| ################################################################# [Esthar Region] Enemies: Bite Bug, Glacial Eye, Gayla (Estharian highways) Mesmerize, Malboro (Fields) Blue Magic: Bad Breath ####################################################################### Run around on the Esthar continent (not on the Estharian highways, mind you) to encounter Mesmerizes and Malboros (low encounter rate). Malboros tend to appear on the West Coast of Esthar, and have a 'Bad Breath' skill which causes every kind of status malady to all members, but you're going to fight it. Here's how: Have one character equipped with a 'Mug' command ability and junction both 'Confuse' and 'Berserk' (or more if your G.F. allows it) to Status Defense for the entire fighting party. When you do encounter a Malboro (ugly green plants with a black mouth), the only malady from its 'Bad Breath' preventing the party from acting will be 'Sleep', so wait until the Malboro smacks you with a physical attack. Your primary goal will be to wake the character equipped with 'Mug' up, so if the Malboro attacks someone else, have that someone else target your stealer, and have him/her steal from the Malboro before you escape. You'll need 9 Malboro Tentacles in total. Use one of them on Quistis for her to learn 'Bad Breath'. Alternatively, you can utilize Pandemona's 'Initiative' character ability. This allows the particular character to always start a battle with a full time bar; have your stealer equipped with this, plunder quickly from the Malboro and escape. Remember to cure your characters after the fight! You should have access to a total of 5 places (the Esthar City, Lunatic Pandora Laboratory, Sorceress Memorial, Lunar Gate and Tears' Point) on the Estharian continent. Check your map, and head to Tears' Point in the south-east. You can rent a car if you want to. ######################################################################## 4o. [Tears' Point] (note: Check your map) Draw Points: Life, Reflect G.Fs: Doomtrain ######################################################################## Ominous-looking, isn't it? You'll need to proceed into the interior of this place; right under the giant statue in the core of Tears' Point will be a sparkling object - Solomon's Ring. You'll need to have 6 Malboro Tentacles, 6 Steel Pipes and 6 Remedy Pluses (I did tell you to get them earlier on, right?) before you use Solomon's Ring in the Item screen -- say hello to a new G.F, Doomtrain (Grasharaboras): ff 8's equivalent of ff 7's Hades. Doomtrain enables a character to have Elemental Attack and Defense, plus Status Attack and Defense junction abilities. ####################################################################### 4p. [Lunar Gate] (note: Check your map; it's to the east) ####################################################################### Enter the complex, then talk to the girl standing at one of the gates. Angelo will make her appearance; Squall assures her that they will save Rinoa. Follow the Estharian to the blasting capsule, where he'll brief you on your space journey. He cautions Squall by saying that it'll be a bit dangerous: - (... Space? Let me think about it.) - (... I'll do whatever it takes.) * You'll have to form a party consisting of Squall, Rinoa and another one of your companions other than Zell and Edea. You won't be doing much fighting up in space, so take a 3rd character who's relatively high in terms of levels. Zell volunteers to take care of things down here: - (... Not too sure about that.) - (... Trust Zell.) * The blast-off sequence commences shortly. Save outside, and return to Esthar City as Zell. ####################################################################### 4q. [Lunatic Pandora Invasion -- Esthar City] Enemies: G-Soldier, Elite Soldier, GIM52A Magazines: Combat King 004 (Esthar Soldier) ####################################################################### Stock up on items here, then pay a visit to the lone soldier again (see previous Esthar City section). Converse with him, and when he leaves he'll give Zell a copy of 'Combat King 004'. Make your way to Odine's Laboratory afterwards. Be sure to have saved your game first. Inside, ride the elevator to meet up with Dr. Odine. He informs Zell that Galbadia has succeeded in recovering the Lunatic Pandora; Zell decides to sneak aboard to take a look. According to Odine, the Pandora should stop over at 3 points in Esthar within a period of 20 minutes: 15:00~12:00 -- Center of Esthar. You have 5 to 8 minutes to make it there. 10:00~5:00 -- Juncture 'X' marked on the map above. It'll take about 10 to 15 minutes for the Pandora to reach there. 3:00~0:00 -- North of the Shopping Mall, where a dead end is marked. You have 17 minutes to station yourselves there. Boarding the Pandora as early as possible allows Zell to explore more of it. You can use the 'Square' button to view the locations of the stop-overs. I'll guide you to the 1st one: 1. Exit Odine's Laboratory. 2. Move 2 screens right when you reach the highway. You'll pass by 2 signs marked 'Left Side' and 'Right Side'. 3. Head up at the juncture. 4. Climb the stairs to your left. 5. You've reached the city center. The Presidential Palace should be visible in the background. Wait for the Pandora. You have to defeat a few Galbadian troopers before actually getting into the Pandora. ######################################################################## 4r. [Lunatic Pandora] Enemies: G-Solider, Elite Soldier, GIM52A, SAM08G Draw Points: Curaga, Meteor, Holy, Confuse, Silence, Ultima G.Fs: Phoenix (Phoenix Pinion) Magazines: Combat King 005 Blue Magic: Ray-Bomb ######################################################################## What you did in Laguna's 2nd Scenario (event 1p.) way back in Disc One affects the areas accessible to you here. I'll assume you activated all the traps during the 2nd Scenario. If you didn't activate all the traps, then just head straight for the green 01 elevator after climbing the stairs, and follow the trail (it only splits once; take the northern path) to get dumped out of the Pandora by a rather unfriendly machine. Right from the start you'll find a 'Meteor' Draw Point (which recovers quite fast). Head up the stairs and take the blue 02 elevator. Follow the path, and when it splits, take the left route. Proceed (it's a one-way path anyway) until you reach a red 03 elevator. To the bottom-right of the screen should be a couple of stairs. Run down from there to reach a ladder; descend to find a 'Confuse' DP. Go right into the tunnel to get a 'Love Love G', which is hidden. You'll need to examine the area. Head left from the 'Confuse' draw point, and you'll eventually see 3 opened doors. Each of them hides a gift. Starting from the right door: 1 Power Generator (lets Quistis learn Ray-Bomb), a 'Silence' draw point, followed by a Phoenix Pinion. Proceed further left to find a copy of 'Combat King 005' on the ground. Head all the way into the background, then go left and examine a hidden area to the left of the door for an 'Ultima' draw point. Make your way back to the red 03 elevator you passed earlier on. The red elevator should take you back to the lobby. Make your way left and board the green 01 elevator. You'll find a 'Holy' DP here. There's also a small alcove to the left of the screen; examine it to find a 'Spd-J Scroll'. A save point awaits when you move north. Directly above it will be a fork in the route; choose the northern one for the party to be rather unceremoniously kicked out of the Pandora. All other routes in the Pandora lead to dead-ends. ++++++++++++++ 5. L o v e r s ++++++++++++++ =================== Sections appearing: =================== 5a. Lunar Base 5b. Ragnarok 5c. Sorceress Memorial 5d. Cactuar Desert (optional) 5e. Deep Sea Research Center Part One (optional) 5f. Deep Sea Research Center Part Two (optional) 5g. Shumi Tribe Village Revisited 2 (optional) 5h. UFO Sightings (optional) 5i. Islands Closest to Heaven and Hell (optional) 5j. Timber Region: Obel Lake Quest (optional) 5k. Other Side