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Not sure if this is on here anywhere but I just realized a quick way to Lvl Up. Junction a 100 Death's to Status Attack to the 3 level uppers and go to Island Closet to Hell and have fun. Some of you may already know that, but for those who didn't it will help like it helped me.
The hardest monsters there are immune though, so you'll have to be rather strong anyway.
I was like level 25 when I did it and got to be about level 50 when I was done. It just takes a little patience.
Crap strategy. Just put Quistis in critical status and have her use Degenerator.
The area in Esthar where you can encounter infinite Elnoyles is a good way to level up as well. Plus it gives you useful items for weapon upgrading.
Yes, but you have to keep exiting and enterting the screen for every one that you want to fight. On the ICH you just have to run around, since the encounter rate is unusually high. Most of the enemies also give you much more EXP than Elnoyles.Quote:
Originally Posted by Darkwing Bahamut
The Elnoyle in Esthar is by far the quickest way of getting Energy Crystals and Moon Stones, though.
why would you want to level up, when monsters gain levels as you do? Just junction properly.
Just card everything, so you get ap, and no experience. Therefore, your GFs learn more abilities, allowing for greater junctioning, making your characters uber-powerful, relative to the low level monsters.
Likewise, you can go to the Kaskabald desert, or Cactuar Island (when you get the Ragnarok). Cactuars give you high AP, and very little exp.
Draw as much magic as possible, and refine cards and items to get magic. Junction properly, and you don't need to level up. Actually, it would be silly to do so.
I've never tried a low level game. I have to say as you level up and if you have a clue how to junction, the game is simple anyways.
Ideally, you would play a low level game, then after you get the high level GFs (you need Ability x4 and Str, Mag, Spr, Vit, HP+ Alternate HP with Strength (because it's easy to devour t-rexaurs) until you get it at 9999 with a good healing spell junctioned) start with say, quistis, and let her level up with the bonuses, using Degenerator by herself until she gets to 100. This way, she will be substantially stronger than the monsters, because their stats don't grow nearly as much.
Now you have two characters you can use, so add squall or irvine, zell, or whoever is your favorite, and you can start it over again. And just keep swapping people out until they're all level 100 with incredible stats.
Now, that would get you *perfect* stats, so junction eden tos omeone and start devouring t-rexaurs (for strength), behemoths (for magic), malboros (spirit), ruby dragons (HP) and sadly I do not remember what you can devour for vitality, but I'm sure its' something good. Remember, to devour, you have to get them to low hp without killing them. Poison attack will be particularly efficient, except sometimes you have to use antidotes before they died (I had this problem with t-rexaurs particularly. Their 80-odd thousand HP doesn't last long at 9999 a hit!) Make sure you don't have death or stone junctioned to your status attack when you do this :p
If you dont' like devour, and would prefer a quicker and much more boring way, use the tent->megawhatever trick to earn money and spend time refining items into Stat+
There's only one way to increase speed, and it involves a lot of time in the krakabalsfdlkjsadf whatever desert :[
Wrong. Like rubah said, it is only a good idea to keep low levels for most of the game. Once you get the Ragnarok and are able to land on the ICH, it is a very good idea to level everyone up to 100. Give them Abilityx4 and equip 4 Bonus abilities. Leveling up with these equipped will give you a boost of 92 points if you started at level 8. Using this strategy for every character will make you much, much stronger than any random enemy.Quote:
Originally Posted by crazybayman
Once you get Eden Devour is pretty much useless to me. The only time it would be useful is if you modified PuPu's card into a Hungry Cookpot, and then used it to teach Devour to a GF so you could eat all of the fixed encounters below the Deep Sea Research Center.
Making Ups yourself is definately not worth it, either. It costs 1,500,000 Gil just to make ONE. Except for Vit Ups, which can be easily refined from 5 Adamantines. 1 Hundred Needles needed for the Spd Up wouldn't be so bad either. Just spend a couple minutes at Cactaur Island and you'll have 100 Cactus Thorns in no time. Everything else would take way too long to make.
if you don't devour, you miss out on some pretty backgrounds though :p
Oh-oh. look out. The FFVIII faq-king has spoken. :rolleyes2Quote:
Originally Posted by Xurts
If your just talking about strength stats, you don't need to level up to level 100 with strength bonus to max out your strength stat. Not even close, actually. With the right junctioning, i.e. a magic like tornado or flare, with strength + 60% ability, and the character's ultimate weapon, you will be able to achieve 255 strength at a relatively low level.
Unless you want to max out vit, mag, spr, luck, etc, there's still no point to going to level 100 with bonuses, because you can't boost them all at once, and therefore you won't be able to max everything out by levelling with bonuses alone. If you want to do that, you'll need to devour, like Rubah said. Although leveling with the bonuses will help.
