Welcome to my writing about the many potential Debilitations and magickal effects one can face in one's adventures. This is a mechanics guide about something that may seem confusing, obfuscated, and similar, only to become a sudden, oftentimes journey-ending factor. This should be considered a primer to them and their effects upon the battle, as well as advantageous and disadvantageous effects when used.

Debilitations are the global term for states (usually debuffs as the term actually means) that can be applied on any entity in the game, and have unique behaviors tied to each one, and synergies if used to good effect (preferably by you and your party). There are mostly bad, except for one specific one called Impervious[dragonsdogma.wikia.com] which cures all Debilitations and protects against them for a time. More on that later.

Debilitations run the gamut from elementally related, stat related, or status related. All of them last quite a while depending upon its magnitude (and type) and all of them are powerful enough that immediate curing is desired. More on tactics on proper curative setup and use later, as well as non-curative-based cures.

To start, we'll list out the Debilitations per section. This one is about the Elementally-related ones:

• Drenched is one of the most common Debilitations one will run into in one's adventures. You just simply got wet. If you happen to have a lamp out, it will be put out, requiring you to put it away and put it back on to relight it. This is one Debilitation you shouldn't suffer when in the dark (puts out lamp), fighting thunder or ice-based sources (2x damage received), and similar. You also are more likely to end up being Frozen. Sources include water (duh), being hit with flasks of water or ceramic jugs, and having a phantasm pass through you, being a water-based ghost. And logically, you take less damage from fire-based attacks. This Debilitation is primarily cured by a Clean Cloth and can be overruled by being Tarred after being Drenched.
  
  
• Burning is obviously an elemental-based Debilitation, wherein you lose 24HP per second, and is caused by fire-based sources, be it a spell, fire-enchanted weaponry, the Dragon's Spit throw-able, or dragon's breath. You can even cause it upon yourself by standing in fire. Burning is a great Debilitation to affect upon certain enemies, like flying ones to force them to land, Goblins, Saurians, and some Wolf types panic and try to put themselves out. Being Drenched puts out Burning, as well as being Tarred after, oddly enough. Lastly, don't put on a Lamp when you're Tarred. Just don't. Burning is primarily removed by the use of Smother Sap.
  
  
• Frozen is another elemental-based Debilitation, wherein you are frozen in place and must now shake yourself free. Any damage received will be doubled, shattering you out of your Frozen state, so the last thing you want to be hit by this is a dragon's tail-swipe. Sources are ice spells, ice breath from a Frostwyrm and the ice wing attacks of a Snow Harpy. Another great one to use on Saurians, as they're usually in or near the water and are implied to be cold-blooded lizards. Higher-level enemies that spew fire also suffer more from ice as well. Applying Frozen on large or dangerous enemies is also a great way to buy breathing room as well as causing massive damage, and can be done with greater effect with ice-enchanted multi-hit attacks like Spiral Arrow from the Ranger. If your Pawn is Frozen, pick them up quickly to unfreeze them if you are out of curatives or your Mage is too busy to cure it with Halidom. Frozen is normally cured by Spicy Mushroom Tea.
  
  
• Tarring is a Debilitation wherein you're doused in oil, resulting in double damage from fire attacks and guarantees being caught on fire. Causes include being on the receiving end of a flask of oil, some Saurian attacks, and Aneled weapons. Great way to synergize heavy fire use is setting them up for it with Aneled weapons, oil arrows, and flasks of oil thrown at the enemy, followed up with fire enchantments or spells. Great for when fighting enemies that have little to no resists to fire. Tarring is removed by using an Absorbent Rag.
  
  
• Thundershock is an unusual Debilitation in that it isn't a standard Debilitation (with icon and persistent effect and all), but instead is a short-duration stun, forcing the recipient to undergo a lengthy fall-down animation without a way to counteract it, other than not being hit with the source of the Thundershock to begin with. Sources are of course, Lightning-based spells.

For more non-elemental-based Debilitations:

• Blindness is an annoying Debilitation that actively blinds those who are afflicted by it. Your view is 99% obscured by blackness if you are Blinded, and other entities blinded tend to attack randomly in different directions, obviously blind. Some specialist monster attacks can cause this, the spell Blearing, and the throw-able Festival Pies. 3-starred Aneled weapons also apply Blindness, alongside Tarring, which work very well when going for a status-inflicting build. Eyedropper cures Blindness.
  