Events (optional) 5l. Edea's Orphanage Revisited 5m. Esthar President: Esthar City 5n. Miscellaneous Updates Part Three (optional) 5o. Re-entering Lunatic Pandora 5p. Final Lunatic Pandora ######################################################################## 5a. [Lunar Base] Draw Points: Meteor, Meltdown Rare Cards: Alexander (Piet), Laguna (Ellone) ######################################################################## Squall will wake up at the Lunar Dock. Run over to pick up Rinoa, then follow Piet into the Med Lab. Place Rinoa in the chamber, save and exit. Outside the Med Lab, keep moving up to reach the Control Room. Examine the panels to the upper-right for a short sequence before talking to Piet. Choose the 2nd option to ask about Ellone's whereabouts. Incidentally, Piet holds G.F. Alexander's card, but it'll take a while to win it due to the 'Random' rule here. Leave the Control Room. Squall will see a flight of stairs to the left of the screen. Ascend that and go through the door. You can talk to the girl standing in the tunnel (take note of the Locker Room to the right) for a sequence introducing Adel. Proceed down the corridor. Ellone will be waiting for you behind the door to the south, but before you talk to her, have Squall initiate Card Battle. She holds Laguna's card, which when refined gives you 100 of those Hero's Medicine. These items will make your quest ridiculously easy. However, expect the 'Random' rule to cause a lot of resetting and replaying on your part. Squall will ask of Ellone to take a look at Rinoa, but an accident prevents them from getting any further. Head to the Med Lab. Squall will be powerless to stop Rinoa (he'll be bounced away each time you try to get near), so just retrace your steps back to the Control Room. Check the panel after Rinoa has made her presence felt. Next, tail Rinoa to the 2F Locker Room... you'll witness a 'Lunar Cry', the same catastrophe which destroyed the Centra continent 80 years ago. Enter the Locker Room now, and examine the lockers for Squall's astronaut outfit. Head to the air lock on the left. It'll be a futile pursuit for Rinoa; make your way into the foreground after the air lock shuts, and return to the Control Room. Converse with everyone here, followed by Ellone. Head right to reach an elevator, and descend using it. Save when you reach the bottom, then proceed right. Enter the un-occupied escape pod. [Escape Pod] Squall pleads with Ellone to transfer him into Rinoa's memories; Ellone lets him witness 3 separate incidents: one involves Rinoa forcing Irvine to turn back to D-District Prison to rescue the rest; another has Rinoa asking Zell if he could help her get a replica of Squall's ring. *spoiler here... skip this paragraph if you wish* The final one will be a scene after defeating Edea in Galbadia Garden. Squall watches as Ultimecia transfers herself from Edea into Rinoa's body... she wakes Seifer up, and orders him to salvage the Pandora. Squall decides to risk his life to try save Rinoa. Upon climbing out of the escape pod, you have to play a mini-game: Use the d-pad and mash away at the 'Triangle' (U.S) or 'X' (Japanese) button to adjust Squall's point of view until you see Rinoa in the center of the screen. Keep her positioned in the center, and when the timer hits zero you'll be reunited. A bit of a no-brainer, actually. Enjoy the FMV sequence! ######################################################################## 5b. [Ragnarok] Enemies: Propagator Draw Points: Life, Cura, Full-life ######################################################################## Check the panel to the left to close the air lock, then proceed upwards. Rinoa will playfully ask Squall for a hug ^_^ Anyway, head up one more screen when she's done. You'll find that you have company... aliens. They have the ability to regenerate themselves when you kill them; the only solution is to defeat them in pairs. By that I mean out of the 8 aliens you find on board the Ragnarok, there'll be a pair of yellow, red, green and purple aliens. You must kill 2 of the same kind *consecutively*. However, these guys attack the moment they spot you, so you have to be quick to dodge them. Start your alien hunt (remember to junction your party) by heading to the right and descending the steps. You'll find a purple one at the bottom of the stairs. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ BOSS: Propagator HP: 3,800 Draw List: Thundaga, Esuna, Life, Curaga AP: 5 These guys share the same statistics. Well, they're quick on the offensive and like to cast both 'Thundara' and 'Silence', so you might want to be well-protected from these 2 spells. Actually, what I usually do with them is to have Squall and Rinoa junction 'Sleep' to Status Attack -- they're pretty weak against that. Make sure your 2 members have a high Strength rating for a quick and effortless victory. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ There'll be 2 doors in front of you; take the left one. Behind this door lurks a red alien -- you don't want to face him now, so make a beeline for the door to the left upon entering this area to dodge his charge. The next room holds a purple alien. Toast him. Back-track to the previous room now, and defeat the red alien. Go through the door to the south, back to where you fought your 1st purple alien. Climb the stairs to the right to find yet another red alien for the kill. Descend back down to the 1F. This time, enter the door in the upper-right corner (it's a bit hard to see it) to pay a visit to a green alien. Save here when you're done with him. Now go to where you 1st met a red alien, then move 2 screens left to find a green one. He'll be number six to go down. Look for a door to the left; step through to face a yellow alien in the Passenger Deck. The panel behind it tells Squall what you already know: defeat the eight aliens in pairs of the same colour. Finally, proceed back to where you first entered the Ragnarok; you'll find your last yellow alien along the way. You know what to do with him, don't you? Save afterwards. Make your way back to where you found your 2nd green alien, and ascend the elevator it guarded. Enjoy the romantic little scene with Squall and Rinoa. *spoiler here... skip this section if you wish* As Rinoa snuggles up to Squall, the latter asks why she wants to be so close to him. Rinoa responds by saying, "Isn't this what Squall wants?" ^_^ but Squall says he's a bit un-accustomed. Upon further questioning, Squall admits that he dislikes being tied down by emotions... because he's afraid of losing his loved ones. Later on, when Rinoa is identified as the witch who freed Adel, Squall comforts her, believing she has led him down the right path... and that he'll never let go of her. *end spoiler* "Eyes on Me" Performed by Faye Wong Music Composed by Nobuo Uematsu Lyrics by Kazumi Someya Whenever sang my songs On the stage, on my own Whenever said my words Wishing they would be heard I saw you smiling at me Was it real or just my fantasy You'd always be there in the corner Of this tiny little bar My last night here for you Same old songs, just once more My last night here with you? Maybe yes, maybe no I kind of liked it your way How you shyly placed your eyes on me Oh, did you ever know? That I had mine on you Darling, so there you are With that look on your face As if you're never hurt As if you're never down Shall I be the one for you Who pinches you softly but sure If frown is shown then I will know that you are no dreamer So let me come to you Close as I wanna be Close enough for me To feel your heart beating fast And stay there as I whisper How I loved your peaceful eyes on me Did you ever know That I had mine on you Darling, so share with me Your love if you have enough Your tears if you're holding back Or pain if that's what it is How can I let you know I'm more than the dress and the voice Just reach me out then You will know that you're not dreaming Note: Lyrics courtesy of 'Musical World of Final Fantasy'. Refer to the Credits section for more details. [Ragnarok] After