Paladin Divine Shield or Mage Ice Block), if you "Resist" the hit, or if all the damage from the hit is Absorbed (such as with Power Word: Shield).

While it slows movement speed, creature daze is not considered a movement impairing effect. Thus it cannot be removed by the usual means such as druid shapeshifting, Vanish, Faction Insignia, or Hand of Freedom. It is considered a physical debuff, however, and can be removed by Hand of Protection and the like. Note that it is also removed by immunity granting effects such as Divine Shield or Ice Block.

Player daze
Some playable classes have abilities that apply a dazed debuff as well. However, player dazes do not dismount others the same way creature daze does, nor is the player daze effect immune to skills/items that remove movement impairements or harmful spell effects.

Dazing effects are notorious in PvP settings, especially in Warsong Gulch. Flag runners are usually hit with these abilities, leaving them vulnerable to attack from the opposing team. Player daze effects usually reduce movement speed by either 50% or 70%, depending on the ability.

Abilities

 * The Protection Paladin's primary ability Avenger's Shield, when improved with Glyph of Dazing Shield, can daze up to 3 targets.
 * Mages have the Fire talent ability Blast Wave which dazes all enemies in the area of effect for 3 sec.
 * Hunters have Concussive Shot, which dazes the target for 4 seconds, and a talent in their Marksmanship tree called Concussive Barrage which grants your succesful Chimera Shot and Multi-Shot a 50%/100% chance to daze the target for 4 seconds.
 * Destruction Warlocks have Aftermath which gives their Conflagrate a 50/100% chance to daze the target for 5 sec.
 * Warriors with the talent ability Piercing Howl can daze all nearby enemies for 6 seconds.
 * Feral Druids in Cat Form with the Feral Charge (Cat Form) talent ability can daze an enemy for 3 seconds.