Just fired up VIII again, some tips to keep in mind?

[Setharion]

Just any major tips you guys can think of im all for ;)

Just a question though, i cant remember why this isnt showing up...but like Quezacotl has the skill SumMag+10% as complete, yet with his GF equipped its not showing up as a skill to select...what am i forgetting here?

[chrisfffan]

just download a walk-through if u get stuck

[blackmage_nuke]

SumMag+10% doesnt need to be equipped. It automatically increases your summon magic. I think...

-

[Doomie]

Wow, I haven't posted here in a while, but this should make rubah happy.

Firstly, don't forget to get your starter deck of cards. I cannot stress this enough. Not only is the card game the best sidequest of the game, it's probably the second best sidequest of any of the installments (Behind FFIX's Chocobo Hot/Cold) Play cards. A lot. I would suggest that you send the Queen of Cards from Balamb to Dollet while you're there by losing Minimog (I think) and then resending her to Balamb using the Sacred card. By doing so, when you finally reacg Deling City, you can talk to the guy dressed in black, and you'll be able to get the Kiros card (Which can be modded so that you can get 3 Auto-Hastes).

Next, always make Boost your first GF ability learned. It helps sooooooooo much, especially if you're a GF user.

Also, I suggest never using Triple magic. Cerberus can be used for that later. More importantly, it's my personal favorite Atk Junction magic, and can be obtained fairly early, and fairly easily.

Other than that, don't forget to draw GFs, Junction properly, and have fun.

[NeoCracker]

The Best thing to remmeber when playing this game is that it sucks, and you shouldn't waste any more time making your brain suffer through it again.

[cloud21zidane16]

The Best thing to remmeber when playing this game is that it sucks, and you shouldn't waste any more time making your brain suffer through it again.

how does it suck? :confused: i hate it when people say stuff like that. Its a great game with many reasons to play.
Id like to see you do better:mad:

anyway my tip is dont waste time leveling up in this one;)

[rubah]

Just any major tips you guys can think of im all for ;)

Just a question though, i cant remember why this isnt showing up...but like Quezacotl has the skill SumMag+10% as complete, yet with his GF equipped its not showing up as a skill to select...what am i forgetting here?

It's automatically added to Quezacoatl's summon magic. You can't equip it. You can't equip the Summon HP +%s either, they're applied automatically to the GF that's learned them.

Doomie, why am I attacking? :(

[NeoCracker]

The Best thing to remmeber when playing this game is that it sucks, and you shouldn't waste any more time making your brain suffer through it again.

how does it suck? :confused: i hate it when people say stuff like that. Its a great game with many reasons to play.
Id like to see you do better:mad:

anyway my tip is dont waste time leveling up in this one;)

Forced Plot, crappy Characters, Far to easily abusable, and again, a horribly forced plot. Can't stress that enough.

And what to you mean, I'd like to see you do better?

[jammi567]

basically, play cards, and don't level up much, but do fight to get AP for your GF.

[Setharion]

Yea level scaling was what i didnt like the first time i went through this game.

And i think from what i remember that i enjoyed the story, the music etc...i think its just as viable as any other FF to be honest, but im just doing this to refresh my memory and see if i can find a better appreciation for the game.

Do you guys have any particular guides you like to use? I use IGN but sometimes their guides are just not well written, anyone have any suggested ones?

[Rocket Edge]

Yeah seriously, cards are the way to go. Just keep a low level, always making sure you have bonuses junctioned to up your stats.

[Mirage]

Keep levels low.
1 tent = 10 Curaga, use your first cash on that.
Learn stat-junction abilities first, then refinement abilities, along with card mod.
Refine cards into items
Refine items into magic

Cards to be on the lookout for:
Gayla: Mysterious fluid > Meltdown, and Quistis' Acid
Mesmerize: Mesmerize blade > Regen
Bahamut: 10 refines into 1 Barrier, used for Quistis' Big Guard
Abyss Worm: 1 Windmill > 20 Tornado
Blitz: Dynamo Stone > a few Thundagas

[loza]

The Best thing to remmeber when playing this game is that it sucks, and you shouldn't waste any more time making your brain suffer through it again.

how does it suck? :confused: i hate it when people say stuff like that. Its a great game with many reasons to play.
Id like to see you do better:mad:

anyway my tip is dont waste time leveling up in this one;)

Forced Plot, crappy Characters, Far to easily abusable, and again, a horribly forced plot. Can't stress that enough.

And what to you mean, I'd like to see you do better?

