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13''[[JustForFun/DescribeTopicHere Before you Describe Status Buff Here, put on your favorite song, to add +2 to troping.]]''
14
15A {{Stock RPG Spell|s}}, this is an ability that gives a temporary boost of one form or another to a character or an ally. Often called just a "buff". Can be a cast spell, a technological ability, or can be packaged as a single-use item like a potion or drug.
16
17The defining characteristic is that the buff must be temporary. Some must target a specific character for the effect, but more recently "auras", or area-effect constant buffs, have become popular. These apply to all allies inside a range of the caster, with a possible maximum number of total affected. This reduces micromanagement of buffing, but auras most often have a lesser effect than a straight buff spell.
18
19These boosts can overlap with the concept of the PowerUp, in that both make your character stronger. Having said that, {{Power Up}}s are more likely to be found in single-player games, and are always stumbled upon in the game world instead of being bestowed upon you by a third party. Similarly, a FieldPowerEffect is usually due to external and non-human forces affecting the strength of a set of characters.
20
21For the narrative equivalent, please see MagicEnhancement. This is closely related to MetaPower.
22
23Examples of common buffs:
24* '''Ability Up''':
25** Whether it's Strength, Speed, Defense, Magic, or other stats, this will grant the recipient of these spells a temporary flat increase or multiplier to that stat, thus improving the results of all internal calculations derived from it (be it damage, healing, accuracy, or so on). In some games, this is an "official" buff that can be neutralized by a StatusBuffDispel. In some games, there may be just one of these (usually for Attack), while in others, they may be absent, except for increasing levels of Agility Up/Down.
26** Many games that have the Ability Up buff will also have a corresponding '''Ability Down''' as the negative counterpart, and the two may [[StatusBuffDispel cancel each other out.]]
27* '''[[AttackReflector Reflect]]''':
28** Causes spells or attacks to deflect off of the intended target and hit something else instead, usually a member of the opposite party. In some cases, this makes no distinction between friendly or hostile magic: If you cast Reflect on an opponent, any attempts by them to cast recovery spells or status buffs of their own may bounce onto you instead. Most spells will only reflect ''once'' before they strike the target.
29* '''Haste''':
30** Speeds up the character. This is distinct from a Speed buff as listed above: Whereas a Speed buff will improve internal calculations (say, accuracy and evasion) derived from one's Speed (and, depending on the game, may modify turn order), Haste actually ''multiplies the number of turns'' or actions the character is given during battle. In games featuring a "Slow" {{Status Effect|s}}, the two will usually [[StatusBuffDispel cancel each other out.]]
31* '''[[RegeneratingHealth Regeneration]]''':
32** Slowly restores a character's HP. In turn-based games, it will heal a set amount of HP every turn; in real-time games, it constantly adds HP at set time intervals. Although it's the polar opposite of DamageOverTime, it doesn't usually directly cancel [[UniversalPoison poison]] (or whatever DamageOverTime [[StatusEffects effect(s)]] exist(s)) out; rather, both effects go at the same time, which may or may not even out depending on the game[[note]]however, in turn-based games, DamageOverTime and GradualRegeneration may occur at separate phases of the end-of-turn/post-action effect queue (thus technically not being simultaneous), and if DamageOverTime brings its victim's HP to 0, they may be considered KO’d before GradualRegeneration can bring their HP back up[[/note]].
33* '''[[ChargedAttack Charge/Focus]]''':
34** Increases the effect of the next attack or spell used. Many of these are self-used, effectively using two turns/actions for a single, stronger attack (which, depending on the game rules and the opponent's defensive strength, can be ''more effective'' than two regular attacks).
35* '''[[DeflectorShields Protect]]''':
36** Reduces damage taken, often by a specific source. Many games have variations on this for different types of damage (e.g. physical or magic), and some even going as far as having Protect spells against individual elements. A partial reflect may or may not be built in.
37
38Some spell-casting character classes [[SupportPartyMember specialize in these enhancements]], and they become everyone's friend very quickly when playing in a multiplayer environment, especially when they double as a healer. By the same token, these classes often have trouble looking out for themselves. The characters that specialize in buffs and healing/repairs are often called "support classes", although this classifier is really a superset encompassing any non-combat roles on a team.
39
40Watch out for enemies that can cast a StatusBuffDispel.
41----
42!!Examples:
43
44[[foldercontrol]]
45
46[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
47* ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers'': Aside from SummonMagic, this is Caro's specialty. Her buffs include Acceleration for speed, Strike Power for melee attacks, and Energy Boost for magical effects.
48* ''Literature/Overlord2012'', true to form to being set in MMORPG environments, has plenty. One of the show's most memetic scenes is the protagonist Ainz realizing a strong enemy won't attack him unless he strikes first, and thus spending an entire minute just stacking dozens of buffs one after the other before he actually gets started.
49[[/folder]]
50
51[[folder:Card Games]]
52* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' has many buff type Instants and Sorceries such as Giant Growth, which temporarily increases a creature's attack and defense until the end of turn. Auras and Equipment are more permanent, but can be [[StatusBuffDispel removed]].
53* ''TabletopGame/{{Munchkin}}'' has a number of "buffs" that are actually applied to monsters, so your competition has a harder time leveling up.
54[[/folder]]
55
56[[folder:Fan Works]]
57* ''Fanfic/BoldoresAndBoomsticks'' explains that all the buffs from the ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' side work by affecting the Aura of the target. Huntsmen like Team WebAnimation/{{RWBY}} can learn to use those moves themselves to gain an edge fighting the Grimm.
58[[/folder]]
59
60[[folder:Gamebooks]]
61* ''Literature/LoneWolf'':
62** The most common form are "Ability Up" potions which increase Combat Skill, especially those made from the Alether fruits, as well as the more dangerous Adgana Herb.
63** Banedon has a few with his "Brotherhood Spells", notably "Vigour" for direct combat, or "Invisible Shield" and "Counterspell" as defenses. Them being CastFromHitPoints, you have to carefully weight down the cost versus usefulness.
