Final Fantasy VIII statuses

The following is a list of status effects in Final Fantasy VIII. Status effects are applied by being hit by status spells and other abilities that inflict status effects. Enemies have various innate immunities, but player characters must use the junction system to be protected against negative statuses. The ST-Atk-J ability lets players add negative status effects to normal attacks. This can be detrimental if an ally winds up confused and attacks the party. Ribbon and Defend can also be used to protect against status abnormalities, though the latter only works perfectly against statuses inflicted from physical attacks.

Some positive status effects can be permanently applied to player characters via passive abilities learned by Guardian Forces.

The number of status ailments on player characters is a determining factor in calculating their Crisis Level, which affects the potency of certain Limit Breaks. Certain Limit Breaks can be used to inflict negative statuses to enemies, while others apply beneficial statuses to the party.

List of statuses[]

Critical[]

This status is unnamed in-game. Party members fall into critical health when their HP is 25% or less of their max HP. HP digits turn yellow and the characters appear exhausted. Being in a critical state raises Crisis Level, which increases the chances of being able to perform a Limit Break and strengthens their effects. If Rinoa is in the party, Angelo has a chance of performing Angelo Recover on a critical HP party member.

Death / Sudden Death[]

Sudden death is when a character is instantly killed, whereas normal Death occurs when HP reaches 0. When all enemies are dead, it is considered a Battle Victory. When the entire party is dead, it is a Game Over. There are no scripted battles which call for the party's death. The effect remains indefinitely, even after battle.

Poison[]

When an afflicted combatant takes an action, they take damage equal to 5 to 7% of their maximum HP. The damage is non-elemental, thus even if the player junctions the afflicted to absorb Poison damage, they still take damage. The effect remains indefinitely, even after battle.

Visual: Afflicted unit has green bubbles above their head.

Petrify[]

Petrification flags the afflicted unit as defeated, and is thus essentially similar to the Death status. If all player characters become petrified, it is a Game Over.

Damage and healing do not affect petrified units. When petrified, all other statuses are nullified.

When an enemy is petrified in battle, the player earns EXP based on the HP damage done prior to petrification. AP and items are not earned.

Visual: Target turns into gray stone and becomes immobilized. Enemies do not turn gray.

Darkness[]

Darkness reduces a character's Hit Rate by 75%. Characters with base hit rate of 255% are unaffected, such as Squall and Seifer, although Darkness disables the gunblade's trigger, making them unable to deal additional damage. The sound effect of hitting the trigger will play, but the hit will lack the explosion around the enemy and damage will not be increased.

Visual: The afflicted has a dark cloud over around head, shrouding their vision.

Silence[]

Silence disables the Magic, Draw, and GF commands. Rinoa is immune to this status during her Angel Wing Limit Break. The status persists outside of battle, until healed.

Visual: The afflicted has a speech bubble with "..." above their head.

Berserk[]

The Berserk status raises physical attack damage by 50%, but the afflicted does nothing but attack random foes until the state is removed, though reaction abilities like Counter and Auto-Potion can still activate.

Rinoa's Angel Wing Limit Break is similar but with magic spells instead of attacks. She is immune to Berserk when in Angel Wing as well.

A Berserked character who has Drains junctioned to ST-Atk-J only drains the amount of HP from enemies per strike as their normal attack would have done without the +50% bonus from Berserk.

Visual: The afflicted turns red with steam rising out of their head.

Zombie[]

The afflicted receives damage from curative items and magic, and is instantly killed by Life magic and items. Absorption abilities' effects are reversed. Targets under this status gain innate immunity to Instant Death and Doom, take double damage from Holy-elemental attacks, and halve damage from physical attacks.

Elixirs, Megalixirs, and Full-cure will completely reduce the HP of party members afflicted with Zombie, rather than prioritizing healing the status. Outside of battle, healing items and spells will have no effect.

The in-game Information menu erroneously states that Zombie increases attack power.

Visual: The afflicted turns green.

Sleep[]

Sleep temporarily prevents a character from acting. Regardless, the character's Evasion is not reduced, so it is possible they may avoid attacks while sleeping.

Visual: The afflicted unit leans over with Z's floating above their head.

Slow[]

Slow halves the Speed of the afflicted character, and slows the effects and durations of other statuses. The effect lasts approximately 6.6 seconds.

Visual: The afflicted character moves slower. ATB bars are blue.

Stop[]

Targets under Stop are unable to act or avoid attacks. If the target was afflicted with any status effects prior to being stopped, their effects and durations are halted as well. The effect lasts approximately 13.3 seconds.