The forced plot makes it interesting!! if you don't know whats happening about SeeD and all that then you won't understand it!! and yes the characters may SEEM crappy but it just they're not as gud as others in other FF's :greenie: and one good tip about FF8 get your GF's to learn the important stuff first!! like 'boost' (that helps) and abiltlys like 'card' (Ques.)if ur planning to play the card games :D

[Setharion]

What can the cards get me, top of the line items?

[NeoCracker]

The forced plot makes it interesting!! if you don't know whats happening about SeeD and all that then you won't understand it!! and yes the characters may SEEM crappy but it just they're not as gud as others in other FF's :greenie: and one good tip about FF8 get your GF's to learn the important stuff first!! like 'boost' (that helps) and abiltlys like 'card' (Ques.)if ur planning to play the card games :D

Oh, I know what was happening with seed. Didn't help make it better.

And not only do the characters seem crappy compared to other FF's, but also to Xenosaga's, Bof, WA, DW, Mega man, Super MArio RPG, Lufia 1 and 2, Lunar, Zelda Characters, Chrono Trigger and Cross, Shadow HEarts, or characters from any Nippon Ichi game for that matter.

Though yes, REfine for a lot of spells to junction and focus on abilities to junction spells to stats. Fight the monsters with the highest AP output for the lowest XP output to maximise your battle prowess. Which monsters these are I don't know.

[Mirage]

What can the cards get me, top of the line items?

Only the rare card gives you top of the line items, such as the character and GF cards, some of the boss cards too.

However, many of the more common cards can give you items that aren't available as drops from monsters yet, and therefore give you access to magic earlier than normally in the game. Example of this being the Abyss Worm card, which gives you Windmills, which refine into Tornado.

[Shadowdust]

Only suggestion I have is not to level up to early in the game. Wait until you've unlocked the Str+1, Vit+1, Mag+1, etc. Leveling up does not show much of a difference until you take advantage of such abilities that increase your stats at level up. Also, it would be best if you had an Ability x4 ability so that you can get as many boosts as possible per level up. I personally don't start leveling up until after receiving Ragnarok.

If you do that, you don't even really need the cards because you'll already be a powerhouse.

[Setharion]

How do the boosts work...ive got the first 3 GFs with boost, is it just an automatic stat?

[Doomie]

How do the boosts work...ive got the first 3 GFs with boost, is it just an automatic stat?

Ypu have to press and hold Select and tap Square. Make sure not to tap it when an X covers the tiny little finger. If you don't use boost, then use it, you should notice a nice difference.

Also, I would recommend a Card FAQ. It should help you with rule changes etc. The GameFAQS one should do.

[cloud21zidane16]

The Best thing to remmeber when playing this game is that it sucks, and you shouldn't waste any more time making your brain suffer through it again.

how does it suck? :confused: i hate it when people say stuff like that. Its a great game with many reasons to play.
Id like to see you do better:mad:

anyway my tip is dont waste time leveling up in this one;)

Forced Plot, crappy Characters, Far to easily abusable, and again, a horribly forced plot. Can't stress that enough.

And what to you mean, I'd like to see you do better?

what i mean is people put a lot of effort and time in to making all the final fantasys even if viiis not your cup of tea:cry: dont knock it;)

[Setharion]

Heres a question guys, im at the X-ATM092 right out of the tower and i am seeing that you can get 50 AP points from this, but im not understanding how to this at all.

I beat the thing down til it hit the ground, it then repaired and i did it again and ran...whats the correct way to do it?

And if someone could explain the boosting just a bit more that would be appreciated...it seems when i hit it and take it higher that the damage goes lower lol... is it because im hitting it when the X appears on the hand?

Bah...i cant believe i forgot how to do all this stuff since it was only in 99 the last i played, not that that long ago.

[Reddragon]

Fight the monsters with the highest AP output for the lowest XP output to maximise your battle prowess. Which monsters these are I don't know.

Cactuar
20 AP each and 3 XP around

[Reddragon]

Heres a question guys, im at the X-ATM092 right out of the tower and i am seeing that you can get 50 AP points from this, but im not understanding how to this at all.

I beat the thing down til it hit the ground, it then repaired and i did it again and ran...whats the correct way to do it?

And if someone could explain the boosting just a bit more that would be appreciated...it seems when i hit it and take it higher that the damage goes lower lol... is it because im hitting it when the X appears on the hand?

Bah...i cant believe i forgot how to do all this stuff since it was only in 99 the last i played, not that that long ago.