64** A few other spells are available to Kai Grand Masters with Kai-alchemy and Magi-magic. That are quite situational, though, and can only be used when the text allow it, even those augmenting Combat Skill and Endurance.
65[[/folder]]
66
67[[folder:Literature]]
68* ''Literature/IsItWrongToTryToPickUpGirlsInADungeon'': Haruhime has the Uchide no Kozuchi spell, which gives a temporary power-up to the receiver. In an universe where AntiGrinding is in its earnest[[note]]there's only one Level 7, and the number of Level 6's is in the single digit[[/note]], this is as close as an InUniverse GameBreaker as it can be, to the point that Ishtar wonder why it could have been legal in the first place.
69* ''Literature/TreeOfAeons'': Upon discovering that Matt's [Root strike] can deal minor damage to a demonic champion with SuperToughness, Lord Rajjiv commands his troops to cast all their support spells on Matt, with the idea that the power-ups will be enough to let him deal serious damage instead of the mere scratches that everyone else has managed. After becoming the recipient of [Holy Power X], [Blessed strike V], [Demon slayer III], [Energy burst V], [Fatal strike], [Heaven’s Punishment], [Holy Blessing], [Imbue Holy Power], [Energy boost], [Piercing strike], [Magic damage III], and [Attack boost III], Matt feels light-headed, but is able to OneHitKill the champion.
70%%* ''Literature/{{Xanth}}'': This is the weakest manifestation of Ivy's "enhancement" power. More powerful manifestations include MoreThanMindControl and full-on RealityWarping.%%ZCE. How is this an example?
71[[/folder]]
72
73[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
74* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'':
75** Clerics in 3.5e are classic buff specialists, but they have the flexibility to not be one if they so choose. Likewise, wizards and sorcerers are typically combat-oriented [[AnAdventurerIsYou blasters or mezzers]], but can do as buff specialists in a pinch. A Bard's only non-standard, non-spell ability in combat is to buff party members with their songs, while a "Gish" is a character, usually multiclassed, that combines [[MagicKnight magical buffs with top-notch combat skills]].
76** ''D&D'' 3.5 also has a metamagic feat called Chain Spell, that makes a spell hit a number of secondary targets. It will do half damage and be easier to resist, though. Of course, buffs do not do damage and there is no reason to choose to resist them, making them an easy means of getting full party buffs as there is no drawback. Of course, the same is true for ''Dispel Magic'', which, if Chained, is assured of crippling any competent mid- or high-level opponent long enough to finish them off.
77** In 5e Edition, Paladins have taken up the support role as well as simply being, well, ThePaladin. Their aura of protection gives buffs to saving throws made in their aura (it may as well be a permanent boost for the Paladin, but for everyone else it's decidedly this trope as the effect wears off once they leave the aura) and depending on their Oath, their natural auras can do other things, such as prevent charm or fear. They also get various aura spells that can temporarily grant Bonus Action health regeneration to one person within the aura per round (a coveted feature that normally only Clerics, Bards, and to a certain extent Druids have access to), weaken the affects of poison, prevent outright death in a certain radius, etc. The cost of these buffs in 5e, however, is that many of them require Concentration to maintain; you can't have two Concentration spells going at once, so it's normally impossible to have more than one buff, like Bless or Aura of Vitality, up at the same time unless another support caster has something else up as well. This was done for CompetitiveBalance, as 3.5e was ''notorious'' for having teams of Clerics who would spend all day self-buffing [[RocketTagGameplay so that they could one-shot the next foe they came across]]; more often than not, a big boss monster.
78* ''TabletopGame/SentinelsOfTheMultiverse'': Most heroes have one-shots, powers and/or ongoings that give them advantages, but some have greater bonuses they can give to others: Legacy can provide allies with damage buffs, Tempest can reduce incoming big hits, Ra can make the team fireproof and give them all boosted fire damage (hilarious for negating self-damage), Visionary can stick on an Ongoing that allows her to modify damage types and increase or decrease damage output, Captain Cosmic can do all sorts of things with his constructs, and the Argent Adept is a complicated and slow but faintly ridiculous buffing ''machine''.
79[[/folder]]
80
81[[folder:Video Games]]
82* ''VideoGame/{{Academagia}}'': Nearly all types are present and depending on the specific spell they can be cast on your character, [=NPCs=], or both. Specifically, there are spells to heal damage, reduce stress, temporarily increase certain Skills or Attributes, and even give temporary increases in the chance for success on difficulty roles. There are also spells that can debuff, or impose negative conditions, to other students as well.
83* ''VideoGame/AncientEmpires'': The primary purpose of Wisps is to boost the attack of nearby allied units.
84* ''VideoGame/ANNOMutationem'': The Erythropoietin and 654-2 drinks temporarily increases Ann's attack and defense stats for 60 seconds, also provides additional damage to enemies [[ArmorAsHitPoints armor bar]].
85* ''VideoGame/AtlasReactor'' has a selection of standard buffs and corresponding debuffs. Most buffs are nullified by its respective debuff (and vice versa). The pairs are Might/Weak (increases/decreases damage by 25%), Haste/Slow (increases/decreases speed by 50%), Unstoppable/Rooted (movement cannot be hindered/cannot move), Invisible/Revealed (invisible to other team/always visible to all characters) and Energized/Scrambled (doubles energy income/disables cooldown- and ultimate skill).
86* ''Franchise/BreathOfFire'' games have most of these, and the good thing is most of them are stackable. This is particularly helpful when doing a "[[SelfImposedChallenge No Dragon Forms]]" run, especially in the third game, since [[CombatMedic Ryu is the best healer and second-best buffer]].
