                        FINAL FANTASY VIII
                          POWER UP GUIDE
                           Version: 4.8
                       Written by: Aya Brea
                      i_love_aya@hotmail.com
                http://www6.50megs.com/vanceayahan


Gosh, there're way too many FAQs on this game already why am I writing 
this one you ask? Well, mine's totally different. I will show you how to 
SERIOUSLY power up your characters and believe me, it works! If you're 
the type who's obsessed with insanely high stats so you can laugh at the 
boss' Ultima spell as it's only doing ~200 to every member in your 
party, then this guide is for you!

BTW, this is written based on the US version of the game. Some features 
may differ from the Japanese version (such as button configuration for 
example) or the European (PAL) version of the game.

My ICQ is working fine now, thanks to whoever fixed it up for me. :)

Before you decide to post me an e-mail, do not bring up these:
* Please don't send in that trick where you refine Mesmerize Blades into 
Mega Potions, I've heard them a million times (without exaggeration.) 
It's not even all that effective compared to the infinite credit trick, 
but if you wanna try it out, give it a go.
* I'm sick of the Island Closest to Hell Draw Points thing. You know, 
this may indeed sound a bit rude to tell you what stuff not to send in, 
but you'll understand if you've written a guide for a major game like 
FFVIII. I can be completely overwhelmed by the shear amount of mail I 
get everyday and it's surprising how many of those are about the same 
thing.
* Anything in ALL CAPS will be ignored.
* Anything about Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross, Lunar and Grandia will 
also be ignored. 
* Please don't send into any more clarifications on the X-ATM092 trick. 
I've devoted enough time on that section already and I guess most gamers 
will get the idea. Sorry, didn't want to be rude.
* And please before you send me a question, read through the "Frequently 
Asked Questions" section. I've put up that section for a REASON you 
know! 

This is my third overall FAQ. I'm feeling really bad since I still 
haven't finished my Star Ocean 2 FAQ, I must sincerely apologize for SO2 
fans but I'll try to finish it some day. :-)

CONTENTS
  - Revision
  - Credits
  - Black list!
  - About me
  - Introduction
  - Final Fantasy VIII
  - Frequently Asked Questions
  - Objective
  - Why bother?
  - Where do I start?
  - Critical Guardian Forces
  - Preparation
      - Some notes
      - Bonus Rosetta Stone
  - Training
      - Squall
      - Quistis
      - Other characters
      - Two characters at once! 
  - Want even higher stats?
      - Steal/Find Sources
      - Make Sources
      - Eating enemies
  - My stats
  - Some tips and tricks
  - Character overviews
      - Squall Leonhart
      - Quistis Trepe
      - Zell Dincht
      - Rinoa Heartilly
      - Selphie Tilmitt
      - Irvine Kinneas
      - Seifer Almasy
      - Edea Kramer
      - Laguna Loire
      - Kiros Seagul
      - Ward Zaback
  - Step-by-step power-up walkthrough 
      - DISC 1
          - It begins
          - Lava bath anyone?
          - Dollet me
          - Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir?
          - Whoohoo, our first mission!
          - I know where it's at
          - Owls + Trains = Timber resistance group
          - Things to do #1
          - I know where it's at part 2
          - Gardening Galbadian style
          - I choo choo choose Deling City
          - The known Tomb of the Unknown King
          - Things to do #2
          - Sorceresscide
      - DISC 2
          - Win a hill
          - Is cheapness contagious? 
          - Haha, missed me by a mile... NOT!
          - We're the train-stealers
          - Is that a rocket in your pants or are you just happy to
            see me?
          - The hanging garden of Balamb
          - Do you like fish?
          - Top of the Pops
          - Things to do #3
              - New GFs
              - Chicobo Card
              - Shumi Tribe
              - CC Quest
              - Lotsa AP
              - Collecting Flare
              - Other
          - Silence of the (Ba)lamb
          - My heart will go on
          - Boom boom boom boom, the Garden goes boom
      - DISC 3
          - Taxicab Confessions V: A witch's secret
          - To be scorched, or not to be scorched
          - Seedy... I mean SeeD ship
          - Salt Lake City? Yup, I've been there
          - And then a hero comes along..
          - Scarred for life
          - Things to do #4
          - Gateway to the moon
          - The box in the sky
          - Vixen or tramp?
          - Eyes on me
          - 2gether
      - POWER UP EXTRA
          - Acquiring Cactuar
          - Acquiring Bahamut
          - Complete your collection... nearly!
          - Mmmmmm, Rosetta Stones.... *Drool*
          - Acquiring Eden - Alternative!
          - Whoa! Careful with that... what do you call that thing 
            anyway?
          - Abra Kadabra
              - Basic Junctions
              - Elemental Junctions
              - Status Junctions
          - The limiting factor.
      - DISC 3 (continued)
              - Say you'll be there
              - Mission impossible
              - Sacrifice
      - DISC 4
              - Which is the witchiest?
              - Other optional stuff
              - GF customization
              - Cheap Omega tricks
  - Miscellaneous


REVISION
========
V1.0 11/Oct/1999
  - Started this project

V1.5 15/Oct/1999
  - Completed the main section
  - Completed all character overviews except Irvine's
  - Miscellaneous section now up

V2.0 24/Oct/1999
  - Found a new Dollet mission strategy since I had to re-restart the 
game
  - Worked on the walkthrough
  - Added lotsa minor stuff

V2.1 26/Oct/1999
  - Celebrate since I've just accomplished my mission of NOT gaining a 
single level all the way through the game! So Selphie and Quistis' 
sections has updates on stats and some strange findings!
  - Found a free Rosetta Stone (YAY!) so updated my powering up 
strategies. Check out some new sections under "Preparing for the big 
thing" and "Training"!
  - Corrected some of the "Oops", "Why did I do that?" and "What was I 
thinking?!" type errors.
  - Added the GF Profile sections (What do you think?)
  - Continued with the walkthrough
  - Filled in the missing Angelo Search data thanks to some nice 
readers.
  - Got the Devour list!!!
  - Invisible Moon is actually Invincible Moon! 
  - Some more information on the X-ATM092 in the walkthrough section
  - Added an interesting note on Irvine's Limit Break
  - Changed format (~~~~~~~~~~~'s)
  - More tips
  - More miscellaneous stuff and fixed the Julia one.
  - Oh yeah, don't forget Selphie's song under Miscellaneous! 
  - Other minor stuff

V2.2 30/Oct/1999
  - Added a trick on how to dispose of unwanted spells! Under the "Some 
tips and tricks" section
  - Added an unlimited money trick, whoohoo! Look for it in the "Make 
Sources" section under "Want even higher stats?" plus more explanations.
  - Put some comments on Devour
  - Two more notes on the mysterious X-ATM092 in the walkthrough. One at 
how to get pass the previously unpassable path in the chase while the 
other is a look how the 50AP can be gained.
  - Added lots of notes to Quistis' Blue Magic, also Ray-Bomb's 
description is filled!
  - Added a note to Squall's Renzokuken finishers and modified some of 
his finisher's descriptions
  - Got Squall and Zell's MAX stats gained through "training"
  - Got the FULL list of items that can be turned into Sources, as well 
as another list.
  - Added the requirements for requiring GF Tonberry and believe me, the 
other FAQs have gotten it wrong!
  - Fixed some errors here and there
  - Continued with the walkthrough, although it's still a long way to 
completion

V2.3 03/Nov/1999
  - Added a lot of new explanations to the Devour command
  - Added some notes to Rinoa's Angel Wing Limit Break
  - Found another way to NOT gain any EXP from a fight thanks to a 
reader, and it has something to do with "stones"
  - Done the walkthrough 'til right after Laguna's second scenario
  - More stuff here and there

V2.4 05/Nov/1999
  - Wrote about another 5 pages worth of walkthrough
  - Wrote a bit more on Wishing Star since I saw it again
  - Fixed errors

V2.5 06/Nov/1999
  - How dumb can I get? I used the WRONG line breakers! Fixed it now.
  - Finished the walkthrough for disc 1
  - A bit more on Rinoa's Angel Wing and Wishing Star
  - Couple of more notes
  - Added the reference for Biggs and Wedge. (Sometimes the most obvious 
things in life are the hardest to remember.)

V2.6 10/Nov/1999
  - Gave the shops a run for their money with the Black List section 
(the only thing sweeter than revenge is a sweet revenge, even though 
it's not mine. Oh well...)
  - A lot more new stuff in the walkthrough ('til just after the Missile 
Base mission.)
  - Found out what could be stolen from Seifer at the end of disc 1
  - A note about gravity
  - I have a terrible memory so I forgot the rest (if any)

V2.7 14/Nov/1999
  - Continued the walkthrough and listed all the relevant mini-quests
  - Added alternate Diablos strategy
  - More stuff about Biggs and Wedge, as well as lotsa weird stuff found 
by Viki
  - Added a note to Squall's Lion Heart finisher
  - Added the AP trick with X-ATM092
  - Rinoa and Irvine's max stats
  - Some other stuff and I cannot remember

V2.8 26/Nov/1999
  - Filled in the Frequently Asked Questions section and moved it up to 
the top...
  - Added more references
  - Added more miscellaneous stuff
  - Added more ways of getting spells early in the walkthrough, under 
"Things to do #2" and "The known Tomb of the Unknown King"
  - A note about Squall's Renzokuken finisher on how to get Lion Heart 
more often
  - Fixed up some mistakes and my French
  - A note on Vitality Zero under tips
  - Completed disc 2's walkthrough
  - A note to Zell's Duel finishers (no, you can do more than just the 
pre-requisite moves!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

V2.9 30/Nov/1999
  - 5 more chapters in the walkthrough with somewhat cheesy titles
  - More tips and stuff
  - More questions are in
  - Added Another Gamer's Angel Wing strategy

V3.0 07/Dec/1999
  - Ho ho ho, so many people sent in their great stuff so it's time for 
a major(ish) update
  - Added Seifer and Edea to the character list, along with Seifer's 
level 100 stats!
  - Added an alternate alternate strategy in the Ruby Dragon fight in 
Laguna's fourth scenario
  - Added an extra subsection in "Things to do #3" in disc 2, involving 
Cactuars and AP
  - Added Irvine's/Seifer's/Edea's Limit Break descriptions
  - More questions
  - More tips
  - Added Selphie's easy Slot Limit Break trick under her character 
section
  - Added the trick to get some Pulse Ammo in disc 2! Chech out the 
section "Top of the Pops"
  - Added the trick to get Pandemona's card early, in the section 
"Silence of the (Ba)lamb"
  - Added the "My stats" section
  - Corrected lotsa typos, especially the terrible mistake on the path 
to acquire Odin
  - Completed the walkthrough all the way to the power up point!

V4.0 22/Dec/1999
  - Added more questions
  - Added another chain combo to Zell's section
  - Added Edea's level 100 stats
  - Added "Zantetsuken Reverse" to Seifer's section
  - Added an explanation of how to get Ward in the fourth Laguna 
scenario
  - Finally completed the whole thing, I'm so proud of myself! Lots of 
tips and optional stuff are in under the massive Power Up Extra section.
  - Added some stuff to the tips
  - Added numerous Rosetta Stone tricks, god I love them! :)
  - Fixed various typos and mistakes
  - Even more on Rinoa's Angel Wing!
  - Obtained vague descrptions of Selphie's Catastrophe and Percent

V4.1 03/Jan/2000
  - Corrected the whole Squall Limit ender thing!!!
  - Added more tips
  - Added a trick on getting Lion Heart in disc 1 (or 2) and it's in the 
walkthrough, under "Things to do #1"
  - Another question
  - Added a miscellaneous thing
  - A LOT of stuff here and there, some corrections but it's hard for me 
to remember every single thing
  - More about the GF combinations and Queen of Cards in disc 4
  - ANOTHER Rosetta Stone trick... will these never end?!

V4.2 20/Jan/2000
  - Fixed up a lot of errors
  - Added an extra power up mission involving Seifer in Dollet
  - Added a few tips, mainly on cards
  - Question
  - Miscellaneous stuff
  - Lil' adjustments here and there and there and ooh, missed a spot
  - Still working on a super-cheap "Defeat Omega in under 5 rounds 
trick" but it's not in yet.

V4.3 30/Jan/2000
  - Those "cheap" Omega tricks are now in, read it at your own risk
  - A new trick on stealing and not mugging
  - More info on Angelo Search, how you can see it more often
  - More spell stuff about Angel Wing
  - Full description about Selphie's secret Slot spells are in
  - A tidbit on Quistis' Bad Breath
  - A tidbit on FFVI
  - A "fun" tidbit on Odin...
  - Fixed up some requirements for acquiring GF Tonberry
  - Here and there, the usual

V4.4 16/Feb/2000
  - A card trick during the Desert Prison part of the game is in. Chance 
to collect Rosetta Stones early!
  - More notes on GF Phoenix
  - A note on Odin and the (dis)advantages of getting him later
  - A note on Devouring and possible side effects
  - A miscellaneous thing added
  - Some corrections

V4.5 08/Mar/2000
  - Added Laguna, Kiros and Ward's stats. Whoohoo, now the character 
section is complete!
  - Changed the "About me" section a bit to include my homepage! Yes, I 
actually got one!

V4.6 07/March/2000
  - I have begun a quest translating this guide into an HTML version 
WITH SCREENSHOT!!!!! Come visit http://www6.50megs.com/vanceayahan, Eve 
of Melancholy is the name. :) I am also trying to promote it, please 
come visit. 
  - Added, dum dum dum dum dum, you guessed it, ANOTHER Rosetta Stone 
trick! Geez, there must be like a prize in getting all of these hidden 
goodies! 
  - Fixed up some info on Degenerator
  - Added a FAST way of learning Rinoa's Angelo skills
  - Fixed some minor problems

V4.7 06/May/2000
  - Added a trick to collect Flares in disc 2
  - Modified some parts to suit the HTML version (such as adding stats 
of the bosses.) This will be done to the entire walkthrough when I have 
time
  - Added Pupu and Rinoa to Devour list
  - Added a warning on HP maximum keep dropping, possibly a bug, in the 
tips section.
  - Added the fun Scan tip. :)
  - Another note on Phoenix
  - A trick on how to get Eden and not loose the ability to refine 
Darkmatters easily! Look for a brand new section after the Darkmatter 
section
  - Cleared up the Irvine's ammo quest in FH in disc 2
  - Added an insight on Eden's identity
  - More on the Chicobo
  - Another strategy for Fujin/Raijin fight in disc 3
  - Refined the strategy for Fire Cavern/Ifrit
  - Some parts of the walkthrough may sound REALLY hypocritical but I'll 
get around to fix it when I progress with my HTML version. :)

V4.8 12/May/2000
  - Move over yeah don't do it over, 'cuz it's over yeah yeah yeah. Move 
over Armageddon Fist, Grand-Calamity Symphony is here to take your 
place! See Zell's section.
  - A minor fun strategy for Edea in disc 2
  - Fixed some format problems
  - Added how to get QoC cards back after modding them in disc 4


CREDITS
=======
* Happy Matt <Happy_Matt@msn.com> because he was the first person who 
told me about this idea of powering up your characters. (Yup, he has to 
come before Squaresoft and that..) If I had to write down every single 
thing that he helped me on, it would take up this whole page! So let's 
just say thanks for all the tips, strategies and for being my friend. 
And enjoy your games! :-)
* Squaresoft/Square EA for developing this well polished phenomenon and 
porting it over to the US shores so promptly. (Using the term loosely.)
* Cephiroth <cephiroth@yahoo.com> for the X-ATM092 strategy on his guide 
and some other stuff.
* Scott Ong <kangning@mbox5.singnet.com.sg> for his long and detailed 
walkthroughs that I had to refer to during the boring bits of the game 
(like Ultimecia's Castle.)
* GameFaqs for giving me a place to put this FAQ and being such an 
exciting site.
* Viki <FeralNoa@aol.com> for the Devour list as well as many other 
stuff. And thanks for writing to me via e-mail everyday. :-)
* Allan Mills <holywhippet@hotmail.com> for the corrections and info on 
Angelo
* Ed Asano (aka Qualera) <qualera@early.com> for the info on Angelo, 
corrections on Julia and the encouragement. Oh and a whole lot of other 
stuff liek Laguna's team LV100 stats etc... :)
* Adrian Dutkiewicz <soundshock834@yahoo.com> for the Gil trick and some 
other notes
* Tam Tran <xuanha99@hotmail.com> for the Gil trick
* Linda Villanueva <linda.villanueva@tcgs.co.travis.tx.us> for the way 
to get pass the bit in the X-ATM092 chase where the ground shakes
* John Calvin <jexer@hotmail.com> for discarding unwanted magic trick
* Joe Pirozzo <jpirozzo@usa.net> for data on Devour
* Eekeric@aol.com for the Demi/Devour strategy
* Weilun <tionghui@singnet.com.sg> for corrections and the detailed 
explanation of devour
* jay sar <vodka_81@yahoo.com> for the information on Break
* EdwChang@aol.com for more information on Zell and Rinoa's Limit Breaks
* Duncan Day-Myron <wombat_84@hotmail.com> for the Rosetta Stone trick 
#2
* DarkHoly17@aol.com for the info on mugging Seifer.
* Ken Ho <warlock@asia.com> for the alternate Diablos strategy.
* Mokona (Souma) <souma@primus.com.au> for the ways of getting good 
spells early
* Vincent Merken <vincent.merken@luc.ac.be> for correcting my French :)
* Flanker358@aol.com for pointing out the reference of the Brothers GF 
and telling me a decent way of using the Excalipur in FFV.
* EDIelectric@aol.com for the locations of 2 Sources.
* Another Gamer <gamer777@hotmail.com> for the alternate Angel Wing 
strategy
* Christian Groff (aka COSMIC KNIGHT) <epoch@texas.net> for the advice 
on using items to learn GF abilities
* Voltroneo@Hotmail.com for fighting Cactuars in disc 2 and getting 
Meltdown early
* Colin Pentney (aka Salivator) <salivator@hotmail.com> for Seifer's 
level 100 stats and "Taming the Ruby Dragon" trick
* Matt <The200sx@aol.com> for Selphie's Slots trick
* David Seo <deranged85@hotmail.com> for the trick on getting 
Pandemona's card early
* Ronny Boen <boenb@rocketmail.com> for the trick on getting Pulse Ammo 
in disc 2
* Jonathan Ng <j6ng@engmail.uwaterloo.ca> for corrections on the Revive 
command and Full-Life.
* Zachary Lim <bio_freak90@hotmail.com> for the trick on getting the 
last Rosetta Stone.
* -Skrybe- <skrybe@hotmail.com> for the Angel Wing and Slot lists, as 
well as Seifer's Limit Breaks.
* Iaian Ross <hyuga_ricdeau@hotmail.com> for the use of Zombie, 
clarifications on Squall's Limit enders and more. Thanks "Citan" :)
* TunzVic@aol.com for the query on Odin.
* XP39C@aol.com for getting the Lion Heart in disc 1 trick.
* nofear33" <nofear33@clara.co.uk> for some tips
* Treylane47@aol.com for corrections and the "Steal" tip
* Kaze Yagami<yagami@pacific.net.sg> who was the one who started the 
whole Legend of Armageddon Fist! *Bow*
* Stephanus Rudiyanto Natari <s_rudiyanton@mailcity.com> for info on GF 
Phoenix
* Macaw <tomt@f1.net.au> for the Devour side effect and Malboro 
reference. And thanks for comforting me during the times when I was 
heartbroken.
* Asekeria (ICQ # 20922748) for a bit about Behemoth
* Niek <niek_maasdijk@hotmail.com> for the extra Rosetta Stone in Balamb 
Garden, disc 2
* Mega Moth <timomoth@yahoo.com> for the ways of getting Rinoa's Angelo 
skills quickly
* Brad White <bm-white@telus.net> for getting Flares in disc 2
* <BJinNCwAW@aol.com> for corrections.
* Franz G. Pascobillo <clashing_harmonica@hotmail.com> for the info on 
HP dropping in between battles.
* Katman <cgalli@teleline.es> for the fun Scan info and a few other 
strategies. :)
* <yang1@altavista.net> for a lot of useful infomation, such as an 
insight on Eden's identity and the Eden/Tiamat trick.
* Ankhorial, an admin at FFOnline, who is the one who discovered the 
Eden/Tiamat trick.
* Ian Wee <brenanne@cyberway.com.sg> for clearing up the Irvine's ammo 
quest for us all...
* James Wennberg <tanar_ri_zande@yahoo.com> for telling me about Grand-
Calamity Symphony and the strategy on fighting Edea in disc 2
* Anyone I missed
* Everyone else for their support!


BLACK LIST!
===========
Why did I start this new section? The answer is simple, I simply saw 
that another popular FAQ from GameFaqs was printed out and actually made 
for sale in my local game store! Even though that FAQ wasn't mine, I 
still felt that was a low and sinful act, ripping off the original 
author and potential customers alike. 

- The Gamesman (Wellington central, New Zealand)
These guys have actually printed out Cephiroth's FFVIII walkthrough and 
put them on the counter for sale! To all people who are reading this and 
lives in Wellington, AVOID THAT SHOP!!! (There are plenty game stores in 
that area.) As for the Gamesman workers, you've already lost a customer 
PERMANENTLY and will loose many more as long as people are reading this, 
so stop selling them!

Why am I doing this even though it's not mine you ask? Well, I think FAQ 
authors should be respected a bit more because I'm sure everyone of us 
who submitted stuff to GameFaqs has worked hard on their FAQ or review 
or whatever, and it's just not damn fair that someone can just walk 
along and take advantage of it. For your readers out there, DO NOT buy a 
ripped off FAQ because one of these days you might feel like a master of 
a certain game and then it's your turn to write an FAQ to share your 
wisdom, and do you want someone to take advantage of that?

That's it for now, but if your shop sells game guide made for non-
commercial purposes, your names can magically appear on this list so 
watch out!


ABOUT ME 
========
Now comes my favourite section of this FAQ. I live in New Zealand and 
I'm doing a Commerce degree at the university. And for the millionth 
time, I am a guy so don't come to me calling me a "girlfriend" or 
something, ok? (You may call me "Trepe Groupie #4")

Oh yeah, I've just signed up for my own homepage, whoohoo, finally! Yes, 
you can visit "Eve of Melancholy" with the URL:

             http://www6.50megs.com/vanceayahan/

You can also use the subdomain http://aya_brea.50megs.com/ but I found 
it that it screws up the performance of a few things, the Refresh button 
in particular. So stick to the other one.

I am in the middle of my new project, to create an HTML version of this 
FAQ. And yes, I've gotten that video card thing that enables me to take 
screenshots from the PS, so expect the walkthrough with many (almost too 
many) screenshots. (Can somebody comment on those pages? It seems that 
I've taken too many shots, and I remember one of the no-nos of designing 
a webpage is to avoid heavy graphics.) The advantage of the HTML version 
is that I'd probably cover more aspects of the game. Also a few pages on 
SaGa Frontier is up too. Come on over, I'll be waiting.. :)

(As for the SaGa Frontier 2 FAQ that I've promised. Well, I've started 
it, but it's kinda getting nowhere 'cuz the game is crap.)

And finally (if you've been reading my other FAQs you'll know this) my 
ICQ # is 15185682 and you can come along and chat to me sometime. Please 
come and chat with me because I'm usually as bored as hell when I'm 
online, I'm keen to make new friends (that's what the ICQ is for 
r..right?) Or you may want to e-mail me with the address listed up the 
top or way down the bottom.


INTRODUCTION
============
Hello all and welcome to my latest project, Final Fantasy FFVIII Power-
up FAQ. I must admit, the name's kinda dumb but it's always the contents 
that are important so hopefully you won't be disappointed. In this 
guide, I will give a (hopefully) detailed description of the procedure 
used to power up every single (permanent of course) member of your team 
with surprising results (ie, 255 Strength with ONLY 100 Meteors 
junctioned to Strength.) Also, I will throw in an "special walkthrough" 
that will detail a step-by-step procedure of how to successfully get 
through the first 2 and half discs while coping with one of the many 
temptations the game has on you to do one of the no-nos. And finally, 
everybody who has read my previous FAQs knows that I love evaluating 
characters and their skills so I might as well throw that in as well. 
Happy fantasies!

