Status effect
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A status effect is a temporary modification to a game character’s original set of properties that usually comes into play when special powers and abilities (such as spells) are used, often during combat. It appears in numerous computer and video games of many genres, most commonly in role-playing games. The term status effect can be applied both to changes that provide a character an advantage (boosted attributes, defensive barriers, regeneration), and those that hinder the character (decreased attributes, incapacitation, disease, loss of control). Especially in MMORPGs, beneficial effects are referred to as buffs, and hindering effects are called debuffs.
Definitions
Although status effects vary widely from one game to another, certain effects appear in numerous games. Below is a partial listing of the most common status effects and descriptions of how they usually work.
Positive status effects
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Attribute Up | One or more of a character's attributes are increased temporarily. Usually this will affect the offensive and defensive attributes. These effects come in a variety of names; one example is "Haste" from the Final Fantasy series, which doubles a character's speed. |
| Auto-Life | Automatically revives a character when he/she is killed. The amount of HP the character receives when he/she is revived differs from game to game, but it is usually halfway or fully restored. |
| Counterattack | Being hit by a physical attack prompts the character to automatically attack the enemy that attacked him/her (this usually does not affect his/her regular turn). Depending on the game, the counterattacker may or may not take damage from the attack as they would normally. How much damage the counterattack inflicts on the enemy also varies from game to game. Sometimes, the counterattack may be based off of the damage originally inflicted on the counterattacker. In most instances, however, the counterattack is merely the counterattacker's standard attack. |
| Invincibility | Typically this protects the character from all forms of attack by conventional means. There may also be separate versions for physical attacks and magic attacks. Spells or items that grant invincibility are very rare, usually found very late in the game, and often limited in scope. |
| Invisibility | An invisible character is impossible to see, making attacks on them either impossible or at least very difficult. An invisible character also may gain a bonus to their own attacks, although in most games the invisibility wears off as soon as the user takes an offensive action. Invisibility is synonymous with concealed, hidden, stealth etc. |
| Nul Elemental | Nul spells create temporary elemental protection for the party. They are immune to one elemental spell/attack depending on the spell cast. For example, NulFrost will make the party immune to Ice once. |
| Protection/Shell | Protection creates a barrier around a target which reduces the damage caused by some sort of attack, typically by 50%. Generally, there will separate spells for physical and magical attacks, and possibly a third for breath weapons. |
| Reflect | This effect causes magic spells (and sometimes other projectiles) cast on the character to be reflected (note that this will usually include healing spells). This usually means that the spell is used on a random character on the opposite side from the one it was cast on, be it player or monster. Sometimes, it will be reflected directly at the caster instead. In a game which uses miniature-based combat, the spell or missile will often be literally reflected, in some random direction. The reflect ability may fail or have less chance of working against high level spells. |
| Regeneration (also called Regen) | HP is gradually restored (at a faster-than-normal rate, if appropriate). Certain games have variations on this effect which restore MP only, or both HP and MP. The proportional rate at which a character recovers HP under this effect differs from game to game. Examples of this can be found in the Recover, Aqua Ring and Heal Order moves from the Pokémon games. |
Negative status effects
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Asleep | While asleep, a character will take no actions whatsoever, cannot dodge attacks, and will sometimes have lower or non-existent defenses, including defenses against other status effects. In most games, an attack on a sleeping character yields at least a chance of canceling the Asleep effect. In some games, however, attacks of a non-physical nature (such as magic) will never wake a sleeping character (illogical as it may seem). in the Pokemon games, a sleeping wild Pokemon is easier to capture. In the D&D system, an attack on a sleeping (or otherwise helpless) character initiates a special attack called a coup-de-grace, which has bonuses to hit and kills instantly. |
