Status

Weapons

Main topic: Status Effects

Statuses, or Abnormal Statuses are a secondary effect that certain weapons may apply to monsters. Statuses and Elements are mutually exclusive on a weapon, however, there are some exceptions such as various Dual Blades, all ranged weapon can both apply abnormal status and dealing elemental damage within the same hunt through the use of different ammo/coatings, and weapons forged from some monsters' material have both elemental and abnormal status on them, such as Flaming Espinas and some other monsters introduced in Monster Hunter Frontier.

When an abnormal status takes effect, the threshold until that status can take effect again is raised, as well as the duration of that status effect being shortened.

Unlike elements, statuses do not directly contribute towards lowering a monster's health, some of them result in an additional damage when in effect. Unlike elements, for melee weapons, each successful hit has a 1/3 chance of applying the weapon's status buildup, while for ranged weapons, status ammo/status coating applied arrows have 100% chance to apply the build up. Certain armor skills may alter this mechanic.

Hits that successfully apply status buildup have a special visual effect specific to each status, similar to how elemental hits look, and will add the weapon's status value towards a hidden total on that monster. Each monster has a total value that must be reached for the status to begin effecting them, these values may be different from games to games. When an abnormal status buildup threshold is reached, thus the status is in effect, the monster will suffer the effects of the status, as well as a visual effect indicating this.

Primary statuses are the effects that are usually shown on weapon's statistics, while Secondary statuses are the effects that are only applied by certain weapon attacks, and may require to hit a specific monsters' body parts to be applied successfully.

Primary Status

Name	Description	Image
Poison	Poison is a status effect that gradually drains health of the affected over a certain amount of time. When a monster is poisoned, purple bubbles rise from atop of their head, or dripping purple liquid from their mouth. Some Elder Dragons that utilize aura, such as Kushala Daora, Teostra, and Lunastra, when poisoned, their aura will be weakened or completely disappear until the poison effect ended. The duration of poison varies from monsters to monsters, and some skills may alter this duration, thus the total damage also differs. Several monsters also utilize poison against hunters, ranging from the weak monsters like Ioprey and Iodrome to the elusive Elder Dragon Chameleos or the mighty Rare Species Gold Rathian, who utilize an even stronger poison called Venom/Noxious Poison. When an attack would apply poison to a monster, purple cloud will appear upon impact.
Sleep	Sleep is a status effect that causes the affected to cease all action completely and fall asleep for a period of time. When a monster is put to sleep, they will instantly cease all action, even when in the middle of attack and fall asleep. In flight monsters will fall to the ground before falling asleep. When completely asleep, white bubbles rise from atop of their head. The duration of sleep varies from monsters to monsters. When the duration ended, the monster will automatically wake up on its own and continue the fight. However, another monster's or player's attacks hitting the sleeping monster will instantly wake them up. However, this particular "Wake-Up Hit" will deal twice the damage it would normally, thus, a single, devastating attack such as those from Great Sword or Hammer are recommended for waking up sleeping monsters. When monster is asleep, the player(s) can also use this chance to regain their composure and prepare themselves. Sharpening the weapon, healing, regaining stamina, crafting additional ammos/coatings, or even setting up traps, etc. Monsters do not regain health when put to sleep this way. Some monsters also utilize sleep against hunters, such as Baggi and Great Baggi, Somnacanth, and even the like of Gravios and its subspecies and their young Basarios and its subspecies. When an attack would apply sleep to a monster, bright sky blue cloud will appear upon impact.
Paralysis	Paralysis is a status effect that immobilizes the affected for a period of time. When a monster is paralyzed, they will stand in place and seizure, as well as having yellow electric current running through their body until the paralysis effect ended. The duration of paralysis varies from monsters to monsters. For the duration, the monster is completely immobile and unable to counterattack, allowing for free hits without fear. Although Shock Traps produce a similar effect, it and Paralysis are not the same and will not contribute to each other's effect degradation. Paralysis will also not charge up monsters, namely Zinogre and Astalos like they would with the shock trap. While the player can use this chance to regain composure like when the monster is put to sleep, it is recommended to keep attacking unless an action is greatly necessary, as the monster will never break off of the paralysis state on their own. Some monsters also utilize paralysis against hunters, such as Genprey and Gendrome, Girros and Great Girros, Khezu and its subspecies, as well as Astalos, Najarala and its subspecies, or even the mighty Kirin. Take note that although, some monsters' paralysis inducing attack are thunder element attacks, thunder element attacks themselves do not and can not cause paralysis to the hunters, but instead a "Thunderblight" which hunters more susceptible to being stunned. When an attack would apply paralysis to a monster, yellow spark will appear upon impact. Not to be confused with thunder element attack hits, which emit bright blue spark and flash.
Slime/Blast	Slime is an ailment status introduced in Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate by its flagship, and the only monster, Brachydios. Unlike aforementioned ailments, Slime/Blast do not have a duration, but instead, when the status takes effect, an explosion will occur, dealing additional damage to the monster. This damage can varies from monsters to monsters. When an attack would apply slime to a monster, splash of slime will appear upon impact. The color of the splash depends on how much the build up is before the explosion occurs, changing from green to yellow, then red and reset back to green when an explosion occurred, similar to the color of slime from the Brachydios. From generation Fourth onward, Slime is renamed to Blast also with aesthetic changes. Impact of blast now produces dust cloud effect instead of slime splash. The color changing property remains, but is now "red" to "pink" to "yellow", however, this visual may look different in the following title. With the rename to blast, more variety of monsters now utilize this ailment as well, including a returning monster like Teostra.

Secondary Statuses	Description	Image
Stunned	Also called dizzied or knocked out. When a monster lands several hits in succession, the hunter may become stunned. He or she becomes immobile for a short time, allowing the monster to get a free hit. A hunter is knocked out when he stands unbalanced with stars circling his head. The knockout time can be diminished if by rapidly rotating the analog stick and pressing the dodge/roll button repeatedly. In Monster Hunter 2, CAPCOM has implemented the Knockout skill in Hammers and Hunting Horns. Attacks on a monster's head will cause a yellow shockwave, and when this is done enough times, the monsters will become stunned, much like a hunter would. Monsters are helpless and vulnerable when KO'd, and most of them will fall over, allowing certain parts to be hit more easily. In Monster Hunter Tri and subsequent titles, Some weapons have been given their own special stun attacks, such as the Sword & Shield's shield bash, or the Great Sword's side slap attack.
Exhausted
Mounted