Rinoa's departure, head back into the Passenger Deck of the Ragnarok. Squall will be reprimanded by Quistis for not stopping Rinoa... he decides to reclaim his love from the Estharians. Proceed to the cockpit of the Ragnarok to launch the ship. The Ragnarok can land on practically any terrain, with the exception of forests, water and some cities. It doesn't consume any Fuel either, so fly it all you want. U.S version controls: Up/Down: Points the nose of the Ragnarok downwards and upwards respectively Left/Right: Changes direction ship is facing Right Analog-Stick: Moves ship forward or backward Start: Brings up the bar that toggles the rumble feature on/off and pauses the game Select: Toggles the World Sphere/Map on/off X: Lands the ship. The Ragnarok is capable of landing on any type of terrain, with the exception of water and steep mountainous areas / Press to mount the ship Triangle: Reverses ship Square: Accelerates ship Circle: Return to Ragnarok's cockpit R1: Rotates the camera clockwise L1: Rotates the camera anti-clockwise R2: Switches between view points Japanese version controls: Up/Down: Points the nose of the Ragnarok downwards and upwards respectively Left/Right: Changes direction ship is facing Right Analog-Stick: Moves ship forward or backward Start: Brings up the bar that toggles the rumble feature on/off and pauses the game Select: Toggles the World Sphere/Map on/off Circle: Lands the ship. The Ragnarok is capable of landing on any type of terrain, with the exception of water and steep mountainous areas/Press to mount the ship X: Reverses ship Square: Accelerates ship Triangle: Return to Ragnarok's cockpit R1: Rotates the camera clockwise L1: Rotates the camera anti-clockwise R2: Switches between view points Btw, the Ragnarok has an auto-pilot feature. Hit 'Select' until you get to view the full world map, move the cursor to your destination and push the 'X' (U.S) or 'Circle' (Japanese) button to confirm. Press the cancel button while the Ragnarok is on auto-pilot mode to switch this function off. Some of you may wonder how to get back into Fishermans Horizon or Balamb Garden; simply fly the Ragnarok over F.H, and land. ######################################################################## 5c. [Sorceress Memorial] Draw Points: Stop ######################################################################## It's located on the Estharian continent, south of Lunatic Pandora Laboratory. Check your map. Just run into the complex, where the Esthar guards will let Squall through to see Rinoa one last time. Of course, Squall has other ideas. Head to the upper-left opening to rescue Rinoa when the party makes their intentions clear to the engineers there. You can leave now. [Ragnarok] Back in the cockpit of the Ragnarok, Rinoa apologises for the trouble she had caused. She suggests heading to Edea's Orphanage for a quieter and less crowded environment. But before you do that, a wide array of optional events have been opened up with the acquisition of the Ragnarok... I suggest you do them first before proceeding to Edea's Orphanage. Also, Rinoa will be behind some of your members in levels... make sure you build her up, and don't neglect resuming learning her 'Combine' limit breaks with Angelo. She has also learnt a new limit break, 'Angel Wing'. This skill puts her in 'Berserked' status, but she'll cast spells (NOT from your stocked magic lists) at random instead of doing physical attacks. Each spell used under this condition by Rinoa hits for approximately 5 times the damage. ####################################################################### 5d. [Cactuar Desert] Enemies: Cactuar G.Fs: Cactuar ####################################################################### To the east of Kashkabald Desert on the Centra continent will be a small island. You will be able to spot a Cactuar appearing and disappearing at random on this island, so land your Ragnarok and run over to confront it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ BOSS G.F: Jumbo Cactuar HP: 60,000 Weak: Water Draw List: Meltdown, Demi, Tornado AP: 20 This guy has a few pretty nasty attacks; it'll slam itself down on your party, causing moderate sums of damage to everyone, or cast '10,000 Needles' which damages a character for 10,000 HP, so stock up on those Phoenix Downs and Life spells. G.F. Alexander's 'Revive' command ability's useful too. What you'll want to do here is to junction 'Water' to Elemental Attack and have Leviathan at the ready. Cast 'Meltdown' if you have it. If Squall gets hit by '10,000 Needles', revive him with a Phoenix Down, but don't heal him -- his Renzokuken works well on the Jumbo Cactuar. After enduring quite a bit of damage, the Jumbo Cactuar may begin to hesitate; cease all weak attacks, and finish it off with Leviathan or Renzokuken. Otherwise, it'll run away, and you'll have to start all over again. You'll acquire a new G.F. for your troubles. Btw, *only* Cactuars appear on this island, so head here the next time you want some A.P. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ G.F. Cactuar offers a wide variety of level up bonuses such as 'HP Bonus' and 'Vitality Bonus' character ability. Junction it to a party member who's about to gain a level to make full use of them. ######################################################################## 5e. [Deep Sea Research Center Part One] Enemies: Anacondaur, Blood Soul, Ruby Dragon G.Fs: Bahamut Rare Cards: Bahamut Blue Magic: Fire Breath ######################################################################## It's not on the map, but it's located out in the open seas in the south-western corner of the world. Land your ship on it, and make your way into the interior of the building. Inside will be a spinning blue light which goes on and off at random. Walk only when the light is turned off, and keep inching your way towards the blue core. You'll be forced into combat should you move with the lights on. Upon reaching the center, examine it and select the 1st option. The following chain of events will see you getting involved in 3 consecutive battles. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ENEMY: Ruby Dragon HP: Variable Weak: Ice, Holy Strong vs.: Fire, Wind Draw List: Firaga, Reflect, Flare, Meteor AP: 14 It's much tougher this time around, and its 'Breath' attack can take away quite a substantial amount of damage. The previous tactics you used against it don't work quite as well as they used to, so just cast 'Meltdown' on it and have Squall unleash his Renzokuken. If they drop a 'Inferno Fang', use it on Quistis for her to learn 'Fire Breath'. Junction 'Firaga' to Elemental Defense beforehand for these battles. Or you could simply use G.F. Tonberry's 'Level Down' command ability on the Ruby Dragon (hey, it's only an enemy, not a boss). (note: You can obtain 10 Aura Stones by refining a Power Wrist through Siren's 'Tools Refinement' Menu Ability. Power Wrists are purchasable from the Pet Store in Esthar's Shopping Mall.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Re-examine the core and take the 2nd option for another fight with a Ruby Dragon. You begin this one with your backs turned, so be careful! If you're lucky enough, Odin will step in both times to help you finish off the dragons. Search the panel one last time and pick the invisible 3rd option. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ BOSS G.F: Bahamut HP: 65,200 Strong vs.: Poison, Thunder, Wind Draw List: Flare, Curaga, Full-life, Dispell AP: 40 Bahamut has a pretty high offensive rating, and if you take too long to defeat him, his Mega Flare will take away roughly 4,000 HPs of damage from everyone. Minimise damage with 'Protect' and 'Shell'. Bahamut's also weak against 'Blind'. Simply use the same tactic outlined for the Ruby Dragons above (cast Meltdown on Bahamut, use Aura on Squall, followed by his Renzokuken) and you should do just fine. Bahamut will give up his card when you defeat him; change this using Quezacotl's 'Card Mod.' menu ability for a whopping 100 Megalixirs! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Bahamut will be one of your best G.Fs; be sure to learn his 'Rare Item' party ability. Bahamut also offers the Ability x4 junction ability. Leave the island for now, and talk to everyone (especially Zell) once you're back on the Ragnarok. Head to the nearest town (Winhill), stock up on curative spells, items, re-organize your party and save. ######################################################################## 5f. [Deep Sea Research Center Part Two] (note: You'll need to have Zell in your party) Enemies: Bomb, Behemoth, Grendel, Tri-Face, Imp, Blue Dragon, Ruby Dragon, Iron Giant Draw Points: Triple, Dispel, Ultima, Esuna G.Fs: Eden (Ultima Weapon) Rare Cards: Eden (Ultima Weapon) ######################################################################## This event occurs after you've spoken with everyone in the cockpit of the Ragnarok. Actually, you can choose to do this event without Zell's help, but I'm too lazy to write an alternate walkthrough ^_^ There should be a thick vine where the hole previously was; descend into the depths of the island using that. Due to the relative inactivity of the place, you have to make use of the island's remaining power to reach the bottom. You'll need 4 out of 20 reserve steam power units to open the 1st gate, according to the computer you come across upon descending from the vine. Go through the now opened hatch in the floor. On a side note, the enemies you encounter here can get annoying. Use Quistis 'Degenerator' blue magic if you have it to plow through them. A majority of them are also weak against 'Sleep'. Examine the computer on the next floor, and use 2 units of power to open the hatch. Proceed down. The next screen will have 2 doors, controlled by 2 computers. If Zell is in your party, you can ignore the door to the left (which incidentally, is also controlled by the computer to the left) and examine the right computer. Have it use 1 unit of power to open the hatch in the floor. Head down. For the upcoming floors, just use 1 unit of power to open the hatches. When you do reach the bottom via an elevator, Zell will repair the machinery you see to open the gate to the left (2nd option). Step through this gate to find a save point a bit further down. Follow the one-way path until you reach the very bottom of this island. You should locate a save point and a red computer panel. Go for the former first (use Siren's 'Move-Find' party ability to see it), then examine the computer panel. Tip: Make sure someone has the 'Draw' command; you won't want to miss out on the most powerful G.F in the upcoming battle. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ BOSS: Ultima Weapon HP: 100,000 Draw List: Regen, Dispell, Ultima, Eden AP: 100 Draw G.F. Eden from it right from the start. Apart from having a ridiculously high offensive rating, the Ultima Weapon's 'Light Pillar' attack can take away 9,999 worth of HP damage from a single member. Keep those Phoenix Downs at the ready! When it's not using 'Light Pillar' (which it does too frequently), the Ultima Weapon's capable of 'Gravija', 'Quake' and 'Meteor' too. Cast Meltdown on the Ultima Weapon, followed by Aura on Squall. Have him (with a high Strength and Speed rating) unleash his Renzokuken. Your remaining members should just heal, and if you can spare a few turns, draw 'Ultima' spells from the Weapon. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ You'll get 100 Ultima Stones and Eden's card for your efforts. Save and exit. Eden should be your last and only G.F. that's capable of doing 5 digit damage. It also has the 'G.F Ability Med. Refinement' menu ability, in addition to a quirky little command ability called Devour. When consumed, certain enemies yield status bonuses such as 'Strength +1', i.e. the T-Rexaur. Here's a more or less complete list: Adamantoise: Devour at levels 30-100 for 'Vitality +1'. Behemoth: Devour at levels 40-100 for 'Magic +1'. Malboro: Devour at levels 30-100 for 'Spirit +1'. PuPu: Devour at levels 30-100 for 'Speed +1'. Ruby Dragon: Devour at levels 45-100 for 'Max. HP +10'. T-Rexaur: Devour at levels 30-100 for 'Strength +1'. You might have yet to encounter some enemies stated above; they'll appear soon enough if you continue reading this guide. Side events: You'll face a plethora of powerful enemies here. These include Iron Giants, Blue Dragons, Ruby Dragons and Behemoths. Should you choose to fight them, Tonberry's 'Level Down' command will be helpful, along with Quistis' Degenerator. Most the enemies are also weak against 'Sleep', so use that to your advantage. ####################################################################### 5g. [Shumi Tribe Village Revisited 2] ####################################################################### Laguna's statue should be completed by now. Converse with the Shumis and the guests from F.H at the Workshop, followed by the village head before you leave. Btw, the 'Ultima' Draw Point should be your main source of Ultima spells, so be sure to return here occasionally! You won't be able to re-enter the Shumi Tribe Village on Disc Four (or any other town for that matter). ####################################################################### 5h. [UFO Sightings] Enemies: UFO, PuPu Rare Cards: PuPu ####################################################################### Sometimes in a battle, you'll notice that Squall appears to be facing an invisible adversary... only for an UFO to appear and disappear. Here're the 4 locations where you should encounter this: 1. Along the eastern shores of the Timber continent (Mandy Beach, which is south-east of Roshfall Forest). 2. Around the Winhill Bluffs region. 3. On the island east of Trabia Garden (Trabia Heath Peninsula region). 4. In Kashkabald Desert (Centra region). The UFO appears even if you've got 'Encounter None' equipped. Use that party ability to speed up your search, and to avoid unwanted battles. You only need to encounter it once in each of the 4 areas. Once you've sighted it 4 times, proceed to the cliffs north of the Chocobo Sanctuary and Grandidi Forest, in the north-east on the Overworld, and land your Ragnarok there. Run around a bit to encounter the UFO; defeat it. Now having at least 5 Elixirs on hand (purchasable from Johnny's Shop in Esthar's Shopping Mall, or use Alexander's 'Medicine Level Up' menu ability to further refine 10 Remedy Pluses), head to the Balamb region for another meeting with the UFO. Use the 5 Elixirs on PuPu to receive its card. You can choose to kill it, but I think the rewards aren't as great (an Accelerator, which earns a G.F the 'Auto Haste' ability). You can modify this card for a 'Hungry Cookpot', then further refine this via Siren's 'Tools Refinement' menu ability to obtain a 'Shaman Stone'. Finally, use Eden's 'G.F. Ability Med. RF' menu ability to get a Rosetta Stone (lets a G.F. learn 'Ability x4' junction ability). ####################################################################### 5i. [Islands Closest to Heaven & Hell] Enemies: Chimera, Grendel, Malboro, Hexadragon, Blue Dragon, Ruby Dragon, T-Rexaur Draw Points: Aura, Full-life, Tornado, Quake, Flare, Meteor, Holy, Ultima, Triple G.Fs: Doomtrain ####################################################################### The Heaven Island is located near the Chocobo Sanctuary and is north-east of Esthar. The Hell Island is located to the south-west of Deling City (use your menu screen to get the name of your current location). Both islands hold numerous draw points on them, some of which include Flare, Holy, Meteor, Aura, Triple and Ultima. They're all hidden, though. These points recover quite fast, and will be your source of high class spells in ff 8. However, the enemies you'll find here will *always* be at lv. 100. They include Malboros, Blue Dragons, Ruby Dragons, Hexadragons, T-Rexaurs and Grendels. Equip Diablos' 'Encounter None' party ability for an easier time picking up spells. Btw, if you've yet to get G.F Doomtrain, steal 6 Malboro Tentacles from the Malboros on the Heaven or Hell