If you boost your stats you won't need any stat+xx% abilities, and you can fill your ability slots with much more useful ones.
There are 5 Bonus abilities (HP, Str, Vit, Mag, and Spr), and you can only equip 4 of those at a time. Leveling to 100 with 4 of those equipped won't max the stat out, but it will make it alot easier. Str is the easiest stat to max (except for HP). If you want to max Vit and Spr without wasting an ability slot, then you're going to have to make Ups.
If you're using strength+60%, that's a waste of an ability slot that could be used for auto haste or something that's HARDER to raise to 255, like spirit:pQuote:
Originally Posted by crazybayman
Not a waste if your not at all concerned with raising those abilities such as spirit, mag, etc. I just get my str and HP maxed out, don't bother with maxing the others and get on with the game. Juntioning gets the other stats at a sufficient level. With the right junctioning, and abilities like Auto-Haste, its loads enough to beat Omega, and whoop everything else in the game.Quote:
Originally Posted by rubah
Quote:
Originally Posted by Xurts
Eh? Ups are a terrible way to max out stats, because of the price, as you mentioned. Devouring is far more efficient... The only Ups I've ever used are defence (as a side product of devouring adamantoises), speed, and luck.
I agree completely about the stat +%%s though... auto-[protect, shell, haste] and, depending on what you're fighting, mug, initiative, or something else are much more useful.
To me neither Ups nor Devouring are good ways of increasing your stats. Ups, like you said, are incredibly expensive. Devouring would only be useful if you used it to Devour the fixed encounters below the DSRC. Other than that you have to run around for awhile waiting to encounter a certain enemy. Neither of those are really my thing. I raise my stats by leveling up. After that I might make a couple Vit Ups from Adamantines, but that's it.Quote:
Originally Posted by FTFQuote:
Originally Posted by Xurts
Eh? Ups are a terrible way to max out stats, because of the price, as you mentioned. Devouring is far more efficient... The only Ups I've ever used are defence (as a side product of devouring adamantoises), speed, and luck.
I agree completely about the stat +%%s though... auto-[protect, shell, haste] and, depending on what you're fighting, mug, initiative, or something else are much more useful.
Just start junction streght bonus an stuff when you´re characters are still at a normal level and when you reach level 100 you will have a super party.
My favorite monster in the Island Closest to Hell is the Hexadragon because it´s an easy opponet ang gives you a lot of exp. You might also try and fight some Malboros if you have the right strategy their not that hard.
The Island Closest to Hell is a very good easy level up if you need some fast level ups, I went there before I had to fight Adel on the Ragnorak. Just make sure that you have Odin so he can show up everyone once in a while destorying the monster[s] and you can get fast level ups.
Actually, you can devour a lot more often than you'd think-- t-rexaurs are a common encounter on the ICtH, or you can go to the training center in balamb. And I always seem to run into more malboros on the island closest to heaven than anything else xDQuote:
Originally Posted by XurtsTo me neither Ups nor Devouring are good ways of increasing your stats. Ups, like you said, are incredibly expensive. Devouring would only be useful if you used it to Devour the fixed encounters below the DSRC. Other than that you have to run around for awhile waiting to encounter a certain enemy. Neither of those are really my thing. I raise my stats by leveling up. After that I might make a couple Vit Ups from Adamantines, but that's it.Quote:
Originally Posted by FTFQuote:
Originally Posted by Xurts
Eh? Ups are a terrible way to max out stats, because of the price, as you mentioned. Devouring is far more efficient... The only Ups I've ever used are defence (as a side product of devouring adamantoises), speed, and luck.
I agree completely about the stat +%%s though... auto-[protect, shell, haste] and, depending on what you're fighting, mug, initiative, or something else are much more useful.
The only really difficult one is ruby dragons for hp+. Not only are they a rare encounter (aside from the ones in front of bahamut) but they're hard to get down to a small enough HP without killing them to be useful :( Adamantines are also pretty hard, just because they take forever to find. I don't usually ever fight much around esthar, so I can't say for behemoths
@Xurts: On the Islands Closest to Heaven/Hell there are most of the monsters you need. Unfortunately, I missed out on the DSRC, but it'd have been akward then, because I'd have had to ruin my card collection :cry: (or apparantly get lucky with an Angelo search). Still, behemoths are fairly common near Esthar, IIRC. Adamantoises, obviously, near Dollet, and the rest are on the ICTHs. To each his own though, of course. Maxing without junctioning has almost no use, and is only for those who enjoy it. I do, so I'll go to those lengths, but I can see why anyone could say it's not worth it... it really isn't. I already am level 100, though, so levelling up won't work anymore. =PQuote:
Originally Posted by rubahActually, you can devour a lot more often than you'd think-- t-rexaurs are a common encounter on the ICtH, or you can go to the training center in balamb. And I always seem to run into more malboros on the island closest to heaven than anything else xDQuote:
Originally Posted by Xurts
The only really difficult one is ruby dragons for hp+. Not only are they a rare encounter (aside from the ones in front of bahamut) but they're hard to get down to a small enough HP without killing them to be useful :( Adamantines are also pretty hard, just because they take forever to find. I don't usually ever fight much around esthar, so I can't say for behemoths
@Rubah: Ruby Dragons are fairly common on the hills near Esthar (where you find forbiddens), so if you ever want to get luck up, you can boost HP while you're at it there. To get them to low HP... just Vit-0 them and put them to sleep (I level them up too, so I get consistant HP (89,100?)).
