The Elemental Resistances are multiplicative factors that determine how much damage both the player and the monster take after taking into consideration weapon and stat damage. They are in the form of percentages and can be positive or negative. Wearing shields and armours reduces (improves) elemental defences. All elemental modifiers are capped at -200 and 200 percent, regardless of what is displayed on the modifier board.
Elemental modifiers may be seen as a relation from its "base" point, here being 100 percent. For example, an elemental modifier listed below will deal the described amount of damage:
- 100% = x1 damage, or normal damage.
- -200% = x(-2) damage, or damage heals the target for 200% the amount, or healing twice the normal damage.
- 140% = x1.4 damage, or damage is increased by 40%.
- 0% = x0 damage, or damage is reduced by 100%, or no damage is done.
- 50% = x0.5 damage, or damage is reduced by 50%, dealing half of normal damage.
- -100% = x(-1) damage, or damage heals the target for 100% the amount, or healing equal to normal damage.
- 200% = x2 damage, or damage is increased by 100%, or dealing double damage.
And so on with damage equating to the initial, normal damage multiplied by the percent listed for that specific element. For a character's defence, lower is better, while for the monster's defence, higher is better in the perspective of the player.
All player and monster Harm and Void resistance, with a number of exceptions, are 100 percent and 200 percent respectively. Heal resistance, the factor used to determine the amount of healing, or self-damage, a character or monster receives is typically -100 percent, as the damage is initially positive. A smaller number, or one that decreases and approaches -200 percent, will result in more HP/MP/SP restored, and vice versa.