Visual: The afflicted character is stopped in place. The ATB bar is grayed out and does not move.

Doom[]

Instant Death is applied once the counter expires. The effect lasts 16 seconds.

Visual: The afflicted character has red numbers above their head.

Petrifying[]

Petrify is applied once the counter expires. The effect lasts approximately 13.3 seconds.

Visual: The afflicted character has faint numbers above their head.

Confuse[]

The afflicted performs random actions against random targets. For the party, these actions include the Attack/Mug, Magic, and Item commands. The effect remains indefinitely.

Visual: The afflicted spins around uncontrollably.

Drain[]

Visual[]

The effect has no visual. When casting the spell, three red orbs are drawn from the target towards the caster.

Effect[]

Drain steals HP from the target and returns it to the caster, with the target's Drain resistance determining how much HP is restored. Both sides will take damage if one is undead or afflicted with Zombie, though it will function normally if both meet the criteria.

ST-ATK-J[]

Spell	Rating	Status Effects
Drain	100%	Drain

ST-DEF-J[]

Spell	Rating	Status Effects
Drain	100%	Drain
Holy	40%	Death, Poison, Berserk, Zombie, Sleep, Curse, Confuse, Drain

Means of infliction[]

Game Element	Type	Effect
Drain	Magic	Absorbs HP from the target. 26 Power.
Absorb	Command	Absorbs HP from the target, ignoring Shell. 14 Power.

The following enemies have the following resistance to Drain:

30%	Fujin (2nd), Raijin (3rd)
50%	Chimera, Diablos
60%	Anacondaur, Fujin (1st), Raijin (1st/2nd)
65%	Elite Soldier, Paratrooper
Immune	Blue Dragon, Creeps, Esthar Soldier (Terminator), Elastoid, Elnoyle, Forbidden, GIM47N, Grat, PuPu, SAM08G, Tonberry, UFO?, All bosses except Biggs (D-District Prison), Diablos, Droma, Edea (2nd), Elvoret, Fujin, Iguion, Left Orb, Minotaur, NORG, Propagator, Raijin, Right Orb, Rinoa, Sacred, Seifer, Sorceress (A), Sorceress (B), Trauma, and Wedge (D-District Prison)

Blow Away[]

Visual[]

The combatant is knocked, blown off, sliced in half or otherwise removed from the battlefield.

Effect[]

Removes the affected character from battle.

Means of infliction[]

Game Element	Type	Effect
Kamikaze	Command	Deals damage and ejects the user.
Degenerator	Blue Magic, Enemy Attack	Ejects the target.
Rapture	Slot	Ejects all targets.
Suicide	Enemy Attack	Deals damage and ejects the user.
Escape	Enemy Attack	Flees from battle.
Escaped...	Enemy Attack	Flees from battle.
Zantetsuken	GF Attack, Enemy Attack	Ejects all targets.
Absorbed into time...	Enemy Attack	Ejects the target.

The following enemies have the following resistance to Eject:

20%	Abyss Worm, Adamantoise, Armadodo, Belhelmel, Bite Bug, Blitz, Blobra, Blood Soul, Blue Dragon, Bomb, Buel, Caterchipillar, Cockatrice, Creeps, Death Claw, Esthar Soldier, Elastoid, Elite Soldier, Fastitocalon, Fastitocalon-F, Forbidden, Funguar, G-Soldier, Gayla, Geezard, Gesper, GIM47N, Glacial Eye, Grand Mantis, Grendel, Guard, Hexadragon, Imp, Malboro, Mesmerize, Ochu, Oilboyle, Paratrooper, Raldo, Red Bat, Ruby Dragon, SAM08G, Slapper, Snow Lion, T-Rexaur, Thrustaevis, Torama, Tri-Face, Turtapod, Wendigo, Propagator
30%	Chimera, Iron Giant, Jelleye
50%	Behemoth
60%	Anacondaur
80%	Elnoyle
Immune	Base Leader, Base Soldier, Cactuar, Esthar Soldier (Terminator), Grat, Lefty, PuPu, Righty, Tonberry, UFO?, Vysage, All bosses except Propagator

Curse[]

A cursed character is unable to use their Limit Break. However, if the command was selected before the status was inflicted, they will still use it. The effect lasts approximately 21.3 seconds.

Visual: The character is slightly darker, similar to the Darkness effect but without the smoke. The dark hue alternates as if in the manner of glowing.