rubah: I never thought about the Training Center. I never even return to Balamb Garden once I get the Ragnarok. I suppose it would be easier to encounter T-Rexaurs there.
I just modify Minotaur's card into 10 Adamantines, then I win it back from one of the CC Group members on Disc 4. It's really easy to make Vit Ups then.
FTF: That's exactly why I didn't use Devour in the DSRC. I love my cards. After I'm done with all of the side-quests, stat-boosting, etc., and get to Disc 4 I already have over 100 hours. So I just want to get it over with and move on. My stats by then are good enough to beat Omega and Ulti, so I don't really need to make Ups or Devour.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Xurts
Understandable, and I honestly never tried that card trick, that sounds alot easier than what I'm doing. It sounded too good to be true, and I never got around to trying it out myself, so I stayed in disc three (well I was also scared about missing things and not being able to backtrack..). How often can you get the rare cards from them, and do they use any annoying rules, if you don't mind my asking?
My goal was never really to beat Omega... I mean, it'd be nice, but I just love seeing my characters improve... so I don't really mind the extra time put in.
The card trick is awesome. You can win back every rare card in the game from them, including the QoC quest cards.Quote:
Originally Posted by FTFQuote:
Originally Posted by Xurts
Understandable, and I honestly never tried that card trick, that sounds alot easier than what I'm doing. It sounded too good to be true, and I never got around to trying it out myself, so I stayed in disc three (well I was also scared about missing things and not being able to backtrack..). How often can you get the rare cards from them, and do they use any annoying rules, if you don't mind my asking?
My goal was never really to beat Omega... I mean, it'd be nice, but I just love seeing my characters improve... so I don't really mind the extra time put in.
The girl on the left in the Diamond Duo is the only one that uses the QoC quest cards. So, naturally, I play them/her the most. She should use the card you want in a couple games, usually 3 or 4 at the most. You can modify any card, anytime, anywhere, too, and she'll use it after a couple of games. You can't win back PuPu, unfortunately, because his card isn't considered "rare", even though it is actually the rarest card in the game.
The CC Group use rules from around the world in Disc 4. King uses Lunar, Heart uses FH, Spade uses Esthar, the Diamond Duo use Trabia. I'm not sure about the others, I know these for certain though. You can change the rules too, if you forgot to in Disc 3. It works the same way as before, you just get a different message from each of them. They'll stop using rules, add new rules, and will mix.
It takes about 160 LuvLuvGs to max every character's affiliation with every GF. Easily done by modding and then winning back Chubby Chocobo's card. Kiros for 3 Accelerators (Auto-Haste). Eden's card gets you 3 Monk's Codes (Counter). Squall's card mods into 3 Three Stars (Expendx3-1). There are many others.
You can even use the card trick to make Ups, but it too takes time. Rinoa's card gives you 3 Magic Armlets, 10 of those get you a Spr Up. Edea's card gets you 3 Royal Crowns, 10 of those get you a Mag Up. Irvine's card gets you 3 Rocket Engines, 5 get you a Spd Up. Zell's card gets you 3 Hyper Wrists, 10 of those get you 1 Str Up. You can probably get Luck Ups too, but I don't know what you have to mod/refine.
Wow, that sounds awesome, thanks! :eek: Seems I've been wasting alot of time getting things the hard way...
Oh, and I know for sure that you can't get luck ups in any sane way from cards. The best way to get them is 100 curse spikes --> 1 dark matter --> 1 luck-j scroll --> 1 luck up. But anyways... I'll go and do that as soon as I get back to ff8 (currently stat-maxing on 10, heh..). Thanks again.
Yeah, no problem.Quote:
Originally Posted by FTF
It might be a little quicker using cards, but I dunno. Every method takes a while.
Get Quistis with initiative and low hp and make sure she knows degenerator that´s one way of putting all your players to level 100 in a hurry...