Status Condition

A status condition or status effect is an abnormal condition sustained by units during battle under certain circumstances, which interferes with their ability to perform in combat. Typically inflicted by a weapon, staff or skill used by an opposing unit, or by hazards in the map's terrain itself, the spreading of status conditions is a tactic used to have a disruptive impact on the successful function of an opposing army. Some games, however, have positive status conditions.

While players can typically gain access to instruments inflicting status conditions in limited quantities, for the most part, status infliction is performed by enemy armies.

Mechanics

Infliction

To be inflicted on a unit in the first place, the weapon/item/skill/hazard inflicting the status condition must actually successfully strike the target: for weapons, this is based on the standard accuracy calculation, staves have a separate calculation based on the target's resistance, and skill infliction is a case-by-case basis depending on the individual skill.

In addition to this, in Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War, the Berserk Sword and Sleep Sword in this iteration have an additional check: once the weapon has hit the target, it has only a (30 - foe's resistance)% chance to inflict the status condition.

Duration

Once inflicted, depending on the game, the status condition will automatically wear off after a set number of turns (usually 3 or 5), at the beginning of the unit's phase after the turn count has passed; the number of turns to go before a status condition lifts is actively counted down on the unit's profile, and also appears on the pop-up miniature status box for the unit on the map.

The exception is Fire Emblem: Thracia 776, in which status conditions will not wear off automatically at all and will remain until they are manually lifted through the use of a healing method. In Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, poison status also remains for the rest of the battle or until a healing method is used, but the game's other status conditions last for only one turn each.

Healing

Most status conditions can be actively healed through use of a Restore staff (with the exception of petrification in Thracia 776), passively by a neighboring unit who possesses the Boon skill, or actively by Micaiah through use of Sacrifice (with no additional HP cost). Additionally, the Antitoxin item can be used on poisoned units to cure the poison, and the Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn-exclusive Panacea item heals all status conditions.

However, none of these items or skills exist in Fire Emblem Fates, so there is no way to remove status effects other than waiting for them to expire.

Status condition types

• Paralysis (condition): Paralysis is a status condition originating from Fire Emblem: Gaiden. When inflicted with this status, the afflicted unit is prevented from taking any actions; in Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn and Fire Emblem: Three Houses, it also reduces its victim's movement stat to 0. Unlike sleep and petrification, paralysis is a more short-term condition, lasting only for one of the inflicted unit's phases (technically counted as two turns in the Tellius games).
• Berserk (condition): Berserk is a status condition originating from Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War. When inflicted with this status, the afflicted unit loses control and will automatically attack the weakest unit within their range at the end of their relevant phase, regardless of whether the target is an ally or an enemy of the Berserked unit. In the case of player units afflicted by berserk status, the player will not be allowed to move the unit, and they will be moved automatically by the game once the player ends their phase.
• Silence (condition): Silence is a status condition originating from Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War. When inflicted with this status, the afflicted unit is unable to use magic tomes or staves. Additionally, a silenced unit will be unable to make use of the Talk or Support commands, literally silencing them from speaking in addition to the figurative silencing of preventing magic use.
• Sleep (condition): Sleep is a status condition originating from Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War. When inflicted with this status, the afflicted unit is put to sleep, immobilizing them and preventing them from counter-attacking. However, depending on the game, sleep status may have no adverse affect on the unit's ability to dodge.
• Poison (condition): Poison is a status condition originating from Fire Emblem: Thracia 776. When inflicted with this status, the afflicted unit sustains small amounts of damage at the beginning of each of their turns until the condition wears off. In some games, when the unit's HP is low enough, the condition may kill the unit, but in others, the unit will survive with 1 HP.
• Petrification (condition): Petrification is a status condition originating from Fire Emblem: Thracia 776. When inflicted with this status, the afflicted unit becomes completely unable to move. Related to sleep status but somewhat stronger, petrified units cannot dodge incoming attacks at all and are more vulnerable to critical hits.
• Shock (condition): Shock is a status condition originating from Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance. When inflicted with this status, it reduces its victim's movement stat to 0, preventing them from moving. Unlike paralysis, shocked units are not made unable to act, and on their phase they are able to initiate attacks against any enemies who are within their attack range.
• Frozen (condition): Frozen is a status condition originating from Fire Emblem: Three Houses. When inflicted with this status, it reduces Movement to zero for a turn. It is identical to the Shock status from Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance and Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn.
• Rattled (condition): Rattled is a status condition originating from Fire Emblem: Three Houses. When inflicted with this status, it reduces movement to zero and prevents the unit from taking advantage of any equipped battalions. Rattled status also decreases Hit Rate, Critical Rate, Attack Speed, Protection, Resilience, and Avoid by around 10%.
• Confusion (condition): Confusion is a status condition originating from Fire Emblem: Three Houses, When inflicted with this status, they will not be able to counterattack that turn. Confusion lasts until the unit is attacked, or until the next turn.
• Impregnable Wall (condition): Impregnable Wall is a status condition originating from Fire Emblem: Three Houses. It reduces the damage taken and dealt by a particular unit to 1.
• Sacred Shield (condition): Sacred Shield is a status condition originating from Fire Emblem: Three Houses. It negates all damage from ranged attacks.
• Stride (condition): Stride is a status condition originating from Fire Emblem: Three Houses. It increases a unit's movement by five for a single turn.
• Torch (condition): Torch is a status condition originating from Fire Emblem: Three Houses. It increases the area of vision in Fog of War maps. The Torch item exists in other games with the same effect, but Torch is considered a status effect only in Fire Emblem: Three Houses.

Status Condition Glitch

The Status Condition Glitch is a glitch that occurs in the Game Boy Advance Fire Emblem games, Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade, Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade, and Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones.

This glitch occurs when a unit is under the effects of a status condition and they are then rescued by another unit. In this context, a Status Condition can be something harmful like poison, or like the positive effects obtained from Ninian and Nils' rings. When a unit is rescued, the rescued unit's status condition does not wear off and the turn counter for it to wear off does not go down.

This glitch is often used by players in The Blazing Blade with the Dancer rings, Ninis' Grace, Thor's Ire, Set's Litany, and Filla's Might, to abuse the Arena and save uses on the rings for later use. Ninis' grace is the most often used, as it gives a defense boost to a unit that the arena does not calculate, often leading to matches where the enemy in the arena does no or minimal damage.

The glitch can also be used to prevent a unit from taking damage or dying from poison.