Petrify (status)

Petrify, also called Stone, Ston or Petrification, is an especially dangerous status effect from the Final Fantasy series usually caused by the Break spell. A unit that is petrified turns to stone and is unable to take any action. Units that are petrified cannot take damage, however, they can still be targeted. Petrified units are considered defeated, and if all allies are either petrified or dead, the game is over. Petrify can be cured by using a Gold Needle or the White Magic Stona or Esuna.

Because petrified enemies sometimes give no exp, petrification effects are often of use in Low Level Challenges, where players attempt to complete the game or segments of the game while earning the minimum or low amounts of experience.

Final Fantasy
The petrified status can be removed with a gold needle (or SOFT potion in the original) or with the Stona spell (SOFT in the original). The enemy attack Glance inflicts Petrify.

Final Fantasy II
Petrify can be inflicted through the spell Break or through the physical attacks of the Cockatrice and the Catoblepas. The status can be healed with Gold Needle or Esuna (level 5 or higher outside battles, or 6+ inside them).

Petrified enemies are instantly defeated.

Final Fantasy III
The Level 7 spell Breakga can inflict this status as well as the Medusa Arrows, while the enemy ability Stare and Leviathan's Demon Eye can inflict the status as well. The enemy Petit can inflict the status through physical attacks.

Petrified enemies are instantly defeated.

Final Fantasy IV
The Petrify status is a plot device used when Palom and Porom Twincast Break on themselves. The status itself immediately turns the victim to stone.

The status will make the characters appear to be made of stone, and monsters inflicted by Petrify will be removed from the battle and treated as KO. A character inflicted by Petrify cannot act, and is not a valid target except for effects that can remove the status. Counts as a KO for determining "game over". This status will remove all other statuses except Toad, Mini, Pig, Blind, Silence, and Float.

In the 3D version, Petrify and Stone exist as separate status ailments. The Petrify status acts like Gradual Petrify, eventually turning a character to stone if enough turns pass. "Stone" is the term used to refer to the latter condition.

Final Fantasy IV -Interlude-
The Petrify status returns as a status effect in the sequel of Final Fantasy IV, and it functions the same way as its predecessor.

Final Fantasy V
Some enemies, such as Objet d'Arts, are stone-based, and items and magic that would normally cure the Petrify status will instantly kill them. This is the first game in which Petrify and Death can be inflicted at the same time, albeit only by Exdeath.

Final Fantasy VI
The Petrify status is the source of the Ultima Weapon and Petrify glitch. Petrify makes virtually every attack made to the target have a perfect hit rate if they are not unblockable already. However, the only attack that can deal damage to them in this state is the Ultima Weapon; all other attacks do 0 damage. The only other status a petrified character can receive is Death.

Final Fantasy VII
The Petrify status flags the target as defeated and is thus similar to the Death status. When petrified, targets cannot not gain or lose HP or MP, and not be applied with any other status effect except Small. The Contain Materia has the effect, and the player can either add the effect to physical attacks or prevent against it by pairing it with the Added Effect Materia. It does not last after battle.

Final Fantasy VIII
Petrifying an enemy earns the player less EXP from the battle. It is calculated the same way as earning EXP from escaped battles. The player earns the amount of EXP corresponding to the amount of HP they depleted from the enemy before it was petrified. Meaning if the player petrifies an enemy at 100% HP they get no EXP, but if they attack the enemy and deplete its HP to 50%, and then petrify it, they would get 50% of the normal EXP the enemy would yield if defeated normally.

Low level challenges are quite flexible in difficulty, with the use of petrification to gain AP without EXP on the one hand (still being able to gain significant power from Guardian Forces and drawn magic) and boss enemies that give no EXP on the other (allowing character level to remain almost the same the whole game bar a few mandatory fights against enemies immune to the status).

Final Fantasy IX
Petrifying an enemy will not earn the player EXP from that enemy, however they will still earn AP. Some enemies are stone-based, and items and magic that would normally cure the Petrify status will instantly kill them. Again, the player will not earn EXP from defeating enemies in this way. Both of these techniques are a boon to Low Level Challenges.

Petrify is one of the only status effects that will still affect characters that are in Trance. Vivi can cast Break on a party member in Trance to petrify them, but there are chances the spell might miss.

Petrification plays a role in the storyline when the entire Evil Forest turns to stone and Blank is petrified along with it. The party then must find a Supersoft to restore him.

Final Fantasy X
Petrification turns the afflicted unit into stone, and it cannot act until cured whether with a Soft, Remedy or the spell Esuna. Characters who are inflicted with Petrification are considered defeated. Unlike KO, units who are petrified does not have their hidden CT gauge reset, but it will not charge until cured. Any status effects that the afflicted unit had upon being petrified will be removed.

While petrified units can still be targeted, they are rendered immune from all damage and status-causing attacks until cured. However some enemies (and particularly bosses) possess attacks that shatter petrified characters, permanently removing them from battle. Characters hit with a petrification attack that sends their HP to zero will immediately shatter. When fighting underwater, characters inflicted with petrification will immediately sink to the bottom and shatter. Shattered characters cannot be revived or switched out until after the battle ends, at which point they are brought back with 1 HP remaining.

