Debuffs can usually be a very dreadful thing, more so in the JRPG scene. A ill placed debuff can cause a high-level party of warriors to find their stats—such as defense, evasion and strength—reduced making them weak and all too easy to kill. However, most debuffs can also be utilized by you the player if you have the skills to launch them at your foes. That’s why it’s very important to know that a debuff can be both a curse and a blessing. If you’re still a bit confused, read down below as we show a few examples in the form of the very popular games Persona 5 and Pokemon Sun.

A young man going home from school one day finds himself hearing a woman’s cry and runs to lend aid. Despite saving the woman from harm, the young man is seen as the criminal and ends up with an assault charge on his record forcing him to relocate from his current home and go to a family friend’s home/café. However, it would seem fate had this event in store for our young man who ends up getting involved in a strange world and gaining the power to summon other sides of himself in the form of Persona. The young man, as well as several others, will try to rid their city of evil hearts with their new powers as the vigilantes who will be known by everyone as the Phantom Thieves of Hearts.

The Persona series—though in this case Persona 5—is a great example to show how annoying debuffs can be but equally how they can help you out. In Persona 5 debuffs come in many forms such as Tarunda, an attack debuff and Rakunda which acts as a defensive debuff. Enemies will launch these and other skills to make your character extremely weak and vulnerable which can really be a headache. Luckily for you, curing them is easy enough by either waiting 3 turns—meaning you should go on a more defensive path then continue attacking—and or using items that can negate the effect such as Exorcism Water. Also, it’s important to note that while enemies can use these debuffs on you, your characters have the skills to use them as well. This is why we said while debuffs can be a truly bad thing, if you are capable of having the means to use them yourself they can really be a boon in a tough battle that might not be going your way.

Get ready to explore a whole new world in Pokemon Sun! Players will be leaving the all too familiar Kanto region and be heading for the Alola region where new Pokemon await to be tamed and captured. Let Professor Kukui guide you and teach you what new trials await you and your Pokemon friends. Explore Alola and defeat new trainers and gym leaders as you rise to become the number one of the region. The world of Pokemon Sun awaits so get your Rotom Dex ready and see if you can find all the new Pokemon awaiting to be discovered!

The long running and amazing Pokemon series may seem geared for younger audiences but the reality is that Pokemon games like Pokemon Sun can be quite tough. Battles will always test you with using new Pokemon and learning what skills work best to take down your opponents. Then seeing as how Pokemon Sun is in fact an RPG, there are several debuffs that can both help you against tough Pokemon and trainers but equally hurt you. These debuffs come in some different forms like Slow Start—which is an ability to cause your Pokemon or other Pokemon to suffer from halved attack and speed stats for several turns—and or the more classic Pokemon debuffs like Sand-Attack which lowers accuracy. These usually are best handled with just waiting them out or switching out Pokemon but can be quite annoying nonetheless. However, in tough gym fights or against tough trainers, these debuff skills will help you out immensely. Don’t fret if a move you’ve never heard of hits you, Pokemon Sun follows the same theme as past titles and warns you in the text box of the debuffs affect.

In games like Pokemon Sun and Persona 5—the games mentioned above—when a debuff occurs, usually the game is polite enough to let you know with on screen text. You’ll be hit by an attack or spell and see on the screen a warning saying your attack or evasion has been affected. However, in the world of video games, you’re not always given warning in helpful ways, especially in the tough as nails Dark Souls series. These games have debuffs as well, but not all of them are overly obvious and often if a player is hit with them and is unaware of their effect they will find a swift death waiting for them around the next corner. So we can better explain what we mean, we’ll be talking about Dark Souls 3 specifically and explain what a debuff can look like when it’s not overly obvious.

Ashen One, you have a quest ahead of you. The kingdom of Lothric is dying thanks to the Age of Fire ending. Many others have tried to remedy this but all have failed. Ashen One you are the only means of either saving Lothric from dying out by rekindling the fire or snuffing it out and ending the Age of Fire forever more. Many will stand in your way to prevent you from completing this quest. Though with your strength and fortitude you can survive and claim your rightful destiny.

Many people forget that status effects can also be considered debuffs in games like Dark Souls 3. The concept of a debuff is in turn lowering a stat or decreasing your defense, which in turn, is also a status effect. This confusion isn’t helped when games like Dark Souls 3 tend to hide their debuffs behind reading about it via menus and online forums. Debuffs like Toxic not only poisons your character making them lose health but also lowers your stamina regeneration making escaping hard. Equally a debuff like Bleed makes you take more damage from enemies and can be a real nightmare if you get surrounded. Curing these usually comes in the form of items but you can also equip various rings that will negate or mitigate the effects. Just be sure to always look up these debuffs via in game menus or wiki sites.