Island. Combine this with 6 Steel Pipes (mug low-level Wendigos) and 6 Remedy Pluses (use G.F Alexander's 'Med. Level Up' menu ability to refine 60 Remedies). Next, locate the Solomon Ring at Tears' Point and use it in the Item screen. ####################################################################### 5j. [Timber Region: Obel Lake Quest] ####################################################################### When you examine the lake north of Timber, Squall will be presented with 2 options: - Throw a rock. - Try humming. Hum to have a shadow in the lake talk to you; it'll ask of Squall to locate a monkey. Head on over to the forest west of Dollet; run around a bit in there until a message pops up to say the animal was sighted. You may need to keep pressing the 'X' (U.S) or 'Circle' (Japanese) button for that to happen. Report back to the shadow and it'll hint at the existence of 4 special rocks in the world. To get clues for the locations of all 4 rocks, have Squall throw a rock until it bounces six times (this occurs randomly) before humming again for the shadow. The 4 locations are: 1. Along the shores of Balamb. You'll have to find a rock with an inscription on it. 2. The tiny island to the east of Timber, north of the Horizon Bridge. 3. The cliffs south of Galbadia Garden (or what used to be the Garden). You have to land the Ragnarok on the cliff above the waterfall nearby. Examine the ground above the waterfall. 4. The forest west of Dollet. Examine these locations with the 'X' (U.S) or 'Circle' (Japanese) to find the rocks. Each has it own unique inscription. When rearranged, you'll get a message from the 4 rocks about a hidden treasure in the plains north of Esthar. Pilot your Ragnarok over there, and comb the Mordred Plains. You can't trigger the hidden treasure event unless you locate all 4 rocks first. There'll be tons of talking stones (Moais?) here; try to locate a red one, and go the opposite direction it tells you to. Keep searching and you'll eventually find a red stone which tells you that, "The treasure is not here." Examine the same area again to obtain a 'Three Stars' item, which grants a G.F. the 'Expendx3-1' character ability (use 3 spells in a row for the cost of only 1). If you need a hint, I'll say it's located in the south-east of the plains, but not too far away from the center of it. Happy searching! It took me quite a while too. Apart from this event, the shadow will drop several other hints... one will be regarding another hidden treasure; head for Eldbeak Peninsula, which is on Trabia, north from Balamb. Examine the tip of the peninsula to get an inscription: "TRETIMEASUREATMINOFFDEISLE" Fly the Ragnarok over to Minde Isle, which is a small island south-west of Esthar City. Search the southern regions of the island for a 'Luck-J Scroll'. "Back in the day, south of here, there used to be a small but beautiful village surrounded by deep forests. Everyone lived a happy life there." He's simply telling you about a forgotten village, located in a clearing in a strangely shaped forest to the east of Edea's Orphanage. Search the area to see Squall's comments, but you won't get anything for this. The other hint about taking a break at railroad bridges simply refers to the hidden draw points found on them. ######################################################################### 5k. [Other Side Events] ######################################################################### You may have covered these earlier on in the game; the following section serves as a quick check-list for them, and in which Disc they were covered in the Walkthrough section. Dollet: Bone searching (1n.) Timber: Saving the little girl (3i.) Winhill: Pieces of the Vase (3j.) Shumi Tribe Village: Finding the 5 stones (3l.) Centra Ruins: Defeating Odin (3m.) (before entering Esthar) Centra Ruins: Defeating Tonberry King (4f.) Chocobo Forests: Solving the puzzles (4g.) CC Group Quest: Finding and defeating the members in Balamb Garden (4h.) ######################################################################## 5l. [Edea's Orphanage Revisited] (note: Take Rinoa along) Rare Cards: Edea (Edea), Seifer (Cid) ######################################################################## Follow Angelo to a field of flowers. It's to the left of where you entered the orphanage. *spoiler here... skip this paragraph if you wish* Rinoa confides in Squall of her worries, that one day Ultimecia will awaken the sorceress within her. Squall says that there can always be a kind-hearted sorceress, but is unable to answer when Rinoa tells of her fear that the world will turn against her. However, Squall promises Rinoa that he'll defeat Ultimecia for her sake... and in turn makes her promise that she'll never leave his side (this is actually a reference to the strange opening of ff 8, because both Squall and Rinoa say the same words as those appearing in the opening). Go into the Orphanage to meet up with Edea. According to her, there's a special person who can dispell a sorceress' fears -- her Knight. Edea advises Rinoa to leave her safety in the hands of such a person... upon which Rinoa responds to by looking at Squall -- she's already found her Knight ^_^ You can leave now for Esthar. Side events: If you haven't done so already, Edea and Cid hold Edea's and Seifer's card respectively, so you might want to take time off to get them. It won't be easy winning those cards, though. ####################################################################### 5m. [Esthar President -- Esthar City] Enemies: Imp, Iron Giant, Turtapod, Imp, Elnoyle (rare) Rare Cards: Squall (Esthar President) ####################################################################### Now that you have the Ragnarok, you can land directly in Esthar. Try looking around for a tall building with a landing pad on it -- that should be the Esthar Air-Station. It's more convenient compared to landing outside Esthar City, then making your way across the highways. It'll be populated by monsters as a result of the Lunar Cry; head to the Presidential Palace as soon as possible. Follow the path all the way left when Squall gets off the elevator pod. Tip: If you've yet to visit Edea at her Orphanage, then Squall won't be allowed to meet the Esthar President. You'll finally meet up with the President of Esthar. When Squall talks to him, you'll have 4 topics to ask him about: - Explain the mission to defeat Ultimecia. - Where's Ellone? - Tell me about Raine. - What are you doing here? (follow this one with the 1st choice to make him continue his story) You can choose the first option to move the plot quickly, but I suggest you take time off to see what he has been up to for the past few years. *spoiler here... skip this paragraph if you wish* Basically, Laguna journeys off to Esthar to rescue Ellone, who was one of the many taken as a possible successor to Adel's rule during her time. However, Adel recognizes Ellone's hidden talents and decides to take her power... only to be betrayed by her own lust for power as Laguna tricks her into entering the sealing capsule, which a holographic image of Ellone had been beamed onto. They use the Ragnarok to station the sealed up Adel in space, but with the sudden loss of a President, Esthar falls into confusion; thus under the name of a 'hero', Laguna was elected as the new President. Taking the first option results in an elaborate explanation by Doctor Odine. It's rather confusing too. When he's done, the President will volunteer to continue the briefing aboard the Ragnarok: - Yes. - I have questions. I'll leave this up to you. *spoiler here... skip this section if you wish* Next, I'll *attempt* to summarize Odine's plan: Truth be told, Ultimecia exists in Squall's time only in her mental state; her physical self is stationed in the future. However, being a sorceress herself, Ultimecia can only possess the sorceress of each era. This technique of transferring one's mind between time is only used by Ellone in Squall's era, but apparently in the future, anyone has the ability to do