Elden Ring’s combat systemincludes unique damage typesreferred to as “status effects” comprised of seven different “conditions” that affect players and NPCs in various ways, andShadow of the Erdtreeexpanded on these status effects by adding new items and areas. Tarnished will encounter these unique status effects as they explore the Lands Between and the Shadow Realm. The effects build up over time on a status bar and start to inflict damage after reaching the threshold.Status effects can be used to the Tarnished’s advantagedepending on the type of Buffs/Debuffs and other gear they have equipped.
Status effects can result from weapon and shield skills or passives, specific environments or regions (typically for lore-related reasons), spells or incantations, consumables, and much more.The DLC expanded the library of available items that implement status effect buildup, as well as status effects found in environments like The Abyssal Woods, a madness-infested new region inShadow of the Erdtree. Understanding each of these statuses, how to counteract them, where to avoid them, and when they can be used to the Tarnished’s advantage will make exploration of the Lands Between and Land of Shadow much more manageable.
Immunity / Vigor
Immunizing Cured Meat,Immunizing Horn Charm(+1),Neutralizing Boluses,Cure Poison,Flame, Cleanse Me, etc.
Poison Moth Flight Skill, Deadly Poison Spray,Ant’s Skull Plate,Poisoned Hand,Tooth Whip
Mushroom Set,Guardian Garb (Full Bloom)
Kindred of Rot’s Exultation
The Shaded Castle,Stillwater Cave, Sewer Level of the Belurat Tower Settlement
Deadly Poison
*Only limited examples are provided for all overview charts on this list.
Once the Poison effect has reached its threshold, it inflicts a small amount of damage (based on the weapon used) each second for an extended duration or until the effect is removed/cured with spells likeCure Poisonor consumables likeNeutralizing Boluses.Poison also has an advanced variant called Deadly Poison, which deals roughly twice the damage as regular Poison, but for a third of the time.Shadow of the Erdtreeadded many Deadly Poison items, including thePoisoned Handand theTooth Whip, which trigger certain passive Poison-dependent buffs more often than the regular variant.
The Poisoned Hand and Madding Hand fist weapons can be equipped in the off-hand to take advantage of their passive abilities,even if the player doesn’t have the stats required to use them. For example, the Poisoned Hand requires 28 Arcane, but can be equipped in the offhand for the passive damage increase, even with an Arcane score below 28.
Poisonous effects can be enhanced with items like theMushroom Crown, and by self-inflicting poison damage with items like theRaw Meat Dumpling, players can trigger passives fromPoisoned HandandKindred of Rot’s Exultation. Poison also scales with Arcane,boosting the effect’s build-up rate on enemies, though the resulting damage will be the same. To resist poison, players shouldinvest stat points in Vigorand focus on boosting Immunity. In the Lands Between, Poison is found when facing Miranda Sprouts, while exploring theWitchbane RuinsorThe Shaded Castle, or in the DLC’s Belurat Tower Settlement in the sewers.
Immunizing Cured Meat,Immunizing Horn Charm,Preserving Boluses,Law of Regression, etc.
Rotten Staff,Poleblade of the Bud,Ash of War: The Poison Flower Blooms Twice,Rotten Breath,Rotten Butterflies,Cleanrot Spear
Mushroom Crown
Swamp of Aeonia; Elphael, Brace of the Haligtree; Church of the Bud; Lake of Rot
While Scarlet Rot is similar to Poison, itdeals damage over timebased on the target’s max HP — damage does not scale with the weapon being used.Scarlet Rot deals damage at a quicker rate than Poison, lasting slightly less time. Tarnished will be more than familiar with this status effectafter traveling through Caelidor in certain areas of the Land of Shadow, such as the Church of the Bud.Preserving Bolusesor spells such as theLaw of Regressioncan be used to mitigate or cure Scarlet Rot’s effects, as well as high Immunity.
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Defensively speaking, theCleanrot Spear’s passive ability boosts Immunity by 50 and helps mitigate both Poison and Rot.SOTEexpanded on the many options for dealing Scarlet Rot damage with spells such asRotten Butterfliesandthe Poison Flower Blooms Twice Ash of War. Players will also find thePoleblade of the Budat the Church of the Bud in the Land of Shadow. BecausePoison and Scarlet Rot are quite similar in how they function, gear such as theMushroom Crown,Poisoned Hand, and theKindred of Rot’s Exultationtalisman work well in a build incorporating either one.
Lord of Blood’s Exultation
Mohgwyn Palace, Rivermouth Cave
Blood Loss, otherwise known as Hemorrhage inElden Ring,functions much differently from both Poison and Rot and arguably is one of the most effective build types in the game (FromSoftware has updated many Bleed-based mechanics since launch). To inflict bleed,blood loss must exceed the target’s Robustness level, which immediatelycauses damagebased on Max HP and up to +200 additional damage based on the weapon used, such asMorgott’s Cursed Sword. Further, Hemorrhage combined with high Arcane will multiply damage output exponentially, especially when combined with blood-based gear such as theWhite MaskandRivers of Blood.
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Blood Loss is integral part ofElden RingandShadow of the Erdtree, with bosses such asMohg, Lord of Blood, the Ancient Dragon Man, and theChief Bloodfiend.To mitigate Blood Loss, invest in Endurance for higher Robustness,which will raise the amount of bleed Tarnished can endure, or keep someStanching Boluseson hand. Forbuilds incorporating various bleed effects, theLord of Blood’s Exultationraises attack power by 20% for 20 seconds when blood loss occurs nearby. Another essential set comes fromSOTE,Ansbach’s Set, with each piece boosting bleed damage by 3–5%.
