Buffs · debuffs · persistent conditions · stacking rules

The numbers under the health bartell most of the fight.

Burns and poisons compound damage across rounds. Shields and regens turn losing fights into managed ones. Stun denies a turn outright. Corruption stacks past three and starts permanently changing the cultivator. Fatigued and Exhausted gate what you can do between fights. The cleanse priority list is its own combat skill.

4effect families6stacking rules3Corruption breakpointtieredFatigued → Exhausted

Corruption above three · changes the cultivator

Buffs

RegenShieldHasteBlessed

Debuffs

BurnPoisonBleedStun

Conditions

FatiguedExhaustedCorruption ICorruption IICorruption III

62 / 100

Three columns · cleanse priority is its own skill

Effect families

Category-stacking rules

Removal mechanisms

Yes

Progression chains

How status effects work

An ability that applies a status effect carries an applies_status_effects list and a status_duration. When the ability lands, every status ID in the list is queued onto the target with the listed duration.

Each effect has:

Duration — fixed duration, or persistent (until cleansed / specific removal trigger).
Stackable — whether multiple instances can co-exist. Burns stack up to 3; Poison stacks up to 5; Stuns don't stack at all.
Category — controls which stacking-cap rules apply across effects. Two Blessings cannot co-exist; three Weather effects can.
Severity — for persistent debuffs, severity often dictates progression (Fatigued severity 1 → Exhausted severity 2).
Modifiers — flat (strength_flat: 2) or percent (attack_speed_percent: -15). Applied additively unless explicitly multiplicative.
Removal conditions — what makes the effect end. Some have a single trigger; some have several.

Combat debuffs

Short-duration negative effects inflicted in combat.

Burn
DoT · 4–8 s typical · stacks: Yes (up to 3)
Effect
Deals 8–15 damage/s. Damage scales with the applier's INT.
Source
Fire-aspect abilities, Emberwrath aura, certain alchemy
Removal
Water magic, immersion, time-out.
Visual
Flame particles on target
Poison
DoT · 10–20 s · stacks: Yes (up to 5)
Effect
Deals 5–10 damage/s; ticks ignore most armor. Stacks compound multiplicatively.
Source
Venom-aspect abilities, Rendrown blood-magic strikes, certain alchemy
Removal
Cleanse, antidotes, Apothecary salves.
Visual
Green tint on target
Bleed
DoT · 5 s · stacks: Yes (up to 5)
Effect
Deals 10 damage/s. Movement-aggravated — bleeding while moving costs additional Stamina.
Source
Rending Strike, dagger backstabs, beast claw attacks
Removal
Healing magic, rest, time-out.
Visual
Blood drip trail
Stun
Control · 1.5–3 s · stacks: No
Effect
Target cannot act, cannot defend, cannot block. Damage taken increased.
Source
Shield bash, War Stomp, Power Blow critical, monster slams
Removal
Wait it out, certain immunities (Juggernaut passive), Cleanse on some essences.
Visual
Stars / dazed icon
Root
Control · 3–8 s · stacks: No
Effect
Target cannot move. May still attack and cast in place.
Source
Slowing Field, vines, gravity-aspect spells
Removal
Cleanse, breaks on heavy damage in some variants.
Visual
Vines or stone-grip on feet
Slow
Control · 5–10 s · stacks: Yes (up to 3, capped)
Effect
Movement speed and attack speed reduced 25–50%.
Source
Frost-aspect, gravity wells, water magic
Removal
Cleanse, Swift-aspect immunity, time-out.
Visual
Frost / drag effect
Fear
Control · 2–4 s · stacks: No
Effect
Target flees from the source for the duration. AI breaks formation; players lose control of movement.
Source
Intimidating Shout, Terror, Demoralizing Roar
Removal
Cleanse, fear-immunity passives, Hope or Courage essence.
Visual
Purple aura, fleeing animation
Blind
Control · 3–6 s · stacks: No
Effect
Critical-hit chance reduced to 0, ranged accuracy halved. Melee attacks miss 50% of the time.
Source
Light flash, sand, shadow attacks
Removal
Cleanse, Truth essence, time-out.
Visual
Black smudge over eyes
Silence
Control · 3–5 s · stacks: No
Effect
Target cannot cast spells or use magical abilities. Passive abilities continue.
Source
Anti-magic strikes, Arcane Assembly counter-spells
Removal
Cleanse, time-out, certain immunities.
Visual
Crossed-out mouth icon
Essence Drain
Resource · 5–10 s · stacks: Yes (up to 3)
Effect
Drains Mana / Stamina / Rage from the target each second; transfers half to the attacker.
Source
Remnants, Void Wolves, Essence Wraiths
Removal
Anti-essence weapons, virtue-essence cleansing, time-out.
Visual
Essence wisps flowing from target
Corruption
Persistent · Persistent (until cleansed) · stacks: Yes (up to 10)
Effect
Each stack reduces all stats by 2%. At 10 stacks, target risks transformation into a Corruption Spawn.
Source
Void Heart, Shade Stalker, corruption pools
Removal
Virtue essence, sealing techniques, dedicated purification.
Visual
Black-veined skin, growing darker per stack
Madness
Persistent · Persistent · stacks: No (severity 1–3)
Effect
Target perceives false targets, may attack allies, cannot reliably read its own stat sheet. AI behaviour becomes erratic.
Source
Void Heart aura, Abyss Trench encounters, Timeless Wastes
Removal
Mercy or Truth essence, dedicated mental cleansing, Lyra-shrine rituals.
Visual
Reality flickers, hallucination overlays