this, thanks to an invention by Doctor Odine. To defeat Ultimecia, the party will have to travel to the future to confront her physical being. Ultimecia's goal is to cause total time compression, which is the reason why she has come to this time seeking Ellone's powers. To make her task easier, she has to possess the most powerful sorceress of this era, which will be Adel. Thus, after rescuing Ellone from the Pandora, Squall will have to seek out the un-awakened Adel and defeat her, forcing Ultimecia to possess Rinoa instead. This is when Ellone steps in. To bait Ultimecia (whose aim is to travel even further back in time), she'll transport both Rinoa and Ultimecia into the past minds of the sorceresses before this time. Ultimecia will then initiate time compression, upon which Ellone will immediately cut both of them off from the past. With time compressed now, Squall and company will have to head for the future, where the final confrontation with Ultimecia awaits. *end spoiler* Side events: The President of Esthar holds Squall's card, quite possibly the best in the game. Be sure to win it from him. Also, in Esthar itself will be a creature known as the Elnoyle, a black and yellow winged demon which resembles the Elvoret you fought way back in Dollet in Disc One. You can encounter them randomly (low encounter rate) or look for a black creature standing on one of the highways in Esthar (point E on the map I've drawn up above in the Esthar City section, event 4n). It'll simply laugh when Squall talks to it, but you have to fight it. Exit and re-enter this screen for it to reappear again. You can steal Moon Stones from the Elnoyle, or defeat it when they're at levels 40 and above to make it drop Energy Crystals. Both are essential items for weapon upgrading; get a Moon Stone and 8 Energy Crystals from it. Also, you can refine Energy Crystals via Ifrit's 'Refine Ammo' menu ability to get Pulse Ammo. These are Irvine's best ammunition for his 'Shot' limit break. [Ragnarok] The Esthar President will summarize what Odine has said, but I think it only serves to confuse one even more ^_^ If you re-enter the Passenger Deck after the briefing, both Kiros and Ward will drop clues about Squall's parents... Anyway, your next destination will be Lunatic Pandora (it's floating right over Tears' Point) in the south-east of the Esthar region, but going there means proceeding onto Disc Four. I suggest you do a bit of running around before that to upgrade your weapons one last time, and pick up any items you may have missed. ####################################################################### 5n. [Miscellaneous Updates Part Three] (note: I recommend you at least read through this section) Enemies: Adamantoise (Long Horn Island) Torama, Behemoth, Iron Giant, Elnoyle (Esthar) Rare Cards: Ward (Dr. Odine), Squall (Esthar President), Alexander (Piet), Kiros, Irvine, Chubby Chocobo, Doomtrain, Phoenix (Card Queen Quest) Blue Magic: White Wind, Mighty Guard, Ray-Bomb, Shockwave Pulsar, Fire Breath, Homing Laser, Bad Breath Weapons: Lion Heart (Squall), Shooting Star (Rinoa), Ehrgeiz (Zell), Save the Queen (Quistis), Strange Vision (Selphie), Exeter (Irvine) ####################################################################### {Weapons} Let's start with the weapons first. Head to Long Horn Island, which is the narrow stretch of land consisting mostly of beaches north-west of Dollet. You can encounter Adamantoises (turtle-like creatures) here. First, plunder a 'Whisper' (at levels 29 and below) from it, then defeat one of them for it to drop Adamantine (at levels 30 and above). Win at least 3 of those. Incidentally, Adamantine lets a G.F. learn 'Vitality +60%' character ability, so get more of it if you can. Use Bahamut's 'Rare Item' party ability to assist you. Adamantoises occasionally (but ONLY) appear on the beaches. Pilot Ragnarok over to the Esthar region and encounter enemies. You should find Toramas (long-whiskered leopards), Behemoths (enormous purple beasts -- low encounter rate) and Iron Giants (blue giants carrying swords). Plunder from all of them to receive Regen Rings (get 1 of these), Barrier (1 will do) and Star Fragments (get 5 of these) respectively. On a side note, a single Regen Ring can be refined using Siren's 'Life Magic Refinement' menu ability to 20 'Full-life' spells -- these are excellent junctioned to HP. Squall's Lion Heart: One Adamantine, 4 Dragon Fangs (Blue Dragons on the Island Closest to Hell near Galbadia drop them - kill them effortlessly with a 'Death' spell) and 12 Pulse Ammo (refine 2 Energy Crystals via Ifrit's 'Refine Ammo' menu ability. Or you could refine Laser Cannons dropped rarely by Belhelmels in the region near Galbadia Garden). The Lion Heart's finishing move, 'Lion Heart' (End of Heart) should be your most powerful attack in the entire game. Rinoa's Shooting Star: 2 Windmills (steal from level 30 and above Thrustaevis - blue flying creatures - in the Timber region), 1 Regen Ring, 1 Force Armlet (it's purchasable from the Pet Store in Esthar) and 2 Energy Crystals (dropped by level 40 and above Elnoyles in Esthar City). Zell's Ehrgeiz: One Adamantine, 4 Dragon Skins (level 30 and above Anacondaurs near the cliffs west of Dollet drop these) and one Fury Fragment (mug Blue Dragons on the Island Closest to Hell). Quistis' Save the Queen: 2 Malboro Tentacles (Malboros are found on the Island Closest to Heaven or Hell), 4 Sharp Spikes (stolen from Grand Mantis in the forests on the Centra continent) and 4 Energy Crystals. Selphie's Strange Vision: One Adamantine, 3 Star Fragments and 2 Curse Spikes (level 20-29 Creeps in the sewers of Deling City drop them, and so do level 30 and above Forbiddens in the Centra Ruins). Irvine's Exeter: 2 Dino Bones (T-Rexaurs in Balamb Garden's Training Center and Hell Island drop these), 1 Moon Stone (mug Elnoyles in Esthar City), 2 Star Fragments and 18 screws (from Geezards near the cliffs of Galbadia and Dollet). If you're wondering where Energy Crystals and Moon Stones come from, try reading the 'Side events' in the previous section detailing your meeting with the Esthar President. {Blue Magic} Next up, Quistis' remaining Blue Magicks. Use the Barrier you stole from the Behemoth on her for her 'Mighty Guard' and the Whisper (from the Adamantoise) for her 'White Wind'. Also, level 30 and above Blitzs in the Centra forests carry Power Generators; you'll have to mug them for it. However, the chances of obtaining one is extremely rare; about 4.7%, to be exact. Most of the time you'll get Betrayal Blades instead. Power Generators earn Quistis her 'Ray-Bomb'. Finally, collect 100 Curse Spikes from level 20-29 Creeps in the Deling sewers or level 30 and above Forbiddens (skeletons armed with 2 swords) from the Centra Ruins, then use Siren's 'Tools RF' menu ability to receive Dark Matter and thus Quistis' final Enemy Skill, the Shockwave Pulsar, one of only three sources in the whole of ff 8 which can do 5 digit damage (the other 2 attacks being G.F. Eden's 'Eternal Breath' and Choco Buckle). 