Use Quezacolt (Learnt summag 10%,20%,30%,boost if you can, OR just raise the compatability with one of the character. Then you can keep summoning before the enemy finished repairing)
Black Widow(X-ATM092) weaks against thunder element.

I think the boost function should be calculated in percentage. If you never hold A (Im pc version), then it will be the initial damage (100%) and you dont see the number while holding F (Hide the status during battle)
If you start boosting (Press A), it will start at 76. And that is the damage dropped from 100% to 76%
In other words, 75-99 on boosting will be weaker than the initial damage, and 101-250 is over the initial damage
(Damage = initial damage x N%)

Its not difficult to understand right?......

[Setharion]

Where can the cactaurs be found?

Edit: Ah i see you just replied to my previous question, reading now.

[Setharion]

Heres a question guys, im at the X-ATM092 right out of the tower and i am seeing that you can get 50 AP points from this, but im not understanding how to this at all.

I beat the thing down til it hit the ground, it then repaired and i did it again and ran...whats the correct way to do it?

And if someone could explain the boosting just a bit more that would be appreciated...it seems when i hit it and take it higher that the damage goes lower lol... is it because im hitting it when the X appears on the hand?

Bah...i cant believe i forgot how to do all this stuff since it was only in 99 the last i played, not that that long ago.

Use Quezacolt (Learnt summag 10%,20%,30%,boost if you can)
Black Widow(X-ATM092) weak against thunder element.

I think the boost function should be calculated in percentage. If you never hold A (Im pc version), then it will be the initial damage (100%) and you dont see the number while holding F (Hide the status during battle)
If you start boosting (Press A), it will start at 76. And that is the damage dropped from 100% to 76%
In other words, 75-99 on boosting will be weaker than the initial damage, and 101-250 is over the initial damage
(Damage = initial damage x N%)

Its not difficult to understand right?......

Hmm...so is my goal to try and get it up over 100? lol i am so suckin at this.

But aside from that, to get 50 AP from the black widow, what is the method to do this?

[Reddragon]

Hmm...so is my goal to try and get it up over 100? lol i am so suckin at this.

But aside from that, to get 50 AP from the black widow, what is the method to do this?

Q1 Yeah it is not a must to raise the damage while boosting, so you judge yourself

Q2 Just keep on summoning Quezacolt (Higher compatability, lesser time consuming), and the others can cast Thunder.
Actually I haven't beat that b4, its just my opinon ( I will try if I have time...)


Cactuar can be found at Cactuar Island (Bull:skull::skull::skull::skull:?:()
Located at South of Esthar

[boys from the dwarf]

please. no one argue or disagree with my point here because its entirely my opinion and i know it has its flaws.

i advise leveling up to level 100 because you will have around 4,000hp with no junctions which means, by junctioning and using HP+20%, 40% and 80% you can easily reach 9999HP.

focus on squalls strength more than anyone elses because of his trigger that makes his attacks more powerful than anyone elses.

also, always check what magic bosses has because they often have rare magic like full-life which is one of the best spells for junctioning on the game and also they have GFs sometimes.

[NeoCracker]

The Best thing to remmeber when playing this game is that it sucks, and you shouldn't waste any more time making your brain suffer through it again.

how does it suck? :confused: i hate it when people say stuff like that. Its a great game with many reasons to play.
Id like to see you do better:mad:

anyway my tip is dont waste time leveling up in this one;)

Forced Plot, crappy Characters, Far to easily abusable, and again, a horribly forced plot. Can't stress that enough.

And what to you mean, I'd like to see you do better?

what i mean is people put a lot of effort and time in to making all the final fantasys even if viiis not your cup of tea:cry: dont knock it;)

But being able to insult it is the only way to extract any joy from it, as i wasted away about 20 hours of my life I could have used to play somehting fun. If I can't insult the game it takes away the only redeeming quality of playing a game so horrible.

And yes, I can in fact do better than FF VIII's plot at least. And Character personalities. Most writers on this site have shown the capapability to do that. Even the ones I don't like.

And as far as Cactaur, I meant monsters earlier in the game.

[Setharion]

Not sure what is so wrong with VIIIs story, been years since my first run through but the game, the graphics, the story etc...all final fantasy quality in my opinion.

The only thing that sucks is that the monsters level scale, other than that i think the game is solid.

Its like...there are some better than others, but none of them i feel are worth just turning your back on too thrash it. /shrug

The story is hell of alot better than XII thats for sure, i havent beaten my XII yet but i got 90 hours in that game and its the biggest snorefest ive ever seen in my life...and im never that critical on my games. But the overall game, exploration and such is enjoyable and is its redeeming factor...just like i feel VIIIs is its classic Final Fantasy feel and music etc.