  
• Petrification is a dangerous Debilitation that can catch an Arisen unawares, for the usual first time they run into this Debilitation is when the Cockatrice starts showing up, and is the usual source for the Debilitation. When afflicted, they start to suffer effects similar to Torpor where they start slowing down over 40 seconds, and at the end they are fully petrified, shattering into dust after a couple of seconds. This is completely fatal to the Arisen and any Pawns (aka no pick-up from the Arisen possible) that suffer this Debilitation without curing. Options to apply this dangerous Debilitation are limited and are best saved for when required. Petrifying Arrows, Petrifaction spell from Sorcerers, and the Jewel of Petrifaction are the options open to you. Most large enemies do not suffer from Petrification as easily except for the Bitterblack Isle-bound Garm. Petrification is cured by Secret Softener, and its use is best done before full petrification.
  
  
• Poison inflicts 20HP damage every second, deadly at low levels, almost-ignorable at high levels, and normally lasts 30-60 seconds. Applied with the Miasma spell, being hit with flasks of poison, bat bites, snake bites, Saurian spits and some Chimera attacks from the Snake's head. Applying it to enemies can be done with the same Miasma spell, the Ranger's Invasive/Crippling Arrow, upgraded Rusted weapons, Poison Arrows, and in a pinch thrown Poison Flasks and pots. Useful against Goblins (they act drunk if poisoned) and anything else that doesn't deal Poison, though the small HP damage per second does not scale against large enemies with high HP.
  
  
• Possession is a surprising and dangerous Debilitation that more or less "mind control" your party-mates into attacking you first. Usually inflicted by Dragonkin of all kinds (as they swing and grab one of your Pawns), it is something that most Arisen go out of their way to prevent, considering the sudden loss of a Pawn can destroy party dynamics, usually via their equipment to obtain close to, or at, 100% resistance to it. There is a lesser form of Possession done by ghosts that drain HP and slow the movement of the possessed, and if killed by this effect perma-kills the Pawn requiring a visit to the Rift to rehire. There are no options to apply this as the player, and is normally cured by the use of the group curative Placative Brew or Nostalgia Dust.
  
  
• Silence and Skill Stifling are two Debilitations that prevent magickal and physical Skill use respectively. Silence is caused by the spell Silentium, the Jewel of Silence, Silencer Arrows and 3-star Golden weapons, alongside some specialist monster skills, and is cured with Throat Drops. Skill Stifling is caused by specific Evil Eyes attacks and roars from Dragonkin, and is cured with Liberating Brews. Both are something you do not want at all for yourself or your party, and for Silence is something you DO want to apply on larger enemies with the ability to cast spells like Liches, Wights, the Goat's Head on a Chimera, and some Dragonkin.
  
  
• Sleep knocks the afflicted out cold and takes double damage if rudely awakened with an attack, or will nap for 20 seconds if not awakened. Sopor is a spell that causes this, along with consuming the Select Herb Ale and again some special monster attacks like sleep spells from a Chimera's Goat Head. Surprisingly useful for when needing breathing room from large difficult enemies in the early game like a Chimera (surprisingly) or an Ogre, and is primarily cured by the herbs Bringbout and Scarlet Angelica.
  
  
• Torpor slows your animation speed down, from skills to spells, movement and such, and last 25 seconds. Consuming some rotten foods, Cerulean Concoction, Violet Concoction the spell Iassitude, and the Jewel of Time all cause it. Some monsters do inflict it, like the Cockatrice, Sulfer Saurian, and the spiders. 3-star Rusted Weapons have a high chance of inflicting it on enemies, as well as the Assassin's Bow Skill Blunting Arrow. This is the reason why you see higher-leveled pawns (usually Striders and Rangers) rocking a pair of Rusted Daggers, mainly for the synergy of applying torpor at high rates with their special attacks when on a large enemy. Monsters who inflict Torpor are obvious immune to it, alongside the Dragon, the Ur-Dragon, Living Armor, Death, and Daimon. Bottled Haste cures it.

And for specific statistics-based Debilitations

• Curse is a dangerous Debilitation where your attributes are lowered by 40% including Stamina, and take 40% more damage. Perdition spells, being hit by a thrown skull, some items, some traps and some other special monster attacks apply this. You can apply it yourself by throwing a skull at an enemy too. Hobgoblins, Hydras, Ogres and Cyclopes are vulnerable to this Debilitation, with Dragonkin, Chimeras, Cockatrices, big Skeleton Brutes and the Gorecyclops immune to it. It is normally cured by a Purifying Brew.
  