'Dark Matter' can only be refined when G.F. Siren's at level 100. (note: The Choco Buckle can only be gotten if you have a Pocket Station peripheral, which is sold separately. I won't detail the procedure here.) Another 3 Enemy Skills which you may have forgotten would be her Fire Breath, Homing Laser and Bad Breath. Get the items from Ruby Dragons on the Island Closest to Hell (mug them for Inferno Fangs), level 30 and above Belhelmels (rarely drop Laser Cannons when defeated) in the ex-Galbadia Garden region (Monterosa Plateau), and Malboros on the Island Closest to Heaven or Hell respectively. {Rare Cards} Once you've met all the CC Group members in Balamb Garden, you can challenge the Card Queen outside Balamb City's train station. This sparks off a Card Queen Quest which lets you complete your collection of rare cards in ff 8. I'll detail it a bit further below. I'll give you an (easier) method of completing your card collection in Disc Four later, though. Incidentally, if you forgot to get Ward's and Squall's card, they're still winnable from Dr. Odine at his Laboratory in Esthar City and the President of Esthar in the Passenger Deck of the Ragnarok respectively. Also, G.F. Alexander's card can still be won from Piet; he's located at one of the southern tips of the Esthar continent, in the Abadan Plains. You can't see him on the Overworld directly; you'll need to actually run into the specific area to enter a field screen. [Card Queen Quest] The Queen of Cards resides outside the train station in Balamb City. Upon winning or losing any level 8 or higher rare card from/to her, she'll leave. Talk to her again to know where she's going. Below are the 8 possible locations she can move to: Balamb: Train station in Balamb City Centra: Winhill's hotel Dollet: Dollet 2F Pub Esthar: Presidential Palace in Esthar City F.H: Railway tracks in F.H, near Save point and 'Regen' draw point Galbadia: Galbadia Hotel Trabia: Shumi Tribe Village Inn Far Away: Lunar Gate (she won't give a clue to her next destination if she leaves from here; you'll have to find her yourself) Anyway, keep challenging her until she moves to Dollet. Talk to her there using the 'X' (U.S) or 'Circle' (Japanese) button, and ask about her artist father (4th option). The Card Queen will then ask you for one of your specific rare cards, which you must then lose to her deliberately in Card Battle. However, since Dollet has the 'Random' rule, losing the specific card to the Card Queen might prove difficult. You might want to abolish it. First, play a game in a region with a few simple rules, but lacking the 'Random' rule (i.e. Timber). Make sure that region also has a rule which Dollet lacks. Proceed to Dollet, but save before you challenge anyone here. He or she will suggest combining rules; accept the challenge by saying 'Yes', but choose to 'Quit' instead of 'Play'. If the 'Random' rule gets abolished, then you can continue in your quest. If another rule gets added or abolished, then reset your game, and try again. If nothing happens, challenge the person again. Alternatively, you can modify all of your lower level cards, but I think that's kind of a waste. Each specified rare card lost to the Card Queen results in another new rare card created (you can lose the specified rare card to her anywhere after she's asked for it). However, you can regain your rare cards which you lost on purpose by challenging the little boy living with his artist grandpa, further down the road from the Pub in Dollet. Any other cards lost can be won back from the Card Queen herself. As for the locations of the newly created rare cards, I'll detail them a bit further below. After losing a rare card the Card Queen wanted, she'll move around the world. You must pursue her until she returns to Dollet, upon which she'll ask you for another rare card. This happens a total of 5 times; thus, 5 new cards would have been created. These 5 cards however, must be won from the people below. You must lose the specified rare card to the Card Queen first before they'll hold the new card: {Kiros} Lost Card: MiniMog Win: Man in black at Deling City's shopping arcade {Irvine} Lost Card: Sacred Win: Mayor Dobe's wife Flo, in F.H {Chubby Chocobo} Lost Card: Chicobo Win: Student sitting outside Balamb Garden's Library {Doomtrain} Lost Card: Alexander Win: Owner of Aphora Pub in Timber {Phoenix} Lost Card: Doomtrain Win: President's Assistant in Esthar City's Presidential Palace room. This quest might get tedious, so I advise you save often. The soft reset option (pause the game, then press R1+R2+L1+L2+Select+Start) helps too if you don't like the location the Card Queen's moving to. If you're lucky, she'll just end up shuttling between Balamb City and Dollet, which makes your job much easier. Needless to say, this quest is only for the Card Battle fanatic ^_^ {Preparations} You're almost up to the end dungeon here, which may require you to have at least 4 of your characters junctioned *at all times* with G.Fs. You'll want to do a bit of tweaking here to make sure your G.Fs are evenly spread out, and that your characters are finely balanced in terms of capability. Okay, maybe you can survive with 3 junctioned characters. It's really up to you to decide (read the section on Ultimecia's Castle in Disc Four to find out more), but I advise you at least have 4 well -junctioned members. Purchase a few 'Amnesia Greens' from a Pet Store, and below are a few tips I've put together to get you started. Make sure you've learnt G.F Tonberry's 'Familiar' menu ability, Quezacotl's 'Card Mod.' menu ability, and have plenty of Gil to spare. Saving beforehand helps too! 1. You'll want everyone to at least have spells junctioned to the 5 basic parameters: HP, Strength, Vitality, Magic and Spirit. Buy these G.F. items from the Pet Store (Rin Rin's Shop) in Esthar. Below are my recommendations for the type of spell to junction to each parameter: HP: Full-life Strength: Ultima, Meteor or Aura Vitality: Meltdown Magic: Ultima, Triple or Pain Spirit: Reflect Where you choose to put 'Ultima' is entirely up to the type of character you want to build: an attacker or a magic user. Of the 8 spells mentioned above, 3 of them won't be found on the Heaven and Hell Islands. Here's how to get them: Meltdown: Draw from level 30 and above Gaylas in the Trabia region. Pain: Defeated lv. 20-29 Creeps in the sewers of Deling City drop Curse Spikes; use Diablos' 'Status Magic Refinement' menu ability to get 'Pain' spells. Level 30 and above Forbiddens in the Centra Ruins also drop Curse Spikes. Reflect: Draw from level 30 and above Death Claws in the Centra forests, or use Leviathan's 'Support Magic Refinement' to refine a Dragon Skin (dropped by level 30 and above Anacondaurs in Roshfall Forest) for 20 'Reflect' spells. Use Tonberry's 'Level Up' or 'Level Down' command to assist you. 2. Different G.Fs offer varying degrees of protection from Elemental and Status spells, so try to divide these equally among your party. Cards like Selphie's and Doomtrain's, when modified give you items which allow you to add to the G.Fs' Elemental and Status Defense properties, so make use of them. 3. Following that should be character abilities and G.F abilities such as 'Strength +60%' or 'G.F HP +40%'. Let's start with G.Fs first. Items such as Energy Crystals and Samantha's Soul (modify Quistis' card) give pretty decent 'Summon Magic +?' bonuses (30% and 40% respectively). Note that all G.F. abilities are cumulative. However, items which give decent 'G.F HP+?' bonuses are rare. I can only recommend modifying Seifer's card to get 3 Diamond Armours (G.F HP +40%). Character abilities are another matter altogether. The stores in Esthar sell such items, i.e. Giant Rings (HP+40%) and Power Wrists (Strength+40%). Refining 10 of each via Eden's 'G.F Ability Med. Refinement' gives you an upgraded version, i.e. 10 Giant Rings grant you one Gaea's Ring (HP+80%). However, it might prove to be too costly to actually buy them, so there's always cards to fall back on. You can modify Ward's, Edea's, Zell's and Rinoa's cards for such pricey items. Adamantine (Vitality+60%) can be gotten rather easily however; defeat the Adamantoise on Long Horn Island's coasts (north-west of Dollet) for them to drop the items. You can also modify G.F Minotaur's card for 10 Adamantines. 4. Items which increase your other parameters such as Speed or Luck are quite rare; I believe you won't pick up more than 5 of them on your journeys. Still, Irvine's card is one of the rare ones which grant you 'Speed +40%'. 5. Rosetta Stones give you 'Ability x4' junction abilities. Again, these are very very rare. G.Fs which offer 'Ability x3' or 'Ability x4' include Diablos, Carbuncle, Cerberus, Alexander and Bahamut, so you'll have to modify one other G.F's list of abilities to include 'Ability x4' for the sixth party member if you so wish. 6. There're a variety of ways to actually get the rarer bonus ability items, but such methods are usually very time-consuming and pricey, i.e. 50 Barriers for an Aegis Amulet which lets you junction spells to your Evasion parameter. Nonetheless, there're always a few exceptions -- a modified Kiros card gives you 3 Accelerators, which in turn grants you 3 'Auto Haste' character abilities. 