Mechanic In " World of Warcraft " , a mechanic can mean a couple of things : Mechanic as Mode . A way in which your game character interacts with the rest of the game world . Most of the time the game ' s normal mechanic is in effect , but there are buff s and debuff s that can change your mechanic . Debuffs that impose mechanic - altering effects come in all dispel type s , and some have no dispel type at all , meaning that they either must run their course and expire over time or have a specific way in which they can be removed . For example , if a Priest or Warlock puts a Fear mechanic on you , there are two options available to you : if you have the " Insignia of the Alliance / Horde " trinket and are a Druid , Mage , Paladin , Priest , Rogue , or Warlock , or if you are Undead ( see Will of the Forsaken ) , you can remove the Fear effect yourself . Or , if there happens to be a friendly Priest or Paladin ( or Warlock with a Felhunter ) around , they can remove the effect as well , as both Fear and Psychic Scream cause Magic debuff s . If one attains the second PvP rank ( Corporal / Grunt ) in the Honor System ( pre - 2 . 0 ) , one can purchase an " Insignia of the Alliance / Horde " trinket , which when activated can remove three class - dependent types of mechanics ; this power has a cooldown of 5 minutes . This table shows which class ' s " Insignia of the Alliance / Horde " trinket removes which effects . A " Y " means the class ' s trinket can remove the listed type of effect , while an " N " means it can ' t . Charm . You can ' t control your character , who stands still , usually with hearts floating above his / her head . Some classes ' PvP trinkets cancel this effect , as does the Undead racial ability Will of the Forsaken . Confuse . You can ' t control your character , who wanders aimlessly . There may be items that help remove this effect ( if this happens as part of a Polymorph , see Polymorph for more ) , and these would of course be usable in this situation . Damage Reduction . The damage dealt by every melee attack you make is reduced . There is to my knowledge no way to remove this mechanic specifically , although the debuff that causes it is usually either a Curse or a Magic - type debuff , which can be removed in the usual way . Daze . You move slowly . This is a lot like the Snare mechanic , although it has the added effect of knocking you off your mount , if you ' re on one to begin with . These effects are usually very short - duration . A Blizzard post to the official forums indicated that it is intentionally impossible to remove a Daze other than by waiting it out . There was once a bug ( appeared in patch 1 . 6 ; fixed in patch 1 . 7 ) that allowed Paladin s ' Blessing of Freedom and Druid s ' Shapeshifting to remove Daze , but this was a mistake . Fear . You run uncontrollably away , out to a certain radius , then mill about randomly , also uncontrollably . PvP trinkets for many classes remove this effect , as does Will of the Forsaken . Incapacitate . You cannot move and cannot use abilities , however the effect is broken when you take damage . There is some debate over whether the expansion cat Druid ability Maim is an incapacitate debuff . It does break when the afflicted takes damage , but not when they take damage from periodic damage ( such as damage from rake or rip ) . Currently , incapacitates do break when hit by damage from DoT s . Periodic Damage . You continue to take damage every few seconds for the duration of the effect . The amount of damage depends on the effect , as does how often the damage occurs . There are items ( such as the mighty Luffa ) that remove physical Periodic Damage mechanics , which are known as Bleed effects . Polymorph . This is basically a combination of a Confuse effect and a Transform effect . The reason why it ' s a separate mechanic from those other two is that there are items ( for example , the PvP trinkets ) and class abilities ( such as the Druid ability to shapeshift ) that remove both components of a Polymorph effect . Possession . You are under the control of a mob or another player . Root . You are frozen in place , attached to the ground . The Gnome racial ability Escape Artist can remove most Root effects . Silence . You are unable to cast spells . This may be from a Magic - type debuff , in which case a Priest or Paladin ally could remove it from you , although you couldn ' t do so yourself . Sleep . You are asleep . Your character stands still , head bowed , with " Zzz " above his / her head . Very similar to Incapacitate ; you cannot move or take any actions , but the effect will break if taken damage . Snare . You move more slowly than normal . Escape Artist can remove some Snare effects . Speed . You move more quickly than normal . Debuffs can remove some Speed effects . Stun . You are unable to move , cast spells , or use items , with the exception of those which allow you to break free of stun effects , of course . Some of the PvP trinkets will remove this . Transform . You look like something else . When imposed upon you by another , this is usually combined with a Confuse mechanic , but not necessarily - - several items and effects in the game will transform you , but the only confusion they cause is in the minds of onlookers . Horror . Example : Warlocks | Death Coil Causes you to run in horror for short time . So far , Warlocks Death Coil is only ability that can inflict Horror - type debuff . Horror is very similar to Fear , but counter - fear items nor abilities cant break Death Coil .