Snow Witch Hat
Consecrated Snowfield,Mountaintops of the Giants, Freezing Lake
Unlike the previous status effects, Frostbite deals a small amount of damage once inflicted butincreases damage taken by 20% for thirty seconds. Importantly, the effect will not begin to build up again until the thirty seconds subsides or the Debuff is removed. Frostbite has unique properties and can (logically) be removed by interacting with any source of fire, such asFlame, Cleanse MeorFire’s Deadly Sin. For Tarnished without quick access to fire,Thawfrost BolusesandInvigorating Cured Meatwill help. Similar to Blood Loss, Frostbite can be mitigated further with high Robustness, raised through the Endurance stat.
Status effects will typically function differently in PvP and PvE, with damage and build-up times being lower to avoid giving any one type an unfair edge. Items such asRivers of Bloodwere heavily nerfed to avoid PvP players taking advantage of the overpowered status effects.
Tarnished whoexplored the Mountaintops of the Giantswill rememberBorealis, the Freezing Fogand his Frostbite Incantation,Borealis’s Mist. Some interesting SOTE additions to the Frostbite catalog include thePutrescence Cleaverand theVortex of Putrescence, dropped from thePutrescent Knightat the entrance to St. Trina’s cave. Frostbite can also be encountered in the Land of Shadow when facing the many Ghostflame Dragons, as well as Demi-Human Swordmaster Onze in Belurat Gaol. One important caveat: despite seeming like it should,Frostbite does not scale with Intelligence, though many Frostbite weapons deal Magic damage that does.
Consecrated Snowfield, Stone Coffin Fissure, Garden of Deep Purple
Eternal Sleep
True to its name, Sleep is a status effect that puts enemies asleep or into a vulnerable state that opens them up to Critical Attacks. Once the Sleep meter is filled,the target will be unable to move or attack,and Tarnished can either run away or go in for Critical Damage, after which the enemy will wake up. InShadow of the Erdtree, this mechanic wasexpanded to an advanced form, Eternal Sleep.This functions similarly to Sleep, but the enemy will not wake up after being attacked and isn’t prone to a Critical Attack.
All Status Effects have different results when used on bosses versus regular enemies. Some bosses are vulnerable to specific effects, such as Sleep on the Godskin Apostles, while others are immune or resistant to nearly every status effect, such as the Elden Beast.
In addition to Deep Sleep, SOTE introduced a handful of Sleep-related loot, such asSt. Trina’s Blossom,St. Trina’s Smile, theVelvet Sword of St. Trina, and theSleep Evermoreskill, as well as an entire area dedicated to St. Trina herself, the Garden of Deep Purple. Both Sleep and Eternal Sleep have some quirks:the effect has a chance to result in the enemy shaking itself awakemid-animation, returning to combat and resetting the status bar. Sleep is mitigated primarily through Focus, which is boosted through Mind, butStimulating Bolusesand spells likeLucidityalso counter the effects.
Aged One’s Exultation
Frenzy-Flaming Tower, Abyssal Woods
The Madness status effect is one that, once triggered, deals damage based on Max HP, andalso drains a percentage of the target’s FP. In addition, an animation will play where targets spew yellow flame out of their eyeballs and grab their heads in anguish.Elden Ringveterans likely remember theElden Ring’s Frenzied Flame ending, Shabriri, and the infamously maddening Frenzy-Flaming Tower. The DLC expanded this element withMidra Lord of Frenzied Flameand the surrounding Abyssal Woods. As with Sleep, Focus can be raised to counter Madness buildup by investing stat points into Mind or by usingClarifying Boluses.
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Shadow of the Erdtreealso gave players a trove of new Madness-based gear to build around, such as theMadding Hand,Black Dumpling, andAged One’s Exultation, all of which boost damage when Madness triggers nearby. Tarnished can trigger the passive effects usingHowl of Shabriri, Frenzied Flame pots, or with items such asNanaya’s Torch.Tarnished will need to navigate the Abyssal Woods to get their hands on this new Madness gear, and defeat or sneak past one particularly challenging madness-afflicted enemy, the Aging Untouchable, one of whom can be defeated with a well-timed parry for the above talisman.
Lusat’s Set,Fia’s Set,Deathbed Dress
Deeproot Depths,Crumbling Farum Azula
Of all the status effects in Elden Ring,Death Blight stands in a league of its own. Crucially, it only works on Tarnished, meaning it is not a viable build type for PvE. When the effect is triggered, the Tarnished isimpaled by thorns and suffers Instant Death.Death Blight is most famously encountered in the Deeproot Depths and Crumbling Farum Azula, and in various locations where the terrifying Wormface enemies are found. WhileSOTEdidn’t introduce any Death Blight gear or items, theDivine Beast Dancing Lionin the Ancient Ruins of Ruah inflicts Death Blight in its second phase.
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To resist Instant Death, players will want to raise Vitality, which directly lowers Death Blight vulnerability.Increasing Arcane will raise Vitality,but thePrince of Death’s Pustuletalisman,Fia’s Set,Lusat’s Set, and theDeathbed Dressare also viable options. One unique Death Blight weapon is theEclipse Shotel’s skill,Death Flare, great for PvP. Death Blight is also mitigated withRejuvenating Boluses, andTarnished should be extra cautious when approaching enemies that use Death Blight.Whether it’s Poison, Rot, or Death Blight, understandingElden Ring’s status effects will help the Tarnished as they journey through the Lands Between.