It is assumed that you (the reader) know all the basic control of the 
game. It is also an advantage to have played through the game once 
before reading (and following) my guide, especially the walkthrough, as 
certain places may require perfect precision to succeed without major 
mistakes. I recommend that you play through the game "normally" first, 
then try out my instructions after you've completed the game and want 
some more. If you're struggling, read another walkthrough at GameFaqs, 
ones like Cephiroth's and Scott Ong's are all excellent ones that can 
get you from the beginning to the end with all the secrets (and what 
BORING secrets they are!!)

WARNING WARNING! These procedures can be very time consuming and 
sometimes boring and tedious. It's not too difficult though, as long as 
you know what you're doing. This is for all those players who got all 
the characters in FFVII really high stats by morphing enemies into 
Sources, or the obsessed players who used the "level up then down" trick 
in FFT to get god-like stats. Be forewarned of what you're looking at. 
Like I've said, I recommend that you complete the game normally first 
before attempting this procedure.


FANAL FANTASY VIII
==================
Final Fantasy VIII is the latest instalment to the legendary RPG series 
that dominated the RPG market and fashion trends. Unlike your everyday 
RPG series, every single member of the FF series has a unique 
battle/skill system, and unique characters. FFVIII is no different, 
upgrading the innovative but ain't-as-good-as-it-sounds Materia system 
in FFVII with the classic Esper system in FFVI and the interesting but 
out of date job system in FFV/FFT to form the new GF and Junction system 
that promises fully customizable characters.

Although the menu/item/skill/spell names needs a lot more work (it 
reminds me of the item names in BOF1!!) the translation as a whole is 
extremely well done. Exceptionally humorous too!

Square has obviously been outdone themselves in the sound and graphics 
department, I'm not exceptionally impressed with the story, as it still 
can't beat Parasite Eve and Xenogears. It's still much better than the 
classic fantasies though. The new Draw/GF/Junction system makes the game 
a lot more fun and you'll always be on your toes to looks for more and 
newer spells and GFs. Enjoy!


FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
==========================
Alright, new section. The purpose of this section is to answer your 
common FFVIII questions, and I'm sick of getting lots of letters 
everyday by people who keeps askin' the same stuff. So if you want to 
find a hard to get item, rare ingredients or just some other common 
stuff, look no further. Mind you, most of these has nothing to do with 
powering up.

Q1: Where can I get Dragon Fangs?
A1: The MOST asked question. Dragon Fangs are dropped or can be stolen 
from Blue Dragons, they appear in the Island Closest to Hell. 

Q2: Where can I get Adamantines?
A2: Defeat Adamantoise on the shores of Long Island to the west to 
Dollet, or any shores in the Dollet region. They must be at a high 
level.

Q3: Where can I get Pulse Ammo?
A3: Refine Energy Crystals with Ifrit's Ammo-RF Menu Ability. Energy 
Crystals can be obtained by defeating Elnoyles or Ruby Dragons (rare.) 
You can also refine Laser Cannons or Power Generators, but they're 
equally as rare. 

Q4: Where's the Island Closest to Hell/Heaven?
A4: It's surprising how many people don't know where these are. Hell is 
the western most island on the map while Heaven is the eastern most. 
Follow Long Island west of Dollet and the island on the end should be 
the Island Closest to Hell. Heaven can be found by taking the Ragnarock 
north-east from Esthar. When in doubt, land on the island and check your 
menu.

Q5: How do I abolish the Random rule in Dollet?
A5: Play in another region (like Timber) and head to Dollet, make sure 
they use different rules. Save at the hotel and challenge the guy 
standing on the right. When he asks you if you wanna combine rules say 
yes. Now when the screen with the list of rule shows up, you can either 
choose to play the game or decline, either way you're qualified for rule 
adjustments afterwards.

After the game, there's a chance that an unknown rule is introduced to 
Dollet or one of Dollet's original rules gets abolished. If an 
undesirable event happen, reset and repeat the procedure until Random is 
abolished.

Q6: Where can I find a Power Generator/learn Quistis' Ray Bomb?
A6: If you set up all the traps in Laguna's second scenario, you can 
find one in Lunatic Pandora in disc 3. Otherwise mug LV30 or above Blitz 
enemies in the forest outside Edea's house and make sure you don NOT 
equip Rare Item. It takes a very long time because it's very rare.

Q7: Where can I find a Dark Matter/learn Quistis' Shockwave Pulsar?
A7: Build Siren to LV100 and earn Tool-RF. Now accumulate 100 Cursed 
Spikes (stolen from Tri-Face) and refine them into one Dark Matter with 
Tool-RF.

Q8: Where can I get Aura magic?
Q8: Refine them from Leviathan's Supt Mag-RF with a Fury Fragment, they 
can be stolen from Blue Dragons or dropped by Ruby Dragons on rare 
occasions. Also Aura can be drawn from Seifer at the end of disc 3... 
and finally, purchase Power Wrists can refine them into Aura Stones with 
Siren's Tool-RF.

Q9: Where can I encounter Elnoyles? (For Energy Crystals.)
A9: They're found outside Esthar but are very rare. There's a sure way 
to find them however. After the space event and getting Ragnarock, enter 
Esthar and you'll find a lone soldier in one of the highway streets. 
Talk to him and if he says something like "hehehehe" you'll know it's 
the right one. He's actually an Elnoyle in disguise and attacks. If you 
defeat him, exit the screen and come back, he'll be there again so you 
can keep on challenging unlimited Elnoyles. This is a good way of 
collecting Energy Crystals/Moon Stones. 

Q10: If you don't level up, how are you going to get abilities for your 
GFs? 
A10: Geez where did that come from? This should have been obvious if you 
read the sections below but you need to distinguish the difference 
between EXP and AP. EXP raises your GF's level while AP lets them learn 
new abilities. You can gain AP but not EXP by carding most enemies you 
come across.

Q11: How can I get Malboro Tenticles easily?
A11: You need as many ST-Defx2s and (preferably) ST-Defx4 as possible, 
then junction 100 Confuse, Berserk, (if you have x4) Sleep and Break. 
Bad Breath should be pretty mild. Then give someone Siren's Treatment 
command and go from there. 

An easier way is to equip Initiative on Quistis and get her to critical. 
Execute Degenerator the first thing.

If you're staying with the theme of powering up, it's a lot harder to do 
as you'll need to level it up (if its level is too low, it'll drop crap 
like Poison Powders) and card it. See below for how I did this.

Early in the game, you can try collecting Malboro cards.

Q12: I got Squall's Lion Heart gunblade but he won't execute his Lion 
Heart finisher. How can I get him to use it more often?
A12: Technically, there are no sure of way letting him execute Lion 
Heart more often since everything in the game is determined by random 
chances. However, lowering Squall's HP will likely to increase the 
success rate of executing a more powerful finisher (works for other 
members too.) Oops, it turned out that you cannot learn Lion Heart 
without getting Blasting Zone and Fated Circle at the same time, so that 
theory goes down the trash can. However, try to lower Squall's HP to 
critical and cast Aura on him, that way, he'll almost always use the 
best Limit Break. 

Q13: Wouldn't it be better for you if you didn't have a "female" nick?
A13: I guess so, and I have had some pretty damn embarrassing times with 
this alias, but then again, what other names could I use? My real one? 
Give me a break! I want an alias that's cool, heroic (haha), symbolic 
and at the same time, simple and can be pronouced easily. (Don't you 
hate one of those names that no one can pronouce it right?) "Aya Brea" 
is all of the above plus more. 

Ok, think this: "Aya" is a unisex name right? So if the identity "Aya 
Brea" didn't exist, you'd have a pretty hard time determining the gender 
right? Well there you have it, "Aya" is just another one of those 
"Lindsay" or "Sam" type names.

As for "Brea", it's just another surname. (Do you know how many 
"Anderson"s there are?) So there, a whole new identity called Aya Brea! 
Happy?

Q14: I have read your guide and I think you've written a pointless 
guide. Carding enemies for half of the game just to get powerful to 
fight against the weapons? I know of many people including myself who 
have beaten Omega while playing the game normally. I just wanna ask why 
the hell did you bother to write this guide?
A14: Well, I must admit, this guide is not for everyone, and I've listed 
the aim and possible consequences in the intro below. Everyone is 
different so everyone of us is a different gamer, but you can sorta 
divide them into 2 categories: The one who plays the game because it's 
"cool" for the sake of having completed the game, and those 
perfectionists who wants to wants to squeeze every tiny drops of 
pleasure this game has to offer. Of course, my guide is targeted for the 
latter, and I know that there are very many perfectionist gamers around. 

I have also received feedback from readers who claims that playing the 
game this way is much more fun that playing it normally, and I've also 
had much encouragement (thank you all) so I know that this guide is 
heading towards a good direction.

Q15: Why is my timer red?
A15: It means you've spent too much time on the game. Once you max out 
the timer (99:59:59), it'll reset and turn red, so the real time is "red 
time" plus 100 hours.

Q16: Will you detail *enter mini-quest name here* quest in your guide?
A16: Like I said, if it's relevant to powering up then yes, if it's not, 
look up Scott Ong's or Cephiroth's walkthrough. I have hand picked the 
coverage on the mini-quests so the ones that are left out will probably 
never see the light more than 1 sentence devoted to them in my guide.

Q17: Where can I find a Ribbon?
A17: Either through a PocketStation or GameShark. It can only be gotten 
by playing the Chocobo World PocketStation game but it's not available 
for sale outside of Japan. The same goes to Mog's Armlet and Friendship 
Item. 

Q18: Are you going to write anymore guides in the future?
A18: Yes, I'm sure that I will. SaGa Fronteir 2 will be my next target 
since I'm such a big fan of the SaGa series and it's nice to be able to 
find an underdog RPG at this day of age. 

Q19: I have over 20 Chef's Knives in my inventory and I still can't get 
GF Tonberry...
A19: Well I dunno, I've never had this problem but for some reason, a 
lot of people keep sending me this problem. From what I know, sometimes 
having 20 Chef's Knives is not enough, just keep fighting Tonberries 
until it shows up. 

Q20: Why can't I get into the Deep Sea Research Centre? Is this a bug?
A20: Aha! Thank you Colin Pentney for the solution to this problem. All 
you gotta do is to climb aboard the deck of Ragnarock and talk to 
everybody. Stupid isn't it? Especially since none of them has anything 
special to say. :(

Oh yeah, Qualera has gotten back two replies from Squaresoft when he e-
mailed them and guess what they said? Something along the lines of this 
being a game-related problem and told him to dial a 1-900 number. How 
nice... But then again, it's likely nobody that works there has even 
played one of these games since a management or accounting degree is 
what you need to get a job like that, not years of gaming experience so 
we won't blame them. 

Q21: Any others??


OBJECTIVE
=========
This is against everything you've been taught in RPG college or years of 
your personal experience but.. In FFVIII, you want to fight as LITTLE as 
possible, which translates into NOT gaining levels. Before you send me 
hate mails please listen to my explanation.

You might (or might not) have noticed that the enemies in FFVIII takes 
the SaGa turn so that they level up as you do. You'll almost never run 
into exceptionally weak enemies. As enemies level up, they gain new 
attacks, new spells (and increase their Draw list too) and gains higher 
stats. However, the enemies gains stats a LOT faster than you do (ie, a 
level or two doesn't make too much difference in terms of power) so 
you'll find yourself weaker and weaker and the enemies stronger and 
stronger as you progress through the game. And by the time you get to 
the bonus bosses like Ultima and Omega Weapons, your stats might be way 
too low to even think of challenging them, or they'll mop the floor with 
you! 

You may object and say that there are always Junctions to rely on. Yes 
you're right, Junctions are very important in this game BUT Junctions 
can only do so much. For example, Ultima is the best spell to junction 
to most of your stats. Even with 100 Ultimas, you'll only be able to 
raise your Strength by 100 points while the maximum is 255. There are 
Character Abilities though, like Str +60% that can bring your Strength 
up to 255 without too much problem, but you can only equip up to 4 
Character Abilities max (and it's extremely rare too.) You'll have a few 
problems with this. One is that Str +60% is extremely rare, so you'll 
have to stick to Str +40% most of the time (which may or may not bring 
your Str up to 255) but the other problem is more serious. There are 
about 6 very important stats that you need (HP, Str, Vit, Mag, Spr and 
Spd) but you can only equip 3 or 4 stat boosts, and since your other 
stats are so low, you'll have a hard time getting high values in every 
category. Not to mention the times when you need to equip another more 
important Character/Party Ability like Mug, Move-Find or Rare Item. 

I hope everyone understands this idea. 

Sure, how do you get high stats without fighting enemies? Well, I don't 
know if you had noticed but you can teach certain GFs "Bonus" abilities. 
These include HP, Str, Vit, Mag and Spr. How does these skills work? 
When you equip one of these and you gain a level, the respective stat 
will be boosted by 1 point, on top of any regular stats boosts you might 
get at level up (except for HP Bonus, which gives you an extra 30HP.) 
Like I've said, a couple of levels don't differ too much since the game 
is way to stingy at regular stats boosts at level up. You'll gain about 
60 or so HP and 1 point of Str/Vit/Mag etc.. once every 2-5 levels! 
(Some other stats are even rarer, such as Speed or Luck.) What 
difference does one point make? Not much, but if you start equipping the 
Bonus abilities at LV20 and power yourself up to LV100, that's gonna 
make an 80 point difference! Wow! That's almost another 100 Ultimas! 

However, you'll only have access to these abilities quite a bit into the 
game, and have to get to Disc 3 to utilize these abilities to the max. 
So you'll want to keep your levels as low as possible, then power up to 
maximum level for maximum stats bonus! 


WHY BOTHER?
===========
Well, to tell you the truth, this is not something I'd recommend that 
you'd do everyday since it can get quite tedious, especially if this is 
your first game. However, getting all the boosts in your stats makes the 
optional bosses a whole lot easier. Getting high stats might be a joy in 
it itself, to laugh at the boss' spells as if they're insect bites or 
killing them in 2 rounds. 


WHERE DO I START?
=================
There are a few ways of getting rid of encounters or not gaining 
experience. Every point of EXP counts, remember that!

1) Running away
Possibly the easiest option, running away is easy to do and you won't 
get any experience. However, if you plan to run away, make sure that you 
DON'T do any sort of damage to the enemies, since the run system in 
FFVIII has been improved so that you'll gain partial experience if 
you've done some damage to the enemies. 

Earlier in the game in your test missions (Fire Cavern and Dollet), 
running away is hazardous since it will cause a deduction in your points 
every time you run away, meaning you'll likely to get a low SeeD rank. 
However, this is a loose-loose situation where you have to choose either 
stats or SeeD rank (which translates into money.) I'd choose stats and 
run away since money isn't all that important, as you don't have to buy 
very many stuff. To make up for it, you can do a few things that gives 
you more points.
  - Choose the 10 minute interval in Fire Cavern. The Fire cavern is 
pretty straight forward and you only need about 2-3 minutes to fight 
Ifrit. I did it with just less than 6 minutes left on the clock! (This 
is why I recommend that you play through the game normally first.)
  - Do NOT talk to anyone except your own team. Otherwise you'll get 
points deducted.
  - KILL the X-ATM092 boss (the giant robotic spider.) Remember, you 
cannot kill it the first time around. (Its HP will be refilled when you 
deplete it to zero.) So weaken it first, run, then fight it again. Refer 
to the walkthrough if you want more information. Defeating it will 
result in 100 bonus points (I think.)

NEW!! Actually, I've found a way better Dollet strategy not only lets 
you gain ZERO EXP, but also allow you to power up your GF and gain tons 
of AP. Anyway, kill off Squall and Zell (so they won't gain any EXP) and 
fight all the battles with Seifer. Your GFs will level up faster than he 
does and you'll gain lotsa AP!! Fight here as much as you wish. What's 
even better is that fighting heaps of enemies here will actually boost 
your points in the "Attack" category. (I gained no points in the game 
where I ran away from everything but I gained the full 100 when I fought 
them with Seifer.)

These steps are described in detail in the walkthrough.

The disadvantage of running away is that you won't be able to gain any 
AP that are vital to the GFs. And you won't be able to get any items 
dropped by the enemies either.

2) Card the enemies
You can learn the unique Card command from your first GF, Quezacotl. 
This is an extremely useful command to use when you have to fight. The 
advantage of this is that you WILL get the AP AND can pick up dropped 
items from enemies, and you will NOT gain any EXP! What's even better is 
that you'll get an extra card which can be changed into items via 
Quezacotl's Card Mod ability. The disadvantage is, of course, it's 
sometimes more fuss than it's worth. 

Because of this, choose to learn the Card command first, it's worth 40AP 
and isn't very hard to learn. (Simply defeating Ifrit will give you 
20AP!) Anyway, you don't really need the Boost skill at that point in 
the game so choose Card first, then Boost. 

It's not hard carding an enemy though, but like Pokmon, you have to 
weaken them first. You should Scan the enemy first to see its current 
HP, then predict how many attacks by certain members is enough to weaken 
it. It's ideal if an enemy is down to a quarter or less of its total HP, 
but you can start successfully carding them at about half health. (I 
carded a full-health Adamantoise once though...) The lower the enemy's 
HP, the more likely you're to succeed. Do NOT forget to equip the Card 
command like I do occasionally though, as you'll leave yourself in a 
sticky situation. Note it IS possible to card an enemy when its HP is 
about or below a half. If the game gives you a "miss" message and you 
know it's weakened enough, use the command again, you'll usually get it 
the next turn. (The game likes to trick you at times, to think you have 
to weaken it some more while you end up killing it.)

To weaken them you can try a few different ways. I like to use normal 
attacks. Squall's attack is the best since as it has the "trigger" 
feature, and you can do a weak or a strong attack as you desire. His 
attack is also very reliable since it will NEVER do a critical hit (as 
you can use the trigger to do 150% of damage with every attack anyway, 
so he doesn't need one.) so you won't end up killing it with a critical. 
Gunblades also never miss (even under "Blind" status) which is a 
definite plus. 

Also, other member's regular attacks works too. You generally should not 
junction spells to your Elemental-Attack since the creature may be weak 
against it and you'll do too much damage. I always keep one member's 
Strength junction-free to do really weak attacks if I need it (like 
against Geezards.)

Spells ain't a bad idea either. GFs are the same. Try to keep a 
collection of different spells in stock. Weaker GFs like Siren are also 
quite good at this if you need a weak attack. Also, you may or may not 
want to use Boost, depending on the situation.

The BEST method I've seen is to use Quistis' Limit Break Micro Missile. 
The beauty of Micro Missile is that it's a gravity elemental attack so 
it can NEVER kill an enemy. Also, unlike other attacks, gravity attacks 
removes a portion of a target's current HP. The effect of Micro Missile 
varies though, but it's for the better. It depends on how serious 
Quistis or your party's condition is (ie, party member down, suffering 
from negative status, low HP) and it can remove from 50% to 93.75% of 
its current HP, which makes it absolutely perfect for carding enemies. 
Just keep Quistis in critical (ie, HP is in yellow and she's kneeling 
down) and use Micro Missile on the enemies in the beginning of the 
battle while another character use the Card command. Keep some Phoenix 
Downs/Life spells in stock just in case she dies. 

Note: Micro Missile will only work on enemies with 9999HP or less. The 
maximum damage it can do is 9999, so against enemies with higher HP, 
Quistis has to use it multiple times before the enemy's HP is low 
enough. A handful of enemies are resistant towards Gravity attacks, 
mainly bosses.

Keep in mind. Some enemies cannot be carded. These includes bosses and 
human troops. 

3) Diablos
Sometimes not encountering any enemies is the best option, since the 
random encounter can be annoying at times. Diablos offers 2 crucial 
abilities and they are Enc-Half and Enc-None. You must learn the former 
before the latter becomes available. Enc-Half costs only 30AP (easy 
peasy) but Enc-None costs a whopping 100AP! (And it's nothing compared 
to the 200AP needed for Mug!) Because of this, it's best to challenge 
Diablos as soon as possible (ie, right after receiving the Magic Lamp 
from Cid.) He's well worth the effort you put into fighting him and gets 
some of the most useful abilities in the game! And believe me, he's 
powerless if you know how to fight him! 

You'll be able to get Enc-Half easily but Enc-None takes longer. Use the 
Card trick above or save the boss' AP for them. Then equip Enc-None and 
you'll never have to be bothered with random encounters again! (Although 
since you don't fight, you'll earn no AP for all your GFs, and you'll 
miss out certain useful abilities such as Mug. So de-equip the skill 
occasionally and Card some enemies.)

4) Tonberry
Ok, you will gain some EXP with this method but it's VERY little! You 
can use Tonberry's LV Down command to weaken enemies and defeat them 
that way. Each LV Down halves their level, keep doing it until their 
levels drops to 1, then kill them. You'll gain 1-3 EXP for your team. 
This is great for the encounters that you cannot run away from and 
cannot be carded. (Such as enemy soldiers in Laguna's scenario.)

Opposed to common believes, Tonberry can be acquired as early as when 
you have control of the mobile Balamb Garden in Disc 2!!! You can get 
Tonberry right after acquiring Odin. The Tonberry is so cute!

IMPORTANT! Ok ok, so I was WRONG about the theory on acquiring GF 
Tonberry, excuse me for any troubles it might have caused. However, that 
theory is not completely untrue, since NOBODY knows the EXACT 
requirements for getting Tonberry. The best guess would be the 20 Chef's 
Knives ARE needed, but you'll have to obtain them or mug them from the 
Tonberries themselves, not through cards.

5) Other vehicles
Another way of travelling without encountering anything is to travel in 
vehicles (for some reason, all of them are painfully slow!) You can get 
access to cars fairly early in the game, but they cost a bit of money 
and you have to refuel them at regular intervals. You can catch trains 
too, to travel to another city quickly but you don't seem to be able to 
catch any trains in the first half of the game except for story 
purposes. Balamb Garden is also quite a convenient vehicle since it can 
cross the ocean. And last (and the least!) are Chocobos. You'll only 
gain access to riding the chocs after Balamb Garden takes off, so you 
won't have that much use for it. (The way you catch a chocobo is also 
really boring.)

You won't encounter any enemies while travelling in vehicles, but 
they're only available on the world map. 

6) Terminate your own team members
I don't think the EXP in this game is shared between the characters so 
you may want to kill/petrify 2 other members to keep them weak and fight 
the battle with only one member. I don't think it's that risky if you 
play your cards right. Remove the GF from the other members if you want. 

7) The soul of stone
Thanks to jay sar <vodka_81@yahoo.com> for this trick
So, "jay sar" told me that if you junction Break in your ST-Atk and 
petrify an enemy unit with it, you'd get no EXP. Although it doesn't 
work as good as it sounds, because when you petrify an enemy, the game 
thinks that you've ran away from it and gives you the partial experience 
since your attacks will do some damage to them before petrifying them. 
Also, it's kinda risky since you may kill the enemy unit if you didn't 
petrify them. However, the problem is solved if you cast Break straight 
out of the bottle since it deals no damage. The problem with this method 
is that it won't give you any AP either!

You can get Breaks easily by refining Cockatrice Pinions and Softs with 
Diablos' ST Mag-RF.

Other notes and tips
  - Well, I guess you all know that the character who strikes the 
killing blow will get more EXP than the others. This is true however, 
nobody seems to get any extra EXP if the enemy is killed by a summoned 
GF! So use this to your advantage when you're fighting enemies when you 
don't have any other options. It doesn't stop you from gaining EXP but 
at least you won't gain any extras.

  - Appropriately enough, if you used a GF to do the killing blow, that 
GF will gain the extra EXP bonus after the bettle.

  - You should know by now that the bosses in FFVIII won't give you any 
EXP, which is a pleasant sign, and they (usually) give you a ton of AP 
that your GFs sorely needs! Try selecting an expensive ability before 
fighting the boss so you won't waste some of its AP. 

