Making the game easier

With Diablo's Encounter-None skill, you'd only ever have to fight boss type monsters, right? Therefore they'd be the only way of getting Exp points and leveling up...

Because the monsters level are directly related to your own, I thought I'd try it out - I had to get my characters up to level 7 before I was able to give Diablo enough AP to learn Enc-None but it made the next few stages of the game much easier.

When I get my FFVIII game back (I'd left it at my mum's place) I'm going to try completeing the game keeping my level as low as possible, to see how easy it is.

:Oo:

i was going to do that, but the characters start at level 7

oh, and good luck with that, your best bet is to refine magic like crazy

You could just card everything. I was opposed to this (and actually still am), but if you want to not gain any levels, but gain AP, then carding is the way to go. When fighting, just damage the enemy until it has very little HP left without killing them, then use the card command (You can learn the card command from Quezacotl early on.) This gets you AP, but no exp. Then you can learn all your GF's abilities, without limiting yourself to just boss fights, without gaining exp, thus keeping your characters at low levels, and therefore keeping your enemies at low levels, which keeps them weak.

hang on!if the characters start at lvl seven how come in strategys and stuff it tells you how much HP enimies have if at lvl one.or are you mistaking this with FF7.

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Originally Posted by boys from the dwarf

hang on!if the characters start at lvl seven how come in strategys and stuff it tells you how much HP enimies have if at lvl one.or are you mistaking this with FF7.

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uh.. Tonberrys LV Down ability?



anyways, my squall just turned level 13 off fighting Cactuars at the end of Disc 2.. like, i just have to engage in the Garden Conflict.. so ive been doing side quests & everything

also , i have Lion Heart and 100 Ultimas on Squall...

my characters levels are
*Squall... 13
*Quistis... 12
*Rinoa... 12
Selphie... 9
Zell... 14
Irvine... 14

First of all, I dont use Selphie, Zell or Irvine. Irvines default level is 14 (I think), Selphie is close to her default or whatever, and Zell i used to level up with Seifer in the SeeD exam so Ifrit could learn Ammo-RF (Lion Heart).

Squall, Quistis and Rinoa's levels are so high because I
A) Needed to level up in order to get the Card ability (i did so from Fastiticalons(??))
B) Sometimes dealt too much damage when carding and accidentally killed the monsters (i.e. Fighting Grendels for Dragon Fangs for Lion Heart)
C) Squall got a level off of Cactuars (fighting for AP, Squall does 1 hit kills with 6k dmg)

for the most part, i DO use Enc-None.. I dont remember when I got it but it is in my use. I only take it off when Im fighting Cactuars for AP.

So.. Light Mage, you should be able to get away with keeping your characters at their default levels if you follow these tips:

Junction 100 Breaks to your characters ST-Attack.. One hit kills monsters with very little EXP and full AP..
Use Quezacotl's Card ability.. No Exp, Full AP
Use Tonberrys LV Down ability.. Very little exp, full AP
Enc-None, except around Cactuars.

If you want to stand a chance against tougher bosses, you will NEED to teach your GF's Junction abilities, so your best bet is to fight Cactuars at Disc 2 after you get Tonberry, and abuse the card ability, because that makes sure you get no exp.

Also, to make the end of the game UBER-easy.
When you get to Ulti's Castle, and can be in a party without Squall, leave him behind at all times, and level up all your other characters (you could also work on this in the Deling City sewers with Quistis, Selphie and Zell, or in the missle base with Selphie and two others). Since the monsters' level is based on Squall's level, NOT the average party level, all of the fights in the final dungeon will be super easy. Unfortuneately, as the monsters' levels are based on Squalls, after a while your characters will not get very much XP for defeating them. I've never tried this scenario in the game, so I don't know how well it would work, but I can't see anything wrong with it, except that last point. Perhaps you could try leveling up at the Island Closest to Heaven/Hell, where everything is level 100. Or, spam Level Up on everything you meet.

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Originally Posted by HunterFlamebrow

the monsters' level is based on Squall's level, NOT the average party level,

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Is that true in the entire game, or just at the end? If so I can just keep Squall KO'd permanently can't I?

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Originally Posted by edward et pascual

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Originally Posted by boys from the dwarf

hang on!if the characters start at lvl seven how come in strategys and stuff it tells you how much HP enimies have if at lvl one.or are you mistaking this with FF7.

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uh.. Tonberrys LV Down ability?

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You really have a knack for just leaping head first into getting yourself horribly horribly jarred don't you. xD

The advantage of carding instead of Enc-None is that you have greater access to items and magic through refinement. But constant battling does get annoying, so it depends on your mood on the particular day I guess.

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Originally Posted by Light Mage

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Originally Posted by HunterFlamebrow

the monsters' level is based on Squall's level, NOT the average party level,

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Is that true in the entire game, or just at the end? If so I can just keep Squall KO'd permanently can't I?

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Yes you could (not for boss battles though . . . you don't get xp from bosses, and you will probably want 3 party members). Like I said, I've never put this idea into practice.

And yes, it's true in the entire game. If you want to check, just use Scan. The monsters should always be around level 7 or 8.

so it is possible to beat 8 with no exp?

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Originally Posted by fireemblem776

so it is possible to beat 8 with no exp?

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No.

You are entered into Forced fights with Galbadians numerous times, and they cant be Carded. LV Down Abuse and Break ST-J will get you a little Exp, but by the time you get LV Down, most of those fights are over. Enc-None only works for random monster encounters, not set encountes, i.e., the ones during the Garden Conflict.

You can beat the game with giving only a few characters EXP by killing two of your characters in battle and having the other one finish the fight, so say, Squall, and all of your other characters except 1 can get by with no exp (mind you you would only have to do this for forced encounters against non monsters.)


btw.. end of Disc 3, squall has lv 15, quistis 13, rinoa 13, selphie 11, zell 14, irvine 14.. theyre higher cause I have to mug malboros and run for doomtrain tentacles (im not card modding 20 malboros, i already did that with elnoyles).. but to make sure i got less exp, i unjunctioned ultimas and str+%s.

*sigh*