| Attribute Down | A particular attribute is decreased temporarily. Commonly this will affect the offensive and defensive attributes. This will also come in a variety of different names if applicable. For example, "Slow" will decrease a character's speed by half, and "Blind" will typically reduce accuracy, although these can be effects in their own right. |
| Berserk | In some games, the Berserk status effect causes a character to become uncontrollable, and constantly attack. In other games, the Berserk effect merely increases a character's fighting abilities, and may prevent them from doing anything other than their basic attack. It can also do both of these things and in these cases it can be classified as both a positive and negative effect (usually dependent on whether it is cast upon a fighter or a spellcaster), although it is usually classed as negative. It is a reasonably common tactic to use this variant of the beserk effect on spellcasters, who generally have very poor physical stats and will therefore still not be particularly strong, even with the stat boost. |
| Burn | This is a status effect that has a varying effect depending on the game, when it is present. In Paper Mario games, it is equivalent to "Poison"; it has a similar effect for the Pokémon series, but with an additional decrease in Attack power. In some titles in the Final Fantasy series, "Burn" or "Heat" designates an instant KO (the FF term for death) for any character that takes action while afflicted with the condition. |
| Confusion | A confused character will be unable to distinguish allies from foes and will attack both. (In a few games, confused characters will preferentially attack their erstwhile allies.) In some games, a confused character may even perform actions other than attacking, such as using random items or magic, thus making confusion even more dangerous and unpredictable. In many Action-RPGs, the player's controls will be inverted or scrambled instead. Confusion usually ends after a certain period of time. In some games a single physical attack also cures this status effect. In Pokèmon, a confused Pokèmon will have about a 50% chance each round of "attacking itself", suffering damage based on its attack and defense stats and losing its action for that round. In other games, a confused character will simply stand dazed (like the effect). |
| Curse | This effect has many different meanings. Sometimes, it prevents a character from attacking. At other times it functions like poison or deals even more damage and sometimes it blocks the victim's magic. Curse may also lower ability points until the curse is removed, usually by a spell. In some games, being cursed in battle begins a countdown; the character affected dies when the counter reaches zero. This type of curse is also sometimes referred called 'doom' or 'death sentence', especially in the Final Fantasy series. Sometimes, this is combined with Stone, in that a character will turn to stone after a set number of rounds have passed. In the Xenosaga series Curse deals damage to the person afflicted every time he/she attacks. The damage done to character is equal to the damage done to the enemy. In Pokémon, a Cursed Pokémon loses roughly one-quarter of its' HP each turn, where the user of Curse must sacrifice half its maximum HP to inflict a Curse. |
| Daze | A dazed character can walk around at a reduced speed, but cannot perform any actions, such as fighting or casting spells. In some games daze is equivalent to stun. |
| Dead/Unconscious | This effect automatically occurs when a character's loses all of his/her HP. A character under this effect can take no actions until revived. Some games (especially SSI's Gold Box games) distinguish death and unconsciousness; at zero hit points one is unconscious, death only happens when the plot calls for it. |
| Frozen | Usually (if not always) caused by an ice-based attack, being frozen usually halts further action of the character. In theFinal Fantasy series, if any character gets hit with a physical attack while frozen, it immediately inflicts KO, possibly due to a frozen object shattering with a well placed hit. In some games (such as Pokémon), a fire attack will end the effect instantly. |
| Gradual Petrify | This works the same as the Doom status effect instead, when the countdown timer reaches 0 the victim is petrified. In contrast to Doom, the status can be removed with an item or spell. |
| Lock/Hold | Seen in a number of games under different names, this effect is like a physical version of "Silence". Under this ailment, units can no longer use their physical offense in battle. |