  - Not fighting enemies will lower your SeeD rank and likewise, 
fighting lotsa enemies will raise your SeeD rank. It's likely that your 
SeeD ranks will be lowered in the course of the game if you follow my 
guide. However, it's again not like if it cannot be remedied:
* Take sometime out of the game to card some enemies. This will help you 
avoid lowered ranks and can beef up your GFs who needs APs. I actually 
GAINED a SeeD level when I went on a carding rampage.
* Taking the test! Always take as many tests as you can, to give your 
salaries a head start! 
* If you choose the shortest time in a timed quest, it's likely that 
your SeeD rank will be raised, if you succeed of course! Such as the 
Missile Base escape time. 
* Doing certain things right will also raise your SeeD rank. I do not 
have a list of those events though, but I know Rinoa's train quest is 
one of them. Make no mistakes and your rank will be raised!
* One guy on the second floor of Balamb Garden will ask you to show him 
how to cast spells. DON'T DO IT!!! Casting spells in the hallways are 
forbidden and your rank will be instantly lowered! (I learnt it the hard 
way. :-( )

  - GFs WILL gain AP and EXP when junctioned to a dead member, even 
though it makes no sense. 

  - Spread out your GFs among your characters as equally as possible. 
The most important Junction ability early in the game is Mag-J, since 
you need it to draw decent spells from bosses. (Quezacotl, Siren and 
Diablos will provide you with those.)


Critical Guardian Forces
========================
Now, you will need to keep this up until the point after the space 
mission and acquired Ragnarock. Now you need to get your hands on 2 
vital GFs, Cactuar (Sabotender) and Bahamut.

Cactuar
On Cactuar's Island of course, with a tiny green thing that pops out of 
the sand occasionally. Land Ragnarok there and challenge it.

The best thing about the Cactuar is that it comes with all 5 of the 
bonus abilities LEARNED!! Which saves you time having to learning it 
from other GFs (they costs 100AP each and all of them requires 2 
prerequisite skills.) 

You may start training your characters now, but you need more slots to 
equip all the bonus skills, and since you're going to acquire Bahamut 
sooner or later (you are, ain't you?) why not do it now?

Bahamut
Head to Deep Sea Research Centre aka Battleship Island, which is not on 
the map but you can get there by heading Ragnarock towards the south-
wester corner of the map. Look around and you should find some structure 
that looks kinda like an oil refinery. Land the ship on it (kinda 
tricky, look for the shadow.) Head towards the doorway and you'll be in 
a large room with a glowing cylinder. Choose to stay and move ONLY when 
the lights goes out, or you'll be attacked by some enemies. 

Anyway, when you read the tube, you'll be asked a series of questions, 
so answer them correctly. ("Easy as 1-2-3" - Bad joke by Qualera.) 
You'll fight against Bahamut after 2 Ruby Dragons!! (For more strategy, 
look in the walkthrough.) Defeat it (not that hard, but you should spend 
sometime drawing Full-Life from it) and you'll be able to get the king 
of all dragons as your very own pet! It comes with the as-good-as-it-
gets Abilityx4 skill, which allows your character to equip up to 4 
Character/Party Abilities! 

We're ready for action!


PREPARATION
===========
You've got a choice to make now. You've got 5 different bonus abilities 
for 5 important stats but you can only equip 4 of them at once. Anyhow, 
here's 2 of the best ways I've found.

All round character
This is intended for a balanced character who's good in every category. 
Equip:
       * Str Bonus
       * Vit Bonus
       * Mag Bonus
       * Spr Bonus 
And ditch HP, since HP is an easy one to Junction it to max. I prefer 
this method over the other one though.

Customized character
This works with a character's natural abilities (ie, Limit Breaks) to 
determine a character's fighting style, either a fighter or a magic 
user. 
       * Str Bonus  [OR]  Mag Bonus
       * Vit Bonus
       * Spr Bonus
       * HP Bonus

Irvine, Squall and Zell are definite fighters so they should equip Str 
Bonus. Ditch magic since they don't really need it for their Limit 
Breaks. Selphie however, is the exact opposite, she uses magical Limit 
Breaks so substitute Str Bonus for Mag Bonus. Rinoa is an odd one since 
she has both physical (Angelo) and magical (Angel Wing) Limits and if 
you're going to use Rinoa at all, train her with the "All round" method. 
Quistis, too, is strange since her Blue Magic works in various ways so 
it's better to build her as an all round character.

Anyhow, lets say you start the training at LV20. You'll be able to gain 
2400HP and 80 points of the other stats. However, 2400HP is way more 
than you need. From my experience, a LV100 character without HP Bonus 
has around 4000HP, while the best spell for junctioning to HP is Full-
Life (Ultima is better, but it's a waste to junction it to HP since 
Full-Life does the job nicely.) which gives 4800 boost, which makes 
about 8800HP, so you can just gain about 40 levels with HP Bonus on and 
swap it for the other attribute that you didn't equip. 

As a matter of fact, most characters can get maximum HP without HP Bonus 
just by junctioning 100 Ultimas to HP alone. (So they can save a slot to 
equip another ability.)

Whatever you do, don't EVER ignore Vitality and Spirit!!! They're 
probably the most important attributes to the character (Spirit more so 
than Vitality, especially later in the game.) Remember, there are no 
armors in this game so these stats are the only defence your characters 
have. (And Evade too, which works amazingly well.)

Some notes
There are times where you just HAVE to go up a level no matter what 
(such as Laguna's second scenario.) it doesn't really matter too much 
but you can gain some partial stats boosts from these. Remember, Cactuar 
is not the only GF that offers these bonus abilities, earlier GFs have 
them too but they're usually way too expensive or inconvenient to 
acquire. However, when you do learn one of the abilities, equip the GF 
to the character who's just about to go up a level and they can gain one 
bonus point for the respective category. It's not the best but it's 
better than nothing. Here's what the other GFs offer: (All "Bonus" 
abilities costs 100AP.)

HP Bonus - Brothers
    Prerequisites: HP +40% [120AP], HP +80% [240AP] (!!)
Strength Bonus - Ifrit
    Prerequisites: Str +20% [60AP], Str +40% [120AP]
Vitality Bonus - Carbuncle
    Prerequisites: Vit +20% [60AP], Vit +40% [120AP]
Magic Bonus - Siren
    Prerequisites: Mag +20% [60AP], Mag +40% [120AP]
Spirit Bonus - Leviathan
    Prerequisites: Spr +20% [60AP], Spr +40% [120AP]

The other inconvenience is that you can only equip up to 3 Character 
Abilities without Bahamut so you need to power up in Disc 3 to get 
maximum effects. 

!!!IMPORTANT NOTE!!! ==============================================
|It *IS* damn right possible to get through the first 2 and half  |   
|discs WITHOUT going up a SINGLE level, I have done it!!! Anyway, | 
|it's not as hard as you think so you really don't need these     | 
|abilities. HOWEVER, I was able to find a Rosetta Stone (learns   | 
|Abilityx4) in Esthar so you'd want those abilities since you can | 
|actually train TWO characters at once!!! Details below.          |
===================================================================

Bonus Rosetta Stone
You can get a FREE Rosetta Stone from Esthar. You know how sometimes 
you'll get a free gift when you visit one of the online shops in Esthar 
(like how Johnny's Shop sometimes gives you Mega-G-Potions.) Well, 
repeatedly visit Cheryl's Shop (the one that's always closed) and you'll 
eventually get a free Rosetta Stone! It took me about 20-30 tries, but 
it's just random. Keep visiting and you'll eventually get it. According 
to Adrian Dutkiewicz, you can only get one Rosetta Stone here.


TRAINING
========
Hopefully, by the time you get Bahamut and Cactuar, your levels are 
still relatively low. Here're my character's levels in my first game:
         Squall   LV19            Zell   LV11
         Quistis  LV11            Irvine LV15
         Selphie  LV13            Rinoa  LV16
It is indeed possible to get through the game without gaining a level, 
so character's level will remain as they were at the start:
         Squall   LV7             Zell   LV8
         Quistis  LV8             Irvine LV13
         Selphie  LV8             Rinoa  LV11

Anyway, make up your mind on who you want to train first, I personally 
recommend either Quistis or Squall. (I prefer Quistis.) Remove all the 
GFs from your team members and junction it to the character you wish to 
train first, then go to an easy battle and kill off the remaining party 
members (they should be a piece of cake, since they have next to no HP 
and Vitality.) Now, you need to junction yourself properly. Make sure 
you've stocked up on good spells, and if you don't have enough, just 
"borrow" your team member's for a while. 

You can train your characters at a number of places. Happy Matt 
recommends the area outside Edea's house. You can only train one 
character at a time, so remove the GFs from the characters you don't 
want to train yet, and killed them off (so they won't gain any EXP.) 
Junction Death to your ST-Atk and equip the LV Up command. Get into a 
battle and use LV Up to raise the enemy's level to 100, then kill them 
off. You should get lotsa EXP and can gain a level per fight. However, 
the EXP gained this way is way too little for my taste. I like to play 
risky so my choice of training ground is... the Island Closest to Hell! 
(ooohh..)

Junctioning your character is very important here, one wrong spell in 
the wrong place could mean instant death. 

Status Junction                   Elemental Junction
A: Sleep (or Death)               A: Blizzarga
D: Confuse                        D: Flare
D: Berserk                        D: Firega
D: Death                          D: Shell
D: Break                          D: Protect

Status is crucial but elemental ain't as important. You can get ST-Def 
x4 from Cerberus (if you need AP, fight the Cactuars in the desert. They 
give you 20AP each and 1 digit EXP!) or Doomtrain. It's a must that you 
have ST-Def x4 as you'll come across Malboros and Blue Dragons. 
Malboro's Bad Breath can give you really nasty status like Confuse, 
Poison, Berserk, Petrifying, Blind, Silence etc. Junctioning the above 
spells will make Bad Breath mildly harmful, the only negative status 
that's a pain is Sleep. Just wait 'til it hits you with its acid attack 
and use Siren's Treatment command if you need it. The Blue Dragon 
however, likes to cast Death and Break occasionally, killing anyone 
without protection in one hit. Sleep won't work against all the enemies 
though, just the T-Rexaurs, Grendels and Ruby Dragons, but you may wanna 
try Death in ST-Atk to kill Grendels, Blue Dragons and T-Rexaurs in one 
hit.

Elemental isn't that important, but since a number of enemies like Ruby 
Dragons, T-Rexaurs and Malboros are weak against ice, Blizzaga is good 
for doing extra damage. (No enemies are strong against it though, which 
makes it perfect.) You should be protected against Fire but all the 
other ones ain't all that important. 

None thing of note: Ruby Dragon's Breath is NOT Fire elemental! I know 
it because it used Firega on Selphie prior to that and she absorbed it, 
then it unleashed Breath and killed my whole team! Be careful of the 
Ruby Dragons ok? (Breath does 3000-5000 to the whole team!) It is also a 
"physical" attack, meaning it is your Vit that resists it, not Spr.

As for stats junction, just use best fit. Squall should favour Attack 
while it doesn't really matter for Quistis, although a high Speed helps 
a lot. Make sure you've got good Vitality and Spirits! Junction Tornado 
to your Evade, I don't know why but it's really effective! (It seems to 
have a higher Evade chance than just 20%.)

As for command, I'd choose Attack, Magic, Draw and Treatment. Oh yeah, 
save after every fight! These enemies are really tough and you're 
cheating death fighting right in front of them!

Squall
Just use attack on all the enemies, when your HP gets low, finish them 
with Renzokuken! Make full use of his trigger, and with a high speed, 
you should be able to attack 3 times before they even get a go. If you 
need healing FAST, use Curaga, but if it's not really urgent, don't 
worry too much about it because you can finish the enemies easily with 
Renzokuken. Or you might want to cast Regen. 

If you're against enemies that have very high HP (Ruby Dragons in 
particular) you may want to cast some Demi first, since it'll do 9999 
damage for the first few castings! Don't use it against the T-Rexaur 
though, as they're really weak against cold and Sleep, so you'll be able 
to finished them easily with just regular attacks, for a lot of EXP! 

If you feel that the enemy's Vitality is too high, you may want to cast 
Meltdown (Merton in the Japanese version, which is a MUCH better name) 
or summon Doomtrain. 

Quistis
This is easier done than said. Keep her in critical status (you can do 
it easily by exchanging Junctions between another character, then change 
back. Make sure she has acquired Degenerator. Now when you get into 
battle, immediately use her Blue Magic Degenerator to knock out the 
enemy in one hit!! If the triangle doesn't come out, use the famous "tap 
tap" easy Limits trick. 

You should be able to gain 1-3 levels per fight. I hate those Grendels 
since they have very high defence and don't give up enough EXP for my 
troubles. The other advantage fighting here is that the enemies 
occasionally drops really nifty stuff, such as Energy Crystals that can 
be refined into Ultimas or Irvine's Pulse Bullets and used to upgrade 
Rinoa and Quistis' best weapons. (I had soooo many of them in my last 
game, about 50+!!) If you haven't done so already, you can gather the 6 
Malboro Tentacles required to summon Doomtrain here really easily, 
defeating them will net you 8 of them. 

Other characters
Once Squall/Quistis gets to level 100, and bring another (live) member 
into the team and junction Bahamut and Cactuar (and some other ones) to 
them and equip the 4 "Bonus" abilities and start the process again. 
You're allowed level 100 characters in the team though, as they won't 
gain any EXP any more and the game isn't as risky any more since the 
level 100 character can revive the weak character if they die. Repeat 
until all 6 characters are level 100.

Two characters at once!
You can bring 2 weak members into the fight if you manage to get your 
hands on a Rosetta Stone, which can be found in Esthar. Use the Rosetta 
Stone on a GF (you may have to use an Amnesia Greens on a GF to make it 
forget an ability) and junction Carbuncle, Siren, Leviathan, Ifrit or 
Brothers on the same character so you can train 2 characters at once. (I 
used my Rosetta Stone on Shiva, if you really want to know, since use's 
full of crap abilities!)

It basically uses the same strategy as above except it's much safer 
since if one character gets KO'd, the other can revive them, lowering 
the chance of you getting a Game Over. Anyway, I'd recommend that you 
train one "training friendly" characters (Quistis/Squall) and another 
not so "training friendly" characters (Selphie/Rinoa.) That way, the 
"training friendly" character can do most/all the work while the not so 
"training friendly" characters (with bad Limit Breaks) can tag along and 
gain levels at the same time. Quistis is exceptionally good at this!

Oh yeah, junction the GFs that your characters don't need to the dead 
member so they can gain EXP faster.


WANT EVEN HIGHER STATS?
=======================
You should have really high stats after the intensive training. (If you 
want to see what I got, they're in the character's section.) If you want 
even higher stats, it's going to be difficult from now on. There are a 
few choices for these too, but none of them are really 
efficient/convenient. 

1) Steal/Find Sources
Those items that raise certain character's stats are back! (Although 
they've been renamed into [something]-Ups.) Some bosses carry them and 
can be won/stolen from them. 

  - Raijin is the best example of this. You can win/steal Str-Ups from 
him during all 3 fights with him in the game. Remember if you steal, you 
cannot win anything, if you wanna to win from him you cannot steal. 
Sometimes the quantity varies depending on it you mugged them or won 
them. 

  - There's also a Str-Up in the prison.

  - You can mug 2 Magic-Ups from the left orbs where you fight NORG. A 
Spr-Up is available for steal for the right orb.

  - According to EDIelectric@aol.com, you can steal 2 Str-Ups from the 
left portion of Mobile Type 8 and 2 Vit-Ups from the right. 

Anybody know any other bosses that drop or carry these wonderful 
Sources? Please e-mail me if you do.

2) Make your own Sources
This is easier said than done. Doomtrain's Forbid Med-RF ability can 
turn some items into stats boosting Sources. Here's all of them:
         1x  Gaea's Ring     => HP-Up
         10x Hyper Wrist     => Str-Up
         1x  Monk's Code     => Str-Up
         5x  Adamantine      => Vit-Up
         1x  Knight's Code   => Vit-Up
         10x Royal Crown     => Mag-Up
         10x Magic Armlet    => Spr-Up
         1x  Hundred Needles => Spd-Up
         2x  Aegis Amulet    => Spd-Up
         5x  Rocket Engine   => Spd-Up
         50x Jet Engine      => Spd-Up
         50x Accelerator     => Spd-Up
         1x  Luck-J Scroll   => Luck-Up

There are many more. As you can see, all of them require really rare 
items. I think you can win a Gaea's Ring from Jumbo Cactuar that can be 
made into an HP-Up. Most of them can be made from Eden's GFAbl Med-RF, 
like this:
         10x  Giant's Ring    => Gaea's Ring
         10x  Power Wrist     => Hyper Wrist
         10x  Orihalcon       => Adamantine
         10x  Force Armlet    => Magic Armlet
         10x  Hypno Crown     => Royal Crown
         10x  Accelerator     => Rocket Engine
         100x Lightweights    => Rocket Engine
         100x Cactuar Thorn   => Hundred Needle

Most of these ingredients can be bought from Esthar Pet Shop although 
it's 15000 Gil a pop, and you'll need 100 of them to make ONE Source!!! 
Very expensive! I've saved up all my money for 80 hours and all I could 
afford was ONE Source!!! You can win some of these items from enemies 
occasionally (I think the Behemoths may drop Power Wrists on rare 
occasions.) Anyhow, thanks to the readers, you can use an easy trick to 
get all the money you want!

EASY GIL TRICK!!! ===================================================
|Thanks to Adrian Dutkiewicz <soundshock834@yahoo.com> and Tam Tran | 
|<xuanha99@hotmail.com> for this awesome trick!                     |
|                                                                   |
|You must have gotten Carbuncle's Recover Med-RF for this to work.  | 
|Tonberry's Haggle, Sell High and Call Shop are exceptionally useful| 
|here too!                                                          |
|                                                                   |
|What you need to do is to purchase 100 Tents. With Recover Med-RF, | 
|you can refine 4 of them into 1 Mega-Potion. Cottages works exactly| 
|the same way except the ratio is 2:1. Get 100 of both for faster   | 
|returns! Now sell all your Mega-Potions for truck loads of profits!|
|                                                                   |
|Now let's do the calculations (assumed that you have both Sell High| 
|and Haggle skills.) 100 Tents costs 75,000 Gil, 100 Cottages are   | 
|costs twice as much. So total cost is 225,000 Gil. They can be     | 
|refined into a total of 75 Mega-Potions, each fetches 7500 Gil each| 
|at a shop which makes 562,500 Gil! Profit = 337,500 Gil! Repeat as | 
|often as desired! Oh yeah, use Tonberry's Call Shop makes this     | 
|trick extremely convenient.                                        |
=====================================================================

With the easy cash trick above, you can make as many Sources as you 
want, however, there are still 2 problems. The first one is that it's 
still quite a slow process since they cost way too much already in the 
first place! You need 1,500,000 Gil to make a single Str-Up, so you need 
to do the trick about 5 times for each Source, and it can get really 
confusing after a while. (I remember how I bought 100 Giant's Rings then 
didn't know what I did but I lost them all!)

The other problem is that you can only refine HP, Str, Mag and Spr-Ups 
from this method. Vit-Ups CAN be made by turning Vit-J Scrolls (bought 
in Timber Pet Shop) into Orihalcons, then into Adamantines and then 
finally into Vit-Ups. The rarer Spd and Luck-Ups requires extremely rare 
NON-store bought items (ie, Accelerators) so they cannot be refined no 
matter how much money you have. (At least none that I know of. Although 
there is a possibility that some of the ingredients needed might able to 
be refined from another Menu Ability with store bought items.)

You can steal a Luck-J Scroll from Odin and find another from doing the 
Lake Obel quest, but I'd rather let one of my GF learn Luck-J. Anyway, I 
can see one item that's (in theory) reasonably easy to earn, that is the 
Adamantines. Get into a fight with the Adamantoises (they come in 2s I 
think) and defeating (not mugging) them will net you 2 of them! (You may 
need high level Adamantoises or I was just very lucky.)

3) Eating enemies
Thanks to Happy Matt for this one. It was quite a long time ago when he 
told me that Eden's Devour command can be used to raise your stats. Ok, 
finally got the list, thanks to Happy Matt and Viki. 
         Ruby Dragon -> Max HP+10 
         T-Rexaur    -> Strength+1
         Adamantoise -> Vitality+1
         Behemoth    -> Magic+1
         Malboro     -> Spirit+1
        *Pupu        -> Speed+1
       **Rinoa       -> HP+10

* Devouring Pupu's rather pointless, as you'll never be able to get its 
card. A pretty bit sacrifice.

** That's during the Adel battle, where she's on the enemy side of the 
battlefield. However, your game will end when Rinoa dies anyway, making 
this another useless Devour. (I can't remember who told me about these 2 
first, sorry.....)

NEW! Thanks to all who sent me a feedback on Devour, now it is possible 
to Devour an enemy easily. Like the Card command, the lower the enemy's 
HP, the higher the success rate. (Thanks to Joe Pirozzo, Eekeric@aol.com 
and about a million other people, actually, more like a multiple of a 
million.) 

However, that's still only half of the story, as the HP of the character 
who's trying Devour the enemy will also come in play. Basically, it 
works like the instant death spells from the older FFs, but instead of 
comparing levels, Devour compares you and the enemy's current HP. So, 
the enemy has more HP than you, you'll be put to a disadvantage, but if 
your HP is higher, it becomes reasonably easy to succeed with Devour. 
(~5 tries if you do it right.) Thanks to Weilun for the explanations.

Eekeric@aol.com sent in this strategy:
Keep casting Demi with all 3 characters until it starts doing less than 
9999 damage, then revert to Diablos summon and let one character try out 
the Devour command. I must admit, Demi is an extremely useful spell here 
since all enemies on the good Devour list has an insane amount of HP. 
Careful with Diablos though, as even though the damage is gravity 
elemental, it can still kill an enemy since it works based on an enemy's 
maximum HP.

One thing I'd like to point out is that the Ruby Dragons are not worth 
the effort to eat, since they have some of the highest HP and defence in 
the game and attacks like Meteor and Breath can drive you nuts. Do the 
infinite credit trick and refine HP-Ups there is MUCH easier!

NOTE! Macaw just told me that he got penalized for Devouring a Malboro. 
It did 1000 damage to Squall and inflicted him with all the status 
ailments. Hmm, I really don't know why this is happening because I 
always successfully gain a point of Spirit when I eat Malboros. Could 
this be a rare even when the Devour back fires?

NOTE2!!! No it's not 'cuz the Malboro is of a low level. That was on the 
Island Closest to Hell, all enemies are level 100!

4) Any others? 


MY STATS
========
No, don't get so excited yet, it's not what you think. Anyway, it was a 
while ago that "Souma" wrote in suggesting that I should put up a 
section on how many battles I fought, ran away, game time and other 
stats. I thought it was a great idea but never got around to do it, so 
here it is, a brand new section.

I've gathered 2 sets of data, the first one is right before starting to 
power up my characters. It's right after the event in disc 3 in 
Sorceress Memorial after getting Rinoa back. Just take note that I have 
a habit of leaving the game on when I need to fix dinner and stuff like 
that, and I also spent a lot of time playing cards.

Time: 55:06                       SeeD rank: 15

---Battle report---
Walked: 2,156,631                 Battles: 392
Won:    313                       Escaped: 79

---Character report---
Character          Enemies killed       KO'd      EXP 'til next level
Squall                   56              18              382
Zell                     20               7              322
Quistis                  46               5              500*
Seifer                   87               0               -
Selphie                 127               1              239
Rinoa                    29               2              600
Irvine                    8               0              621
Edea                     91               0               -
* Quistis didn't gain a single point of EXP!

Now here are my stats after powering up (note I did spend some time on 
Devour.) I ditched Character report for this though.

Time: 73:08

---Battle report---
Walked: 2,439,831                 Battles: 694
Won:    614                       Escaped: 80


OTHER TIPS AND TRICKS
=====================
-> Magic
I think most spells are best Stocked and Junctioned, not cast since all 
spells are limited. Certain spells are really common though, like the 
basic elementary spells and healing ones so you can use these without 
having to hold back. If you're really hungry on spells, try refining 
them from the menu. The best spells like Ultima, Meteor, Triple etc. 
shouldn't be cast at all, since they're much better when junctioned and 
your Limit Breaks are more powerful.

I know many of you likes to cast Double/Triple on yourselves but keep in 
mind that this is only one way of beating bosses, and not a very 
efficient way at that. Most magic are considerably weaker than all 
character's Limit Breaks and are barely stronger than a regular attack 
(if you junction yourselves properly that it.) If you're one of these 
types, I recommend that you try another approach since this strategy 
will not work at all against later bosses, since they have insanely high 
Spirit and even your best damage-dealing spell (Ultima/Meteor) can only 
do so much, not to mention that they're extremely rare and you're 
getting weaker with each casting. 