87* ''VideoGame/BrutalLegend'': Eddie also has a guitar solo that temporarily boosts the offensive power of all units near him, the Rock Crusher boosts nearby allied damage. In solo mode, once you free enough Dragon Statues, Eddie's mere presence boosts the regeneration rate of all units around him. The guitarists also heal allies and the Doviculus also has the ability to tear out his heart and use it for a solo to increase the power of his allies. His army also has extremely potent regenerative abilities. [[spoiler:Drowned Ophelia]] has a spell to heal allies and the zeppelin heals as well, but the army mostly relies on [[StatusEffects weakening enemies]], as many of their units have weakening auras and unlike the Ironheade's buffs, theirs stack.
88* ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'' and ''City of Villains'' are rife with a wide assortment of buffs:
89** Inspirations are one variety which can be bought in stores or are dropped by foes.
90** Many of the power sets include buffing (and debuffing) powers of one type or another, and members of a supergroup who have the appropriate equipment installed in their base can actually ''build'' buffs for personal use.
91** The buffs available to support characters (Defenders, Corruptors, Controllers, and Masterminds) deserve special mention in that they were so powerful that a team of eight support characters was generally considered the strongest option for a team. While damage characters were (for the most part) individually stronger the ability to stack buffs (and debuffs) made teams composed solely of support characters extremely powerful.
92* ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' has plenty. Some of them come from weapons, others come from rings and armor. Heal, cure, regeneration, ability up, reflect, and protect are all present as are many other unique buffs. Debuffs also show up, like slow and poison.
93* Paladins in ''VideoGame/DiabloII'' were a lackluster fighter class at high levels, but were valued for their auras and healing abilities. This was later changed, while paladin auras were still beneficial to their parties, paladins are able to be extremely effective in melee (zealots and smiters, which is one of the best builds for killing the hardest bosses) and as casters (hammerdins, a very popular build for rushing, power leveling, and farming) in their own right.
94* ''VideoGame/DiceyDungeons'':
95** Shield protects against incoming damage, similar to how a second health bar would work. [[spoiler:In the Parallel Universe, it heals you on the next turn by its value.]]
96** Armor reduces all incoming damage. Particularly useful against enemies such as [[SpamAttack Sneezy, who attack multiple times per turn.]] [[spoiler:In the Parallel Universe, it blocks the next status effect by its value.]]
97** Dodge negates the next attack, [[spoiler: but in the Parallel Universe, it has a 50% chance of working, and it lasts until it's triggered.]]
98** Re-Equip Next re-equips the next item you use, even those that only work once per battle, [[spoiler:or your next dice in the Parallel Universe.]]
99** Fury repeats the next equipment that you use, [[spoiler:but in the Parallel Universe, it locks you out from using the same weapon on the next turn. For the Jester, it also prevents that card from being discarded, even if it has a match.]] In the Halloween Special, the Spooky version only works 50% of the time and lasts until it's triggered.
100** Survive [[LastChanceHitPoint lets you survive the next fatal blow with 1 health remaining.]] [[spoiler:It makes you invincible for a set number of turns in the Parallel Universe, but after the counter expires, you die.]]
101** Illuminate gives you some extra dice of a certain value next turn.
102** Thorns deals damage back to your enemy whenever they hit you. It also used to pierce through shields like Poison until the v1.4 update {{Nerf}}ed it. [[spoiler:In the Parallel Universe, it [[LifeDrain steals additional HP from your enemies]] by its stacks.]]
103** Jinx either does damage to the enemy, heals you, or inflicts you or the enemy with a status condition depending on the item affected by it, but it only activates after a certain number of turns.
104** ''Reunion'' adds new status buffs, most of them variants of existing ones:
105*** Berserk doubles all damage for the rest of the turn.
106*** Some of [[spoiler:Jester's]] cards equip them with permanent status buffs: Golden Dice makes them always roll evens, Turbo Charge makes them draw a card when they inflict Shock, Gauntlets copies the first card they play each turn, Diamond Dust doubles the damage done on frozen enemies, Jasra's Pendant gives 2 mana each turn, while the Sunlight Shield gives 2 Shield each turn.
107%%* ''VideoGame/DokaponKingdom'': One item gives this, but leaves your HPToOne after it wears off.%%Gives what?
108* ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'':
109** Since ''VideoGame/DragonQuestII'' and ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIII'', which introduced the first status-altering spells, the series has grown to include an enormous variety of buffing magic spells and abilities, such as Bikill/Oomph (doubles one character's attack power for a while, but they can't get critical hits), Upper/Buff and Increase/Kabuff (raise one ally's defense, or the party's defense), [=SpeedUp/Acceleratle=] (boost the party's agility), Barrier/Insulatle (protect the party from fire and ice), and Bounce (create a barrier that reflects magic spells cast on the target). In earlier games, many monsters and some AI-controlled characters could spend a turn gathering their strength, in order to make their next attack stronger. Later on this ability was made available to your characters, as Psyche Up. One of the more memorable buffs from the series is the Be Dragon spell, or Puff as it is now known, which turned the spellcaster into a fire-breathing dragon for a few turns.
110** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVIII'' made it even better by allowing you to Psyche Up multiple times to build up even more power, eventually giving you the appearance of having [[Franchise/DragonBall Super Saiyan]] hair, as can be largely expected because of the character designer being Creator/AkiraToriyama.
111* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsOnline'': Buffs and debuffs are a big part of gameplay. They are organized under standard names (every attack increasing effect is Berserk, every armor reducing effect is Fracture, etc) and usually inserted into a skill's effect as a nice bonus. The player is expected to make the most out of their skills by using all relevant buffs and keeping them up through a rotation.
112* ''VideoGame/EVEOnline'' allows players to confer buffs to themselves and friendly players, usually to help lock-on targets faster, shoot better with Turret weapons and bolster Sensor Strength against enemy jammers.
113* ''VideoGame/EyeOfTheBeholder'': Both Mages and Clerics have spells like this. They are quite useful, though for the most part with very short duration (except for ''Stoneskin'').
114** ''Aid'' is a good cleric spell to absorb damage. Especially handy if you know you're going to get hurt, like by jumping down a pit.
115** ''Haste'' is probably the best choice on the mage side, especially since a single casting can affect the whole party.