Combat buffs

Short-duration positive effects inflicted in combat — by you, on you, or by an ally.

Battle Cry
Combat buff · 10 s · stacks: No
Effect
+20% attack for the duration. Self-only.
Source
Striker S004 — Battle Cry ability
Removal
Time-out; cannot be cleansed by hostiles.
Block Stance
Defensive · Toggle · stacks: No
Effect
Reduces incoming physical damage by 40%; reduces movement speed by 30%.
Source
Guardian shield abilities
Removal
Untoggle; broken by certain pierce attacks.
Regeneration
HoT · 8 s · stacks: Yes (up to 3)
Effect
Heals 15 HP/s. Stacks add linearly. Tick reduced if target is taking damage.
Source
Healer Regrowth, Restorative-aspect abilities
Removal
Cleanse by hostile, dispel.
Haste
Speed · 6–12 s · stacks: No
Effect
+25% attack speed, +20% movement speed, −10% cooldowns.
Source
Swift-aspect abilities, Bard performance, certain consumables
Removal
Time-out; can be cleansed.
Essence Shield
Absorption · 5 s · stacks: Yes — shields add to a pool
Effect
Absorbs N HP of damage before HP is touched. Pool depletes from damage taken.
Source
Guardian Shield Wall, certain ward abilities
Removal
Depletion, dispel.

Persistent buffs (out of combat)

Long-duration positive effects from religious rites, rest, food, and duty assignments. These are the "always-on" layer good play maintains continuously.

Temple Blessing
Blessing · 24 h · stacks: No
Effect
+10% defence, +10% magic resist, +5% HP regen.
Source
Temple prayers (Silver Hand, Lyra shrines)
Removal
Death, curse.
Well Rested
Rest · 12 h · stacks: No
Effect
+10% XP gain, +25% Stamina regen, +10% HP regen.
Source
A full night's sleep at inn or camp
Removal
Exhaustion, death.
Nourished
Food · 8 h · stacks: No
Effect
+5% max HP, +2 STR, +2 VIT.
Source
Hearty meal from Chef or Cook
Removal
Death.
Inn Comfort
Rest · 16 h · stacks: No
Effect
+1 CHA, +1 LUCK, +5% gold find.
Source
Quality inn stay
Removal
Death.

Persistent debuffs (out of combat)

Long-duration negative effects from neglecting rest, exposure to weather, or sustained corruption. Generally avoidable; if ignored, they compound.

Fatigued
Fatigue (severity 1) · Until rested · stacks: No
Effect
−25% Stamina regen, −10% movement speed.
Source
Continuous travel / combat without rest
Removal
Rest. Progresses to Exhausted if ignored.
Exhausted
Fatigue (severity 2) · Until rested · stacks: No
Effect
−10% all stats, −50% Stamina regen, −25% XP gain.
Source
Ignoring Fatigued for too long
Removal
Full rest, restoration spell.
Soaked
Weather · 2 h · stacks: No
Effect
−20% fire resist, +25% lightning damage taken.
Source
Heavy rain, river crossings
Removal
Shelter, fire exposure.
Chilled
Weather · 1 h · stacks: No
Effect
−15% attack speed, −10% movement.
Source
Cold regions, blizzards
Removal
Warmth, fire exposure.

