Every status ailment and elemental effect in SAO: Hollow Realization explained. What they do, how to apply them, and how to cure them.
Status Ailments (Physical/Magical Debuffs)
Enemies (and you!) can be afflicted with various status conditions during combat. Learning what each one does and how to deal with them is critical for survival, especially in later regions and dungeons where enemies use status effects aggressively.
Poison
Poison deals continuous damage over time to the afflicted target.
• On YOU: Poison is extremely dangerous if ignored during long boss fights. Cure poison immediately with Antidote.
• On ENEMIES: Excellent for passive damage while you focus on defense. Dagger users apply poison consistently with fast attacks.
Paralysis
Paralysis prevents the afflicted from taking any action for a short duration.
• On YOU: Getting paralyzed mid-combat is a death sentence against strong enemies. Carry paralysis cure items.
• On ENEMIES: One of the strongest crowd control effects. Paralyzed bosses cannot attack, giving you free damage windows.
Stun
Stun is similar to paralysis but usually shorter, triggered by heavy hits (especially from Mace weapons).
• Mace users apply stun constantly with heavy stagger damage.
• Stunned enemies are guaranteed Switch setup opportunities.
• Perfect Guard parries also lead into stun states.
Player Tip: Carry Antidotes for poison and Paralysis Heal items. These two ailments are the most common and most deadly. Focus on whatever the current region's enemies use most.
Burn / Freeze / Shock (Elemental Status)
• Burn (Fire) -- Fire damage over time, similar to poison.
• Freeze (Ice) -- Slows enemies significantly and can freeze them solid temporarily. Frozen enemies shatter when hit for extra damage.
• Shock (Lightning) -- Lightning damage can stun-lock enemies briefly and chains between grouped targets.
Elemental damage is modified by enemy resistances. Pay attention to damage numbers -- blue numbers mean resist; yellow/orange often indicates weakness.
Applying Status Effects Consistently
• Dagger users have easiest time applying poisons/paralysis due to fast attack speed.
• Status-inflicting sword skills -- Check skill descriptions for explicit status effects.
• Coatings/consumables -- Apply temporary elemental/status coatings to your weapon.
• Equipment bonuses -- Some weapons/accessories boost status application rate.