In Persona 5 Tactica, players have access to a range of tactics for dealing with the Legionnaires that enforce an Authoritarian regime on the Kingdom. It's important to consider all the options available when taking on tough missions and dealing with powerful foes, since enemies won't hesitate to use such tactics against the player either.

One important element of Persona 5 Tactica's combat system is its array of status effects. These can be inflicted on enemies to cause various negative effects and can be used to stack the deck against them in longer battles. They are usually applied using Persona Skills or Erina's Arts. This guide will break down what each of the Status Effects is capable of.

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All Status Effects, Explained

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Persona 5 Tactica features ten different Status Effects. Their heightened importance compared to Persona 5/Royal is clear to see, as the status effect a given Persona has access to is now displayed next to its name in the Persona menu. These Status Effects are Despair, Sweep, Shock, Burn, Freeze, Vortex, Hypno, Dizzy, and Sleep. Each party member, except for Futaba, has a Status Effect that they are always able to inflict using their main Persona. They can also equip sub-personas to gain access to the other Status Effects.

Despair

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Despair is the Status Effect that Joker can always access by using Arsene. It allows a character to steal their target's movement and add it to their own. Hitting multiple targets will increase the movement boost proportionally, making this excellent when attacking clusters of enemies. It can be used to provide extra movement to slower members of the party and enable them to be more mobile.

Sweep

Sweep is the Status Effect Morgana can always access by using Zorro. It allows a character to launch a target a great distance away from them, throwing them over any objects in their path. This can be used to easily remove enemies from cover at a distance and can be helpful when setting up enemies for combo attacks from the rest of the party.

Shock

Shock is the Status Effect Ryuji is able to inflict using Captain Kidd. It lingers on the target and prevents them from moving on their next turn. This can be useful for locking down troublesome targets and staggering reinforcements, especially if a foe can be trapped in a choke point and forced to block the enemies behind it.

Burn

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Burn is Ann's Status Effect of choice, usable via Carmen. It knocks the target away from the user (but not high enough into the air to pass over obstacles) and causes lingering damage for one turn. This is excellent for weakening foes, repositioning them when they're in cover, and setting them up to get knocked down by an ally. (Foes that are afflicted with Burn can be knocked down by any attack, much like when using other lingering Status Effects.)

Freeze

Freeze is Yusuke's main Status Effect, provided by Goemon. It prevents the target from taking any action for one turn but is removed early if anyone attacks the target. This makes it a useful way of completely locking down a dangerous threat while the group deals with other problems.

Vortex

Makoto's main Status Effect, used by Johanna, is Vortex. This pulls all enemies caught in the AOE towards the main target, grouping them together while dealing damage. This can be great for setting up other AOE attacks from the rest of the Party and is a great way of ripping multiple enemies out of cover.

Hypno

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Milady, Haru's Persona, allows her to access Hypno. This Status Effect hypnotizes the target(s) and makes them move towards the user. This makes it possible to force enemies to abandon defensive positions and run right into danger.

Dizzy

The Dizzy Status Effect causes the afflicted target to move randomly on their next turn. They are still able to attack normally, however, making this mostly a method of disrupting enemy positioning.

Forget

The Forget Status Effect, used by Erina via her Arts, prevents the Target from attacking for a turn. This can be useful when pressing ahead into enemy territory, preventing dangerous foes from attacking while the party gets into position.

Sleep

The Sleep Status effect prevents the target from taking any action for two turns, but also causes them to recover some HP and SP each turn they are asleep. This can be a good way of preventing a dangerous foe from causing trouble if players haven't begun damaging it, but should be used with caution. The Status Effect will also end early if the target is attacked.