CR calculation guidelines for non-damaging/condition spells/abilities. E.g., How is a hold person, mirror image, or dominate person evaluated?

In my design, I just equate all spells to the highest damage spell of that level, but it feels wrong in playtest. The spell damage table on pg 284 of the DMG is a decent guideline, if you use the average damage values there.

— Dan Dillon 👥 (@Dan_Dillon_1) January 19, 2020

So both debuff (hold person) AND defensive (mirror image) spells equate to a bonus in effective DPR as indicated in the table?

And is it the same for unique abilities like a Banshee’s Wail or a Hydroloth’s Steal Memory? Just finding the closest spell analogue and adding to DPR? No, the damage is more for offensive CR estimation than defensive.

— Dan Dillon 👥 (@Dan_Dillon_1) January 19, 2020