Regarding: Attributes gained from traits now apply to the downed state
Is it possible that they where a necromancer? If they where there is a trait that causes fear to those around them for a few seconds upon being downed/disabled and they have a fear when they are downed, there are also runes/sigils that can increase the duration of fear by a hefty amount. If everything lined up properly I wouldn’t say a 5~10 second fear is out of the question from a downed necro considering fear duration stacks. Also fear is still considered a condition from what I’ve noticed so any condition duration + would be a reasonable guess towards increasing fear time. There are also traits that cause Mark of the Reaper (fear mark) to be placed when a necro goes down, with greater marks that increases the size of the mark’s area and makes it unblockable adding to the time you’d be feared. With all this added up a 5~15 second fear is not unlikely for a single target.