-> Draw
This is VERY important! You should always have the Draw command 
available on all characters and check every enemy you come across for 
new spells. You should spend some time drawing from the bosses too, 
since they tend to have really good spells. Try to get 100 of them on at 
least one character if you can. Don't be afraid to draw from most bosses 
since they're really not that dangerous (gosh, I was drawing Ultimas 
from Ultima Weapon! 290 of them!) and you can draw Cure spells or Life 
spells from most of them so you won't have much trouble healing your 
characters. Against bosses with status changing attacks, they usually 
have Esuna. I don't know about you guys but I'm the greedy type who 
always tries to get as much as I can carry. The better spells works 
nicely in your junctions and puts you ahead of your enemies. So if 
you're having problems, maybe it's because you're not drawing enough 
spells.

-> More on spells
Since you cannot level up, the enemy's draw collection will not expand, 
which makes drawing from bosses essential to getting good spells early. 
Another really good (and convenient) way of getting spells is to refine 
them from the menu (thank god these never fail, unlike SO2.) You can win 
items from enemies (by carding them) and changing cards into items and 
get even more spell "ingredients". Menu abilities like I Mag-RF or L 
Mag-RF (or in short, all of them) are essential but thankfully, they're 
quite cheap to learn. Try to spend some time trying out some all of 
these, as you can find some real bargain deals! Try to look out for the 
items that can be bought in stores or won easily, or can be changed into 
with cards. Some items like Softs or Tents can be refined into Break and 
Curaga spells, respectively, which are decent junction spells early in 
the game and are quite affordable. Also, learning Quezacotl's Mid Mag-RF 
can turn crap spells like Fire and Cure into fairly decent -ra spells, 
and it's a great way of disposing weak spells to free up slots later in 
the game.

-> Cards
I don't know about you guys but I like the card game a lot and it's also 
rather important aspect of the game since many of them can be refined 
into really great items! Make sure you have a look at what cards can be 
turned into what items. So when you win a card game, you'll know which 
cards to pick. You should pick one that you don't have (if there's a 
rare card, then definitely pick that one!) or a one that can be made 
into a decent item. Cards like Bite Bugs and Funguars are essentially 
useless, as they can only be refined into more crap items that plagues 
your inventory. Also, I do not recommend that you refine a rare card, as 
it'll be lost forever. (You could if you don't care about the cards 
though.) Play cards often to improve your skill, and always look for 
cards that you don't have, especially rare ones.

If you don't like the card game, you can also get a lot of decent cards 
to refine into items by carding the enemies.

-> More on cards
If you're the type who plays the card games in every town, you'd noticed 
that there are some rules that are just a plain pain in the butt!!! 
(Random, Sudden Death etc.) Try not to keep the card rules from 
spreading except for the friendly Open rule. Try abolishing rules that 
you don't like. Actually, I'd rather get rid of every rule there is 
except for Open. Yes, some of the rules can be a lot of fun and 
strategic (ie, Random, Open, Same and Plus is a good combination.) But 
you'd want to win most of the time right? All the extra rules are 
interesting but all of them put you a step away from a sure victory.

Since you'll be winning most of the time, try challenging the Queen of 
Cards often, so to modify the trade rule. Diff and All are both 
excellent for players who are on the winning streak or simply mastered 
the game (like me) so you can gather cards more quickly. Direct is crap 
though, it often makes you LOOSE rare cards so try not let it spread. 
Also, certain cards will be completely impossible to turn over if their 
weak sides are concealed (ie, Seifer's card placed to the top-left slot) 
and therefore, impossible to win it under the Direct rule. If you must 
play a Direct game, don't use rare cards (but it's a decent rule if you 
want to loose a specific card.)

-> Rarer cards
Very occasionally when you card an enemy, you'd get a completely 
different card! This is normal so don't freak out when your Funguar 
turns into a Biggs, Wedge Card. Remember that bosses cannot be carded? 
This is one way of getting your hands on the rarer boss cards. Now if 
you look in the card menu, every boss card should have 2 monster names 
to the bottom right of the screen. This indicates which monsters can 
turn into that particular boss card on rare occasions.

-> Menu Abilities
I think Menu Abilities are some of the best skills a GF can learn, since 
it opens up a huge window of possibility where you can make almost every 
item and magic with them, and most of these abilities can complement 
each other to turn some crap items into useful items/spells. However it 
becomes a pain in the butt when you want to get a _specific_ item/spell 
and don't know where to start. Well, as I've recently discovered, you 
can get a *full* list of the ingredients needed and its products from 
the tutorial menu, but only when you've learnt that specific skill. Neat 
feature huh?

-> GF
Like magic, summoning GFs ain't crucial in the success of this game, 
although they can be useful in certain situations. The GF command is 
useful, however, when you want to protect a character from attacks. Let 
them summon a GF and it can absorb the damage for that character if they 
get hit. In the mean time, have the other character cast Cure on them. 
Remember that even though the GF's HP is put over the character's, 
healing spells will heal the team member rather than the GF. Also, 
always make use of the Boost ability if you can. 

Try not to summon GFs that often later in the game, not even Eden. Most 
bosses have really powerful attacks later in the game and are really 
fast. GF's HP maxes out at 9999 and cannot be healed in battle via any 
convenient way. Most of them can only deal up to 9999 damage, not to 
mention you had to wait a while for them to get there. The GFs are 
however, useful when you just KNOW that your character is going to get 
KO'd (like via Omega's 9999 damage attack) so let your character summon 
the GF and it'll take the pain for you. 

The most useful GF is Doomtrain (IMO) and is worth the effort to summon 
it in almost all battles. Cerberus is nice if you like spells, Cactuar 
is nice since his attack is independent of the target's defence while 
Eden is a big damage maker! Of course, try getting their Compatibility 
with their master to 1000.

-> GF Management
Ah, here's an important task. You should choose an ability for the GF to 
learn rather than letting them do whatever they want to. They'll always 
learn the GF Abilities if you don't choose one for them, which are among 
the least useful of the bunch. If a GF has the Boost ability, then it's 
_usually_ a good idea to have them learn it first since it's cheap and 
it's quite useful. However, you should switch to Junction Abilities 
afterwards, then Character/Party. It really depends on the GF. For 
example, Shiva has a bunch of useless skills, nothing too great so let 
her learn Boost first, then Str or Vit-J, since you should really boost 
your characters' stats with them. (And because her other skills are not 
very useful.) Siren however, has a really good Party Ability - Move-Find 
so you should start with that one. As for Diablos, it's all about 
Character/Party Abilities, and his Menu ones don't suck either. However, 
when you get to Tonberry, you'll want his menu abilities such as 
Familiar and Call Shop first. Use your own judgement. You should get all 
the useful abilities before getting all the GF abilities like GFHP +10%. 
Check up on them regularly to see how they're doing too.

-> Limit Break
(I prefer to call them desperation attacks or specials.) 
You should try these often. They're only usable when your HP are low (or 
with Aura) but keeping them alive isn't really a problem, if junctioned 
spells into your Vit/Spr, you'll take very little damage from attacks so 
you'll be able to stay in critical status longer. If they're in danger 
then heal them, but you don't have to do it immediately when their HP 
becomes critical. During bosses, you should spend all your time Drawing 
spells from it then when your HP gets low, dispatch them with your Limit 
Breaks. (That's why you don't really need attack spells or GF summons 
all that much.)

To use Limit Breaks easily, repeatedly tap the O button to switch 
between characters when your HP is low (or with Aura) and you'll 
eventually get the triangle that signifies a Limit is available. 

-> Quistis' Blue Magic
Anyway, you'll be evading encounters if you follow my guide, so how are 
you supposed to get the items for her to her new Blue Magic? Well, if 
you card an enemy, they can still drop an item. Also, if you're keen 
card player like I am, you can also get those items by using the card 
Mod Menu Ability. Some of them are really easy to get your hands on, 
such as trading Gesper's card for a Black Hole. Some of the better ones 
may require up to 10 cards! Such as 10 Behemoth's into one Barrier or 10 
Ruby Dragon's into one Inferno Fang.

-> Weapon upgrade
One thing I wanna get it straight is that you do NOT need to have read a 
specific magazine that the weapon you wish to upgrade is detailed in. 
Those magazines' purposes are to only indicate what materials are needed 
for what weapon models. If you have all the material a certain weapon 
requires, that weapon model will become available when you enter a Junk 
Shop. For example, if you have 1 Adamantine, 12 Pulse Ammo and 4 Dragon 
Fang, you can instantly opt to upgrade Squall's Revolver into a Lion 
Heart without ever touching the first edition of Weapon Monthly. 
However, if you only have 11 Pulse Ammo in your inventory instead of 12, 
you will not even see the Lion Heart in the menu.

I don't recommend that you upgrade your weapon every time a better one 
becomes available, since most of them differ very slightly in power and 
hit rate. The only character who should modify his weapon regularly is 
Squall since he gets a new move when he changes his weapon. For all 
other characters it's a waste of ingredients. You should however, 
upgrade their weapons when their most powerful model is available. 

-> Reviving
I always use Life instead of Full-Life since Full-Life is a rare spell, 
and also, if you bring back a party member with Life or a Phoenix Down, 
their status instantly becomes critical which means they can use Limit 
Breaks easily. According to Jonathan Ng, Alexander's Revive actually 
brings them to full HP, but since it's free, use that one if you have 
it. (Actually, I prefer the Magic command since it's much more 
versatile.)

-> Speed over defence
For some of the bosses, it's actually better to have a higher Speed than 
Vitality/Spirit (ie, save the slot for Spd +20% instead of Vit +40% or 
something.) The reason behind this is that certain bosses like Ultima 
Weapon can kill you in one hit regardless of your HP/defence anyway, so 
it's pointless having a huge defence with no speed. Most bosses of this 
type has powerful attacks too so if your defence is too low, it can also 
be hazardous. However, if you follow my guide, you should get decent 
defence levels even without Character Ability boosts (like 190+ etc.) 
Also, you may want to use Quistis' Mighty Guard that gives you every 
positive status imaginable. Her White Wind and Selphie's Full Cure are 
also extremely useful, especially to deal with Square's trademark, the 
"down to 1HP attack". When all fails, use a Holy War (Drink).

-> Stock or Cast?
Normally, it's a good idea to Cast a drawn spell so you don't have to 
use up your stock, however, keep in mind that casting a drawn spell 
directly works differently than if you casted it from your stock. There 
seems to be a lot of randomness involved with casting a drawn spell, as 
the damage can spread over a wide range! Casting a drawn Cure for 
example, with a character with Mag of 8 can heal from 30 to 500+ points 
of damage! So if you need stable damage/healing, stick to the magic 
command with stocked spells. 

Two spells have a very strange effect when cast a drawn spell, and they 
are Demi and Full-Life. Demi will sometimes do less (MUCH less) than 1/4 
of the target's current HP, sometimes as low as 10%. Full-Life will not 
always bring the target back to full HP, so it has the effect of the 
scrub version: Life.

-> Some words on ST-Atk
ST-Atk is a great asset given by a chosen few GFs, they let you add a 
deadly status ailment to your attacks. Though not all status are 
effective against certain enemies, choosing the right one can mean 
turning a hideously powerful monster into a harmless machine that you 
can draw spells from. Remember however, a status will NOT be inflicted 
if the weapon was used for a Limit Break attack (Squall's Renzokuken for 
example.) Here's a recommendation of what's they best spells to 
junction:
  - Sleep: My personal favourite! Works on more enemies than any of the 
below and make them helpless for fairly long time, perfect for drawing 
spells! Even better is that you can cast spells on them or summon GFs 
without having to wake them up!
  - Drain: This acts almost like Regen, as every time you attack, you 
get some HP back! You'll be immortal as long as you keep attacking! Oh 
yeah, beware of undeads to, as you'll actually loose HP! This works 
exceptionally well though, as the more damage you can inflict, the more 
you can absorb!
  - Death: Instant death, we all like that don't we? Anyway, it's not as 
good as it is in theory since many of the more powerful enemies are 
immune to Instant Deaths and is useless on bosses. Works well on weaker 
enemies.
  - Break: If this was FFVII, Break'd be 100 times more useful since 
most of the powerful enemies can be turned to stone. However in FFVIII, 
Break is even lousier than Death, works on weaker enemies only!
  - Silence: Not too shabby but many of the enemies don't cast spells 
very often and many of the powerful ones are immune. Works nicely on 
soldiers though. But then again, you can just summon Siren.

All other status are not as helpful. Ones like Stop or Slow may seem 
extremely powerful as but keep in mind that those spells works on almost 
NONE of the enemies! (Stop in particular!) 

-> Arms for the poor
If you don't want to spend 100 Gil to rest at the inn, no sweat, here's 
an easier (and actually more convenient) way of healing yourselves. Put 
Selphie in the team and lower her HP to critical. Get into a fight and 
cast Full Cure from her Slots. It will heal all your HP and status, and 
since MP is absent from this FF, it means you're as good as new! 

-> Spell disposal!!
Thanks to John Calvin <jexer@hotmail.com> for this trick
It's a wonder that so many FFVIII players (including myself) didn't 
discover that there was a way of discarding unwanted spells! Anyway, 
what you do is go to the Magic menu and select Exchange. Highlight the 
spell you wanna dispose of and press the Square button. A message will 
pop up asking if you want to discard the spell. Select Yes and voila! 
Gone! Neat trick huh? (Actually, selecting "Use" does the same. Thanks 
to Weilun <tionghui@singnet.com.sg> for the correction.) 

-> Draw Points get paid
As you've already know, Draw Points will recover after a "while". How 
long is a while? It seems that (certain?) Draw Points recovers every 
time you receive your SeeD salary. I may be wrong though, but sometimes 
when I drew from a Draw Point and gets paid when I walk away, it 
magically recovers! 

Of course, certain Draw Points will not recover at all. If it turns blue 
instead of white then it cannot be recovered. If it's a spell that seems 
to be way too advanced for that period in the game then it's probably 
non-recoverable. 

-> Draw Points: Overworld or underworld?
The Draw Points on the field map are completely different. First off, 
the field map Draw Points are spherical shaped, while the over world 
Draw Points "exists" over a part of the land. (Meaning that they have no 
material form.)

Also, overworld Draw Points are completely invisible, even equipping 
Siren's Move-Find ability won't show their whereabouts. They usually 
occupy coastal areas, edges of mountains and various other "corners" of 
the world, so search those places if you're keen.

Finally, the over world Draw Points are extremely inefficient because 
the most number of spells you can draw from it at one time is 5 charges! 
(I usually get 1!!) Compare that with 15 for field map Draw Points and 9 
per round in combat (unlimited.)

-> Gravity is NOT GF-friendly
Gravity type attacks can never kill you right? Yes, but only if you're a 
human. What do you mean you ask? Well, the problem lies when a character 
is summoning a GF. Apparently, the game uses the summoner's current HP 
and NOT the GF's, so if your character has a very high current HP and 
your GF has relatively low current HP, it can actually kill them! 
However, if your character has low HP while the GF has high HP, the 
damage are comparable to bug bites.

-> Vitality Zero or Spirit Zero?
I guess you all have heard of the Vitality Zero status (shown in battle 
by a purple tint.) Anyway, that's misleading as magic defence (ie, 
Spirit) is also lowered! Try summoning Doomtrain twice in a row, you'll 
notice that the damage dealt by the second summon has been raised 
significantly.

-> A good combo
Try junctioning 100 Drains to your ST-Atk and equip the Darkside 
command. Use it and not only will you deal 3 times the usual damage, 
you'll also gain drain a huge amount of HP. I've forgotten who told me 
about this though, sorry...

The only flaw to this trick is that you'll never recover to your full 
HP. Remember that the penalties for using Darkside (loose 10% HP) takes 
place AFTER the attack, so you'll always end up with only 90% of your 
total HP. 

-> You have been deceived!
Well I'm not sure if you guys ever heard about this thing saying that 
all monster's levels are determined by Squall's level. That's WRONG!! 
*Gasp* Yup that right, the enemy's levels are determined by the 
_average_ of your (active?) party member's levels, or so it seems, 
because when I levelled up Quistis and not Squall, the enemy's levels 
are a LOT higher than Squall's. This is just an estimated prediction 
though so don't quote me on this, but it's a pretty good estimate I'd 
have to say. (The regular deviations in enemy levels are still there 
though.)

-> To draw, or not to draw
The field map Draw Points seems to have 3 states. The "empty" state 
where the ball is colorless. There seems to be 2 drawable states though, 
"full" and "semi-full". In its "full" state, the orb is filled 
completely with vibrant purple colored stripes. The "semi-full" state 
seems to have a very faint tint of purple color and less number of 
stripes. Sometimes it's very hard to tell whether a Draw Point is 
"empty" or "semi-full", since the purple present in "semi-full" Draw 
Points is very vague.

The difference between "full" and "semi-full" Draw Point is the number 
of spells you can draw. You always seem to get 2 or 3 charges if you 
draw from a "semi-full" draw point, but the "full" states gives you a 
minimum of 6 to a maximum of 15. The fast recovering Draw Points (like 
the ones in the Shumi Village) seems to yield "semi-full" Draw Points 
more often than not.

-> Gain skills even quicker
Christian Groff <epoch@texas.net> suggested to learn certain skills with 
items and not AP, which is a really good idea. Here's a list he sent me:

Steel Pipe: SumMag +10%
Star Fragment: SumMag +20%
Energy Crystal: SumMag +30%
Samantha Soul: SumMag +40% (for Bahamut, Doomtrain and Eden)
Healing Mail: GFHP +10%
Silver Mail: GFHP +20%
Gold Mail: GFHP +30%
Diamond Armor: GFHP +40% (for Bahamut, Doomtrain and Eden)
Healing Ring: Recover (Leviathan)
Phoenix Spirit: Revive (Alexander)
Gambler Spirit: Card (Quezacotl)
Bomb Spirit: Kamikaze (Cactuar)
Knight's Code: Cover (Brothers)
Monk's Code: Counter (Carbuncle)

There are many more items out there that lets you learn new skills, so 
search for them. Note however, there are no items to aid learning Menu 
Abilities.

-> What to unlearn
Later in the game, it is wise to buy Amnesia Greens from the pet shop 
and use them to help a GF forget an ability. All GFs can learn 22 skills 
at once, but you need to free up slots in order to learn new ones with 
items. This is important because you need to split your GFs six ways 
right before fighting Ultimecia, and you'll need enough -J abilities for 
all your major attributes for all characters. So here's my 
recommendation on what to forget:

  * If a GF has Elem-Defx2 or ST-Defx2, forget Elem-Def or ST-Def won't 
hurt, since having multiple ones won't grant any special effects. -Defx4 
abilities acts in a similar way. 
  * If you always pair together certain GFs, you get forget the Item, 
GF, Magic and Draw commands on one GF, since every GF has those 4 
abilities.
  * When a GF's max HP is already 9999, forget a GFHP+??% probably won't 
lower it by much. (Especially for the GFs near the end.)
  * If you never summon a GF, you might want to forget their GFHP+??% or 
SumMag+??% skills.
  * You might want to delete the "Bonus" skills after you're done with 
them.
  * You may want to forget any HP, Str, Vit, Mag or Spr+20% if you have 
40%, since a 40% is enough to raise the stats to max after powering up. 
(You can even delete Bahamut's Str and Mag+60% since it has +60% 
available.)
  * I personally don't like Elem-Atk very much so... (More than 6 GFs 
have that next to trash ability anyway.)

However, do NOT delete any Menu Abilities or other unique and otherwise 
irreplacable skills, such as the Devour command or Auto-Haste etc. Don't 
forget any "rare" skills either, like anything that boosts Hit, Evade, 
Luck or Speed.

-> Another good combo
Thanks to Iaian Ross <hyuga_ricdeau@hotmail.com> for this trick.
This is a good use for the "useless" Zombie spells. Junction 100 Zombies 
to your ST-Atk and it will turn enemies into undeads. Afterwards, any 
reviving method will kill them in one hit, like Life spells, Phoenix 
Downs and the best of all, the Revive command ('cuz it's free.) This is 
a good way of dealing really high HP/powerful enemies like the ones on 
the Island Closest to Hell.

-> Perhaps the best combo of all...
It's (of course) critical status + Aura status!!! That way, your 
character will have a 90% chance of executing their best Limit Breaks 
(if they're random.) I've tried this on Zell when facing Omega Weapon 
and all four Duels came in 12 seconds!!! (No need to say, I trashed 
Omega and flushed him down the loo.) 

Anyway, try this out on the other characters, you'll almost be 
guarenteed to execute Lion Heart, Wishing Star, The End, Mighty Guard 
that grants everyone Aura and a slow Shot bar for Irvine. 

-> Rules are made to be broken
Thanks to Viki for the info on this.

You should all know about he "5th trade rule" by now, it's the "Null" 
rule. (This tip used to be in the "Misc." section.) However, there was 
more to that rule than a pointless no trading game. Well, playing a Null 
game has the effect of completely deleting ALL rules in that region!!!!! 
The guy by the sea in Balamb used this rule before the Fire Cavern 
event, and playing a game with him has made the Open rule dissappear 
(and I had to pay the Queen 30000 Smackers to re-establish it in 
Balamb.)

The Null trade rule, is however, potentially really useful since it has 
the power of nullify all those horrible rules in Space, Centra, Trabia, 
Dollet etc... But I myself have only seen that rule once. Does anyone 
know how to make the Null rule appear in other regions?

-> Rule transfer tips
I'm not sure if anyone knows this already but I've just found this out 
last night. Spreading a rule in another region also has the effect of 
spreading the trade rule from the original region, if it has been 
established. 

For example, play the Queen in Balamb to change the trade rule to "All" 
then play many many games to make the rule stay. (Ask the Queen about 
the trade rule in the region and she should say "Blah blah will spread 
throughout the region." If she says something else, then it means it 
still hasn't gained a solid ground, and will dissappear with time.) Now 
when you get to Timber (Galbadia region) and play a card game, ending up 
spreading the Open rule, and the "All" trade rull will also be spread!!! 
So before you leave Balamb, make sure the "All" rule (or "Diff") stays 
for good, as you will want to spread the Open rule from Balamb to all 
major regions, and therefore, making the world much more tradable for 
us! 

-> Steal and not Mug
Thanks to Treylane47@aol.com for this trick

Well, this sure helps if you wanna steal something but don't want the 
EXP. Simply give the Mug command to someone wil relatively low Hit% 
(Zell with his worst weapon) and cast Blind on him. His Hit% will be 
massively reduced that he almost never hits, but using the Mug command 
still allows a chance to steal. Of yeah, never try this with someone 
who's weapon has a 255% Hit. 

-> Something you may find useful

I don't know if you know this but the Invincible status (effects of 
Hero, Holy War or Invincible Moon) will instantly negate all negative 
statuses your character had been inflicted. It does not seem to negate 
positive statuses though (whoohoo!!), at least not Haste, Aura and 
Float. (Protect and Shell won't make any difference anyway.) This might 
be useful when fighting against Malboros, execute Rinoa's Invincible 
Moon will cure all your party's ailments. 

-> Warning! Beware of dropping HP!
Thanks to Franz G. Pascobillo <clashing_harmonica@hotmail.com>

Franz G. Pascobillo has recently informed me about this issue, where he 
found that his characters' MAXIMUM HP was dropping after each battle. He 
also found out that it was caused by using Curaga in the menu!!! 

I have not tried this out myself though, so I cannot confirm it. I 
cannot remember whether he said it was the PC or PS version, so it might 
be a bug in the PC version perhaps? I also do not know if Cure or Cura 
does the same thing. The only safe bet is to switch to potions while in 
menu or cast Curaga during battle.

-> Fun Scan trick. :)
Thanks to Katman <cgalli@teleline.es>

If you thought Scanning Rinoa in Adel's fight was fun, get a hold of 
this. Most players don't realise that you can cast Scan on your own 
party members. As a result, you can read some interesting info on the 
playable characters. For example:

Quistis
Uses enemy magic she has learned. Attacks with a whip when in danger.

Cool huh? I'm gonna list all 9 playable character's info here later. 
Thanks for this fun trick. :)


More tips comin' up.