[NeoCracker]

Not sure what is so wrong with VIIIs story, been years since my first run through but the game, the graphics, the story etc...all final fantasy quality in my opinion.

The only thing that sucks is that the monsters level scale, other than that i think the game is solid.

Its like...there are some better than others, but none of them i feel are worth just turning your back on too thrash it. /shrug

The story is hell of alot better than XII thats for sure, i havent beaten my XII yet but i got 90 hours in that game and its the biggest snorefest ive ever seen in my life...and im never that critical on my games. But the overall game, exploration and such is enjoyable and is its redeeming factor...just like i feel VIIIs is its classic Final Fantasy feel and music etc.

One of the points I'll make on a crappy story is that Irvine, who would have know Edea was the one who took care of him as a child, seemed to have no more quams than he normally would about firing a bullet through his surragate mother's head.

[Goldenboko]

The Best thing to remmeber when playing this game is that it sucks, and you shouldn't waste any more time making your brain suffer through it again.

You saved me the effort of typing. :p

I can't imagine playing through the game a second time.

[jammi567]

if you want a guide, try this one: http://db.gamefaqs.com/console/psx/file/final_fantasy_viii_z.txt

[Doomie]

Listen, you won't be able to beat X-ATM092 just anywhere. What you have to do is run away until you're on the bridge. It's the only place it can actually be killed, and only then can you kill it. I would suggest using Quezacotl, and Junctioning Thunder to Atk-Elem-J. Attack with the rest.

[Setharion]

My last main question guys...is the card aspect really that imporant? I mean if i dont do it this time through , will i be missing out on a ton or is it moreso just for the enjoyment of a mini game?

Im just lookin at card walkthrus and they are just so huge, a bit overwhelming.

[Doomie]

They are not necessary to the game. However, playing cards will make it much easier to get your High-Level Magics like Thundaga. It'll also net you some great abilities that I stated before, like Auto-Haste. Yes, it's fun. No, it's not necessary. I would still suggest doing it, though.

[Setharion]

Well i restarted my game and heres what ive done...i know alot are against leveling up but eh i dont mind a bit of a harder game ;) but i leveled a bit to get the APs and get my GFs up a bit, am i on the right track so far with GF abilities?

After the fire cave i came out and worked on it a bit, i got the 3 GFs refine abilities, Card, Card Mod, Ifrits element attack j and str +20%, Shivas attack junction, and all of them have boost. I also did it too get tons of fish fins for refining water strength.

Plus picked up a few enemy cards here. Hows that lookin for a start?

Going to move on now though, but wanted to get some of these ones you guys suggested.

[Mirage]

please. no one argue or disagree with my point here because its entirely my opinion and i know it has its flaws.

i advise leveling up to level 100 because you will have around 4,000hp with no junctions which means, by junctioning and using HP+20%, 40% and 80% you can easily reach 9999HP.

focus on squalls strength more than anyone elses because of his trigger that makes his attacks more powerful than anyone elses.

also, always check what magic bosses has because they often have rare magic like full-life which is one of the best spells for junctioning on the game and also they have GFs sometimes.
The point is to not do this until you have stat bonus at levelup abilities.

[Setharion]

I know there are card FAQs and what not...but can someone give me a brief explaination of the card game, because its just confusing the crap out of me.

I play tons of cards in real life, so is there a game that this kind of follows after to make it easier to grasp?

[Mirage]

Uh.

These are the basic rules:
You place your cards on a 3x3 grid. The 4 numbers on your card correspond to the 4 sides of the card. If you place a card to the left of another card, and the right side of that card is stronger than the left side of the card you place it next to, you will flip over that card. The winner is the person who has flipped over the most cards when all 9 cards has been placed.

When you travel the world, you will bring with you rules from region to region. When you travel to Trabia, they will want to mix their rules with your Balamb rules, and eventually abolish one of their rules, or pick up one of the Balamb rules. It is good to avoid spreading a few rules, such as the Random rule, which prevents you from selecting the cards yourself at the beginning of the match.

Furthermore, there are some advanced rules.
Same: If you put down a card next to two other cards, and the numbers for both are the same, you'll flip both. For example, if you lay a card that has 8 on its left side next to a card that has 8 on its right side, and at the same time your bottom side is 6, and the card right under you has 6 on its upper side, the Same rule will make you flip both cards.

