Debuffs

[Yenn]

Does anyone actually use them? So far, they all seem like a complete waste of time.

Poison does less damage than a Scourge/Banish over it's full duration.
Slow doesn't make a noticeable difference in the enemy's attack speed, if it does anything at all.
Bio II and Dia II suffer from the same problem as Poison; less damage than a Scourge or Banish. With Bio up, I don't see any reduction in the damage monsters hit me for.
Absorb ATK/DEF/EVA/ACC don't seem to do anything. I don't see any increase in enemy misses or any reduction in the damage they hit me for.
Paralyze doesn't do anything. If the monster's attack is paralyzed, it just attempts to do it again instantly.
Blind doesn't give me any noticeable difference in the target's accuracy.

Basically, Silence is the only debuff that actually seems to work. Am I missing something here?

[yukikaze_yanagi]

regular mobs are wasted to debuffs.
On wortly enemies, like nm or raids they are really good instead

[Coglin]

Does anyone actually use them? So far, they all seem like a complete waste of time.

Poison does less damage than a Scourge/Banish over it's full duration. Agreed....They need to be balanced

Slow doesn't make a noticeable difference in the enemy's attack speed, if it does anything at all. I have never actually done a timing study, but I will soon and test this and get back to you.

Bio II and Dia II suffer from the same problem as Poison; less damage than a Scourge or Banish. With Bio up, I don't see any reduction in the damage monsters hit me for. Your not looking then. Write done the numbers from 10 fights with it then 10 fights without it. You will see the off/def reduction

Absorb ATK/DEF/EVA/ACC don't seem to do anything. I don't see any increase in enemy misses or any reduction in the damage they hit me for. On this i have to say WOW, just WOW. Your definently not looking on this one. I can see a very significant increas in my damage output when I track a few numbers.
Paralyze doesn't do anything. If the monster's attack is paralyzed, it just attempts to do it again instantly.
Blind doesn't give me any noticeable difference in the target's accuracy. Paralyze does its jobs, it paralyzes. Blind i havn't checked out in much detail so I can add nothing to that.

Basically, Silence is the only debuff that actually seems to work. Am I missing something here?

All that said, Sleep is my favorite enfeebling ability.

[Fiosha_Maureiba]

Slow I find to be useful on a clump of mobs in party play, until their weaponskills kick in. Slightly less healing leads to less enmity for me. But while it's on cooldown, I've noted I heal frequently enough to yank enmity off.

[Yenn]

Your not looking then. Write done the numbers from 10 fights with it then 10 fights without it. You will see the off/def reduction

Absorb ATK/DEF/EVA/ACC don't seem to do anything. I don't see any increase in enemy misses or any reduction in the damage they hit me for. On this i have to say WOW, just WOW. Your definently not looking on this one. I can see a very significant increas in my damage output when I track a few numbers.

I'm not sure what you're talking about.

I just tested against level 40 and 43 leve monsters, while I was 39 THM. With Bio II, their damage didn't change. With Bio II + Absorb DEF, their damage didn't change. With Bio II + Absorb DEF + Absorb ATK, their damage still didn't change.

Also, I'm not sure how you're seeing a change in your damage output when you use Absorb spells. Are you meleeing as THM?

[LukeSelintl]

This is just me, but I could care less about the debuffing effects of the Absorb skills. What my party and I care about is Initiation. Don't forget that you can bless as well as curse. The debuff bit is just a bonus.

I do agree that Poison could use some enhancement, but dropping a small Scourge before debuffing might also help. Most debuffs (Save Gravity, Dia, and Silence) are Umbral, after all.

[Coglin]

I'm not sure what you're talking about.

I just tested against level 40 and 43 leve monsters, while I was 39 THM. With Bio II, their damage didn't change. With Bio II + Absorb DEF, their damage didn't change. With Bio II + Absorb DEF + Absorb ATK, their damage still didn't change.

Also, I'm not sure how you're seeing a change in your damage output when you use Absorb spells. Are you meleeing as THM?

I see the difference when leveling my DoW and having the absorbs set on them. Keep in mind, our debuffs are not just for us, in many situations we want to benefit the group not just ourselves.

Another time I notice a big difference, is on NMs I solo like Downy Dunstan and Spitfire (mecause one is all caster and one is more mellee, and they are right in the same area, so makes testing on 2 different NMs easier). I scroll through the battle log and average my damage out put and my damage taken and I see about a 7% difference on output and 11% difference in damage taken.