SOOO COOOL (REALLY Easy battles)

[xX.Silver.Wings.Xx]

This takes a while and you have to start when you first get GFs, but It REALLY gives you a head start.
If you collect the cards then you may not want to do this!

RED numbers are essential for this to work
GREEN numbers are optional

--Balamb Garden - Dollet
1, Learn Card then Card Mod- Quezacotl
2, Learn HP-Junction
3, Try to beat Diablos before Timber but this is not totally essential.
3, Learn Time RF (No enc. can wait seriously!!!)
--Timber - Deling City
4, You MUST get Brothers from the Tomb of the Unknown King.
5, Card mod the Brothers Card into 100 Dino bones then Use Diablos' Time RF to Fill everyones Magic with QUAKE.
6, Card Mod Diablos' Card into 100 Black holes and Then Use Diablos' Time RF to fill everyones magic with DEMI.
7,Junction The QUAKE to HP, and the DEMI to Magic or Strength. This should boost your HP up to over 3000 HP and you strength to about 50-70. depending on your level.

This teqnique is a great way to help in battles if (like me..) you happen to be a bit lazy in the levelling up department.. This is also good because it can help for the whole game. No cheats. No codes. Just a clever use of abilities.

[Captain Maxx Power]

Personally I prefer to hold onto all my unique/rare cards for said card gaming. Though I do have a habit of gaining no levels if possible during the game, up until I can get all of the GF's (paticularly Cactuar).

[G SpOtZ]

i only mod my cards after i've gotten all of them, and don't even need to play anymore

[SeeDRankLou]

You don't have to wait until Deling City for those.

In Laguna's second dream sequence, you can fight Gespers (although they are a little rare). Gespers drop Black Holes, and if you card them the Gesper card is good for 1 Black Hole, which is good for 30 Demis. So, you can card a Gesper, get it's card, it can drop a Black Hole and it's card again...3 for 1 (ideally). Also, right after the dream sequence in that forest you can fight Wendigos (more common) and card them. The Wendigo card is good for 1 Steel Orb, which is good for 15 Demis. I stay in this area and gain AP for Diablos' Mug while I'm in the process.

Also, in the Tomb of the Unknown King, you can fight Armadodos. Card them, and their card is good for 1 Dino Bone. This method takes a while longer, but you gain AP in the process, so it's not a total waste.

[ThePheonix]

Getting the Lionheart on disk 1, Tornados, Quakes, Regens, Meltdowns, Reflects, Curagas, etc (almost all the magic) is also possible with ease, and most can be gotten before fire cavern (except fire and healing , etc (which you can't refine) magic [unless you draw Curagas from high level caterpilars], and you can only get the Punishment at that point).

You can then kill the Ifrit and XATM-092 in one hit each, and get maximum test score, too!

[tranvanhieu]

Whoo hoo ,Awesome,many people know lot about FF VIII ^^ .
I never expect that much .

Just in addition,you can get all available magics by playing Cardgame.
Learn Magic refining Ability at first is a wise choice(I often learn all Ref ability before anything else).
Anyway,I forget which magics a refining ability can refine,remind me,okay?
Thunder/Aero Mag Ref =?
Ice/WAter Mag Ref =?
Fire Mag Ref =?
Time Mag Ref =?
Status Mag Ref =?
Support Mag Ref =?
Forbidden Mag Ref =?
A full list please!hehehe

[Carl the Llama]

This takes a while and you have to start when you first get GFs, but It REALLY gives you a head start.
If you collect the cards then you may not want to do this!

RED numbers are essential for this to work
GREEN numbers are optional

--Balamb Garden - Dollet
1, Learn Card then Card Mod- Quezacotl
2, Learn HP-Junction
3, Try to beat Diablos before Timber but this is not totally essential.
3, Learn Time RF (No enc. can wait seriously!!!)
--Timber - Deling City
4, You MUST get Brothers from the Tomb of the Unknown King.
5, Card mod the Brothers Card into 100 Dino bones then Use Diablos' Time RF to Fill everyones Magic with QUAKE.
6, Card Mod Diablos' Card into 100 Black holes and Then Use Diablos' Time RF to fill everyones magic with DEMI.
7,Junction The QUAKE to HP, and the DEMI to Magic or Strength. This should boost your HP up to over 3000 HP and you strength to about 50-70. depending on your level.

This teqnique is a great way to help in battles if (like me..) you happen to be a bit lazy in the levelling up department.. This is also good because it can help for the whole game. No cheats. No codes. Just a clever use of abilities.

[xtreme112]

I've been playing through ff8 recently and I discovered this neat little trick, and you don't loose any rare cards while doing so

learn Siren's Life/cure refine skill thing, then go out and buy LOTS of tents. 1 tent refines into 10 curaga's. simply fill each character with as many curaga's as you can. I'm almost at the end of disc one and my characters have over 3000 hp.
If you're running low on money, learn Quetzacotl's card mod, and card command, go out and transform lots of cards or win lots of cards, then convert them to items to sell. You should be able to raise more money to buy tents this way