116** ''Shield'' is very useful against enemies using ''Magic Missiles''; problem is, it only affects the caster, thus it may force you to put the SquishyWizard in the front row to protect the whole party.
117** In the first game only, ''Stoneskin'' can make your whole party nearly invulnerable to physical attacks. No wonder it got removed from the later games.
118* ''Videogame/{{Fallout}}'':
119** Buffing drugs are found in the games. Buffouts are a steroid that increases strength, Mentats boosts mental attributes, and other drugs repair or prevent radiation poisoning. Psycho gives enough damage reduction to make one almost invincible, with a side effect of lowering the intelligence by three ranks for its duration. Notable in that all these drugs carry a chance to suffer addiction.
120** The sequels also had Jet, which boosts speed and temporarily increased action points. Though it has the most crippling addiction.
121* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
122** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI'' has the majority of job classes be able to perform at least one or two buffs on themselves. Red Mages can buff themselves to ridiculous amounts, with White Mages being similar, but having better healing abilities as well as area-of-effect versions of the spells Red Mages know. Bards and Corsairs both have powerful area buffs, but can only have two of them on a player at a time. Summoners possess a few area buffs as well, but have to deal with a 1-minute timer, as well as the large MP cost. The Scholar job has an ability called Accession that can convert many of its single-target buffs into multi-target versions in exchange for increased cost and cast time.
123** Regen in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' are {{Game Breaker}}s because they heal in real time instead of at the end of every turn, meaning you can either in the former game's case open the Playstation's lid while the characters are doing their magic casting animation, or in the latter game, just fire off a summon spell and be 100% fighting fit once the animation finishes.
124** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'': Regen is comparatively useless -- unless your Vitality is high, it heals very little damage and is per-turn. Even worse, that Vitality stat determines how much damage you take from poisoning: the higher the Vitality, the more damage you take per turn.
125** The Haste spells are one of the most consistently useful buffs throughout the series. In the ATB era, it doubles the turn rate of your characters, which, amusingly, is actually ''nerfed'' from the NES era, where it effectively doubled the affected character's damage output (and is particularly hilarious on a high-level Black Belt, easily one-shotting the final boss).
126** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'' introduces the [[PowerCopying Blue Mage]] and its Mighty Guard spell. It combines Protect, which reduces physical damage, and Shell, which reduces magical damage into a single spell that targets the entire party. In some games it adds additional buffs, such as the Float effect in ''V'' and all four elemental-null spells in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX''. It is generally considered its most useful in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', where it includes the above-mentioned Haste effect. It is at its most powerful in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'', where it adds Float, Haste, and Regen at Crisis Level 2, and Aura (increased likelihood of limit breaks) at Crisis Level 3, but falls into AwesomeButImpractical due to being a LimitBreak and needing to mess with her [[GuideDangIt crisis levels]] to get the additional effects. When it is not a LimitBreak, Mighty Guard alone is used to justify including a Blue Mage in endgame.
127** ''VideoGame/BravelyDefault'': There are quite a number of skills that will create buffs if a given condition is met (such as losing a certain percentage of HP), but the [[MagicMusic Performer]] class [[spoiler:as well as the Conjurer]] has a skillset consisting almost entirely of the Ability Up type. The [[ItemCaddy Salve-Maker]] can also perform a few buffs with the right compounds, including the aforementioned as well as Regen and Reraise, and [[LimitBreak Specials]] will give the party a buff to a certain stat for as long as [[ThemeMusicPowerUp their music]] plays (and one specific Special gives everyone a turn-based buff as well).
128** ''VideoGame/BravelySecond'' adds the Astrologian job, which has a variety of Ability Up magic as well as a few others such as buffing or resisting elemental attacks; the Fencer, which uses a StanceSystem to increase its own attack, defense, or speed as well as give access to more powerful attacks; the Catmancer, whose [[PowerCopying learnable skills]] include an attack-up ability and which can max its own defense once it reaches job level 10; the [[TheGunslinger Hawkeye]], which can enhance its own attacks to do elemental damage or pierce defense; and the Guardian, which has a physical AttackReflector. [[spoiler: And the Emperor, whose skills largely consist of buffs for both you and the enemies. One of the Yokai's skills can also buff the user's own stats.]]
129** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsAdvance'' and [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsA2 its sequel]] have all fronts covered, and then some. New types in the sequel include Leap (increased movement range and higher jumps), Resilience (harder to hit with Debuffs), Spellbound/Extend (buffs and debuffs last longer), Tranq (most attacks have 30% add to their hit chance, essentially the opposite of Blind), and a few unique buffs for the Cannonier class that serve to enhance the next normal attack (variations of Charge, so to speak) The new system Tonberries have to follow forces them to cast a spell to "aim" at a unit before using their signature Grudge skills, which applies a special buff to them and a special debuff to their intended target, and only then can they Grudge the marked unit. In fact, a powerful Tonberry later in the game has the ability to circumvent this as his entire special property.
130* ''VideoGame/GotchaForce'': Witch and Angel Borgs exist mostly for this reason. They can use the Haste and Strength buffs, as well as debuffs of the same.
131* ''VideoGame/GunsOfIcarusOnline'' allows players to equip the Dynabuff Industries Kit, or Buff Hammer, in their loadout. The hammer allows them to apply temporary buffs to the ship, depending on which component is buffed. Guns will receive a boost to damage, engines will cause the ship to move or turn faster, the hull receives a slight armor bonus, and the balloon will increase the rate at which the ship ascends or descends.
132* ''VideoGame/DotHackGU'': Magic-specialist classes (Harvest Clerics and Macabre Dancers) can learn many kinds of status buff spells, such as Ap Do (25% speed boost), Ap Corv (strength boost) and so on.
133* ''VideoGame/HarvestTown'' has a number of potions that can briefly raise DEF, ATK, and other skills (Fishing, Cooking, Mining, etc.). Unfortunately, the player can only buff one stat at a time. Consuming a potion for a different status buff while another is still running will cancel out the previous effect.