CHARACTER EVALUATION
====================
Like my previous FAQs, I'll detail each character in this section, with 
their strengths, weaknesses, Limit Breaks and some other stuff. BTW, if 
you were wondering about the stats my characters had, they're in this 
section. 

I've found out something quite interesting from this second time through 
the game. The character's stats at level 100 will always be the same! So 
it seems that this game uses fixed level up stats boosts instead of 
random ones like in most other RPGs. 

The one on the left is my "test run" score and the one on the right is 
my best score, also the maximum you can get from equipping the Bonus 
abilities. Note only HP, Str, Vit, Mag and Spr have the MAX values, 
since all the other ones don't change. MAX HP is calculated since I 
never equip HP Bonus. 

(Note all stats are of the character at level 100 with their BEST 
weapon, meaning higher Str and Hit. Also, none of them are junctioned in 
any way.)

---Squall Leonhart---
                      MAX
HP        4187       6977
Str        162        170         Spd       37
Vit        124        134         Luck      22
Mag        130        138         Eva        3%
Spr        117        129         Hit      255%

Comments on stats: Squall usually has the crappiest stats since you'll 
be forced to use him the most in the whole game, while his Limits are 
one of the best. He gets fairly good stats if you manage to not gain a 
level at all. His Str is decent. All his gunblades has 255 Hit rate 
though, meaning his normal attacks will never miss.

Limit Break: Renzokuken
When this is used, Squall will rush to his target and slash them 
anywhere from 4 to 8 times. A bar pops up at the bottom of the screen 
and green "waves" will start to flow from the right to the left, each of 
them represents a gunblade attack. You're supposed to pull the trigger 
(ie, the R1 button) at the exact time as the wave reaches the box near 
the left, and a "hit" will register, meaning that single attack will do 
1.5 times of normal damage. (Very much like his normal attack.) 
Otherwise you'll miss and get no damage bonus for that single hit (and 
likely to screw up the timing of your next attack. I can never get the 
remaining hits right when I miss the timing.) You'll get the "Perfect" 
message if you timed every hit right, but it doesn't mean anything in 
terms of combat.

I think each hit does about as much damage as his normal attack, or 
perhaps slightly more. His Limits are dependent on Squall's Strength. 
Note this is non-elemental even if you've junctioned spells into his 
Elemental-Atk.

Randomly after executing the 4-8 hits, Squall may execute a finishing 
blow. Note the chance of Squall executing his finishing blow will NOT 
increase if you get a "Perfect" for the initial Renzokuken hits, it's 
just random. Squall will start the game with his most basic finishing 
blow, Rough Divide and the rest can be gained from upgrading his 
gunblades. Note however, not all models of the gunblade come with a 
finishing blow, just some of them. 

The initial Renzokuken hits are single targeted but a couple of his 
finishing blows can hit all enemies on screen. 

         Gunblade model           Finishing blow
         Revolver         =>      Rough Divide
         Shear Trigger    =>      Fated Circle
         [Other models]   =>      Blasting Zone
         Lion Heart       =>      Lion Heart (aka End of Heart)

Ok, execuse me everyone, but the gunblade theory I had last time was 
TOTALLY wrong! Thanks to Iaian Ross <hyuga_ricdeau@hotmail.com> who 
informed me about this.

Anyway, it seems that whenever you upgrade Squall's gunblade, he'll gain 
the finishers that model grants AND all the finishers below it. In other 
words, Squall does not learn the finishers but the gunblades comes with 
certain finishers learned. For example, Squall upgrade his Revolver to a 
Cutting Trigger (skipping the Shear Trigger), he'll be able to use not 
only Rough Divide and Blasting Zone, but Fated Circle as well, since the 
Cutting Trigger is more advanced than the Shear Trigger.

Because of this, the theory of increasing the chances of executing Lion 
Heart by upgrading the Revolver to a Lion Heart and thus trying not to 
learn Fated Circle or Blasting Zone would not work. Sorry if the 
previous theory gave anyone any trouble.

Note: Fated Circle and Blasting Zone hits all enemies, however, if 
enemies are affected by Sleep prior to Renzokuken, the enemies which 
Renzokuken was not targeted on but was hurt by either of the above 
finishers will NOT wake up!

-Rough Divide-
This is what Squall used on Seifer in the intro FMV. Squall runs towards 
his target while while sliding the blade across the ground, then he 
leaps into the air bringing up rocks and a huge vertical shock wave 
damaging the enemy. This looks pretty cool but does more damage of that 
of a regular Renzokuken hit. Critical happen often with this!

-Fated Circle-
Squall will leap into the air and spins around with his blade on his way 
down, forming a ring shaped sonic boom-like force that cuts all enemies, 
then explodes into flames. Not a very powerful move, but stronger than a 
Renzokuken hit.

-Blasting Zone-
Gosh this takes ages! Squall gets surrounded by a whirlwind-like force 
field as he extends his gunblade up into the air. A vertical beam force 
lengthens from the blade and extends out all the way into space, then 
Squall brings his blade down as strong gale hurts all enemies. I don't 
like this very much as it only does slightly more damage than Fated 
Circle but lower than Rough Divide, and takes ages to animate. Extremely 
pointless but seems to be the finisher that gets triggered the most in 
the long run.

-Lion Heart-
This was originally named "End of Heart" in the Japanese version which 
was a much better name. Squall rushes to the enemy and uppercuts them 
into the air, then leaps into the air and beats them up with 16 hits of 
his gunblade, ending with a flashy diagonal strike. Then the enemy drops 
back to the ground. 

This is the most powerful attack in the whole game. Squall executes 
exactly 16 hits (thanks to Qualera) and each hit usually does 9999 
damage. (Less against enemies with REALLY high defence, but the damage 
never really goes below 9000 per hit.) Can kill most bosses in one hit 
except Omega Weapon and the last form of the last boss. Note there's an 
extra hit when the enemy drops back onto the ground afterwards, making 
it a total of 17 hits!!!


---Quistis Trepe---
                      MAX
HP        3883       6643
Str        161        163         Spd       34
Vit        118        122         Luck      21
Mag        132        134         Eva        3%
Spr        121        126         Hit      107%

Comments on stats: Quistis has the worst overall stats of the group it 
seems but since her Limit Breaks are some of the best, Quistis stands 
out in the game as the best character, IMO. Very pretty too, and looks a 
LOT like Aya! :-)

Limit Break: Blue Magic
I've always loved Blue Magic in the series. Blue Magic started all the 
way back in FFV where it's the specialty of Blue Mages, since they can 
only learn new spells through being hit by it, the game balances them 
out by giving them the ability to use better equipment. In FFVI, only 
Strago the Blue Mage can use Blue spells (Lores) and he has a few decent 
ones like Grand Train, but it still made him a less useful character. In 
FFVII, Blue spells were named Enemy Skills and can be learnt by the 
corresponding materia. They were really useful though, especially in the 
Battle Arena since they count as YELLOW materia, not Green, so you'll 
still be able to use spells when your Green materia breaks. 

Anyway, Quistis's Blue Magic are a bit different since she does not 
learn them by being hit as the enemy casts them like in the previous 
fantasies, instead, you have to use certain items that can be won or 
stolen from enemies on her. Some of her better ones are really hard to 
get though (Ray Bomb, Shockwave Pulsar, Mighty Guard, Homing Laser etc.) 
Blue spells have always worked in strange ways so even though a certain 
attack is generally more powerful, another attack may do more damage 
than it under certain circumstances. 

There are a few great things about Quistis' Blue magic too, because she 
has a great variety of them and she has one for every situation (ie, 
multi-target attack, instant death, elemental, status, gravity 
elemental, healing and defence!) Her spells are also extremely 
dependable, and she's the ONLY character who has non-random Limit 
Breaks. The disadvantage of it is that she has the least damage 
potential. 

Note: None of Quistis' damage dealing Blue Magic (except Gatling Gun) 
can be blocked, meaning the damage cannot be halved by both Protect and 
Shell. Likewise, no Blue Magic can be reflected. Also, despite that 
they're enemy skills, they work NOTHING like the enemy's version. I'll 
describe the differences (if any) below. 

-Laser Eye-
Used by: Belhelmel has it as a counter attack
Learnt from: None, initial spell

Quistis starts the game with this. She turns away from the enemy then 
release a green beam of laser from her eyes and hurts the enemy. It's 
fairly weak (~200 damage at the start of the game but can get a bit 
stronger.) It's cool to watch though and actually does fairly decent 
damage if you power Quistis up.

I think the Belhelmels only use this as a counter attack.

-Ultra Wave-
Used by: Caterchipiller
Learnt from: Spider Web
Defeat Catachipillers nets you this, they're really common. You can also 
get it from changing Catachipiller's card into it.

Quistis damages all enemies with pink spiral waves that pop out from her 
body. This damages all enemies and does 300+ damage near the start but I 
think Laser Eye is generally more powerful.

-Electrocute-
Used by: Cockatrice 
Learnt from: Coral Fragment
I think steal/defeating Cockatrices can get you this. I got it by 
trading Creeps' card for it.

Quistis released countless golden lighting bolts from her body and fries 
all enemies, looks a lot like Vincent's Limit Break in FFVII. Kinda weak 
if you ask me though. This is like Trine from FFVII, which is weaker 
than Beta (Fire Breath) and Aqualung (Aqua Breath). I usually don't 
bother with this as even against robots, her other attacks does more 
damage.

-Level ? Death-
Used by: Torama, Omega Weapon (LV5 Death)
Learnt from: Cursed Spike
Steal/win from Tri-Face, or occasionally dropped by Molboros. It's 
easier to trade Tri-Face's card for it since those enemies appear later 
in the game.

Not a good one at all! A reaper appears and smacks the enemies with its 
scythe and either kills it in one hit or has no effect. Thank god this 
is the only level-something Blue spell as I hated them. This is strange 
since the level multiplier can vary, from 5 to 1, depending on Quistis 
and your party's condition. I used it when I was powering up on the 
weaker enemies, and sometimes it works quite well. (Oh yeah, try this on 
those Fastitocalons.) 

The enemy's version has a fixed multiplier, ie, LV5 Death. 

-Degenerator-
Used by: Gesper
Learnt from: Black Hole
Win from Gespars or trade its card for it.

A large bubble surrounds the enemy and pulls it into a dimensional 
portal and is never seen again. This is the second best instant death 
spell in the game (next to Selphie's The End of course) as it works on 
ALL normal enemies, even really powerful ones like Iron Giants, Ruby 
Dragons and Behemoths. I've never seen it miss except for the Tonberries 
and I don't think it works on bosses though. 

Iaian Ross said that the Gespars does indeed use this attack, but only 
when you drag the battle on for over 5 minutes. Also, it not only kills 
a character, but it removes them from battle, unable to be revived (like 
Kamazaki.) 

-Aqua Breath-
Used by: Grand Mantis, Chimera
Learnt from: Water Crystal
Win from Chimeras or trade 1 Fastitocalon or 5 Fastitocalon-F's card for 
it. 

Quistis sends streams of water bubbles at all enemies. This is a classic 
Blue spell and works fairly well too. It does really good damage, even 
Leviathan's Tsunami with Boost seems to be weaker! Get this early in the 
game by trading cards for it and it'll be Quistis' strongest attack for 
a while. (Water elemental.)

Grand Mantis' version will cause Silence as well. Chimera has the normal 
version alright.

-Micro Missile-
Used by: GIM52A
Learnt from: Missile
Defeat or steal from GIM52A

Quistis extends her arms forward and sends out many missiles that comes 
in on the enemy. This works very different to most spells as it's a 
gravity type spell, in that it will take out a portion of the target's 
current HP. The effect may vary though, from 50%, 75%, 87.5% and 
eventually 93.75%!!! However, the maximum damage this attack does is 
9999 versus enemies with very high HP. Note some enemies are not a 
target of gravity type spells so this will score a miss on them instead. 
This is certainly one of her better spells.

-Acid-
Used by: Gayla (??), Tri-Face
Learnt from: Mystery Fluid
Defeat Gaylas or trade its card for it.

Quistis turns away and a patch of sizzling liquid comes out of no where 
and burns the enemy. I don't use this too often but this will do light 
damage to an enemy but can also give them negative status. However, you 
won't deal a status ailment to the enemy every time you use this. I've 
only gotten the Poison status from this, but I assume there are more 
when Quistis/party's condition worsens. I've also seen Vitality Zero.

I don't think the enemy's version causes a status, but it's much more 
damaging (about 4000+ at times!)

-Gatling Gun-
Used by: SAM08G (Actually, Quistis used this in an FMV in Disc 1)
Learnt from: Running Fire
Defeat/steal from SAM08G or Iron Giants, or trade SAM08G's card for it. 

This is like the gun Quistis used to shoot down X-ATM092 in the FMV 
after the Dollet mission. The damage it does it very good and it's non-
elemental, but only targets one enemy. Sometimes it does really crappy 
damage and I've just found out why. It appears that Gatling Gun's damage 
is based on Quistis' Str and not Mag, I didn't junction spells to her 
Str so this attack was really weak when I used it. However, if you do 
junction good spells this is VERY powerful!

This is strange since it's the only Blue spell that is subject to a 
barrier, Protect can halve Gatling Gun's damage. 

-Fire Breath-
Used by: Ruby Dragon
Learnt from: Inferno Fang
Defeat Ruby Dragons or trade 10 of its card for it.

I've only used this once. It looks just like the Breath attack the Ruby 
Dragon uses and is just as powerful. I think this is fire elemental but 
the dragon's version isn't for some reason. Burns all enemies.

This is Fire elemental while the Ruby Dragon's version is both non 
elemental and physical (ie, is affected by Protect, not Shell.)

-Bad Breath-
Used by: Malboro, (Geezard)
Learnt from: Malboro's Tentacle
Defeat/steal from Malboros or trade 4 of its card for it.

Quistis sends a breath of foul looking dark gas that sweeps all enemies. 
The effect is multiple status ailments on enemies but can vary depending 
on her condition. It can inflict Poison, Silence, Stop, Blind, Sleep, 
Slow, Doom (Death Sentence), Petrifying, Confuse and Berserk. Maybe 
Curse as well. I'm not too sure about Vitality Zero though. I use this 
on annoying enemies and paralyze them so I can draw from them.

NOTE! If Quistis' condition is really bad (ie, below 1% health, status 
etc) Bad Breath will kill all the enemies (vulnerable to death attacks) 
in one hit!!!!! Which does the same thing as LV1 Death (LV? Death at its 
best!)

Geezard has a Bad Breath attack as well, but it's completely different, 
as it deals damage rarely a status, it also looks very different.

-White Wind-
Used by: Adamantoise
Learnt from: Whisper
Steal from high level Adamantoise

Soothing wind blows out of nowhere and surrounds the team. This is the 
second best healing spell in the game (and again, next to Selphie's 
Full-Cure, which is the best) and comes really useful in later fights, 
makes Quistis a very useful character. This works differently than all 
its previous incarnations in that is cures the difference between 
Quistis' current HP and her maximum HP. For example, Quistis has only 1 
HP left and her maximum HP is 9999, White Wind heals 9998 to all members 
in your party. It does NOT cure status ailments though, like it did in 
FFVI and FFVII.

This is different from Adamantoise's version because they can heal about 
5000+ damage when they're at FULL HEALTH!! 

-Homing Laser-
Used by: Mobile Type 8, Elastoids
Learnt from: Laser Cannon
Steal from the Mobile Type 8 boss. I think you may also steal from 
Elastoids for it too.

Quistis releases 3 beams of laser that homes in on the enemy. I got this 
really late but I wasn't disappointed, as the Mobile Type 8 boss has 
this attack but it's really weak. It can do about 7000-9999 damage 
(later in the game) but only works on one enemy. I like to use this on 
Adel at the start of Disc 4 when you HAVE to use a single target attack 
on her.

-Mighty Guard-
Used by: Iron Giant, Behemoth
Learnt from: Barrier
Steal/kill Behemoths or trade 10 of its card for it.

A translucent blue globe envelops each character in the team. This is 
the best Final Fantasy Blue spell at it's best! The effects of this 
spell will also vary. It will only put Protect and Shell on all members 
at its early stages, but Regen is present when Quistis is hurt bad, then 
Float and Haste are a bit rarer. The most useful status (and rarest) is 
Aura, effectively giving your team defensive, offensive and speed 
advantage over the enemies. You'll be using this spell a lot later in 
the game, especially against bosses like Omega and Ultima Weapon. 

The Iron Giant's version will only give them Protect and Shell. 

-Ray-Bomb-
Used by: X-ATM092
Learnt from: Power Generator
Steal from high level Blitz WITHOUT the Rare Item ability. REALLY rare! 
(I was extremely lucky and got this on my first try, YAY!) I heard you 
can pick on up in Lunatic Pandora if you did something in Laguna's 
second scenario.

Steam pops up from the back of Quistis' head as she emits a laser from 
her eye and sweeps it across all enemies. The ground below the enemies 
turns gold and calls forth a massive explosion that sends all foes into 
the air and back again. 

Uhh.. This spell is really disappointing as after all the hard work 
getting a Power Generator, you come to find out that it's not all that 
good! The damage is only medium, about 4000-8000 on all enemies later in 
the game, and is sometimes not as strong as Aqua/Fire Breath! 

-Shockwave Pulsar-
Used by: Griever
Learnt from: Dark Matter
Collect 100 Cursed Spikes and use Siren's Tool-RF Menu Ability to make 
it into a Dark Matter. Siren MUST be at LV100.

All enemies gets trapped inside a white sphere where is gets lifted into 
another dimension and gets hurt by a dark energy blast. This is Quistis' 
best spell and one of the few attacks in the game capable to doing 5 
digit damage. Usually around 12000 but if she has really good stats this 
can do well over 23,000! Ok ok, this is way less than the 200,000 or so 
that Squall or Zell can do at times, but it's really dependable. 


---Zell Dincht---
                      MAX
HP         4018      6778
Str         163       164         Spd       35
Vit         122       125         Luck      20
Mag         132       134         Eva        3%
Spr         116       119         Hit      103%

Comments on stats: Zell's one of the better ones. He's very strong and 
gets good HP, Vitality and Strength. His Magic is also pretty good but 
has low Spirit.

Limit Break: Duel
Zell uses a mixture of that of Sabin's (FFVI) Blitz and Tifa's (FFVII) 
Limit Breaks. Like that of Sabin, you must press certain buttons in a 
certain order to execute the move, each move has a different 
combination. However, like that of Tifa, Zell can chain together 
multiple martial arts attacks together, forming a long chain of deadly 
combos. You're given a time limit to munch in the combinations required 
for Duel and the chain combo ends either when the timer reaches zero, or 
when a finishing blow is executed. 

Zell's Duel has 4 different time intervals, and as his condition 
worsens, his chance of getting a longer interval increases. Duel can 
last around 4, 6, 9 or 12 seconds. He'll start with Punch Rush for the 4 
and 6 second version but will use Booya first if he gets the 9 or 12 
second version, so don't expect the same moves to can be linked after 
them. 

Note however, only certain moves can link after another and certain 
moves only links after a certain combination of moves (finishing blows 
are one of them.) For example, Mach Kick can always link after Dolphin 
Blow but Heel Drop cannot. Meteor Strike can link after Dolphin Blow 
only if Mach Kick was done before Dolphin Blow. These combinations of 
moves are sometimes quite confusing and I don't recommend you memorize 
every single link. To help you, the game gives you a list of the moves 
that can be linked after the move you're currently executing and their 
combinations, but you'll take less time if you knew which attack to do 
without having to look at it. Try practice this until you have come up 
with a certain pattern of the moves that you like, or try to recognize 
any "loops" (ie, 2 or 3 attacks that links into each other and can be 
repeated."

Zell's Limit Break has the highest damage potential (yes even higher 
than Squall's Lion Heart finishing blow) but it all comes down to skill 
- memorizing few of the critical links and a quick tapper.) Practice 
makes perfect!

Zell starts the game with 4 basic attacks and 1 finishing blow. He can 
learn the rest from reading Combat King magazines found throughout the 
world or bought in Esthar.

-Punch Rush-
Combination: O, X

Just 3 repeated punches, nothing too special. This is also his weakest 
attack but it's kinda easy to tap and links before and after most moves. 

-Booya-
Combination: Right, Left

This looks like a headbutt but it's actually a knee! (Is it?) I found 
this is the easiest move to tap and does about the same damage as Punch 
Rush (ie, lower than the rest of his attacks.) Links too and from Punch 
Rush, thus making an easy loop that's preferred over his more 
spectacular moves by experts. 

-Heel Drop-
Combination: Up, Down

This looks weird as Zell lifts one of his leg up as if he's doing a 
vertical split then bring it down at the enemy. I guess you can sorta 
call it an Axe Kick. Slightly more damaging than the previous and the 
motion is just as simple to do. The disadvantage is that few moves links 
to this.

-Mach Kick-
Combination: Left, Left, O

Zell kicks the enemy with a high roundhouse. I like this move. It does 
about 1.5 times as much damage than Punch Rush/Booya and isn't all that 
hard to tap. It links to and from Dolphin Blow, which is the loop that I 
use often. 

-Dolphie Blow-
Combination: L1, R1, L1, R1
Combat King issue: 001

Like Tifa's attack from FFVII except there are 2 dolphins instead of 
one, and you can see the ocean behind the enemy. Does the most damage 
out of all the normal moves but requires 4 buttons to activate, but 
isn't all that hard to do if you practice. (I can sometimes do this in 
less time than Punch Rush, since I don't like the latter very much.) 

-Meteor Strike-
Combination: Up, O, Down, O
Combat King issue: 002

This looks just like Tifa's from FFVII, but it works differently. Zell 
lifts the enemy up with one arm (gosh he's strong, but what's even more 
impressive is that Tifa is as strong as Zell is!), leaps into the air 
and yank them back to the ground. As hinted from the magazine article 
("...the bigger they are, the harder they fall.."), this move is of 
gravity elemental. (Ok, gravity attacks ain't defined as an element like 
in FFVII, but since they're used so much and are so wonderfully useful, 
I might as well give them credit and their own respective element that 
they deserve.) I think this does damage equal to 75% of the target's 
maximum HP, but it cannot do more than 9999 damage per hit. Also, it 
does not work on most bosses (but I think Mobile Type 8 is one which 
this attack DID work.) Against enemies with HUGE defence and HP (Ruby 
Dragons, Iron Giants etc.) you'd want to use this as often as possible, 
since it will do 9999 damage per hit, very worthwhile against those 
enemies. 

NOTE! The only enemy where this did not work on was a Behemoth

The motion is quite easy to do (despite how the magazine says this is 
tricky) but won't link after many moves. Note if this attack does 0 
damage, it means that the enemy is dead.

The below moves are finishers, meaning that no matter how much time is 
left on the timer, Duel will end upon executing these moves. They will 
show up on the screen with their names flashing and they're all very 
tricky moves to do. Also, you can't just pull them right off the air, as 
they require a certain combination of moves to be done in a series 
before the option for a finishing blow becomes available. Remember, the 
pre-requisite moves are only the simplest chains that a finisher can be 
invoked! Meaning you can chain anything before the pre-requisite moves 
and still trigger the finishing blow.

Note I don't know who started this whole thing about Zell must be at a 
certain level to use a certain finishing blow. I was able to use ALL of 
them at LEVEL 12!!! Go figure.

-Burning Rave-
Combination: Down, Down, Down, Down, Circle
Prerequisite moves: Booya, Heel Drop, Meteor Strike, Booya
                or: Punch Rush, Mach Kick, Punch Rush, Heel Drop

Zell steps back and punches the ground with his fist as it cracks and 
the chasm travels to the enemy then explodes, sending the enemy high up 
into the air. This is really disappointing for a finishing blow. Does 
about 2 times the damage of his weak attacks and that's it! It's not 
worth the effort!

-Meteor Barret-
Combination: Up, X, Down, Triangle, O
Combat King issue: 003
Prerequisite moves: Punch Rush, Dolphin Blow
                or: Booya, Meteor Strike, Dolphin Blow, Mack Kick
                or: Booya, Heel Drop, Mach Kick, Heel Drop, Booya, 
                    Punch Rush, Mach Kick

Zell leaps into the air and gathers a green energy bolt in his hands. 
Then he glides down followed by a trial of energy like a comet and 
punches the enemy as they collide, and (supposedly) passes through the 
enemy as it explodes. This looks cheap when Zell is supposed to pierce 
right through the enemy, but I suppose the PlayStation's polygon power 
ain't as advanced to handle such animations. (Or maybe it's too violent 
but I'm hoping for the former.)