  
• Lowered <X> lowers the specific statistic by 30% (Strength, Magick, Defense and Magick Defense), and depending upon the type, can be inflicted by spell or attack of specific monsters, usually large or high-end ones. Usually found in combination with each other as well as Curse, this can mean the difference between dealing damage, or not at all given the multiplicative damage resistance/level nature of enemies in the game, alongside suddenly being a whole lot more squishy. Each have unique curatives for each, nearly all of them group curatives, which fit as it is usually inflicted to an entire party at once. As to options to applying any of these effects, only two items inflict anything from this family, both found in Bitterblack Isle. Sapfire Daggers for Lowered Defense, and Dragon's Roost, a shield that applies Lowered Strength.

Curing Debilitations is usually done for free with the Mage's curing skill Halidom, with High Halidom curing more. Halidom puts down a sigil that cures Poison, Torpor, Silence, Burning and Frozen. High Halidom cures far more (like Blind, Curse and Skill Stifling). Since Halidom is a holy-based spell, undead do suffer damage whilst in its zone and can be used as a secondary form of damage against such, second only to Anodyne and High Anodyne depending upon the version.

For other Debilitations, a Sorcerer's Voidspell cures Lowered <X>, and High Voidspell cures Petrification, the only spell-based cure to that dangerous Debilitation. For the Magick Archer, they have access to Ward Arrow and Greater Ward Arrow which apply the Impervious buff, which cures all Debilitations and prevents Debilitations for a time, around 2 minutes give or take. Ward Arrow targets the Arisen + 1 party member, and Greater Ward Arrow can target all party members including the Arisen. This makes a Magick Archer a great curative party-member allowing a more offensive party setup to push forward.

As to actual curative items, the common curatives that see a lot of use are Interventine (cures the same as Halidom with some Health/Stamina heal), Light-Cure (cures what High Halidom has access to, with some Health/Stamina heal), Isometricine (cures what Voidspell cures) and Panacea (cures ALL Debilitations with some Health/Stamina heal). There are group-based curatives but they are more specific to one Debilitation.

As to general curative setup advice, there are two approaches open to you. One is having Interventine/Light-Cure/Isometricine/Placative Brew or Nostalgia Dust to each party member and trust them in using them appropriately, or holding them all yourself and handing them out as needed. One can lead to some waste as Pawns use them as needed but in inappropriate situations, and the other can leave you very weighed down if not managed correctly.

Another approach is to combine spell-based curing magick with actual curative items. For example, High Halidom cures a large amount of Debilitation as it is, which only leaves the need for Isometricine and Placative Brews. Or a more offensive setup that foregoes a Mage in the party, an increase of Health healing items as well as Interventine and Light-Cures combined with a Sorcerer who handles Voidspell duties also works, though isn't advisable for newer Arisen when facing highly Debilitating enemies.

For most cases, many Arisen recommend that you let party-members carry some self healing items (matching their HP, so no Greenwarish for a lv100 Pawn) group healing items like the common Spring Water or Balmy items, have a Mage for High Halidom, and hand Isometricine and Placative Brews out when needed to keep the Sorcerer focused on casting their large Archmagicks. Not only are Pawns quick on using group heal items (enough that it could save you from a deadly fate), they handle them out well enough as needed. Having an escape item (like the Eternal Ferrystone or Liftstone when on Bitterblack Isle) is also a good option when out of curatives, which if diligent enough is usually the same point one is already loaded down with loot across all party-members.

There are 5 magical element types in Dragon's Dogma. We have Fire, Ice, Lightning, Holy and Dark. Each apply different effects and are utilized differently as well. Base magical attacks like the Stave and Archstave bolts from a Mage or Sorcerer have no elemental type, as well as the base magick arrow of a Magick Archer and the Cannon bolts of a Mystic Knight.

One can apply elemental effects on one's weapon by direct enchantment, or having it be on the weapon as a baseline. They add damage as a percentage of the weapon's damage output, be it strength or magick based. To add to this, whilst the initial damage effect for most spells is indeed magickal, any secondary effects from it are usually Debilitations, and as such can be used to good effect depending upon the strengths or the weaknesses of the enemy in question under its effect. Different enemies are weak to different types of elemental effects. For example, Fire damage is great to those weak to fire, and can cause Burning Debilitations to enemies which is a separate effect entirely.