134* Certain story choices and events in ''VideoGame/IWasATeenageExocolonist'' positively affect how much you gain certain skills for several months:
135** Clear Mind: At zero stress, you feel completely relaxed, giving you a 10% chance to get a bonus 1 point in skill gains.
136** Smitten: Dating someone increases all social skill gains by 1 for three months.
137** Enlightened: Mastering a skill increases all mental skill gains by 1 for three months.
138** Heroic: Joining the fight during Glow attacks makes you feel pumped, increasing all physical skill gains by 1 for three months.
139** Popular: Winning a Vertumnalia contest doubles your Kudos earnings for three months.
140* ''VideoGame/{{Ikenfell}}'': There are various items and skills that can temporarily increase one or more of a party member’s stats. Some enemies can also do this to each other.
141* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'':
142** [[BlowYouAway Aero]] worked like this in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI''. Casting it generated a wind barrier surrounding the party member that reduced damage recieved. Upgrading it causes the barrier to damage enemies on contact and would eventually outright [[NoSell deflect some attacks, mostly enemy projectiles.]]
143** In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsChainOfMemories'', [[PowerCopying Enemy Cards]] are a type of card used in battle that grant Sora beneficial effects. Standard ones include Protect and Shell, while there are unconventional ones as well. For example, the Large Body card nullifies all damage coming from in front of him, and Dragon Maleficent boosted the power of Keyblade attacks but slows down the reload card. Each enemy and boss has a card associated with him/her/it, and they all have some sort of unique effect and condition before the effect fades. However, the disadvantages are that only one enemy card can be at play at a time, they tend to be expensive to put in your deck, and that for some cards, they impart resistances [[PowerUpLetdown and weaknesses to certain elements along with their unique effect.]] They are also [[RareRandomDrop dropped rarely]] in the case of regular Heartless cards.
144** Your Dream Eater allies in ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance'' can bestow you with many of the ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' staples, like Protect, Shell, and Regen, which function more or less the same as usual. They also have some more unique ones like Drain (Recovers a tiny bit of HP per basic attack landed), Spirit Roar (Boosts your offensive stats by 50%), and Combo Assist (Makes all of your basic attacks hit twice).
145* ''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing'': Although this is the specialty of Accordion Thieves, Turtle Tamers and Saucerors also get a handful, and every class gets at least two self-buff effects.[[note]]A true "buff" spell in this game is distinguished by being castable on other players, and being freely shruggable. Self-buffs, as the name implies, can only be cast on yourself, and are slightly harder to remove.[[/note]] They, like the not-so-StatusEffects, last for a certain number of turns, and are listed as effects under your character pane.
146* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrails'' has the craft "Motivate" that increases the parties strength and gives a bit of CP.
147* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'': Status buffs are a major mechanic introduced in the game, and can be obtained both from specialized armor and from consuming foods and elixirs.
148** "Chilly" items and the Desert Voe armor grant heat resistance, allowing Link to explore the Gerudo Desert without taking constant damage.
149** "Electro" items and the Rubber armor grant resistance to electric attacks.
150** "Enduring" items supercharge Link's stamina wheel.
151** "Fireproof" items and the Flamebreaker armor grant immunity to fire, necessary for exploring the volcanic heights of Death Mountain and for fighting flaming enemies.
152** "Hasty" items increase Link's running speed. The Sheikah armor grants a speed boost as well, but only at night.
153** "Mighty" items and the Barbarian armor increase the damage dealt by Link's attacks.
154** "Sneaky" items and the Sheikah armor make Link stealthier by making his movements quieter, allowing to sneak around enemies more easily.
155** "Spicy" items and the Snowquill armor grant cold resistance, allowing Link to explore icy mountain areas without taking constant damage.
156** "Tough" items increase Link's defense, decreasing the damage done by enemy attacks. All armor grants some damage protection, but the Soldier's armor grants the most.
157* ''VideoGame/Lineage2'': All classes have multiple buffs, but the ones that take the cake are the human tank classes (Hell Knight and Phoenix Knight) and the dedicated buffers (Prophet, Elven/Shilien Elder, Judicator).
158** The former can boost their already ridiculous defense to almost unbelievable levels with their buffs, such as Iron Will, Aegis Shield, Ultimate Defense, Physical Mirror and Deflect Magic among many others. The Phoenix Knight provides support to the party with their assistance skills such as Touch of Life (Heals a target to full health and increases all healing done to the target), Spirit of the Phoenix (a chain of skills which culminates in Flame Archon, a massive buff to the entire party which raises every single stat by 60%, at the cost of reducing healing effectivenes on everyone affected by 80%) and Shield of Faith (which transfers 50% of the damage of all party members towards the caster, boosting the entire party defenese in the process). The Hell Knight debuffs the enemy with skills like Touch of Death (reduces the health, healing effects and stats of the target, removing up to 5 buffs in the process), Shield Slam (Blocks physical skills for 1 minute), Hell Scream (Reduces every nearby enemy defense for 30%, speed for 30% and has a chance of inflicting fear), and their most feared skill, Insane Crusher (deals a ridiculous ammount of damage that bypasses all kinds of defense -- shields and armor -- further increased because the skill can Over-Hit -An effect above critical damage, where the damage can be boosted up to five times -- and if the target survives, they have greatly reduced CP, CP and HP regeneration and Debuff Resistance. It also cancels from one up to every single one of the target buffs. Being hit with Insane Crusher is basically a death sentence for the character.)
159** The Buffer classes... well, buff. All their skillset are based around buffing party members, raising every possible stat in the process. While their standart buffs are fairly equal, each class has its own perks. Prophets have every single great buff and can boost every single stat by themselves (at the cost of having exactly 0 combat abilities), Elders can actively regenerate mana (which makes them invaluable for mages) and Judicators have ultimate buffs, which raises certain stats to incredible levels for short periods of time, such as Apetite for Destruction (which boosts Physical Damage, Critical rate and Damage and Acurracy by 80%), Protection Instinct (raises all defenses by 80%) and Magic Impulse (which raises Magical Damage, Magical critical rate and damage and casting speed). The Judicator buffs affects the entire party, which can make a party with a Judicator unkillable for the 30-40 seconds duration of said buffs.