Vit 0[]

Units afflicted by Vit 0 have their Vitality and Spirit stats set to 0, rendering them extremely vulnerable to both physical and magical attacks. The effect remains indefinitely.

Visual: The target is discolored in a violet hue, as if to signify they are suffering from deteriorating effects or are maligned to a vulnerable state.

Gravity[]

Effect[]

The target has a percentage of their HP removed.

The following enemies are immune to Gravity:

Behemoth, Elnoyle, All bosses except Biggs, Diablos, Edea (2nd), Elvoret, Fake President, Fujin, Gerogero, Ifrit, Iguion, Krysta, Left Orb, Right Orb, Minotaur, Mobile Type 8, NORG, Propagator, Raijin, Red Giant, Sacred, Seifer (All but final), Sorceress (A), Sorceres (B), Sorceress (C), Sphinxaur, Sphinxara, Ultimecia (1st)

Means of infliction[]

Game Element	Type	Effect
Demi	Magic	Deals damage equal to 1/4 of the target's current HP.
Dark Messenger	GF Attack	Deals damage equal to all targets based on Diablos's level.
Micro Missiles	Blue Magic, Enemy Attack	Deals damage equal to 50% Max HP at Crisis Level 1, 75% at Level 2, 87.5% at Level 3, and 93.75% at Level 4. When used by enemy, halves target's HP (25% if target has Protect).
Meteor Strike	Duel	Deals damage equal to 25% of current HP. Physical attack.
Dissolving Acid	Enemy Attack	Reduces HP by 37.5% and inflicts Vit 0.
Gastric Juice	Enemy Attack	Reduces HP by 50% when used by Gayla.
Gravija	Enemy Attack	Reduces party's HP by 75%.
Maelstrom	Enemy Attack	Halves party's HP and inflicts Curse (62.5% of current HP when used by Ultimecia).
Oil Blast	Enemy Attack	Reduces HP by 62.5%. Counter when HP is below 1/3rd of Max HP. Never misses.

The End[]

Visual[]

The effect places the target in a cinematic movie-esque montage that evokes a happily-ever-after-type ending.

Effect[]

All opponents, with the exception of Forbidden, Abadon, Gerogero, Left Probe, and Right Probe, are instantly defeated; resistance to instant death is bypassed and ignored.

Means of infliction[]

Game Element	Type	Effect
The End	Slot	Instantly defeat all opponents.

Aura[]

The Crisis Level of an afflicted party member greatly escalates, allowing the player to easily access Limit Breaks. When used on enemies, it increases their Strength. The effect lasts approximately 6.6 seconds.

Visual: The afflicted unit glows a yellow-gold hue.

Protect[]

Targets under this effect have any Physical type damage afflicted to them reduced by half. The effect lasts 32 seconds. Upon wearing off, a message will be displayed at the top of the screen.

Visual: When the target is struck by a Physical attack, a steep concave blue light shield manifests.

Shell[]

Any Magic based damage afflicted to the target is reduced by half. The effect lasts 32 seconds. Upon wearing off, a message will be displayed at the top of the screen.

Visual: When the target is struck by a Magical attack, a wide spherical magenta light barrier manifests.

Haste[]

Haste increases the rate that the ATB gauge fills by 50%. It also speeds up the effects and durations of other statuses. It is gained through the spell of the same name, from the Mad Rush command ability, from the Auto-Haste support ability, and from Quistis's Limit Break Mighty Guard when the Crisis Level is anything above level 1. The effect lasts 32 seconds.

Visual: Player characters' ATB gauges turn red when affected.

Reflect[]

It bounces most single-target magic spells onto the opposing party, bar Dispel, which removes the status, and Drain and Scan. The Reflect spell itself reflects, rather than replenishing duration. Spells from Slot and Angel Wing can be reflected. The effect lasts 32 seconds. Upon wearing off, a message will be displayed at the top of the screen.

Visual: There is no visual change aside from a yellow shield that appears whenever the status activates.

Float[]

Visual[]

The Floated unit hovers in place slightly above the ground.

Effect[]

Float grants full protection against ground-based attacks and magic. When Minotaur and Sacred are bestowed with Float, their HP-regaining abilities are lost. It can be granted through Float and Mighty Guard, and can be used by the enemy Gesper.

Duration[]

The effect lasts approximately 11.73 seconds.