To continue:

• Fire is a common elemental type that easily finds use against most enemies in the early half of one's adventures in Dragon's Dogma, useful in nearly all circumstances barring some late-game enemies who are damaged further by different elements, outright resistant to it, or actually enjoy benefits in being hit with Fire. One will see a lot of use in Fire-based attacks and the secondary Burning Debilitation, with many panicking and rolling around as they burn, or are unable to fly away as their wings are burned.
  
  
• Ice is another common elemental type that sees a lot of use, more towards the mid and late game. With the ability to outright freezing enemies (Frozen Debilitation), its great against Saurians and also sees use against larger enemies, outright impeding their movement capabilities (like slowing down the quick Ogres) or blinding them if one is successful in freezing their head, great for when handling specific Dragonkin who aren't Ice-based.
  
  
• Lightning (or Thunder) is a great elemental type that outright stuns enemies for a time (Thundershock), usually forcing them to go through a lengthy falling-down animation whilst doing so. Annoying to be on the receiving end as well, come to think of it. Lightning-enchanted weapons have a chance to arc and chain their effects from the struck enemy to a nearby enemy, and is one of the best elemental types to use on Cyclops-type enemies, as their stun animations are lengthy and leave them open for much longer.
  
  
• Holy is definitely one against the undead, and depending upon circumstance, can heal the dealer of the Holy damage some healing in return, around 10% of your Magick Defense stat. Spells such as Anoydyne, Halidom and Spellscreen can deal Holy damage on undead and can also proc this healing return. One of the elemental types that have few resistant enemies, one can choose this elemental type as their enchantment and have it see use throughout the entire game. The enemies that are resistant however can catch you out, like Saurian Sages, Death, and the Dark Bishop.
  
  
• Dark is an elemental type that has a chance to cause critical hits, with enhanced damage. Oftentimes part of a Debilitating magick, Dark-based spells have a chance to apply their own Debilitations like Blindness, Torpor, Sleep, Poison, etc. As it is one of the most resisted elemental types, it sees little use outside of specific enemies (like the aforementioned Saurian Sages, Direwolves, and The Dragon). However this resistance does not usually carry over into the Debilitations it can cause, thereby making it one of the better ways to apply random Debilitations to enemies even if the Dark-based elemental damage is resisted, as they're Debilitations with their own resistances involved. Since most of the Dark-based spells that are open to the player already apply a specific Debilitation type, this does not usually come into effect, until of course, the Sorcerer's Maelstrom.

As to when to use what and how, its oftentimes advisable to have access to two elemental effects as needed (either via a Mage or Sorcerer doing enchanting) as it will be rare to find an enemy resistant to both. All elemental effects see use at all levels of the game, outside of clear resistant opponents like Hellhounds and Pyre Saurians for Fire, Frostwyrm for Ice, and Griffin with their lighting flaps.

Depending upon your stage in the game, Fire and Ice see use in most stages of the game. Post-game you'll start seeing more undead and the penchant of needing some sort of stun capability, so Lightning and Holy are of good choices here. In Bitterblack Isle, pretty much all elemental types see use, with it leaning more towards Holy due to the dark nature of the place, Ice for the freezing disabling effects, and Lightning for the Thundershock stuns for small fry.

Knowing about the many Debilitations and what potential battlefield effects one can leverage from such is a step up towards truly mastering the game, let alone knowing which ones to build against in gear, or prepare against in curatives or spells. Elemental effects as well and their interrelationship between Debilitations also count, as on their own it is worth knowing not to fire Fire at a Fire-living Hellhound, or Ice at a Frostwyrm. May the information contained herein prove useful to you Arisen, and may you find what you seek.

If you find this writing to be of use to you, please do leave tangible feedback to me as a rating or a comment. Not only does the rating help the guide in general in Steam's search algorithm, it also tells me if the guide is indeed worth your time. Comments also help a lot by telling me what sort of information you need that I may not have covered clearly enough in the guide itself, which helps me help you.

If you wish to know some hints and tips in getting started as a newly Arisen, my first Writing is here:
Tips and Hints to Newly Arisen

If you wish to know more about the Vocations (classes) of Dragon's Dogma, my next Writing is here:
Vocations, Strengths and Weaknesses, all Part of a Whole

If you wish to know more about your Pawn, that Writing is here:
Your Pawn, Your Shadow, Your Reflection