Progression chains

A few status effects evolve into worse versions of themselves if left untreated. The engine tracks this with a progresses_to field:

Fatigued → Exhausted. Severity 1 fatigue from continuous travel becomes severity 2 exhaustion after a fixed time without rest. Exhausted has much harsher modifiers.
Corruption (1) → Corruption (5) → Corruption (10). Corruption accumulates by stack rather than severity. At 10 stacks the target risks involuntary transformation.
Madness (1) → Madness (3). Each tier introduces new perception distortions. Tier 3 cannot reliably read its own UI.
Burn → Combustion. Three Burn stacks on the same target may proc Combustion — a brief, larger AoE damage event that clears the Burn stacks.

Progression is checked at fixed simulation ticks, not continuously, so a brief Fatigued window between actual rests is harmless. The problem is consecutive Fatigued ticks.

Category stacking limits

Each effect belongs to a category. Categories carry max-active caps — you can hold many effects total, but not many of the same category.

Category	Max active	Note
Blessings	1	Divine buffs from temples and shrines. Only one active at a time.
Rest Effects	2	Buffs from resting. Well Rested + Inn Comfort can stack, but you can't double-stack the same effect.
Food Effects	1	Cook / Chef buffs. One active at a time — eating again replaces the previous one.
Fatigue	1	Negative — never want this active. Severity 1 (Fatigued) progresses to severity 2 (Exhausted) if ignored.
Weather Effects	3	Soaked + Chilled + a third weather effect can all run together. Crossing terrain change clears irrelevant ones.
Duty Effects	1	Quest-driven buffs (Caravan Guard, Escort, etc). One active at a time. Auto-clear on quest completion or failure.

How effects get removed

Cleanse
Healer ability and certain consumables. Removes one debuff at a time. Most combat debuffs are cleansable.
Virtue cleansing
Mercy and Truth essences can cleanse effects that resist normal removal — Corruption, Madness, deep curses.
Time-out
Most combat debuffs simply expire. If you survive the duration, the effect is gone.
Removal trigger
Some effects are cleared by specific triggers — Soaked is cleared by shelter or fire exposure; Caravan Guard clears on escort_complete or escort_failed.
Progression
Some debuffs progress to worse versions if not removed in time — Fatigued → Exhausted is the canonical example.
Immunity
Passive abilities and certain item enchantments grant immunity to specific status families. Juggernaut (Striker passive) makes you immune to knockback and slow.

Practical reminders

Rest before you're Fatigued. Sleeping at an inn re-applies Well Rested and Inn Comfort — 16+ h of stat buffs, free.
Eat before you fight. A Nourished buff gives +5% max HP and +2 STR/VIT for 8 h. That's two STR breakpoints on a fresh build.
Cleanse priorities: Stun, Fear, Silence > Slow, Blind > DoT effects. You can often outlast a Burn or Poison stack but a Stun in the wrong moment is the fight.
Corruption is the dangerous one. Most debuffs are temporary. Corruption is not. Carry virtue-essence items or stay out of Corruption Wastes.
Weather is real. Soaked + Lightning attacker = +25% lightning damage taken. Either avoid the rain or fight a different element.

Where to read next

Battle system →

The combat loop that applies most of these effects — turn order, energy pools, hit resolution, status queuing.

Bestiary →

The creatures that inflict the worst of these — Corruption Spawn, Void Heart, Shade Stalker.

Abilities →

The aspect-driven abilities that apply each kind of effect — Corrupting adds DoT, Restorative adds HoT, etc.

Professions →

Healers, Apothecaries, and Cooks all produce or remove status effects. They're the maintenance layer of the game.

Source: TitanSaga-Godot — buffs.json, World-Engine — BATTLE_SKILL_SYSTEM_IMPLEMENTATION, TITAN_SAGA_BESTIARY.