The damage isn't all that great either but I sometimes use this as a 
"stylie" finisher after my combos, and I time them just right to fit in 
this! (See below.)

-Different Beat-
Combination: Triangle, Square, X, O, Up
Combat King issue: 004
Prerequisite moves: Booya, Meteor Strike, Booya
                or: Booya, Heel Drop, Mach Kick, Heel Drop, Booya

Zell kicks the enemy into the air, jumps up and air-combo them with 
kicks then stomps them as his legs get surrounded by pink energy. This 
is probably my favourite finishing blow as it looks cool and is very 
damaging. 

-My Final Heaven-
Combination: Up, Right, Down, Back, Triangle
Combat King issue: 005
Prerequisite moves: Booya, Heel Drop, Meteor Strike
                or: Booya, Heel Drop, Mach Kick, Punch Rush

Zell holds his fist and sprints forward past the enemy and runs around 
the globe like Superman (as if his Meteor Barret ain't enough!) He gets 
back to the battle field and comes to a stop just behind the enemy, and 
his momentum are released as a fiery explosion that sends the enemy head 
over toes up into the air. 

Looks kinda cool but does abut the same damage as Different Beat. 
Alright, EdwChang@aol.com  has convinced me that this is better than 
Different Beat since it targets _ALL_ enemies while Different Beat hits 
just one. Uh.. not much else to say about this but you might wanna see 
this at least once but I don't find this move exceptionally useful. 

Tips
  - Learn a few links to some of your favourite moves. There's nothing 
wrong with referring to the screen listing all the attacks that can be 
executed after the current attack, especially when you're trying it out 
the first few times. You should be used to a few links and should be 
able to remember the button combinations to all the normal moves if you 
practice a few times. Here are some combinations that I found useful, 
feel free to submit more if you like:

* - Armageddon Fist - (started by Kaze Yagami<yagami@pacific.net.sg>)
  Booya, Punch Rush, Booya, Punch Rush, repeat.

The 2 basic attacks are simple to tap and does decent damage. The damage 
is around 4000 per attack later in the game, and try junction spells to 
Zell's Luck attribute as a critical can do 9999 damage! You should be 
able to execute ~20 moves for the 4 seconds interval!!! What's even 
better about this is that it can be accommodated easily if Zell's 
starting attack changes.

* - Grand-Calamity Symphony - (by James Wennberg)
  Booya, Heel Drop, Booya, Hell Drop, repeat.

The Armageddon Fist killer. Heel Drop does more damage than Punch Rush 
and is just as easy to do, can significantly increase damage when does 
with a 12 second Duel. Give it a try.

Another cool thing about GCS is that you can easily refine it into a 
stylish My Final Heaven easily, just add Mach Kick and Punch Rush after 
Heel Drop when your clock is running low.

* Booya, Punch Rush, Mach Kick, repeat.
or: Punch Rush, Mach Kick, Booya, repeat.

These 2 are identical the only difference is the starting move (remember 
how the starting move differs depending on the time interval you get.) 
This is also identical to Armageddon Fist except Mach Kick is added. I 
used this to take out the X-ATM092 boss in Dollet and it's really a 
killer. I like Mach Kick since it does more damage than the basic 
attacks and isn't really all that hard to use.

* Punch Rush, Mach Kick, Dolphin Blow, Meteor Strike, Dolphin Blow, 
           Mach Kick, Meteor Barret

I hope I got this in the correct order. Anyway, practice this and it's 
PERFECT for the 4 second interval. Of course, this don't work very well 
on bosses because of Meteor Strike, but this is what I used on the 
enemies on the Island Closest to Hell when training Zell, and it's a 
killer to the enemies there because of Meteor Strike. Also, the Meteor 
Barret makes a stylie finish.

* [Starter moves], Meteor Strike, Heel Drop, Meteor Strike, Dolphin 
           Blow, Meteor Strike, Heel Drop, repeat
(Thanks to Qualera for this chain combo)

This is another great combo for high HP enemies since you can use Meteor 
Strike _every other turn_! Geez, imagine how long you can toast a Ruby 
Dragon with this. Anyway, the [starter moves] will be different 
depending whether you've gotten Booya or Punch Rush as your first 
attack.
For Booya: Booya itself will lead to Meteor Strike
For Punch Rush: Try Punch Rush, Mach Kick, Dolphin Blow

  - Later in the game, you'll wanna avoid using finishing blow as much 
as possible, since they take ages to do and their maximum damage limit 
is still only 9999. Each normal blow can do 4000-5000 if you have 255 
Strength and a critical hit nets you an instant easy 9999.

  - Against normal enemies with high defence and HP, release Meteor 
Strike as often as possible. Meteor Strike is essentially one of Zell's 
best attacks as it's independent of his Strength and target's Vitality. 
So even if you have very low Strength and fighting a level 100 Ruby 
Dragon, you can do 9999 with every blow of Meteor Strike while your 
other moves takes out less than 1000. 

  - There are some people who think that if you want to use a Duel 
finisher, you can only execute the pre-requisite move and nothing else. 
Well you are WRONG!!!!! You can execute any move as long as the pre-
requisites are done in order after those moves. There are people who 
thinks that to use My Final Heaven and Different Beat, Zell must start 
with Booya (and therefore, only useable in the 8 or 12 second 
intervals.) That is NOT correct. You can chain a Punch Rush in front of 
it or even a Booya, Punch Rush, Mach Kick in front of the pre-requisite 
Booya if you want to (and if you're quick enough!) 


---Rinoa Heartilly---
                      MAX
HP         4181      6851
Str         180       186         Spd       36
Vit         115       120         Luck      22
Mag         148       162         Eva        3%
Spr         123       126         Hit      107%

Comments on stats: Whoa! Gosh, she's the girl with god-like stats! Too 
bad that her Limits are trashy. I think she is supposed to have good 
stats to offset her attacks. (If you can remember, she also has really 
good starting stats when she first joins!) Her Str and Mag are among 
some of the highest I've seen. She needs only 100 Meteors to bring up 
Strength up to 255.

Limit Break: Combine
Rinoa is the only character in the game who has 2 completely different 
sets of attacks, Angelo skills and her unique Angel Wing status.

Angelo
Angelo is Rinoa's dog who is actually really smart and can learn various 
tricks to aid Rinoa in battle. I think Angelo skills were originated 
from Red XIII's Limit Breaks in FFVII and a bit from Shadow's dog, 
Interceptor in FFVI. Angelo skill comes in 2 types, automatic and 
manual. The automatical skills can take place randomly in battle, given 
that certain conditions are met, while a random manual skills will be 
executed when Rinoa uses his Limit Break from the command window in 
battle. 

Unfortunately, most of her Angelo skills are mostly crap, and since it's 
random, it can also be very weak compared to the others later in the 
game. She has a couple fairly decent ones though, so you might as well 
make the use of them. The damage dealing Angelo attacks are dependent on 
Rinoa's Strength.

To learn new Angelo skills, you must buy or find Pet Pals magazines from 
around the world. You must read them too (use it in the item menu) then 
the skill's name will appear in Rinoa's status menu along with Angelo's 
other skills. A full bar represents that skill has been mastered. Select 
a skill that you wish to learn and walk with Rinoa in your team and 
you'll eventually learn the skill. (Note some skills like Wishing Star 
can take a very long time to learn.)

The below 4 skills are manual skills:

-Angelo Cannon-
Pet Pals issue: None, initial attack.

Rinoa whistles for Angelo who runs onto the screen and jumps onto 
Rinoa's extended arm, then Rinoa launches him like a rocket that hurts 
all enemies with a fiery explosion. Then Angelo gets a bone for his hard 
work.

An ok attack I guess, since it targets all enemies but gets less useful 
as the game progresses. It can do 9999 damage to all enemies later in 
the game though, but that's nothing compared to what the boys can do.

-Angelo Strike-
Pet Pals issue: 1

Angelo runs onto the screen to the enemy, grabs them somehow and takes 
them into the air with him. Angelo rotates about 1080 degrees and slams 
the enemy back onto the ground for big damage.

This is a lot stronger than Angelo Cannon but targets only one enemy. 
The damage is quite strong though, about maybe 2000+ earlier in the 
game. However, since the damage maxes out at 9999, this will actually be 
WEAKER than Angelo Cannon later in the game, which can also do 9999 
damage but targets all the enemies. You may want to abandon this move so 
the chance that Rinoa executes one of her better ones increases.

-Invincible Moon-
Pet Pals issue: 3

Looks a lot like Red XIII's Howling Moon if you ask me. Angelo runs into 
battle, gets surrounded by silver energy waves (like a certain Red XIII 
Limit Break) and jumps into the air with a silvery moon in the sky. A 
curtain of translucent lights envelops all allies and they turn 
transparent. 

This well may possibly be Rinoa's best Angelo skill, as an invincible 
character is immune to all damage and status (even positive ones) and 
the effect is identical/better than a Holy War (Drink) since it's free. 
This skill has a fair chance of being executed and I think the effect 
lasts longer as Rinoa's level increases. 

-Wishing Star-
Pet Pals issue: 6

Rinoa and Angelo runs towards the enemy and disappears while the 
background turns into a colored star field. Multiple shooting stars 
zooms across the screen and hurts all enemies for quite a number of 
hits. If you look closer, the stars are actually Rinoa and Angelo! 

I was really disappointed at this move when I first saw it. First, the 
rate which this attack appears is EXTREMELY low (about 5% max) and 
second, it wasn't as strong as I heard it was. Each hit did around 2000 
points of damage for about 10+ hits. I've heard this attack can do 9000+ 
damage per hit though, but I'm not in the mood to spend about half an 
hour trying to see this move again!

I saw this again and it's actually really impressive since she actually 
did 8000+ damage her hit!!! Although the chance that Rinoa will use this 
is really low making it rather unreliable when you REALLY want high 
damaging attacks. I know that not learning Angelo Strike and/or 
Invincible Moon is one way to raise the chances of Wishing Stars 
appearing but that Angelo Cannon can really get on my nerve!

One thing that I forgot is that the weaker Rinoa is, the more likely 
that she uses Wishing Star. Lower her HP a lot (2 digits) and even give 
her bad status (not Poison though, as it's deadly when her HP is so low) 
like Silence and Darkness. If you cast Aura when Rinoa's in critical, 
she'll almost always execute this move.

The 4 skills below are automatically but randomly executed when the 
conditions are met. Rinoa's Luck parameter plays a major role here, 
higher it is, the more likely you'll see Angelo execute one of these 
moves.

-Angelo Rush-
Pet Pals issue: None, initial attack
Condition: Rinoa gets damaged (both physical and magical, either 
singular and multiple targeted)

Angelo rushes across the screen at high velocity and charges into the 
enemy.

This works on the same basis as Shadow's dog Interceptor's Take Down, 
which is basically a counter attack. This attack sucks in many ways. One 
is that it's terrible when you want to keep the enemy alive to draw 
spells from or card them. This usually ruins it for you. The damage 
Angelo does is no where near as much as Interceptor. So this means one 
thing: Rinoa is a terrible character if you want to card enemies.

-Angelo Recover-
Pet Pals issue: 2
Condition: Any ally in critical condition 

Angelo comes onto the screen and uses an item on the ally in critical 
condition and restores their HP.

I don't like this skill either. Sometimes I purposely lower an ally's HP 
so they can use Limit Breaks easily but no.. Angelo comes along and 
heals them. The amount healed varies, but usually a lot, I've seen as 
low as 1500+ to about 6000+! Not bad if you really need healing in a 
boss fight or something. Note a character who is not Rinoa CAN receive 
the benefit of his skill too.

-Angelo Reverse-
Pet Pals: 4
Condition: Ally KO'd

Angelo comes into battle and uses a Phoenix Down on a fallen ally

Now this is a useful one, but it would help if it happens a little more 
often. I've seen this only ONCE during my 80 hour game. What's neat 
about this is when an ally is revived, their HP would be critical and 
you can execute Limit Breaks easily.

-Angelo Search-
Pet Pals: 5
Condition: Don't know (Having the Item command? Or Random?)

Angelo runs into the battle field, sniff the ground and begins to dig. 
He then finds an item and gives it to Rinoa, then he receives a treat 
for his hard work. 

I have seen this a few times, most of the time you'll get really crappy 
stuff like Potions mainly, Phoenix Downs etc. But it can also net you 
some really good stuff at times though, I've heard of Force Armlets and 
Elixirs. 

Thanks to Viki, Qualera and Allan Mills for all the info on this move.

NOTE! Qualera has e-mailed me saying that it's possible that the chance 
of seeing Angelo perform this move will increase if you use the Item 
command more often. You know what? I think he's right! I was trying to 
lower my team's HP to do the Omega trick (see below) but the enemies 
kept killing Selphie and Irvine that I had to use items all the time to 
revive them. As a result, Angelo appeared TWICE and picked up 2 awesome 
items.

Oh yeah, you'll probably get better items if Rinoa's condition is not 
very good when Angelo appears. In the above example, Rinoa had 198HP and 
blinded, and Angelo found a Curse Spike and a Mega Phoenix!!! 

Angel Wing
After the scene in space (and a terrible micro-game!), Rinoa gains a new 
Limit Break. You can use this while inside Ragnarock the first time. 
With this, a pair of wings appears on Rinoa's back and she gets lifted 
into the air, then she comes back onto the ground like if nothing had 
happened. You'll notice the effect soon though, as you'll realise that 
you cannot control her any more, as she's gone berserk in a way. 

Whenever Rinoa's turn comes up, she will cast a _random_ spell on a 
random enemy. The quality of the spell is really quite a mixed bag. 
Rinoa will either cast a really powerful spell like Ultima or a really 
sloppy status spell like Sleep, and Scan/Dispel occasionally. What's 
sorta worthwhile about this is that the power of a damage-dealing spell 
is increased by 5 times, WOW! (Watch out for Meteor, it's a real killer 
on a single enemy. Can do upwards of 40000 damage!) However, she rarely 
uses one of them (about 5 crap spells per 1 good spell) which makes 
Angel Wing no better than her terrible Angelo skills. 

Note that this is actually a status, which means that it will have no 
effect while Rinoa is in the Invincible status (Invincible Moon.) Rinoa 
is immune to Berserk, Silence and Confuse status while in Angel Wing. 
Also, her spells ain't THAT random as there are certain spells that she 
will never use, such as any aiding/healing/reviving spells. The power of 
her spells is also dependent on Rinoa's Magic attribute. 

Note! EdwChang@aol.com told me that what spell Rinoa casts is based on 
the spells in her stock even though it doesn't use up a charge but he 
doesn't know if having a high number of a certain spell being stocked is 
going to raise the chance of that spell being cast.

Happy Matt was able to confirm this query. He told me that he used Varly 
(aka Angel Wing) with Rinoa when she had absolutely no spells stocked. 
The result: Rinoa can only execute regular _physical_ attacks like 
Berserk without the damage bonus!

There's still much to discuss about Rinoa's Angel Wing, -Skrybe- 
<skrybe@hotmail.com> have sent me the complete list on what Rinoa will 
and will not cast through Angel Wing.

These spells CAN be used in Angel Wing: Aero, Berserk, Bio, Blind, 
Blizzaga, Blizzara, Blizzard, Break, Confuse, Death, Demi, Dispel, 
Drain, Fira, Firaga, Fire, Flare, Holy, Meltdown, Meteor, Pain, Quake, 
Scan, Sleep, Slow, Stop, Thundaga, Thundara, Thunder, Tornado, Ultima, 
Water, and Zombie. 

These spells CANNOT be used in Angel Wing: Aura, Cura, Curaga, Cure, 
Double, Esuna, Float, Full-Life, Haste, Life, Protect, Reflect, Regen, 
Shell, and Triple. 

I'm sure you guys have also heard of the secret spell Apocalypse, a 
spell that can only be drawn from Ultimecia. Anyway, you _can_ get them 
via a GameShark, so it is possible that Rinoa will cast Apocalypse 
through Angel Wing, since it's just another version of Ultima. Selphie's 
Slot spells can also be cast through Angel Wing (if you got them stocked 
via a GameShark) these includes: The End, Rapture and the dummied out 
Catastrophe and Percent. Full Cure and Wall cannot be cast, obviously. 

*NEW* I have played around with Angel Wing and it seemed that getting 
rid of SOME of the status spells don't help very much, it seems what 
spells she'll cast in a given round is affected by spell types: status 
or damage dealing. If you have at least ONE status spell, she'll use 
that spell whenever the "Angel Wing spell indicator" says Status. 

For example, if you have Thundaga, Ultima, Meteor, Demi, Holy, Flare, 
Water and Confuse stocked, the chance of casting Confuse will not be 
1/8, but more like 1/2 (I'm not too sure about the Status/damage spell 
ratio though.) So having more status spells stocked will not mean 
casting status spells more frequently but more like casting a larger 
variety of them. It's kinda confusing to explain, did someone cast 
Confuse on me or something?

So the moral of the story is, get rid of ALL your status spells if 
possible, because if you have at least one useless status magic, she 
will still cast it frequently. However, 2 spells counts as both status 
and damage dealing, they're Meltdown and Drain, but I'd say you keep 
those 2. Scan and Dispel fits into neither category, but they're still 
useless. So if you wanna use Angel Wing effectively, stick to the below 
strategies. 

Here's a tip from EdwChang@aol.com:
Simply get rid of all of Rinoa's lesser use spells that ain't being 
junctioned such as all status spells and Dispel. Keep as many Holies, 
Flares, Ultimas, Meteors or just whatever you feel is powerful to raise 
her chance of casting a better spell in Angel Wing. Oh yeah, don't 
forget to boost her Magic and Speed attributes, as it can get pretty 
powerful when you get a good spell, especially Meteor, and with a high 
Speed, Rinoa can cast more spells before the enemy's turn comes up, 
which kinda makes up for the fact that she cannot be controlled. 

Here's what Another Gamer's strategy:
Get rid of all offensive spells except for Meteor, it'll do more damage 
than Ultima. This is like a refined version of the above strategy except 
the ONLY spell Rinoa will ever use is Meteor. With a good Magic 
attribute and the Angel Wing status, I've seen a comet doing up to 4000+ 
damage each! (And there's 10 of them!) It's much more reliable than 
hoping for Wishing Star with her Angelo skills. The bad point of this is 
that you'll miss out a lot of junction potentials of Ultima. Try this 
out and see what you think. 


---Selphie Tilmitt---
                      MAX
HP         3680      6440
Str         157       162         Spd       37
Vit         115       120         Luck      26
Mag         136       141         Eva        3%
Spr         123       130         Hit      255%

Comments on stats: No too bad. She's kinda weaker physically but has 
very good Magic stats. Her Speed is decent though and she's the luckiest 
character in the game. Her best improvement is probably how her best 
weapon has a 255% hit rate, meaning she can no longer miss the target 
with her regular attacks.

Limit Break: Slots
Selphie's Slots is completely different to Setzer and Cait Sith's. 
Selphie can cast any spell up to 3 times in a row. Her Slots window will 
show a random spell with a random number of times that spell will be 
cast. If that's not the spell you want, you may select "Do over" which 
will bring up another spell. When the desired spell comes up, you may 
select "cast" to cast it. These spells will not consume Selphie's 
stocked spells so use them as often as you wish.

Note time does not stop as you select your spells, even with the "Wait" 
option. (The Wait option sucks in this game anyway.) So spending too 
long on her Slots trying to get better spells can be dangerous.

Selphie has 4 unique spells on her Slots too, and they're all good ones. 
At the beginning of the game, you may only get crap magic like Fire but 
she'll likely to get better spells as her level does up. (ie, Ultima may 
have about a 1% chance or less of showing up while she's at level 10, 
but at level 100, Ultima comes up quite often.) 

Note if a certain spell is cast multiple times, the targeting is random 
and it's not very effective if you ask me! When you come up with say a 
positive status spell (like Haste) cast 3 times, it never works so that 
each member on your team gets a dose, which wastes the spell. (The spell 
will always cast on a same member twice.)

Below are the 4 unique spells Selphie that can be cast only with her 
Slots. Note none of these can be cast multiple times, since they don't 
need to. When you cast one of these spells once, it will show up in her 
status screen and the chance of getting that spell on her Slots in the 
future will increase.

-Full Cure-
This heals all allies to full HP AND it will cure negative status too, 
effectively the best healing spell in the game. Also, I'm sure this 
spell will work on Invincible allies! The chance of getting this on her 
Slots is very high, so you don't need to struggle when you want healing, 
although Full Cure shows up less times when she's at higher levels. 

-Wall-
A stone barrier raises through the ground to guard all allies. Not a bad 
defence spell but if Quistis is in your party, have her use Mighty Guard 
instead. Wall will only give you Shell and Protect, but it's pretty 
decent if you don't have access to Mighty Guard yet.

-Rapture-
A useful spell with a terrible translated name, which puts a pair of 
wings on each enemy's back and they get lifted into the air and is never 
seen again. Works well on normal enemies but certain enemies are 
resistant to it (like Tonberries.)

-The End-
EVERYBODY fears this spell! Flowers will blossom before the enemies and 
the background turns into a flower filled meadow and the words "The End" 
pops up like if the game has ended. Then the enemies die for no reason. 
What's so powerful about this is that it will even work on really tough 
bosses like Omega! Very rare on her Slots, but has a decent chance of 
showing up at high levels.

Yes, thanks to -Skrybe- for the descriptions of Selphie's secret Slot 
spells. Ever wonder why there are 2 empty spaces in Selphie's Limit 
Break window? Well, Square planned to implement 6 unique spells for 
Selphie only but only got around to make 4 of them playable. So unless 
you have a GameShark or its equivalent, you'll never be able to use 
these 2 powerful spells.

-Percent-
It really shows that Square don't really care about their gamers since 
they haven't even got around to make the animation for Percent and 
Catastrophe. This looks like the basic "Fire" spell that Seifer uses at 
the beginning of his Limit Breaks, or so I've been told. *Yawn*

However, the descriptions are of this spell says "Put enemies near 
death" which probably does damage based on the target's HP (gravity 
elemental) which would have been really useful in Carding and Devouring 
enemies. 

-Catastrophe-
Again, the animation is the same as that of the Fire spell. 

Catastrophe follows the trend of Ultima and Apocalypse that does heavy 
non-elemental damage to all enemies, its description says "Major damage 
to all enemies". Unfortunately Catastrophe is not quite Shockwave Pulsar 
standards and damage STILL caps at 9999. Still I asked -Skrybe- to test 
Catastrophe against both Apocalypse and Ultima to compare its power, 
here are his results: Ultima 1300, Apocalypse 2600 and Catastrophe 4000. 
So Apocalypse is twice and Catastrophe is 3 thrice as strong as Ultima.

Note that all 6 Slot spells can be gotten as stocked regular spells for 
all characters using a GameShark, except that none of them can be 
junctioned. -Skrybe- also went further saying that certain GF summons 
can be gotten as regular spells, although they tend to lock the game up 
when cast, and gave some strange junction stats.


Since time is not paused when Selphie uses her Slots, try to use it when 
another character/enemy is executing a lengthy action (casting a spell 
etc.) The best way to select your spell is to do it during a GF 
summoning animation, if you wanna give up Boost for it that is. Diablos 
is the best since his attack is lengthy and don't use Boost. 

The spell to look for depends on your situation. Early on in the game, 
basic elementary spells can satisfy most purposes and may actually top 
Squall or Zell's Limit Breaks! Later in the game however, her usefulness 
pans out since everyone else has at least one really powerful attack or 
defensive skills. So Selphie is best used as a healer with her Full 
Cure. Her Wall is also good if you don't have Quistis. If you manage to 
get Aura then you might as well use it. Haste is also fairly decent. 

As for offence, the best Selphie can do is probably multiple Meteors for 
single targets or multiple Ultimas for multiple targets. (Meteor will 
actually do respectable damage when her Magic attribute is 255.) If you 
manage to get The End, you can end the fight in one shot! (You might not 
want to do it though, as it kinda spoils the fun in a boss fight.)

