Hints and Tips

[Skyblade]

Well, I've played this game more times than I care to think about, and here are some of the tips I can give (keep in mind, I am a power leveling freak, who can sit in one place for hours boosting stuff):

1. Card Mod is your friend! Probably one of the best refinement abilities early in the game. Just play enough card games, and build up a nice collection. You can get the Punishment (Squall's 2nd best Gunblade) before you face Ifrit! You can also get most of Quistis' Blue Magic items this way.

2. Get the stat bonus abilities ASAP.

3. Junction Ultima, Full-Life, Life, and Shell to Elemental Defense. If you have 100 of each this gives you 90% Absorbtion of all elements, and is a VERY useful combination by the time you get to Ultimecia's Palace. Many people suggest junctioning Ultima to Strength, but I've often found that I can max strength for my physical characters without needing to waste such a powerful junction on it. Elemental Defense is the most useful place I've found to junction it, as 100 Ultimas nullifies all Elemental attacks.

4. Turn Renzokuken Indicater off. I've done this for only one playthrough (the one I'm on now), but it seems that with it off Squall will perform his ending moves more frequently, as well as use the stronger ones more often (and if it turns out that I've just gotten lucky, when you turn the Indicator back on, hitting the R1 button at the right time will seem easier than ever before, after the practice you get timing it without the Indicator).

5. Get the Lion Heart as soon as you gain access to the mobile Garden.

6. Find a Pocketstation. I haven't been able to, unfortunately, but I have played Chocobo World on a friend's and it is the source of some AWESOME items. Like the Ribbon... Unfortunately, it wasn't released in the US, so you might have trouble getting a hold of one (if you find a good source, let me know).

7. Eden's Eternal Breath, Quistis' Shockwave Pulsar, Cactuar's 1,000 Needles, and Boko's ChocoFlare are the only single hit moves capable of breaking the 9999 damage limit.

I'll post some more a little later, but I have to go play the game some more for now...