160* ''VideoGame/MightAndMagic VI-VIII'' has most of these spells available in one form or another, with different magic schools specializing in different types. Besides usual spells that increased either primary (Strength, Endurance) or secondary (Damage, Armor Class) statistic or elemental damage resistance and gradual regeneration spells, there were more exotic buffs that allowed either party to walk on water or fly, resist status ailments for a certain number of times or become invisible until you casted a spell, collided with monster or yelled at someone. Dark Magic had, starting with VII, access to Pain Reflection which was not ''quite'' reflect as it didn't prevent damage done, but it did the same amount of damage to the attacker as well. Light Magic centered around buffs, as it allowed to cast almost all available buffs with three diffferent spells and at much higher power, and it was the only magic school with Dispel.
161* ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' has several status buffs that are obtained from potions and using beacons. The stronger the buff, the more potent it is and they can be used on friends and foes alike:
162** Regeneration: Restores health over time.
163** Speed Boost: Walk and run faster.
164** Strength: Damage output is boosted.
165** Resistance: Increased defense.
166** Fire Resistance: Immunity to fire and lava.
167** Night Vision: All dark areas are lit up, though they are not actually filled with light, thus monsters can still spawn.
168** Water Breathing: SuperNotDrowningSkills plus improved vision underwater.
169** Invisibility: ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin, except for items carried and armor pieces worn.
170** Haste: Mine blocks faster.
171** Health Boost: Temporarily increases your maximum health.
172* ''VideoGame/MitsumeteKnight'': In ''Mitsumete Knight R : Daibouken Hen'', while all characters have access to basic healing spells, higher healing spells and specific status buff spells are character-exclusive, so you have to carefully pick the two female characters of your party out of the five available. There are also four variants of target-affecting status spells : some buff the caster only ; others affect the caster and all his allies ; a few affect the enemies' stats ; and one character, Sophia, has a spell named "Love Song" that buffs TheHero only.
173* ''VideoGame/{{MOTHER}}'':
174** ''VideoGame/EarthBound1994'' has plenty. In this case, the StatusBuffDispel is a good thing, because if the enemy has the ability to cancel out your buffs and debuffs, that also means they have the ability to use very powerful PSI attacks. And wouldn't you rather keep them busy cancelling out buffs than attacking you?
175** ''VideoGame/Mother3'': Buffing and debuffing are vital to winning boss fights; bosses have such high attack and defense stats that they have to be lowered to win unless you're highly overleveled.
176* ''VideoGame/NexusClash'': [[OurAngelsAreDifferent Advocate]] angels are usually empowered by the Nexus' personification of Love and specialize in showering their allies with buffs that vary from Advocate to Advocate which have the potential to help nearly any stat in the game. They're individually less powerful (and less prone to BlackAndWhiteInsanity) than other Angels, but an angelic army led or backed by an Advocate is far more dangerous than one without.
177* ''VideoGame/NobodySavesTheWorld'': You can temporarily increase your defense with Turtle's Slow and Steady skill and your attack with either Bodybuilder's Pump Up skill or Killer Bee's passive Nutri-Gains ability, which raises your attack whenever you eat any food item.
178* ''VideoGame/OctopathTraveler'':
179** Warriors have access to the Abide and Stout Wall skills, which increase their physical attack and physical defense respectively. They can also use Incite to taunt enemies to focus on them.
180** Dancers have abilities that increase one character's physical attack, elemental attack, physical defense, and speed.
181** Clerics have Sheltering Veil, which raises one character's elemental defense, and Reflective Veil, which reflects one magic spell per level of Boost.
182** Hunters have Take Aim, which increases the whole party's accuracy and critical hit rate.
183** Practically all of the Starseer's skills buff party members in various esoteric ways, from increasing all defensive stats to allowing someone to gain 2 BP per turn instead of 1 or creating a shield that reflects physical attacks.
184* ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'': Ana Amari has her nanoboost, which increases both damage and resistance to damage by 50% for 8 seconds.
185* ''VideoGame/PAYDAY3'' has three basic buffs, all of which last 20 seconds and all of which are required to activate particular skills: Edge, which boosts damage by 10%, Grit, which cuts damage taken by 10%, and Rush, which boosts a heister's movement speed.
186* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':
187** The games have buffs that can affect every stat, including some (like evasion and accuracy) which aren't made obvious to the player. On top of that, there is a move, called Psych Up, which instantly copies all buffs an opponent has used.
188** Stat-changing buffs do not wear off with time, but are only lost if the buffed Pokémon switches out. Switching is fairly common in competitive play, though.
189** Reflect, Light Screen, and Safeguard are of the "Protect" sort, halving physical damage, halving special damage, and preventing negative statuses, respectively. All three do expire, however.
190** Also, the move "Baton Pass" allows a Pokémon to switch out with another party member and transfer all status buffs to it. It also transfers all status debuffs, like being locked into battle (Mean Look, Shadow Hold), infatuation (unless the entrant is the same gender as the infatuator or genderless), and confusion. The only status debuffs it won't transfer are [[StatusEffects the cardinals]] (Burn, Freeze, Poison, Paralyze, Sleep, Faint).
191* ''VideoGame/PrayerOfTheFaithless'': As seen in an [[https://rpgmaker.net/games/7969/images/80970/ Official GIF]], the "Joy" status, which "boost[s] all parameters".
192* ''VideoGame/PrimalCarnage'':
193** Tyrants each have a roar which provides a momentary stat boost to nearby dinosaur teammates for a few seconds. The ''Tyrannosaurus'' increases their attack strength, the ''Spinosaurus'' increases their durability, and the ''Acrocanthosaurus'' activates RegeneratingHealth. Tyrant players get an experience boost if a teammate kills a human while under the effect of their buff.