Plus:
This one works in the same was as Same, except it checks if the sum of your opponents side is the same for two different sides. For example, if your left side is 4 and your opponents right side is 6, at the same time as your right side is 6, and the opponents card on that side is 4, you will flip both cards, because the sum of both is 10.

Same Wall:
With this rule, the borders of the playing grid counts as A (ace), and works like the Same rule. Example: Your card has an A at the right side, and the right side is put near a wall. If your left side has an 8, and the opponents card on that side also is an 8, you will flip the card.

Combos: If you flip a card using one of these 3 rules, the game will treat the flipped cards as if they were just placed on the grid again, and flip all cards that it is stronger than.

Trade rules:
There are various card trading rules.
One: The winner gets to choose one card from the opponents playing deck.
All: The winner gets all the opponents 5 cards.
Difference: You get to choose a number of card equal to how much the winner won by. If the winner won by two points, he gets to choose two cards, etc.
Direct: You get the exact cards you flipped over, and the opponent gets the exact cards he/she flipped over. This one sucks, because even if you win by 8-2, you might be unlucky and lose one of your good cards, while you get 4 poor cards from the opponent.

Personally, I prefer the All rule, as I never lose, and if I do, I reset.

[Setharion]

Cool thanks...i actually had just figured out the card game earlier today before i read that heh, but thanks for replying.

My only issue now i believe is just getting some chars caught up in level...am i able at some point to pull squall from the lineup and let others fight instead of him so that he can take a rest a bit?

I been trying not to go too crazy, mainly was carding enemies to get AP...but hes about lvl 14 and the others are 11, 10 and 9.

I been plowing through it all so far though, but i just hate having a huge span between levels like that.

[Mirage]

Not really, there are a couple of short time frames where you can get someone else in his place, but don't count on it. You should also abuse Seifer in your party to kill stuff fast for AP, instead of using the card command. Just keep Seifer at half hp, and the other two dead, then abuse his Limit Breaks.

[Samickas]

Just any major tips you guys can think of im all for ;)

Just a question though, i cant remember why this isnt showing up...but like Quezacotl has the skill SumMag+10% as complete, yet with his GF equipped its not showing up as a skill to select...what am i forgetting here?SumMag+20% is not an ability that should show up ;)

[Samickas]

Just any major tips you guys can think of im all for ;)

Just a question though, i cant remember why this isnt showing up...but like Quezacotl has the skill SumMag+10% as complete, yet with his GF equipped its not showing up as a skill to select...what am i forgetting here?SumMag+20% is not an ability that should show up ;)It is an auto ability................

[Revolt]

At the training area of the garden draw sleeps from the grats. Then equip it to someones status attack and go on a mad one everywhere and draw a hundred of everything you can. It doesnt take long to be honest and you will have a nice start. A tactic i always use.

Also remember to fight diablos as soon as you can because it is so much easier and also he has some good abilitys you want to learn quickly like mug.

The fish fins down on the beaches can give you around 6 and 8 ap i think which means if you fight them 25 times you will already have mug learnt. This is also rather quick by either having squall low on life and using his special attack or by using the lightning based gf ( sorry forgot how to spell it had a bit to drink )

Remember to check every boss you fight to see if they have any GF's this is so important because you wont be able to get them again ( you can get most but thats at the end when they are pretty much useless)

Remember when you go to get the Brothers gf that there is no need to pay for the indicator etc from the guard. Just go left right repeatedly to get to all the rooms u need and when you eventually find your self outside after visiting 3 rooms go back in and just run straight.

Play cards its both the second best mini game except for chocobos and it has huge rewards. Before each game try to remember to save it can be a real bother when you loose a good card.

Try not to mod your good cards untill quite far into the game. They are your most powerful cards usually.

Your characters will unfortuantly have a bit of a gap in levels but because of junctioning this can usually be fixed. Just try to remember not to find yourself sticking to three and forgetting the rest. There are a number of times when they will be split up and you need to use them all.

And in quote to some other comments i have read, this game doesnt suck because though its not the strongest on storyline or excitment its by far the easiest to start. The start gets you pumped straight away with killer music and a real war like feel. The others all seem to start slow and pick up after. 7 ( you dont get to run free and explore properly till after midgar, 9 is by far the worst for all aspects, and ten has no real free roam till the end. )

Im not saying enigma is bad. Because its what makes all the final fantasy's, but im saying you dont get that feeling of excitement. The others start so slow and 8 has you heading to war and that clip going to dollet and the music to it just gets me pumped everytime.