| Paralysis | A character under this affect is generally rendered unable to attack or perform any actions. In the Pokémon series of games, Paralysis halves the Pokémon's speed, and has roughly a one third chance of preventing attacks the Pokémon attempts. In many Tactical RPG's such as Nippon Ichi's Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, Paralysis only affects the victim's ability to attack or perform any special moves, while still allowing them to move, while in others, such as the Final Fantasy Tactics games, Paralysis is split into two separate status effects; one that prevents the victim from taking any actions, called "Don't Act" or "Disable", and one that prevents them from moving around the battlefield, usually called "Immobilize" or "Don't Move". |
| Petrified | This status effect usually denotes that a character has been turned to stone, and is thus incapable of any action whatsoever until the status has worn off or been lifted. In some games, stone'd characters are also invincible; in these games, it is usually also permanent, and so effectively equivalent to death except for the manner of its removal. Usually, if the entire party gets petrified, the game ends. In some games, like Final Fantasy X, petrified characters can take damage and when their HP reaches zero they are "shattered", and removed from the battle permanently. |
| Poison | This status effect usually comes in a variety of forms, such as "On Fire", "Cold", "Diseased", etc (often cured by different means). A character who is affected by Poison takes damage at a regular rate (once a turn, usually). In some games, this drain of HP is not able to kill the character by itself, but leaves him or her at only 1 HP: so weak that even the most pathetic of attacks can defeat him or her. EarthBound, which still has this status effect, also has a similar, weaker version known as "cold" (referring not to temperature, but to the disease). In Pokémon, the attack "Toxic" confers a special form of Poison, where the damage inflicted doubles every subsequent round. |
| Silenced | A character afflicted with the Silenced status effect cannot use magic. This is based on the idea that casting magic requires chanting and therefore since the character cannot speak, they can't cast magic. It may be given other, more direct names, such as "Mute", "Stopspell", etc. |
| Stop | A Stopped Character cannot take any actions. In games with an Active Time Battle system, a stopped character's ATB gauge will freeze. In some cases, such as Final Fantasy III, a team of stopped characters is considered defeated. This may also be called "Paralysis", although that ailment sometimes only blocks certain actions, or merely reduces their speed and/or chances of working. |
| Stun | A stunned character is unable to walk or perform any actions. It is often caused by electric shock, or a time-freezing spell, or in some cases a blunt impact or loud noise (in the form of a sonic-based spell for example). Unlike Paralysis or Stopping, it usually lasts for a short duration, such as one turn or a few seconds. |
| Zombie/Undead | This status effect varies from game to. In some games undead characters attack their former allies. In most cases, undead units take damage from curative spells (taken from Dungeons and Dragons). In Ogre Battle, being undead also opens up new job classes. |
Unique status effects
Several games showcase more unique status effects aside from or in addition to the usual ones listed above. The following is only a small portion of the imaginative effects that have appeared in many games.
| Name | Game | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Allergic | Paper Mario 2 | This prevents all other status effects. This is both good and bad, as it prevents both negative and positive status changes until it wears off. |
| Blood Suck | Final Fantasy Tactics | The effect of Blood Suck turns your character into a vampire. In battle, it acts as a combination of Confusuion and Berserk, where the afflicted character will constantly attack the nearest target, but instead of a normal blow, the character uses an attack called Suck Blood, which drains health from the target to the character, and may also spread the Blood Suck effect further. |
| Charm/Attraction | Final Fantasy series Pokémon |
In Final Fantasy and most other RPGs, this will "recruit" the target to the side of whomever 'charmed' them for the duration of the battle. Final Fantasy Tactics has an advanced version called "Invite", in which the affected enemy will also try to permanently join the group, should they survive the battle. In Pokémon, your chance of attacking the enemy who used it on you, assuming they are the opposite gender, drops significantly. |
| Float | Final Fantasy | This makes the target levitate, effectively negating Earth-based damage. Sometimes this raises evasion to physical attacks overall as well. One of the few beneficial status effects in Final Fantasy to remain after battle, protecting the player from injury when walking on damaging floors in games such as Final Fantasy IV. (In Final Fantasy IV, the effect will wear off if the player ascends or descends floors in a dungeon, or leaves the current area that he/she currently is in.) In Pokémon, the most similar effect is the Pokémon Type "Flying", and the "Levitate" trait added in Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire. |