194** The ''Novaraptor'''s roar grants it increased attack strength and attack speed, but instantly drains its stamina (preventing it from running or jumping), while the ''Pachycephalosaurus'' has a roar which increases jump height, attack speed, and attack strength.
195** The Scientist's tranquilizer dart gun functions as a HealingShiv; not only does it heal a small amount of health when shot at teammates, it temporarily increases their durability, although each subsequent hit shortens the buff's remaining duration. Her energy drink item drop will also greatly increase the walking and running speed of any player that picks it up, for fifteen seconds.
196* ''VideoGame/SacredEarthAlternative'': In addition to their own EP Art buffs, characters can use EX Boost, which spends 25 EX to buff all stats except speed.
197* ''VideoGame/SailorMoonAnotherStory'': Anime/SailorMoon and Sailor Chibi-Moon can use the Holy Grail to unlock a more powerful attack boost in battle.
198* ''VideoGame/ShadowHearts'': After the first game, the series is fond of these. One of the perks of the final available fusion in ''Covenant'' and ''From the New World'' is that it has a spell that grants all available buffs to the entire party. (It's significantly less useful in the latter, however, as the FinalBoss and {{Superboss}} both respond to buffs by immediately casting [[StatusBuffDispel Lost Progress]].)
199* ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'':
200** If a spell's name ends in "-kaja", it's a status buff. Debuffs end in "-nda". Learn them ''very quickly'' or you're finished. Two exceptions are Dekaja and Dekunda. Dekaja is a StatusBuffDispel, while Dekunda washes debuffs off your characters and is a LIFESAVER when you get hit with Debilitate (another exception, and one you will learn to DREAD).
201** The language used for the stats being targeted is consistent throughout the series with one exception. "Taru-" is attack power, "Raku-" is defense, and "Suku-" is agility and accuracy. The exception is magic power -- sometimes it's folded into "Taru-", while in some games (such as ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'') it has its own category, "Maka-"; still others (most notably ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'' and ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse'') separate the buffs between Tarukaja and Makakaja while combining the debuffs into Tarunda, which will cost slightly more than Rakunda and Sukunda due to covering two stats. Debilitate will lower ''[[OhCrap all]]'' stats. Some games include Heat Riser/Luster Candy, which will buff ''all'' stats. While enemies seldom use Luster Candy or Heat Riser, they will gleefully abuse all other status buffs and debuffs.
202** Various skills act as stronger debuffs than the basic ones. When War Cry and Fog Breath were introduced, they simply acted as double Tarunda and Sukunda, respectively, with Acid Breath being introduced for Rakunda later. In the ''IV'' duology, due to the max buff/debuff level being lowered from four to three, they were altered to instead lower two stats once. War Cry combines Tarunda and Rakunda, Fog Breath combines Tarunda and Sukunda, while Acid Breath combines Rakunda and Sukunda.
203** There are also the Charge/Power Charge and Concentrate/Mind Charge spells, which will typically multiply the damage of the user's next physical or magical, respectively, attack by 2.5 or increase the chance of instant death when casting Hama or Mudo.
204** In most games, buffs and debuffs can be stacked, typically up to three or four times, and last on a character until that character is killed or has the effect dispelled. This is not the case in ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}'', ''[[VideoGame/Persona4 4]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/Persona5 5]]'' , where they can only be used once, will last only 3 turns before expiring, and have single-target variants before the standard full-party versions are introduced, arguably making buff and debuff spells significantly less useful.
205** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'': Matador has the SignatureMove Red Capote, which is a special buff that completely ''maximizes'' his agility/accuracy, making it the equivalent of casting four Sukukajas at once. It can only be used on himself, not the party, but is also one of the primary reasons he's a WakeUpCallBoss.
206** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse'': The FinalBoss opens up his second form with Infinite Power, which maxes his stats and grants him Smirk. Throughout the fight, he can continue to use it and Unending Curse, which lowers all of your party's stats to -3 with a chance of Mute. The last DLC boss also has renamed versions of these moves.
207** ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga 2'': The FinalBoss takes this to its logical extreme with Eternal Zero, which maxes his stats and brings yours to their lowest.
208** ''VideoGame/Persona5Strikers'' modifies they worked in ''Persona 5'' so that Rakukaja makes the target ImmuneToFlinching and Sukukaja gives a better chance of automatically dodging.
209* ''VideoGame/SkiesOfArcadia'': All three positive status effects be gotten through Glyphs which can be bought from stores (Especially useful if you have Delta Shield in effect as it nullifies all magic both positive and negative, even healing) and it doesn't cost SP or MP. This is a boon when going up against certain bosses that love to use Driln/Drilnos at every given opportunity.
210** Increm, which is a flat 25% boost to offense and defense. It's the second Red Magic spell. Advice to new players: build the Red Magic stat, build it for everyone, build it fast. Incremus, which is a souped up version of Increm gives everyone in the party the boost.
211** A second spell, Quika, is the game's equivalent of Haste. Not always useful, except for one certain BossBattle, where it's a lifesaver.
212** Also there is Regeneration through Fina's Lunar Blessing.
213* ''VideoGame/SniperEliteIII:'' Enemy officers make regular enemies more observant.
214* ''VideoGame/SomaUnion'': Magic Amp can be applied to a character to give them access to stronger and more MP intensive spells, and this can be stacked twice. Characters can use Amp Charge to convert their Magic Amp into standard offensive buffs. However, enemies can still cast standard buffs [[MyRulesAreNotYourRules without going through these extra steps]].
215* ''VideoGame/{{Starcraft}}'' also has a few. Terran Medics can heal organic allies and remove status effects of all allied units, while Science Vessels can apply a Defense Matrix on allies (which gives the unit a ~250Hp temporary shield). Infantry for the Terrans also had the stimpack, a haste ability that did damage to the user. The game is generally more keen on StatusEffects though.