EASY SLOT JACKPOT! ==================================================
|Thanks to Matt <The200sx@aol.com> for this trick.                  |
|                                                                   |
|Have you tried to strike it lucky with Selphie's Slots but don't   | 
|get any good magic? Try this trick.                                |
|                                                                   |
|Make sure that Selphie is in critical condition, or under Aura. Now| 
|have another team member cast a spell (any will do, preferably a   |
|cheap one) but before the spell is executed, press the "Open"      | 
|button on your PlayStation to open the lid. The game will try to   | 
|load the spell off the CD but it cannot, so the game will kinda    | 
|"soft" freeze. Take advantage of this time to cycle through        | 
|Selphie's Slots for desirable spells, then close the lid and       | 
|resume play.                                                       |
|                                                                   |
|Since the time is paused, you virtually have an eternity to cycle  | 
|for your favourite spells, but this trick is not without flaws. One| 
|big drawback is that the spells offered with this is quite limited.| 
|If you keep cycling for ages and ages, it'll eventually "recycle"  | 
|the old spells, meaning if you do not get say The End for the first| 
|50 times, you will never get it. (To get around this problem, exit | 
|the Slot sub-screen and tap the O button until the triangle appears| 
|again, and this time you'll get a completely different list of     | 
|spells.) This is still a really neat trick IMO, enough to keep     | 
|Selphie fans happy. :)                                             |
=====================================================================


---Irvine Kinneas---
                      MAX
HP         4120      6730
Str         156       157        Spd       39
Vit         108       118        Luck      21
Mag         128       129        Eva        3%
Spr         105       115        Hit      115%

Comments on stats: For some reason, Irvine seems to have really low 
stats. His Str is the lowest... and all his other stats are the lowest 
out of all characters. You think it's because he starts off at the 
highest level? He's the fastest though (but perhaps not as much as 
Kiros.)

Limit Break: Shot
Hehe, his Limit is fun. Choose a type of ammo that you've stocked in 
your inventory and tap the trigger button (R1) rapidly to shoot as many 
bullets as you can under a time limit. The time limit is a depleting bar 
to the lower right of the screen and the amount of time he has available 
can vary. Unlike Zell though, Irvine's bar does not lengthen as his 
timer is expanded, instead it moves slower, so it's not easy to identify 
the amount of time he has available or the amount of it's left. It's 
also hard to tell how many different time intervals Irvine has. When a 
shot deals zero damage, it means that the target is dead so don't waste 
any more bullets. (But it sucks since you'll always waste at least one 
bullet for this purpose.)

By obtaining new bullets, Irvine can expand his variety of shots. Most 
of them can be bought in stores, some of them can be won or refined from 
cards, and all of them can be refined from Ifrit's Ammo-RF Menu Ability 
(some of the rarer bullets can only be gotten this way.) Make sure that 
you browse through that ability menu often as you can find some really 
good deals that you just CANNOT resist! (Like 1 Chef's Knife into 10 AP 
Ammo or 1 Poison Powder into 10 Dark Ammo!) The power of Irvine's Shot 
is dependent on his Str. 

Since his Limit Break is not free like all the others, I don't use his 
as much. 

Note: One very interesting thing I've noted is that Irvine's Shot is 
sorta like magic is that, it will NOT wake a target suffering from the 
Sleep status. Strange indeed!

The list of different types of gun shots are listed below, sorry for the 
delay, as I finally got to play with them thoroughly last night. Also, I 
give the various ammunition ranks in various categories, Power, Speed, 
Acquirability and the Overall Usefulness. An S is the best while an F is 
the worst.

Note: A C (average) in Power is comaparable to normal attacks, while a C 
in Speed indicates it can be fired about 4 times for the shortest Shot 
Limit Break interval.

-Normal Shot- (Normal Ammo)
Power: C     Speed: B      Acquirability: A   Overall Usefulness: B

This resembles Irvine's normal attack, only shot multiple times in 
succession.

The cheapest ammo is actually quite efficient, it can be bought in most 
stores. The speed is good and the damage is equivalent to his normal 
attacks. Needless to say, if Irvine has very high Str, this attack can 
be quite strong and for a low price. I use this attack the most.

-Scatter Shot- (Shotgun Ammo)
Power: D     Speed: B      Acquirability: A   Overall Usefulness: D

Looks similar to Normal Shot but hits all enemies.

This has the same speed as Normal Shot, but it's only about half as 
strong. There are not very many situations in the game where you need to 
target multiple enemies at the same time so this shot is a waste.

-Dark Shot- (Dark Ammo)
Power: D-    Speed: B      Acquirability: B   Overall Usefulness: C+ 

Irvine shoots a granade that explodes into a green cloud.

I like this. It's the weakest ammunition there is but it has decent 
speed and has a chance of giving the enemy a random negative status per 
shot. I've seen Poison, Darkness, Silence and Sleep. Can also be gotten 
fairly easily.

-Flame Shot- (Fire Ammo)
Power: B     Speed: C      Acquirability: B-  Overall Usefulness: C

Not quite a flamethrower but Irvine launches a burst of flame similar to 
that of Opera's long ranged version of Flame Launcher in SO2.

The only elemental shot there is, so it can either be extremely useful 
or completely useless. The fire elemental nature of this attack is good 
against certain enemies like Malboro, as it will do double damage. The 
damage done with Flame Shot unde neutral elemental resistance is about 
twice that of Normal Shot.

-Canister Shot- (Demolition Ammo)
Power: B+    Speed: F      Acquirability: C   Overall Usefulness: E

Irvine blasts many rockets from his gun which homes in on the enemy.

I hate this attack. It's very strong but it's so slow that I can bearly 
manage to shoot 3 times during the shortest time interval, so Normal 
Ammo can hit for more damage than this most of the time (via critical 
hits.) It's quite expensive but you can still find a few bargins for 
Demolition Ammo if you look for Running Fires.

-Quick Shot- (Fast Ammo)
Power: E     Speed: S      Acquirability: B   Overall Usefulness: A-

Irvine fires rapid shots at an enemy, but not quite machinegun 
standards.

Does about the same damage as Dark Shot but it can shoot 2-3 bullets per 
1 Normal Ammo! Since it is fired so many times, the rate of a critical 
attack pops up is also the highest among all shots. The only drawback is 
that the ammunition runs out faster than the rate at which Lara Croft's 
boobs grows, so keep plenty of them in stock.

-Armor Shot- (AP Ammo)
Power: A+    Speed: E      Acquirability: C-  Overall Usefulness: B+

Irvine blasts a thin beam of laser which penetrates the enemy's defence.

Probably the one of the best ammunition in the game. It's did 9999 
damage when I didn't junction anything in Irvine's Str (his normal 
attack was doing only 1100+ damage!) It's not too hard to get, Chef's 
Knives can nets you loads of this, and they're reasonably easy to 
acquire. It's slow though, and you won't even notice a critical hit, so 
IMO, Fast Ammo is more useful. 

-Hyper Shot- (Pulse Ammo)
Power: S+    Speed: E      Acquirability: E   Overall Usefulness: D

Irvine fires a huge beam of intense light at the enemy.

It's exceptionally hard to get your hands on (but it wont be much of a 
problem if you use the infinite Elnoyle encounter to your advantage.) 
Slow like Armor Shot, but it almost always do 9999 damage, meaning all 
critical hits will be wasted. You can shoot 3 times during the shortest 
time interval, meaning doing 29997 points of damage, but with 255 Str, 
Quick Shot can hit 10+ times, for ~2500 each hit, plus critical hits, 
meaning there's a much greater chance of doing more damage if you just 
stick to Quick Shot.


---Seifer Almasy---
Thanks to Colin Pentney <salivator@hotmail.com> who took the time to 
level Seifer to level 100 and sent in the stats. The value to the left 
is Seifer's at level 100 WITHOUT any bonuses, the one on the right is 
the estimated maximum acquirable with the bonuses. It is served mainly 
to compare with the max stats of the other characters.

                    Est. MAX
HP         5823       8553
Str          60        151       Spd       45
Vit          39        130       Luck      19
Mag          45        136       Eva        4%
Spr          38        129       Hit      255%

Comments on stats: Geez, Seifer's stats rivals even that of Rinoa's! His 
Str is the lowest though, but that's because he cannot upgrade his 
weapon and is stuck with a crap gunblade. (If he did, add 13 points to 
his Str, and he'll have standard Str.) He has the highest Vit and Spr. 
Don't go away yet, look at this HP and Spd. WOW! His max HP is about 
2000 higher than most and he's even faster than Irvine! (Not sure about 
Kiros though, as he does seem to be the fastest character in the whole 
game.) All that plus the ability to hit with perfect precision, making 
him the most powerful character in the game. Oh dear, if only you can 
get him in your team permanently.

Limit Break: Fire Cross
I'm a little puzzled by the name of his Limit Breaks, I know it's 
supposed to be confusing since you only get to use him for a little 
while. Fire Cross seems to be the "style" of his Limits (like Rinoa's 
Combine) while each attack (like No Mercy) is a separate skill in the 
order of Fire Cross. 

Seifer, like Squall, also uses a gunblade, but his style of attack is 
completely different. Seifer seems to be able to "fuse" magic with his 
"sword" attacks, forming a style of his own. 

Seifer is also the strangest since he seems to have the ability to use 
his Limit Breaks at will, meaning he has no problem to get the triangle 
to show up indicating a Limit Break is available.

-No Mercy-
Seifer blast all enemies with a Fire spell then he spins his gunblade 
and starts charging for an energy sphere. He then swings the blade, 
sending a high speed spinning projectile at each enemy.

Well, at least it hits all enemies. It's only a single hit so it's not 
very powerful. IMO, this acts in a very similar way to Rinoa's Angelo 
Cannon, or perhaps slightly weaker. And no, this is not fire elemental.

-Demon Slice-
Seifer again torces one opponent with a Fire spell then he spins, 
forming a tornado, sucks one target into the air and slices them 
repeatedly in mid air.

Well, not a playable Limit Break, but it's his special attack when you 
fight him at the end of disc 2. His gunblade has the same greenish glow 
as his No Mercy skill so I guess it's his new Limit Break at that time.

-Zantetsuken Reverse-
It's sorta like Odin's attack except that there are 2 more characters 
after the 3 Kanji, spelling "Reverse".

Not a playable Limit Break either, but it looks pretty cool.

-Bloodfest-
Seifer burns all targets with a Fire spell then leaps into the air and 
slashes with his gunblade in the shape of a cross. A flaming cross 
appears on the ground below his targets and it begins to sink, until it 
finally colapses. Something like that.

Another non-playable Limit Break, Seifer uses this during the third time 
you encounter him inside the Lunatic Pandora. According to
-Skrybe-, Gilgamesh will take down Seifer before he can take enough 
damage to use Bloodfest, so that's why Seifer could only use regular 
attacks during that fight. To see this attack, you've really have to 
beat up on Seifer and make it fast, which isn't a good idea since you'll 
be missing the opportunity on drawing Aura.

(Thanks to -Skrybe- for the information.)


---Edea Kramer---
Thanks to Qualera for Edea's level 100 stats.

                    Est. MAX
HP         3777       5997
Str          61        135       Spd       31
Vit          20         94       Luck      15
Mag          55        129       Eva        2%
Spr          45        121       Hit       97%

Comments on stats: Nothin' to see here. Edea is no where near as good as 
Seifer and is even weaker than all normal party members, but who can 
blame her? She starts at such a high level of 26. Low HP, very low Vit 
and Spd but has ok Mag and Spr. The only interesting thing about Edea is 
her Str. It is the highest even though she's a magic user and uses no 
weapons.

Limit Break: Sorcery
Well, sorcery is everything to a sorceress, but Edea seems to be quite 
limited in her sorcery skills, at least in battle. I've only seen one 
sorcery skill.

-Ice Strike-
Edea gets angry and icicles start to materialize in thin air, then she 
directs them at the enemy.

No this does not do ice elemental damage. It's not a bad attack though, 
but don't expect too much since it still does 1 hit and only targets one 
enemy.

> Any others??


---Laguna Loire---
Thanks to Ed Asano for the info.

                    Est. MAX
HP         4148       6938 
Str          62        154       Spd       37
Vit          41        133       Luck      21
Mag          46        138       Eva        3%
Spr          36        128       Hit      103%

Comments on stats: Um... Laguna does have fairly good stats in all 
areas, he's no Rinoa though. Very good HP and defensive attributes. His 
Str is excuseable, if it weren't handicapped like all the temporary 
members it'll be one of the highest. Nearly there. 

Limit Break: Limit
"Limit" is probably what all the Galbadian soldiers uses back in those 
days, 'cuz it's of the same discipline as Ward and Kiros' attacks. 

-Desperado-
Throws a geneade at the enemy. He then leaps into the air, swinging from 
an industrial strength cable. After hitting his foe(s) with a hail of 
gunfire, leaps down just as the geneade explodes.

Just another version of No Mercy and Angelo Cannon I suppose, not great, 
not too crappy. 


---Kiros Seagul---
Thanks again to Ed Asano.

                    Est. MAX
HP         3728       6458
Str          56        147       Spd       48
Vit          31        122       Luck      23
Mag          50        141       Eva        4%
Spr          41        132       Hit      102%

Comments on stats: Kiros obviously ain't the fighting-heavy type 
character, as a matter of fact, his stats resemble Selphie's a LOT! Very 
good Mag and Spr, except that Kiros is the FASTEST in the game! His Spd 
is even higher than Seifer's, and he can practically act twice per every 
action another member excutes! An exellent character indeed!

Limit Break: Limit

-Blood Pain-
Rushing his enemy, Kiros attacks with a red blur of fury. He strikes 
hisenemy with 6 hits (this number is exact, and doesn't vary). The last 
hit being a forward flip with a slash from both his knives.

Probably the best Limit out of all the temporary members, as it hits 
multiple times. So the maximum damage this can do would be 9999 x 6, 
although it might be hard to get that far since each hit tend to be 
rather weak. A scrubbier version of Renzokuken with less damage per hit, 
contant number of strikes and no random finisher.


---Ward Zaback---
Thanks to Ed Asano (aka Qualera) yet again!

                    Est. MAX
HP         4768       7498 
Str          72        163       Spd       27
Vit          44        135       Luck      14
Mag          36        127       Eva        2%
Spr          30        121       Hit       98%

Comments on stats: Exactly opposite of what Kiros was. Ward is the 
physical character, with EXTREMELY high HP, Str and Vit. If not because 
of his Str handicap, Ward may come out stronger than Rinoa! On the other 
hand, Ward's Spd, Luck, Eva and Hit sucks!

Limit Break: Limit

-Massive Anchor-
Launches his anchor high into the air. Ward soon leaps up after it. 
Hethen rides the anchor by standing on it, landing on top of his foe(s).

A traditional FF Dragoon's jump attack, similar to one of Cid's from 
FFVII. It's ok, but since Ward's Str tend to be high, it'll often deal 
the most damage out of Laguna's team. 


STEP-BY-STEP POWER-UP WALKTHROUGH
=================================
Final Fantasy VIII is the first game I've ever written a walkthrough 
for, and I have learned a lot from the experience. Please keep in mind 
that this isn't your ordinary walkthrough, it's a very specific 
walkthrough designed for those perfectionists who wants to get the best 
out of their characters. In other words, if you found my above 
instructions a bit vague or you couldn't possibly imagine how on earth I 
can get through a length of the game gaining minimum levels. So here's 
how I did it.

I strongly advice that players who wish to use this walkthrough to play 
through the game "normally" first beofre attempting these procedures. 
Not only will you be able to achieve better results because you know 
what to do and what's going to happen next, you also won't have to bear 
with the pressure of the powering-up on your shoulders, thus preventing 
you from enjoying the game fully. Also remember that certain 
quests/mini-quests were left out on purpose as they have little to do 
with powering up (and because I'm too lazy to cover those boring 
quests.) So if you don't see a certain mini-quest in the guide, don't 
assume that I didn't know about it and try to impress me with your 
findings, way too many readers have done that already. (I'm starting to 
get shitty.) 

The walkthrough contains some spoilers. Discretion is adviced. :D

Some of the terms:
> Junction Check! - All about what GFs, spells and commands to junction. 
> GF Check! - New GFs, or GF ability acquisition recommendations or just 
anything to do with GFs. Remember: Love your GFs!
> Magic Check! - Any info on spells, whether it'd be drawn, refined, 
upgraded or whatever.
> Card Check! - Anything that's got to do with cards, such as rare cards 
or refining cards.
> NOTE! - Just some interesting or important stuff.
DP - Draw Point
SP - Save Point
BOSS - A boss fight
GF PROFILE - A summary of the GF and its abilities, an * next to a GF's 
name indicates that GF cannot be junctioned.

============================ Disc 1 =================================
Like all multiple disc RPGs, the first disc is always the longest and 
the most exciting, IMO. FFVIII's first disc will introduce all major 
characters and set the atmosphere for the rest of the game. It's also 
loaded with GFs, about half of all GFs can be goten in disc 1. In terms 
of cards, it has it's own share but it's only taste of what you can get 
later. Enjoy.


---It begins---
Watch the opening movie and if it's the second time you're playing 
through the game, you should be able to understand it.

When you wake up, you can enter a new name for Squall (although I see 
nothing wrong with "Squall") and Dr. Kadowaki will call your teacher 
Miss Trepe. After a short scene you'll be in the hallway with Instructor 
Trepe. You know what to do so just walk and see how the pre-rendered 
background turns into an FMV! 

> GF Check! Quezacotl and Shiva are obtainable from your study panel. 

> NOTE! Viki told me that if you didn't get the GFs yourself, Quistis 
will give them to you later during the tutorials. It's probably an 
addition to the US version of the game.

GF PROFILE - QUEZACOTL ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Apparently Quezacotl has replaced Ramuh as the Thunder specialist in 
FFVIII, nevertheless he is still an excellent GF, especially for the 
fact that he is your first one! His attack Thunder Storm is one of the 
more useful ones since many enemies during the course of this game is 
weak against Thunder. Abilities like Card, Card Mod and Mid Mag-RF makes 
Quezacotl an ideal GF for the first half of the game and his rich 
Junction, Character Abilities and the summon itself makes him a perfect 
all-round GF.
>> Best abilities: Card, Card Mod, Mid Mag-RF, T Mag-RF
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GF PROFILE - SHIVA ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Everyone's favourite FF chick is back but ain't better than ever. :-( 
Apparently the director wanted her to show a bit more flesh and stripped 
away her bikini in FFVII. Anyhow, her attack, Diamond Dust is stronger 
than ever and for once, she is not the second weakest summons in the 
game! Though not as many enemies are weak against Ice as against 
Quezacotl's Thunder, her summon attack is still her best asset. Ability-
wise, Shiva is probably one of the boring ones as even her unique skill 
- Doom ain't all that great. This ice maiden's saving grace comes from 
those useful and plentiful Junction and Character Abilities which are 
valued greatly.
Best abilities: None really, but Vit+40% and Spr+40% are quite good.

> NOTE! - ALTERNATE SHIVA SUMMON ANIMATION!
Every other GF has the same summoning animation but like in FFVII, Shiva 
has 2! It's not that big deal really, it's just whether she faces one 
way or the other. She usually faces left but occasionally, she will face 
the other direction. I've seen this twice and it's nice since you can 
get a closer look at her. :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Before you meet Quistis you'll want to wonder around Balamb Garden a 
bit. You'll bump into a girl (who is later known as Selphie) in the 
hallway. If this is your first time through it then definitely show her 
around but otherwise do what you wish. 

> Card Check! Remember to speak to the guy in the 2F hallway, he'll give 
you 7 el cheapo cards. (Don't challenge anyone yet though, you won't 
stand a chance with those.. "cards".)

> Magic Check! Draw Esuna from the DP in the library and the entrance 
for Cure. Now go to the Training Area (don't forget to Junction both GFs 
first) and draw (preferably) 100 Sleeps from a Grat, perhaps some 
Silence as well. (I'd get 100 of each.) Run away when you're done. 
(Don't worry, this part does not count in the test so you won't get 
points deducted.)

If you're hurt you may want to rest in the dorms. Meet Quistis at the 
entrance and she'll teach you something about GFs. Pay attention if this 
is your first time.


---Lava bath anyone?---
> Junction Check! Junction Quezacotl to Squall (Magic-J, junction your 
100 Sleep to it) and Shiva on Quistis (Spr-J, junction Cure to it.) 

> GF Check! As for what abilities they should learn, Quezacotl should 
definitely choose "Card" while it doesn't matter all that much for 
Shiva, but "Boost" may come in handy sometime. If you wanna be more AP-
efficient, have Shiva learn a more expensive ability first, such as Str-
J.

> Magic Check! You need spells before challenging the Fire Cave. 
Encounter some Fastitocalons at the beach and draw lots of Blizzards and 
more Sleep if you want, also get some Scans as they're really useful 
when carding enemies. Run for it when you're done (you'll probably get 
points deducted but..)
> Caterchipillers holds Cures (draw lots of them) and Thunders.
> Draw some Fires as well if you want. Bite Bugs have them. Run from all 
of the above encounters since you don't want to gain any EXP.

> Junction Check! Give Squall lots of Blizzards and junction 100 Cures 
into Quistis' Spirit. Put Magic, Draw and GF commands on Squall and 
Item, Draw and GF on Quistis. Save your game outside the Fire Cavern.

When you're ready, and have stocked up on enough spells, approach the 
Fire Cavern. Choose the 10 minutes option to give your points some 
boost. Ready? Run all the way to the centre of the cave, it should be 
really straightforward. Run away from the encounters as well. When you 
get to a lava pit, you'll encounter the boss. There should be plenty of 
time left on your clock so no worries.

NEW!!! The test score is not determined by how much time you have left 
on your clock or the time interval you chose, it's dependant on how much 
time is left when you defeat Ifrit! (You score points in the category of 
"Judgement", the skill to Judge the correct time limit.) So yes, you can 
get full marks if you choose 40 minutes, but who'd want to?

BOSS - Ifrit ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
       Level 6
       HP 1068
       Draw: Fire, Cure, Scan
       Weak against Ice, Absorbs Fire

He's really not that hard. Have Quistis summon Shiva repeatedly while 
Squall (with Sleep junctioned to his Magic) should cast Blizzard on 
Ifrit. You shouldn't have any problems. If either one of you guys needs 
curing have Squall draw Cure from the boss and cast on the character. If 
Squall's HP becomes low, let him execute Renzokuken. 

If Squall is unluckily enough to get killed, let Quistis revive him with 
a Phoenix Down, but you probably won't need to use it. 

If you want the highest exam score possible, you need to finish Ifrit 
with minimum time left on your clock, meaning you've gotta execute the 
killing blow pretty late into the fight. Since Ifrit will talk after you 
beat him, you do need to time the last blow carefully, else it'll be 
Game Over. Use Blizzard and Shiva to lower Ifrit's HP to about 80 or 
less. (Use Scan often.) Then let Squall cast Blizzard when the timer 
reaches exctly 30 seconds. Congrats, you've just scored full marks!!! 

Win: 4x G-Returner, Ifrit's Card
AP: 20
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This will be a quick fight. When you win, you'll gained Ifrit as your GF 
and you'll also get his card (your first rare card and a VERY good one, 
one of my personal favourites!) The timer has stopped so junction Ifrit 
to Squall and get the hell out of the place, and don't forget to run 
away from all encounters.

GF PROFILE - IFRIT ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Despite the absence of Ramuh, the third member of the FF-Summon-Gang-
Trio is here! Half man, half beast and ready to barbecue the enemies. 
Ifrit's summon attack, Hell Fire, packs a mean punch but just doesn't 
appeal to me as much as Shiva's, Quezacotl's or Doomtrain's since 
enemies weak against fire are rare. (I wonder why.) Ifrit's other 
abilities however, are a different story. Favouring strength, Ifrit can 
turn a character into a physical powerhouse with those Str and HP 
abilities and when combined with the right character (Zell is a good 
one) can absolutely ruin a boss' day! He's also the first GF that nets 
you the Elem-Atk ability which can mean extra damage against many 
enemies if you're careful. Also comes with him but somewhat hidden is 
the Ammo-RF ability crucial to Irvine's Limit Break, without it he'll be 
powerless!
>> Best abilities: Ammo-RF, Str+40%, F mag-RF and Str Bonus
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back in Balamb Garden, Quistis will leave you. However, you might want 
to head to Balamb town to purchase some spare Phoenix Downs. 