| Frog/Mini | Final Fantasy | Both are essentially the same status effect, despite aesthetics. Defensive and offensive power drop immensely for the target, and magic may be locked. Frog can be cured using the same spell again, though. |
| Homesick | EarthBound | This solely afflicts the main character, Ness. It sometimes prevented Ness from attacking in battle, but could be cured by calling home to his mother, or talking to her in person. |
| Itchy | Final Fantasy X-2 | A character under "Itchy" status cannot perform any commands other than escaping or changing dresspheres. One way of removing this status is to change dresspheres. |
| MOMO Guard | Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht | One of the most specific status effects in gaming history. This increases the attack and defense of Ziggy whenever MOMO is in the back row. |
| Oil | Final Fantasy Tactics Final Fantasy VIII Final Fantasy XII |
The character is drenched in oil, and makes the next Fire-attack on that character twice as effective. |
| Pokérus | Pokémon | The Pokémon effected with this rare status condition receives double the EVs (Effort Values) that a regular Pokémon would receive. Unlike most status effects it cannot be cured traditionally but will fade after a period of 24 hours. Uniquely, once a Pokémon is cured of Pokérus, it cannot get the condition ever again. (Whether this is an actual status ailment is a debate however, as the game refers to it as a status effect in the same way it would refer to a Burn or Sleep status, but other media simply state it as a virus) |
| Thirst | Dark Cloud | The character cannot heal damage as long as they're thirsty. "Gourds" were found to increase thirst gauge, allowing the character to go longer without a drink. Naturally, this is cured simply by drinking water. In Dark Cloud 2, this was made into a normal status effect. Frailty in Valkyrie Profile: Silmeria has a similar effect. |
| Virus/Pointless | Final Fantasy IX Final Fantasy X-2 (Deprave) La Pucelle: Tactics Phantom Brave |
In Final Fantasy IX, a character afflicted with “Virus” status cannot gain any Experience points or Ability Points. In Final Fantasy X-2, this is called “Pointless”. A similar affliction is found in many Nippon Ichi Tactical RPGs such as La Pucelle: Tactics and the Disgaea series called "Deprave". These effects are minor but annoying, as they may thwart or slow down attempts to level up a character. |
Curing status effects
This matter varies as widely as the effects themselves and the games in which they appear. Some status effects go away on their own after a certain amount of time has elapsed. Most games contain items capable of healing status effects. Often these items heal a specific status effect (such as Antidotes, which in many games cure Poison), though many games also include one or more universal status effect removing items (such as Full Heal from the Pokémon series, or Remedy in the Final Fantasy series). Many games also include magic spells that can eliminate status effects (such as the Esuna spell from the Final Fantasy series). Most of the time status effects are removed at the end of a battle, however in some cases they continue to persist until either they are cured or until the character rests (such as at an inn, temple, or in a tent).
In addition, many games have weapons, armor, or other equipment that can prevent a character from getting a status effect in the first place. One of the most famous of these is the Ribbon acessory from the Final Fantasy series, which nullifies all negative effects.
Buffs and debuffs
In many MMORPGs, the terms Buff and Debuff are commonly used to describe status effects. Some spells or powers may debuff an enemy while buffing an ally at the same time, such as the Fulcrum Shift power in City of Heroes, which reduces the target enemies damage output while simultaneously increasing that of nearby allies.
Buffs
Buff is the term generically used to describe a positive status effect (usually cast as a spell). Examples of buffs include:
- Increasing the attributes of the target (stats). These would allow the target to wear heavier armor by increasing strength, or make the target more dextrous or intelligent.
- Increase the movement rate of the target. Often this is extremely useful in very large game worlds, allowing the target to spend less time traveling. Examples of this buff are EverQuest's Spirit of Wolf (SoW) or to a lesser extent Aspect of the Pack in World of Warcraft.
- Change how the target interacts with the world. This may include levitation to make the target float above the terrain and avoid pits, vision enhancements like ultravision, or water breathing for traveling or fighting underwater.