216* ''VideoGame/StarTrekArmadaII'': Frigates exist solely to provide status buffs to your fleet. The Federation Aegian Class increases the shield strength of nearby ships, while the Klingon equivalent, the Koloth Class, increases the weapon damage of nearby vessels. The Romulan Veles Class vessel allows nearby ships to fire weapons while cloaked, and the Borg Harmonic Defender increases energy regeneration, allowing other ships to use special weapons more frequently.
217* ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'': Each class has one buff that they can share with other players in the group. Some classes also have additional buffs, for example Sith Warrior's different forms (for tanking or damage).
218* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros''
219** ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'':
220*** Macho Grubba's skill set consists largely of these. The challenge of his boss fight is to kill him before he's buffed himself to the point a) you can't hurt him and b) he can one-shot you.
221*** Power Lift is a Star Power that can increase your Attack and Defense for a few turns.
222*** There's also the Charge and Charge P badges which allows Mario and his partner respectively to double their attack power. The buff will dissipate after attacking once but the upside is that Charge can be used consecutively to increase power even more with each usage increasing attack power x2.
223** ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigi'': The games have the Pepper items, which each give the user a temporary boost to one stat. A Red Pepper boosts power, a Green Pepper boosts defense, and a Blue Pepper boosts speed.
224** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPGLegendOfTheSevenStars'': Geno Boost increases an ally's attack and defense. Various items can also do the same thing and there's the Red Essence item that makes one party member invincible for a few turns.
225* ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'':
226** ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsAlpha 3'', ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsDestiny'' and ''VideoGame/{{Super Robot Wars Z}}2: Saisei-Hen'' have Basara from ''Anime/Macross7''. The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awAi36JjFiQ following songs]] in ''Z2: Saisei-Hen'' give the corresponding buffs to his allies:
227*** Planet Dance: Heals HP.
228*** Totsugeki Love Heart: Raises Morale.
229*** My Friends: Heals SP.
230*** Try Again: Raises Stats.
231*** Dynamite Explosion: Gives Spirit Commands (Fortune, Effort, Accelerate, Flash).
232** ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsBX'':
233*** Mic Sounders has Disc P, which increases allied units' Will and allows them to use their most powerful weapons instantly.
234*** Anime/GaoGaiGar has Dividing Driver, which increases the Terrain Rankings of allied units within range to maximum, and lowers those of enemies in range by 1.
235* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU'': The Wii Fit Trainer's down special boosts their attack power if they time a certain button press right.
236* ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'': A few weapons provide buffs. The most obvious is the Soldier's Buff Banner, which when deployed will give everyone rallied around the Soldier mini-crits for a set amount of time. The Medic's Ubercharge and Klitzkreig also provide buffs, proving invulnerability and critical hits respectively. The Heavy's Killer Gloves of Boxing will give him 5 seconds of critical hits when he successfully kills someone. The Scout's energy drinks Bonk! and Crit-A-Cola make him invulnerable but unable to attack and faster while doing and taking more damage. The Demoman's Chargin' Targe gives him mini-crits mid-charge and regular crits at the end of a charge. Also, after capturing the intelligence, the capturing team all gets a period of critical hits.
237* ''VideoGame/{{Terraria}}'' also has buffs in the form of potions since 1.0.5 ranging from providing light, higher defense or higher enemy spawn rate. 1.0.6 introduced debuffs such as being on fire or poisoned. 1.1 introduced buffs which are permanent when certain criteria are met such as being turned into a werewolf on a full moon while holding a mooncharm or becoming merfolk when entering water with Neptune's shell.
238* ''VideoGame/{{Transistor}}'': Jaunt() + Void() boosts Red's damage by 150% for a second after Jaunt-ing.
239* ''VideoGame/TrialsOfMana'' has an entire character devoted to these: Riesz, at least her light classes. (her dark classes devote themselves to StatusEffects instead). Lots of other characters can use some of the same spells, but with limits; Monk Kevin, for example, can give himself a strength buff, but ''only'' himself. Rise can give the entire party that same buff within ten seconds.
240* ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'':
241** ''VideoGame/WarcraftIIIReignOfChaos'': Many unit types, especially the unique hero units, have buffs and auras that aid their subordinates in battle.
242** ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'':
243*** Priests provide many, including resurrection. Most spellcasters have at least one buff spell.
244*** Even Warriors and Rogues have some buff effects, although those are largely self-targeting abilities.
245*** Druids are also notable for having no less than 3 types of Regeneration buffs. A normal one, one with an instant effect at the beginning, and one with an instant effect when it expires.
246* ''VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}} Episode I'' has perhaps the most specific Status Buff in gaming history: MOMO Guard, which buffs Ziggy's attack and defense when [[TokenMiniMoe MOMO]] is in the active party, but in the back row.
247* ''VideoGame/ZanZarahTheHiddenPortal'': Passive spells can reduce the damage you take, increase the charging speed of your spells, buff the damage of your attacks, gradually heal you, improve your movement speed, increase your stamina regeneration, reflect the damage you receive back to your attacker, or protect you from negative StatusEffects.
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250[[folder:Web Original]]
251* ''Roleplay/FateNuovoGuerra'': Uther has the personal skill 'Dragon Attribute', which serves as both defense up and as protection against StatusEffects. The downside is that its high level makes him vulnerable to [[KryptoniteFactor anti-dragon weapons]].
252* ''Franchise/{{Noob}}'': ''[[FictionalVideoGame Horizon's]]'' paladins have such spells in their arsenal.
253* ''[[Website/GaiaOnline zOMG!]]'' has many rings that are buffs, including a passive, persistent buff in the Fitness ring. Some are single-target buffs (and some of these are ally-only or self-only), while some affect all players that were near the user when it was activated. Many buff rings also boost an additional stat or have a wider area of effect when used at higher [[ChargedAttack Rage Ranks]]. And then there are the buffs that target all players on the screen even at the lowest Rage Rank...
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