Final Fantasy VIII statuses

The following is a list of statuses in Final Fantasy VIII.

Death


Effect

When a party member or enemy reaches zero HP, they are considered "Dead". When all enemies are dead, then it is considered a Battle Victory. When all party members are dead, it is Game Over. There are no scripted battles which call for death to the heroes, so it is in the players best interest to survive the best they can by replenishing their HP.

Status Attack

One can junction the Death spell utilizing the ST-ATK-J ability, causing Instant Death attacks to many enemies. This can be detrimental to ones health if an ally winds up confused and attacking the party though.

Status Defense

Utilizing ST-DEF-J ability, one can junction the Death spell to prevent Instant Death effects. Please note that being immune to Instant Death does not render one immune to Death via HP 0.

Life Against the Undead and Zombies

Whereas Phoenix Downs and Life magic are usually considered as a means of revival to fallen allies, they may cause instant death to undead enemies or, alternatively, any friend or foe which has been inflicted with the Zombie status. This is said to also be effective against some bosses too.

Poison


Effect

When an inflicted combatant takes an action, they take damage equal to approximately 5 to 7% of their Maximum HP. This state remains after battle and may be cured with either an Antidote, Remedy or the Ensuna spell.

Status Attack

Utilizing the ST-ATK-J ability, one can junction Poison or Pain to inflict this status. The advantage of using Pain is the triple threat of Poison, Blind and Silence together in one attack.

Status Defense

Utilizing the ST-DEF-J ability, one can junction Poison or Pain to protect against this status. The advantage of using Pain is it defends against Poison, Blind, Silence and Curse simultaneously.

Petrify


Effect

When an enemy is petrified in battle, the player earns EXP based on the HP damage done prior to petrification. An example, if one was only to do approximately 25% worth of HP damage to an enemy before inflicting them with this status, then that enemy would yield approximately 25% of the max EXP reward it'd give for a normal defeat via HP 0.

With this said, Petrify can be a useful asset to low level sessions where one might still want to gain AP but not so much EXP. The advantage of this is, due to the fact that enemies get stronger just as the player does, it makes for a significantly easier play through from start to finish. Nevertheless, enemies on the Islands Closest to Heaven and Hell remain at level 100 regardless of the party's average level, which might be a drawback since there are many valuable hidden spells to be drawn from these regions.

Status Attack

Utilizing the ST-ATK-J ability, Break can be used to add the Petrify state to attacks.

Status Defense

Utilizing the ST-DEF-J ability, one may junction the Break spell to protect against Petrify.

Darkness


Effect

Darkness reduces a character's Hit Rate by 75%. Characters with base hit rate of 255% are unaffected, such as Squall and Seifer. However, Blind disables the gunblade's trigger making them unable to deal additional damage.

Status Attack

Utilizing the ST-ATK-J ability, one can junction Blind or Pain to inflict this status. The advantage of using Pain is the triple threat of Poison, Blind and Silence together in one attack.

Status Defense

Utilizing the ST-DEF-J ability, one can junction Blind or Pain to protect against this status. The advantage of using Pain is it defends against Poison, Blind, Silence and Curse simultaneously.

Silence


Effect

Not only does silence disable the Magic, Draw and GF commands, but it also doesn't expire at the end of battle. Rinoa is immune to this status during her Angel Wing limit break.

Means of Removal

One may use an Echo Screen or Remedy as well as the Ensuna spell to remove this status.

Status Attack

Utilizing the ST-ATK-J ability, one can junction Silence or Pain to inflict this status. The advantage of using Pain is the triple threat of Poison, Blind and Silence together in one attack.

Status Defense

Utilizing the ST-DEF-J ability, one can junction Silence or Pain to protect against this status. The advantage of using Pain is it defends against Poison, Blind, Silence and Curse simultaneously.

Berserk


Effect



Status Attack



Status Defense





Zombie


Effect



Status Attack



Status Defense





Sleep


Effect



Status Attack



Status Defense





Slow


Effect



Status Attack



Status Defense