- Give the target additional hit points (HP), magic points (MP), or increase the regeneration of either HPs or MPs. An examples of this kind of buff are EverQuest's Avatar (increases hit points and armor class), Koadic's Endless Intellect (increases base mana and mana regeneration), and Regrowth (increases hit point regeneration).
- Increase or decrease the target's physical size in the game. This kind of buff may allow more PCs to fit in a small area, or make a main tank easier to see and target because of an increased size.
- Augment the fire, cold or magic resistance of the target. These would be used when traveling in hazardous regions like lava fields (fire resist), or when combatting MOBs who primarily attack with cold.
- Increase the attack speed of the target ('haste'). This allows for greater damage done to the MOB the target is fighting, especially if used in combination with a slow debuff on the MOB.
SoW (Spirit of Wolf above) has become somewhat of a generic term used in other MMORPGs populated by former EverQuest players, because of its popularity in game. Various peripheral merchandise such as mouse pads or T-shirts bearing reference to these spells is available.
Other MMORPGs utilize buffs as well, including Kingdom of Loathing, Asheron's Call, City of Heroes, Anarchy Online, Lineage 2 and Dark Age of Camelot.
Debuffs
Debuffs are effects that may negatively impact a player character (PC) or a non-player character (NPC) in some way other than reducing their hit points. Some examples of debuffs are:
- Reduce the movement speed of the target (snare). Snares are often used in kiting, or to stop a target from fleeing combat.
- Decrease the resistance of the target to fire, cold, or magic. This kind of debuff makes a MOB more vulnerable to special attacks such as spells.
- Reduce the physical attributes (stats) of the target. An example of this are spells that weaken the target, reducing their damage or causing them to unquip armor (that is now too heavy for them) resulting in an increase in successful attacks for the debuffer.
- Make the target unlucky. This kind of debuff will change how the game "rolls" for the target, making them less successful in saving throws or critical damage rolls.
- Blind the target. When used on a PC, this usually will either negatively affect their chance to hit or blank their screen. When used on an NPC this just negatively effects their chance to hit, though some games implement a panic response in the MOB and make it flee from the combat.
- Reduce the attack speed of the target (slow). This debuff is used to help the tank mitigate damage coming from the MOB. Slow is primarily used against melee opponents, as a spellcaster's attacks would not be slowed.
- Silence the target. This debuff causes loss of spellcasting abilities for the target. Can be devastating against a target with weak melee but strong casting abilities.
There are other effects that are technically debuffs, but are primarily used in crowd control. These are roots (stop target movement, may in some games cause target to attack nearest PC instead of its intended target), stuns (interrupts spells, removes combat queues), and mezzes / sleeps (cause target to cease all activity for a fixed length of time, or until damaged).
Buffs and debuffs in MMORPG gameplay
Buffs and Debuffs play a more significant role in MMORPGs than in most Single-Player games. This is due to the factor known as hate, or Aggro. Hate determines the target priority of monsters in instances and encounters, and a spellcaster that casts debuffs, especially early on in a fight, will suddenly find his or herself drawing a lot of unfriendly attention. Buffs tend to draw less Hate from mobs when compared to Debuffs, healing, or direct damage spells, but in a PvP battle may make the caster a target in order to deny the buff to the enemy force.
Auras
Many modern Real Time Strategy have Hero Units, single units that are powerful, but limited in number(usually only one of a single type allowed). In addition to their normally very high stats, many Heroes also have auras which confer beneficial status effects or attribute bonuses to any friendly units that enter within a certain radius of the hero. This makes the Hero unit an important factor in an engagement(not to mention a bigger target) as, in addition to their formidable combat skills and powerful spells, they also make the units around them more effective.
Examples of auras include:
- Brilliance Aura - Increases the rate of mana regeneration for friendly spellcasters (Archmage, Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos)
- Inspiring Aura - Increases damage inflicted by nearby units (Force Commander, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War)
Some heroes and spellcaster units can also confer or inflict buffs, debuffs, and other status effects to units as spells.