The following enemies have the following resistance to Float:

30%	T-Rexaur, Sacred
50%	Minotaur
60%	Anacondaur
65%	Elite Soldier
Immune	Abyss Worm, Adamantoise, Behemoth, Belhelmel, Blobra, Blood Soul, Blue Dragon, Bomb, Chimera, Creeps, Esthar Soldier (Terminator), Elastoid, Elnoyle, Fastitocalon, Fastitocalon-F, Forbidden, Funguar, Gayla, GIM47N, Grat, Hexadragon, Imp, Iron Giant, Jelleye, Lefty, Malboro, Mesmerize, Ochu, Oilboyle, PuPu, Raldo, Red Bat, Righty, Ruby Dragon, SAM08G, Snow Lion, Thrustaevis, Tonberry, Torama, Tri-Face, UFO?, Vysage, All bosses except Biggs (D-District Prison), Minotaur, Sacred, and Wedge (D-District Prison)

Regen[]

Visual[]

A Regened unit has no visual change other than the green health-regeneration numbers that periodically pop over their heads.

Effect[]

Regen is bestowed through the spell of the same name or through Quistis's Mighty Guard. Regen will restore 5% Max HP every 80 x BattleSpeed ticks (1/60th of a second), resulting in the status restoring up to 80% max HP.

Duration[]

The effect lasts approximately 21.3 seconds.

The following enemies have the following resistance towards Regen:

30%	Elnoyle, Sphinxaur, Sphinxara
50%	Abadon
60%	Anacondaur
65%	Elite Soldier
70%	Blood Soul
Immune	Creeps, Elastoid, Forbidden, GIM47N, Grat, Hexadragon, Imp, Malboro, PuPu, Ruby Dragon, SAM08G, Tonberry, UFO?, All bosses except Abadon, Adel, Bahamut, BGH251F2, Biggs (D-District Prison), Diablos, Edea, Elvoret, Fujin, Gerogero, Griever, Minotaur, Mobile Type 8, Propagator, Raijin, Rinoa, Sacred, Seifer (All but last), Sorceress (A), Sorceress (B), Sphinxaur, Sphinxara, and Wedge (D-District Prison)

Double[]

Visual[]

Being under Double status has no visual change to the character model.

Effect[]

Double is a status gained from the magic spell of same name and from summoning Cerberus. A Doubled unit can cast two spells per turn. The Expend support ability lets the player cast two spells at the cost of only one from the stock. Apocalypse has a shortened recast animation for the second cast that only plays the final explosion.

Duration[]

The effect remains indefinitely for the duration of the battle.

Triple[]

Visual[]

Being under Triple status has no visual change to the character model.

Effect[]

Triple is a status gained from the magic spell of same name and from summoning Cerberus. A Tripled unit can cast three spells per turn and the status does not expire until the end of battle. The Expend support ability lets the player cast three spells at the cost of only one from the stock. Apocalypse has a shortened recast animation for the second/third casts that only plays the final explosion.

Duration[]

The effect remains indefinitely for the duration of battle.

Defend[]

Visual[]

Each playable character raises their weapon in front of their body when they are defending (same pose as when they use Draw).

Effect[]

The Defend status is applied by the Defend command learned by Brothers and Cactuar. It makes the user immune to physical attacks and halves magical damage. If the user is attacked by a physical attack that would inflict a status effect, the status will not be applied, but statuses from magic attacks can still take effect.

Duration[]

The effect remains until the character chooses another action.

Angel Wing[]

Visual[]

There is no visual change while in the status, as the angel wings are only part of the initial animation.

Effect[]

Angel Wing is a special status effect exclusive to Rinoa, obtained from her second Limit Break command as part of the story. Activating Angel Wing will have Rinoa enter a "Magic-Berserk" status, where players lose control of her and she relentlessly casts random offensive magic from her stock without expending the spells whenever her turn comes. Each casting is five times stronger than normal. A way to optimize for Angel Wing is to have Meteor as her only offensive spell, and use curative spells for most junctions.

During Angel Wing, Rinoa is immune to Berserk, Confuse, and Silence. Since Angel Wing works by granting a status effect, it will not work when Rinoa is Invincible (e.g. from Invincible Moon).

Duration[]

The effect remains indefinitely.

Invincible[]

Visual[]

Affected units appear translucent.

Effect[]

Invincible makes the affected unit immune to all damage aside from the Darkside command. Any negative statuses will be removed upon application, and no other statuses can be applied. Dispel will also not remove Invincible. The status is gained from using Hero and Holy War items, their trial versions, and Rinoa's Invincible Moon Limit Break.

Duration[]

The effect lasts 24 seconds.

Gallery[]