What do damage buffs affect?

In Overwatch, there are several ways to buff the damage dealt by a hero: the alternate fire of Mercy's Caduceus Staff, Ana's Nano Boost, and Orisa's Supercharger.
Are they all governed by the same rules? What can they affect, or not affect?

This question exists to have a single reference point for the many, many questions that have been asked, instead of having to update each answer individually when game mechanics change

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Best Answer

There are a few rules for damage boosting abilities.

Ana, Mercy, and Orisa's damage buffs stack additively with each other, while Zenyatta's Orb of Discord stacks multiplicatively.
Damage boosts are calculated when damage is dealt. This means heros must be buffed during detonation for abilities such as Pharah's rockets, Junkrat's grenades, or D.Va's Self-Destruct.
Damage buffs have no impact on non-damaging effects such as healing, freezing, or knockback.
Damage boosts of the same type cannot be stacked. This means there is no benefit to 2 Mercys damage boosting a single hero.
Damage over time effects deal boosted damage for as long as the hero is being buffed. This includes Widowmaker's Venom Mine and Hanzo's Dragonstrike

Here is a list of which abilities can and cannot be damage buffed.

Buffed when fired (Hitscan/Melee)

Ana's Biotic Rifle (scoped)
Bastion's Recon and Sentry bullets
D.Va's Fusion Cannons
Genji's Deflect (hitscan)¹ and Dragonblade
Lucio's Sonic Amplifier (secondary)
McCree's Peacekeeper Pistol and Deadeye² (Source)
Mei's Endothermic Blaster (primary)
Reaper's Hellfire Shotguns and Death Blossom
Soldier 76's Pulse Rifle
Sombra's Machine Pistol
Symmetra's Photon Beam (primary)
Torbjörn's Forge Hammer
Tracer's Pulse Pistols
Widowmaker's Sniper and Assault Rifle
Winston's Tesla Cannon and Primal Rage
Zarya's Particle Cannon (primary)
All character's melee attacks

Buffed during detonation/impact (Projectiles)

Ana's Biotic Rifle (unscoped), Biotic Grenade, and Sleep Dart³
Bastion's Tank Mode explosives
D.Va's Self-Destruct⁴ (Source)
Genji's Shuriken and Deflect (projectiles)¹ (Source)
Hanzo's Storm Bow, Sonic Arrow, and Scatter Arrow
Junkrat's Frag Launcher grenades, Concussion Mine, and Steel Trap (Source)
Lucio's Sonic Amplifier (primary)
McCree's Flashbang
Mei's Endothermic Blaster (secondary)
Orisa's Fusion Driver
Pharah's Rockets and Rocket Barrage (note increased self damage)
Reinhardt's Fire Strike and Earthshatter⁵
Roadhog's Scrap Gun (primary/secondary) and Whole Hog
Soldier 76's Helix Rockets
Torbjörn's Rivet Gun
Tracer's Pulse Bomb (Source)
Zarya's Particle Cannon (secondary)
Zenyatta's Orb of Destruction

Buffed over time

Hanzo's Dragonstrike
Widowmaker's Venom Mine (Source)

Cannot be buffed

Ana's healing from Biotic Rifle or Biotic Grenade (Source)
Junkrat's RIP-Tire (Source)
Pharah's Concussive Blast
Soldier 76's Biotic Field
Symmetra's Sentry Turrets (Source)
Torbjörn's Turrets (Source)

Unknown

D.Va's Call Mech
Mei's Blizzard
Zarya's Graviton Surge

Sources

Notes

¹Applied on-fire for hitscan abilities, on-hit for projectiles. Based on Genji's damage buffs. Buffs cannot be stacked with multiple reflects.
²Killing shots can be made before red circles finish locking on.
³Ana's sleep dart does 5 points of damage.
⁴Beam must be on mechless D.Va to boost explosion damage. See Is D.Va's ultimate affected by Mercy's damage boost?.
⁵Reinhardt's Earthshatter is not technically a projectile ability, but takes a small amount of time to travel

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What is damage buff?

Buffs and debuffs are damage modifiers to your weapons and abilities in Destiny 2. Buffs increase the damage that you deal, while debuffs increase the damage that enemies receive. Buffs come in the form of weapon damage perks, certain subclass perks, armor mods like High-Energy Fire, and certain game mechanics.

What damage buffs stack Destiny 2?

Which damage buffs stack in Destiny 2. As a general rule, Buffs can stack with most other modifiers in the game except other buffs. The strongest buff will be the only active buff at any given time. Similarly, Debuffs can stack with most other modifiers except other debuffs.

Do buffs affect Limit Break?

Limit break damage is a flat potency rate and cannot be influenced by anything beyond the number of bars filled. In short, buffs do nothing.

Is LB affected by buffs ff14?

Being a unique damage type, LBs are not influenced by any player physical, magical or general party buffs or debuffs, but can be influenced by encounter specific, enemy affecting buffs or debuffs, such as a Vulnerability Down or Vulnerability Up, or Ravana's stances.

ELDEN RING - How to get MAX DAMAGE: +350% Damage for ALL BUILDS!

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