Petrified enemies generally shatter immediately. Unlike previous games, AP is still rewarded from enemies defeated in this way.

Final Fantasy XI
Petrification is a status effect that can be inflicted by enemies through various means and can be cast by a high level Black Mage, Red Mage, Dark Knight or Scholar (with Addendum:Black). A petrified player or enemy still appears normally, but are unable to move or perform any action unless it is removed or wears off. When a player casts the spell on an enemy, it functions similarly to Bind where any damage may remove the effect, but while the enemy is petrified it cannot act, making it an effective crowd control spell on Undead and other sleep and/or bind resistant monsters.

Final Fantasy XII


Stone is the "petrified" status. The character simply vanishes from the battlefield, but can be returned to battle using Stona or Gold Needle item. If all characters are turned to Stone, the game is over.

Unlike in most games, characters won't instantly turn to stone. Instead, a countdown (4.5-second per tick) starting from 10 will appear by the health bar above the unit, like the Doom status. In fact, Doom and Petrify can't co-exist on the same character; which ever status the character has first, they are immune to the other. The petrifying unit will move slower than usual.

This status is not entirely disadvantageous: as the petrifying countdown goes on, the physical damage both received and dealt by that unit will be gradually decreased:

The countdown can be halted by the status effect Stop, effectively sustaining the increased defense during petrifying if desired. Also, if the character summons Zodiark while under the petrifying countdown, Zodiark will immediately use Final Eclipse as the caster being under the status is the only requirement for Zodiark to use the move.

The player can petrify enemies via the Break spell or by the Ancient Sword, which randomly inflicts petrification. Enemies killed by petrification do not count toward the battle Chain and in some case will respawn endlessly.

Final Fantasy XIV
Petrification is a status ailment that can be inflicted by enemies towards the players. A player who has become petrified cannot move or act and they are open to further enemy attacks. Only a Gold Needle can cure the player of Petrification, but both the victim and the player using the item must be in the same party for the item to work.

Final Fantasy Tactics
Stone, also known as Petrify, causes a target to stop moving. The target's CT does not increment, and the target cannot do anything or take damage. Additionally if all characters are turned to Stone, the game is over. Mustadio's special ability, Seal Evil, will instantly turn an undead enemy to stone. There's also a powerful weapon called Stone Gun which turns those who are equipped with it into stone. The game's strongest Knight Sword, the Chaos Blade, adds the Petrify status when attacked with.

Guest characters are immune to petrify. This prevents players from turning those Guests who require escort to stone in order to "protect" them from enemy attack.

Adrammelech and Velius both have an ability called Petrify. This ability inflicts the Petrify status effect with a 100% success rate.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
The Petrify status ailment turns a unit into an immovable statue. Several abilities that inflict this status are the Assassin's Rockseal, the Bishop's Break, and the Coeurl's Blaster. This installment's Break spell helps give insight to the workings of petrification in the series, said to be the result of halting all metabolic activity in the body.

A unit may be cured of petrification with the Gold Needle item. Interestingly, the Judge can relocate petrified units just as they can to KO'd units. Units take minimal damage while Petrified, but if defeated will return to flesh and be KO'd like normal. Petrified units can be cured with a soft, the Chivalry command Nurse, or the white mage command Esuna. Petrified units are considered KO'd for the purposes of mission completion.

Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift
Petrify can be inflicted onto units through the use of the Bishop spell Break, the Assassin ability Rockseal, and the enemy abilities Glare, Petrifying Rattle, Shining Darkness, and Stone Breath.

Final Fantasy Mystic Quest
A petrified character will not be able to have his/her turn, it can be removed with either a Heal Potion or the Heal spell.

Final Fantasy Adventure
Petrify, called Ston in the game, is a status ailment that makes Sumo unable to move. This makes him very vulnerable to enemy attacks and unlike the other games, Sumo can still attack enemies. To cure Ston, the item Soft or the magic Heal will cure it. The Ask command can make Amanda heal Sumo's Ston condition as well.

The Final Fantasy Legend
In Ston status, a unit is disabled. If all units have this status, the game is over. Does not count as a death. It can be removed with the Needle item.

Final Fantasy Legend II
A unit that is petrified cannot act, any effects that target a petrified unit besides those that cure petrify will do nothing, cure with Soft potion or the Heal ability. This status last even after battle.

Final Fantasy Legend III
The petrified target character cannot take any action, this status persists even after the battle. If inflicted on enemies, the target monster will die instantly. Can be removed by Heal, Stone, Cycle, Soft, and Elixir.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles
Petrification is a less dangerous status effect much like stop, it paralyzes the player for a few seconds. Elemental resistance and defenses can help and moving can quicken the spell breaking, monster that can inflict this include the Cockatrices of Mine of Cathuriges and the Antlion of Lynari Desert.

Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy
The Petrify is a status card in the new Labyrinth mode, and reduces the hand by one card.

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