7. Try toying around with the refinement system. You may come across more excellent deals which I didn't cover. 8. Here's how my party eventually ended up: Squall: Brothers, Carbuncle, Bahamut, Cactuar Quistis: Quezacotl, Siren, Alexander, Eden Zell: Shiva, Diablos, Doomtrain Irvine: Ifrit, Pandemona, Cerberus These 4 have the best limit breaks, in my opinion. Teaming both Pandemona and Cerberus (Irvine) isn't exactly recommended, but I had enough 'Spd-J Scrolls' to spare on the rest. Rinoa: Leviathan Selphie: Tonberry I mainly use Rinoa and Selphie for healing purposes, so it helps if they have the 'Draw', 'Recover' or 'Item' commands. You'll have to do some modifications for Tonberry to include Junction abilities for Selphie, in this case. Of course, do take note the above is just for the end dungeon. You won't be needing that for your next destination, the Pandora, but since both places are linked, I suggest you do the fine-tunings now to save yourself the hassle later. Other final preparations include stocking up on items (refine as many Power Wrists to Aura Stones as possible) and spells (Heaven and Hell Islands), and learning the more useful G.F. abilities such as Tonberry's 'Call Shop' and Diablos' 'Encounter None'. Tip: If you've been relying too much on your G.Fs for offensive measures, now's the time to start using your characters to dish out the heavy damage. Take my word for it... or the upcoming bosses will make life VERY difficult ^_^ Also, take note that in Disc Four ALL towns are in-accessible, so you might want to make a separate save file just in case you missed anything. And mind you, Disc Four is closer than you think; right after the Pandora, in fact. ######################################################################## 5o. [Re-entering Lunatic Pandora] ######################################################################## In any case, pilot the Ragnarok over to Tears' Point in the south-east of Esthar when you feel you're ready. Note that you have to actually bash into the Pandora using your air-ship to trigger the upcoming set of events. Tip: I get questions asking why nothing happens when they pilot the Ragnarok towards the Pandora. You must have missed out on a few compulsory events; saved Rinoa yet? Visited Edea yet? Met the Esthar President in Esthar and then in the Ragnarok already? If not, complete those events first. ######################################################################## 5p. [Final Lunatic Pandora] Enemies: Behemoth, Imp, Iron Giant, Torama, Turtapod Draw Points: Curaga, Meteor, Holy, Silence, Confuse, Ultima Blue Magic: Mighty Guard, Homing Laser ######################################################################## You can talk to Selphie (or whoever's at the controls) to leave the Pandora after the FMV. If you're ready, take the elevator at the back, then head for the Entrance to get out of the Ragnarok. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ BOSS: Raijin HP: 22,200 Weak: Poison Strong vs.: Thunder Draw List: Thundara, Thundaga, Shell, Protect BOSS: Fujin HP: 17,900 Weak: Poison Strong vs.: Wind Draw List: Aero, Curaga, Full-life, Tornado Total AP: 20 Cast 'Blind' on Raijin to halt his physical attacks, then dispose of him using Squall's Renzokuken. Fujin likes to use support magic such as 'Haste' on herself, so break it using 'Dispell'. Watch out too for her 'Sai' (Shatter), which reduces a single member's HP to 1. You can off her with Squall's limit break rather easily. Eden, Doomtrain and Diablos work fine too. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Follow the 2 into the interior of the Pandora. In the next screen, head up before taking a left. You'll come across two old friends -- Biggs and Wedge, but they won't attack you. Save at the point nearby. The next area of the Pandora should be very familiar to you; you were here when you hopped aboard the Pandora in Esthar. The valuable draw points such as 'Meteor' and 'Holy' are still there, so take time off to pick them up. Head for the green 01 elevator. Side events: All enemies encountered in the Pandora are at level 1. Try mugging the Behemoth for a 'Barrier' if you have yet to do so. It lets Quistis learn her 'Mighty Guard'. You should find a save point after a short walk from the lift. Make your preparations here and save before heading north. The Pandora offers nothing else; you should have picked up everything the last time you were here. If not, try referring back to the earlier Lunatic Pandora invasion event in Esthar for a list of the items here. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ BOSS: Mobile Type 8 BIS HP: 46,000 Weak: Thunder Draw List: Firaga, Thundaga, Blizzaga, Flare SUB-BOSS: Right Probe HP: 9,000 Weak: Thunder Draw List: Curaga, Demi SUB-BOSS: Left Probe HP: 9,000 Weak: Thunder Draw List: Curaga, Esuna Total AP: 40 When it switches to 'Mobile Weaponary Attack Mode', it'll retaliate against all physical attacks aimed at the main body, so keep to using Thundaga spells, Quezacotl and Eden during this period to damage it. After it changes to 'Support Weaponary Attack Mode' it'll launch its 'Corona', which decreases everyone's HP to one, so have a member cast 'Cerberus' at the start to put the party in 'Triple' status; this enables a single person to heal everyone with Curaga. Or you could use a Megalixir (modify Bahamut's card). Just do it quick, or the upcoming 'Megido Flame' will wipe out your weakened party. You can also damage it with the tried-and-tested combo of Meltdown -Aura-Renzokuken to take the bugger down easily. Junction 'Thundaga' to Elemental Attack for best results. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ T I P : You're almost up to a point in the game in which there's no turning back. Head back a screen to save first; I highly recommend you make a separate save file at this point. You MUST at least have a 'Meltdown' spell here. If not, head back outside to the Overworld, and engage level 30 and above Gaylas on the Trabia continent in combat; draw 'Meltdown' from them. Proceed onwards to meet up with Seifer. He'll dismiss both Raijin and Fujin when they try to talk some sense into him, and attack Squall. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ BOSS: Seifer HP: 34,500 Weak: Poison Draw List: Firaga, Thundaga, Blizzaga, Aura AP: 40 Start off by drawing a few 'Aura' spells from Seifer. If his physical prowess is giving you trouble, cast 'Protect' on yourselves. Seifer will begin to use his 'Bloodfest' when his HPs get low, which hits for a pretty significant amount of damage, so watch out for it. You can dispatch him too easily with a single Meltdown-Aura-Renzokuken combination though. As always, make sure to plunder either a 'Hero' or a 'Holy War' from Seifer. If you have Odin, this battle will be the last you see of him. He'll be replaced by a much more versatile Gilgamesh at the end of the fight. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Just a bit of information on Gilgamesh... he can appear anytime in a battle (unlike Odin who appears only at the start of a confrontation). When he does he'll unleash one of four possible attacks: Zantetsuken (Slashing Steel Blade): Similar to Odin's attack. Masamune: A sword swipe to all enemies for a heavy sum of damage. Excaliber: A sword swipe to all enemies for a moderate sum of damage. Excalipoor: A sword swipe to all enemies for 1 HP of damage ^_^ Seifer will take Rinoa away after the battle, but you'll still want to keep Rinoa's HP, Vitality and Spirit parameters high. You'll see why later. In any case, junction Quistis (or whoever replaces Rinoa) thereafter. Leave the room. END OF DISC THREE ======================================================================== (note: Most of the section below was referred from Part I of Scott Ong's Final Fantasy VIII FAQ. Refer to the Credits section for more details.) |