---Dollet Me--- (As in "Doh ray me".. nevermind..)
After a few scenes with Zell, Quistis and Seifer, drive the car to 
Balamb. Pay attention to Xu's briefing and view another pretty damn good 
FMV.

> Junction Check! Put a GF on each guy. I junctioned Ifrit to Zell, 
Shiva to Squall and Quezacotl to Seifer. 

> GF Check! 
  - Shiva: She should have learnt Boost if you assigned it earlier so 
the next most important skill of hers is Str-J. Otherwise let her learn 
Boost now.
  - Quezacotl: You should be halfway of acquiring the Card command.
  - Ifrit: Boost is perhaps the best option now.

> Magic Check! Exchange Quistis' magic to Seifer. You may want to give 
him 100 Sleep to junction to his Magic.

Save at the SP. There are about 5 fixed encounters here that you cannot 
run from, but you've got an Ace up your sleeve. Seifer! When you 
encounter the first bunch of soldiers, let Squall and Zell kill 
themselves off by drawing and casting spells on themselves. (You might 
want to draw some spells before you do so.) Let Seifer finish off the 
enemies (they're easy) when you're satisfied. 

> NOTE! Seifer is certainly a strange kid for 2 reasons. 1) He has 
really good starting stats and gains stats very fast as he levels up and 
2) His Limit Break "No Mercy" can be executed EXTREMELY easily!! He has 
no trouble getting the triangle to show up even at FULL HEALTH! Too bad 
you can't get him as a permanent member.

Anyway, what you wanna do here is to leave Squall and Zell alone and 
fight the battles with just Seifer. Since Seifer is the only active 
member in the team, you'd want to keep a close eye on his HP and since 
he can use his Limit so damn easily, you don't really have an excuse not 
to try to keep his HP as high as possible. 

After the 4 fixed battles with soldiers, random battles will start to 
show up. Fight these as OFTEN as you wish and as many as you want! As a 
matter of fact, it's a really good idea to fight many random battles 
here with Seifer since your GFs will grow with the AP/EXP (and more 
abilities will show up when their level rises.) Fighting here will also 
earn you points in the "Attack" category in your SeeD test scores, which 
translates into a high SeeD rank and more money. 

You might be tempted to remove all the GFs from Zell and Squall and 
junction them all to Seifer. I recommend you keep them where they are 
since they gain EXP quicker this way. 

> GF Check! You GFs will gain tons of AP here if you continue to fight, 
which means that they can master many abilities here. Here's some 
abilities that I think are quite important and should be learnt before 
everything else.
  - Quezacotl: His Card command should be ready, so let him learn the 
Card Mod ability which complements the former nicely. T Mag-RF is not 
bad either (and cheap) and will unlock the useful Mid Mag-RF.
  - Shiva: Pick up her Str-J and Vit-J first from her list of trashy 
abilities. Then either I Mag-RF or Vit+20%.
  - Ifrit: Um.. if you're after his Str Bonus ability just in case you 
levelled up then start from his Str+20% and +40% first (but they're good 
skills never the less.) Otherwise his HP-J and F Mag-RF are the way to 
go.
> You may want to adjust these to be more AP-efficient. There's a boss 
worth 18AP coming up and an optional boss with a whopping 50AP! 

At the top of the stairs you'll have to fight an Anacondour. It has 
about 1400HP but isn't really all that hard. It has a strong attack 
though, can cause ~70 points of damage per hit. Keep Seifer's HP high 
and summon Shiva if you junctioned her to Seifer, or just use Blizzard. 
His Limit Break is easily usable but it still won't cause as much damage 
as Blizzard. You may want to turn it into a card (since Quezacotl's Card 
ability should be completed right about now) but it will give your GFs 
quite a bit of EXP when you kill it.

If you want to build up your GFs, wonder around this area. You can 
encounter a double Anacondour here. They're tough but the 8AP and 
~600EXP you gain for winning is worth it. Keep Seifer's HP high is 
mandatory since they are both quite fast and powerful. (I remember 
getting the Game Over screen fighting them when I was careless.) 

Pro tip - Go go Seifer! =============================================
|Seifer fans would probably know this already, but powering him up  | 
|will also make you much more powerful at the beginning, and gives  | 
|you a solid footing for a later quest.                             |
|                                                                   |
|Since the enemies level up as you do, and their draw collection    | 
|will improve, you can get a lot of good spells by powering Seifer  | 
|up alone. Enemies gain their second level magic at level 20, while | 
|their final upgrade at level 30. However, things seems to work     | 
|differently here, as the enemy's level is always lower than        | 
|Seifer's. The enemies reaches level 20 when Seifer is at level 36, | 
|and reaches level 30 when Seifer is at level 60, so you are looking| 
|at a lengthy procedure if you're willing to try.                   |
|                                                                   |
|However, by doing this, you can obtain Firagas, Blizzagas, Curagas | 
|Thundagas, Bios and Dispels from various enemies, hunt around for  | 
|them. Definitely get 400 Curagas spread among 4 characters since   | 
|they are the best junctions for quite a while. 200 of each of the  | 
|rest is enough IMO, they are good in most junctions. You may also  | 
|want to get some -ra level spells too.                             |
|                                                                   |
|One thing to keep in mind is to spread out your GFs so they gain   | 
|EXP quicker. By my calculations, your GFs will reach EXACTLY level | 
|100 when Seifer reaches level 60, and they will be your strongest  | 
|set of GFs for the rest of the game! They will also be able to     | 
|learn ALL their most important skills here, but you are looking at | 
|about 7-8 hours powering up in Dollet. For extra fun, equip Seifer | 
|with Str Bonus when Ifrit learns it, then laugh as his No Mercy    | 
|does 9000+ damage to all the enemies. :) All those -ga spells will | 
|make drawing Demis from Diablos later a LOT easier!                |
|                                                                   |
|Also, high level Anacondours will drop Star Fragments, good for    |
|weapon modding and teachs a GF SumMag+20%. I cannot remember who   |
|told me about this, I'm sooooooo sorry..... E-mail me again again  |
|and I'll give you credit.                                          |
=====================================================================

> GF Check! Before you go on to the next area, your GFs should be at 
least level 10 as they won't be able to gain any more EXP for quite a 
while. Shiva's Doom commands becomes available at level 10, and the same 
goes to Ifrit's Ammo-RF (crucial ability!) and Mad Rush (not so).

Follow along the path to the Communication Tower. After the scene where 
Seifer runs away, you'll be introduced to Selphie by a cute FMV. Note 
that Squall and Zell are both revived with 1HP if you killed them 
earlier. Use a Cure on both of them.

Don't take the shortcut (like Selphie did) or you'll get points 
deducted. Instead, walk along the paved road. Talk to Selphie and she'll 
join you.

> Junction Check! Junction Quezacotl on Selphie, Shiva on Squall and 
Ifrit on Zell. Shiva should have gotten Str-J if you trained her. 
Junction whatever magic is best fit for the team. As for commands, 
here's what I had:
   Squall:  Attack, Draw, Magic, Item
   Zell:    Attack, Draw, Magic, GF
   Selphie: Attack, Draw, GF, Item
> The Item command is crucial at this point of the game since Phoenix 
Downs are the only way to revive a KO'd member right now. 

> GF Check! The up coming boss holds 18AP, so adjust your abilities for 
it. 

> Magic Check! Selphie inherits all the spells Seifer had stocked so you 
don't have to worry about her being magic-less. There's also a DP for 
Blind inside the tower, it's not that important spell right now.

Save at the SP and take the elevator up and meet Biggs. After an FMV 
that I'm sure you're all familiar with since it's detailed in the demo, 
you'll have to fight some bosses.

BOSS - Biggs, Wedge ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You'll be facing Biggs first. He's not very powerful. Take some time to 
draw his Esuna. Since only one character in your party has Mag-J, the 
other 2 will fail quite often. But since this boss is quite harmless, I 
usually try to stock up on as much Esunas as I can hold. 

After a bit, Wedge comes to help Biggs. He's even less of a threat as 
most of the time he will just stand there. You can call a GF to wipe out 
both of them in one shot when you've drawn enough spells since your GFs 
are of a high level.

After you beat on them for a bit, they'll get swept away by a whirlwind 
and you'll be up against...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BOSS - Elvoret ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is a continuation from the last battle. Elvoret is no joke. Every 3 
rounds he'll use his Storm Breath attack, a wind elemental attack that 
does about 150 to all 3 members of your team, so keep your HP above 200. 

> GF Check! Do NOT forget to draw Siren from this boss.

Elvoret has a nice spell to draw - Double! Again, I'd have all my 
characters draw Double from it and 200 of them would be my goal. Double 
is _slightly_ easier to draw compared to Esuna, or so it seemed. Your 
characters without Mag-J will still have some problems coping with it 
but Doubles are really useful in junctions so I think it's worth it. 

When one of your characters need healing, have a character without Mag-J 
draw Cure from Elvoret and cast. If all your characters need healing 
(ie, after Storm Breath) then let Selphie use her Full-Cure. If you're 
unfortunate enough to get KO'd, use a Phoenix Down.

After a while, Selphie should have 100 Doubles stocked, so let her 
summon Quezacotl to raise their Compatibility. Keep an eye out on 
Quezacotl's HP though. If it gets too low, only summon it after Elvoret 
does his Storm Breath. The other 2 should keep on drawing Doubles from 
the boss.

You may also wanna play around with Selphie's Slots and try to learn her 
unique magic. Try casting Aura from her Slots on herself then use it 
again, you'll notice that the selection of spells has been significantly 
improved. Combining that and the Slot trick, I learnt all her Slot magic 
in this fight. :)

You'll be able to beat it after summoning Quezacotl about 5 times. For 
all your trouble, you'll get to pick up a bootie full of free goodies 
like Elixirs. As if it weren't enough, you've gotten a full supply of 
good spells and a new GF.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

> Junction Check! Junction Siren to Squall and junction 100 Doubles into 
his Magic (steal Doubles from Zell if you haven't got enough) Junction 
100 Doubles to Selphie's Magic as well. Don't change your commands. 
Junction 100 Thunders to Zell's Elem-Atk if you wish.

> GF Check! 
Quezacotl: He should've gotten Card Mod already. Any Menu Abilities 
should do now. If you've been training hard and have gotten all his Menu 
Abilities, get his Junction Abilities. 
Shiva: Get Vit+20% then Spr+20%.
Ifrit: Get his Str+??% abilities.
Siren: Definitely Move-Find first.

GF PROFILE - SIREN ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Drooling all over Shiva yet? Well, that girl's got some tough 
competition comin' up 'cuz here comes Siren! Although looking somewhat 
indecent (have you seen those Siren action figures?) but she's kinda 
unique in that she has these cute wings on her head. (Hey, looks like 
Morrigan!) Playing the part of a maiden by the sea who takes the lives 
of unsuspecting sailors (sounds like Baywatch), Siren's attack Silent 
Voice can instantly mute all enemies while inflicting a fair amount of 
damage at the same time. Although the damage done is nothing to praise 
about, it is non-elemental meaning it's a safe one to use against 
enemies who are strong against everything. The Silence effect is also 
neat against enemies who likes to cast spells, mainly human troops, 
although many of the more powerful enemies are immune to it. Ability-
wise, Siren is a rich goldmine. The Treatment command may seem a bit 
dull at first but it can save your butt many times when fighting against 
Malboros, since it's not hindered by the Silence status. (It's also the 
only way I know of curing Doom.) Siren's the first GF who gives you the 
advantage of blocking a status too, as well as returning one with ST-Atk 
and ST-Def. Those Magic abilities are perfect for magic users like 
Selphie and she has THREE distinct Menu Abilities, making her a 
versatile one. Finally, her Move-Find skill will review all those hidden 
Draw Points and Save Points! (In the field maps only though.) Phew, what 
a mouth full!
>>Best abilities: Treatment, Mag Bonus, L Mag-RF, ST Med-RF, Tool-RF and 
Move-Find
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You now have 30 minutes to get to the shore so run like hell!!!

OPTIONAL BOSS - X-ATM092 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is an optional boss where you can choose whether to fight it or 
not. Killing it will result in 100 bonus points and loads of AP but I 
think you're NOT supposed to kill it. It's your choice whether you wanna 
take it down. Yes you are under a time limit of 30 minutes but it should 
be enough to take it down without much problems. If it's your first time 
through the game then I don't recommend it, but if you've played through 
the game and wants revenge, this is the way to go (may be..)

FIRST ENCOUNTER
You'll first encounter the X-ATM092 at the entrance of the tower, and 
it's a mandatory battle. You cannot however, defeat it in this fight. 
Even if you deplete its HP to zero, it will be refilled and believe me I 
learnt it the hard way! So all you can do is to do about 1500 damage and 
it'll collapse. Just cast Thunders and summon Quezacotl with Selphie. 
Run when it gets down.

SECOND ENCOUNTER
This is the time to defeat it if you wish. Since you will not run into 
any random encounters during the chase, it's better to fight it as late 
as possible.

> Note! To get through the part where the ground shakes and you can't 
move, simple WALK instead of RUN, as the robot will shock you with 
electricity if you run. Thanks to Linda Villanueva for the much needed 
info! 

Selphie should summon Quezacotl non-stop and since she's summon it many 
times during the fight with Elvoret, they should have good 
Compatibility. Use Boost to get the fullest effect, especially if you 
have a turbo controller. It can do 1300+ if you manage to get 130 or so 
with Boost. 

Zell and Squall should have fairly low HP (don't heal them during the 
fight) and execute their Limit Breaks every round. They should both have 
spells junctioned to their Str too. For some strange reason, Squall's 
Renzukoken will always be 4 hits versus the X-ATM092. Zell should use 
mainly his Punch Rush and Booya, and maybe Mach Kick. (It should do more 
damage than Squall's even for the 4 second time interval!)

If Squall/Zell gets KO'd, revive them with a Phoenix Down and keep 
going. It'll eventually explode. This fight can take about 10-15 minutes 
but there's plenty of time left. You'll get the whoppin' 50AP that I 
just couldn't shut up about. I heard that the X-ATM092 will leave a good 
random item when it destructs but I've beaten it twice and all I got was 
a cheap Orichalcon both times. (Why couldn't it have been the upgraded 
version like an Adamantine? Oh well, at least I got my 50AP!)

> NOTE! Happy Matt informed me that you may not necessarily need to KILL 
the X-ATM092 to earn the 50AP. He said that he gave up have way through 
the fight and got the 50AP so it maybe possible to earn the AP simply by 
causing enough damage to it.

BTW, you WILL run into random fights with the X-ATM092 out of the way. 
Just run from them all (points deducted.) A strange thing happened when 
I was against a soldier, the game wouldn't let me run so I had to take 
him down.

If you decided not to beat it, then just run away from it and use the 
same strategy as the first fight to take it down temporarily and run for 
it. Of course, there's a huge advantage in NOT killing off the boss, and 
that is you'll be treated to a nifty FMV (my personal favourite) where 
the team runs from the "Black Widow" and the foxy Quistis shoots down 
the robot with big guns. (Gosh, she can take on Lara Croft AND Jill 
Valentine both at the same time with THAT!)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

X-AMT092 AP TRICK! ==================================================
|Thanks to Eekeric@aol.com for this trick.                          |
|                                                                   |
|It is true that you only need to do a certain amount of damage to  | 
|earn the 50AP. Here's what Eekeric@aol.com sent in:                |
|                                                                   |
|"Well, to make it blow up, you have to take away it's full HP 4    | 
|times in one battle, right? And once you take away its full HP, it | 
|just says "it's repairing itself" and it's automatically repaired  | 
|to full health. When you damage its full HP, then the game thinks  | 
|you beat it, so you will be awarded 50 AP after the battle. After  | 
|that, you just have to knock it down (above something like above   | 
|1200, below max AP) and run, and you get the AP then you can       |  
|repeat it..... probably 15 times if Quezacotl is at a really high  | 
|level."                                                            |
|                                                                   |
|Whatever that's supposed to mean. I haven't tried this out yet but |
|it sounds quite promising. Anyone wanna give it a try? (I edited it| |a 
little, hope you don't mind.)                                    |
|                                                                   |
|Note that the rest of the guide had been written as if the Seifer  | 
|quest and X-ATM092 tricks has been omitted, so the GF abilities,   | 
|magic or strategy may seem a bit premitive. Just use your own      | 
|judgement. As a side note on how much the GFs have advanced, Shiva,| 
|Ifrit and Quezacotl are all at level 100 with all skills mastered. | 
|Siren is still at level 9 with Move-Find, all Mag abilities and a  | 
|few Menu Abilities learned. If there's enough requests, I'd update | 
|my guide, ability lists and strategies to suit all these optional  | 
|power optional quests.                                             |
=====================================================================

Once you arrive back in Balamb, just head back to the Garden if you 
don't have anything to do. Stay at the hotel if you wish.

After a few story scenes, you should get your SeeD report. You should 
get something like a 7 if you followed my steps. Don't forget to talk to 
Cid again for the Battle Report.


---Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir?--- (I hope that's correct..)
Congrats congrats, now you're a SeeD members. Get changed (noticed how 
he got changed with the doors OPEN while Selphie is just standing 
outside?!) and talk to Selphie when you're done.

You'll be treated to a couple of bootieful dance FMVs with an unknown 
girl. Quistis then comes along and wants you meet her in the secret area 
in the Training Area. Get changed again (I don't see the point) before 
you go you should junction both Squall and Quistis properly. 

> Junction Check! Junction 2 GFs on each character, I had Squall with 
Ifrit and Siren while Quistis got Quezacotl and Shiva. Junction the 200 
Doubles that you've worked so hard for in each character's Magic. 
Junction Blizzard to Ele-Atk if you wish and Junction Sleep to Squall's 
ST-Atk. Finally, the commands should look something like:
   Squall:  Attack, Draw, GF, Magic
   Quistis: Attack, Draw, GF, Card
> Substitute in Item instead of GF for Squall if you wanna play safe 
just in case Quistis dies.

> Magic Check! Trade someone's magic to Quistis and trade the Blind 
spells to Squall.

> GF Check! Your GFs should have learnt some decent expensive abilities 
if you took down the X-ATM092.
  - Quezacotl: Card Mod should be complete now. Learn T Mag-RF then Mid 
Mag-RF if you haven't done so. 
  - Shiva: Vit+20% and Spr+20% followed by the +40%s.
  - Ifrit: Str+20% and +40%.
  - Siren: She should have gotten Move-Find already. Learn Boost then 
either all her Menu Abilities (L Mag-RF is great!) or her Mag+20%.

> Card Check! So you have gotten Card Mod, it's time to get some new 
Blue Magic for Quistis. You can get 3 decent skills just by modding some 
of the crap cards you were given at the start of the game.
    Caterchipiller -> Spider Web    -> Ultra Wave
    Gesper         -> Black Hole    -> Degenerator
    Gayla          -> Mystery Fluid -> Acid
If you've played some card games already and manage to win, you might 
have more cards that can be turned into Quistis' new skills.

Save your game in Squall's room. Head to the Training Area and Quistis 
will be waiting for you. She'll teach you something about Status Attack.

Enter the Training Area and prepare for a fight. If you encounter Grats, 
have Squall weaken them and have Quistis turn them into a card. If you 
encounter a T-Rexaur, try putting it to sleep by attacking it with Sleep 
Junctioned to ST-Atk. If it doesn't work, have Squall cast Blind on it. 
You can Scan it if you want, it should have about 13000HP. Summon Shiva 
with Quistis and another GF or cast Blizzard using Squall. When you've 
done about 8000+ damage, you can card it with Quistis. You'll get a nice 
10AP for your effort, which is worth it IMO. You may want to stay here 
for a bit to build up your GFs.

BOSS - Granaldo and Raldo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You'll have to fight 3 Raldos and a Granaldo to save a girl. This is an 
easy battle since they can't really do much damage, maybe about 30 
points max. 

Draw Protects from the Raldos as they act as decent spells for Vitality, 
and cast them on your team if you want. When your Limit Break comes up 
(will be quite a while since their attacks are weak!) eliminate them in 
one hit with Squall's Renzokuken and Quistis' Laser Eye or Ultra 
Vibration. I usually get 100 Protects for either member.

When you finished with Protects, Granaldo holds Shells which is nice for 
your Spirit. I usually get another 100 each, but if you don't want to 
then don't worry too much as it's not the best spell in the game and it 
can be refine really easily later. Draw some Blinds too, they're not 
good for junctions at all but are useful against many enemies who uses 
physical attacks, like T-Rexaurs. 

Finish them off with your Limits once you're satisfied, or if you're no 
where near critical HP, summon your high level GFs to kill them in one 
hit (Ifrit works well.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now return to the dorms or fight here some more if you like. 


---Whoohoo, our first mission!---
The next day you'll be awaken by Selphie. Head to the entrance and 
receive the instructions for you first mission from Cid: aid the Forest 
Owls in Timber. 

> NOTE! Before you go, talk to Cid and he'll give you a Magic Lamp. Do 
not forget this as it's vital for another GF.

> GF Check! Cid's Magic Lamp can summon the demon Diablos. You can 
acquire this GF from now on by using the Lamp. I'd recommend you do it 
straight away but do junction yourselves properly first.

> Junction Check! Junction Quezacotl to Selphie, Ifrit to Zell and the 
ladies (Shiva and Siren) to Squall. Junction 100 Doubles to Squall and 
Selphie's Magic, and elementary spells to Strength. If you have acquired 
Vit/Spr-J, junction Protect and Shell, respectively, to those 
attributes. As for commands, put Draw on all members and Item on at 
least two members as it's still the only way of reviving an ally. You'll 
want the Magic command too.

> GF Check! You should continue with my recommendations given above, 
since they're quite expensive (ie, Str+40% takes 120AP!)

> Magic Check! Give Blind to the character who has the Magic command and 
has Mag-J.

BOSS - Diablos ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Everyone fears this boss, I wonder why. He loves to cast Demi which 
takes off a quarter of one member's HP, but he also has Gravija, the 
upgraded version where it takes off 75% of all member's current HP! Then 
he has a rush attack which is deadly after Gravija.

Since gravity elemental spells can never kill you, try casting Blind on 
Diablos so his rush attack will miss most of the time. You should do it 
until it works, which can take a few tried at times (junction spells to 
your Mag will increase the likelihood of the success rates.) Now he's 
almost harmless. His gravity spells can reduce your HP to 1 but 
afterwards, all attempts will do 0 damage!

Draw Demi from him. It's a very advanced spell at this point of the game 
so you'll expect to fail most of the time. However, it's worth the 
effort to stock up on 200 of them as they're the best spells you can 
junction to Magic for quite a while. Squall and Selphie can expect to 
draw about 1-5 Demi with Double junctioned while Zell will be next to 
useless. It doesn't take THAT long to stock 200 Demi BTW. 

You'll be able to use your Limits often but don't do it or you'll kill 
him easily. (You'd want to draw spells right?) Tune up the battle speed 
in the Config menu to make the fight go faster, and if you can, try your 
hands on Selphie's Slots. If you can get Haste that'd be great!

When you're satisfied with your stock load, unleash your Limit Breaks 
and Diablos will go down in no time.

If you've done the Seifer quest earlier and/or the X-ATM092 AP snatch 
quest, you should be able to get a very good Mag level right about now, 
and equip Mag+??% from Quezacotl and Siren. You should now be able to 
draw 9 Demis every round! Then just play around with Selphie's Slots as 
Diablos can't hurt you. Try to learn her unique Slot magic in this fight 
if you haven't yet. 

ALTERNATE STRATEGY
Ken Ho <warlock@asia.com> wrote in requested that I should list an 
alternate Diablos strategy since he said mine didn't work. Anyway, he 
said you should draw Demi from him and cast it back to him, then he will 
counter with Curaga. Oh well, this strategy is here to anyone who wants 
an alternate strategy. (Just don't forget to draw Demi from him!) 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You'll get another rare card afterwards and Diablos as your very own GF! 

GF PROFILE - DIABLOS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A demon living in another dimension, Diablos is full of mysterious 
powers. Controlling the powerful elements of time and space, Diablos 
uses the forgotten potential of gravity as its weapon, and the tool that 
aids his attacks is no other than the enemies' natural bodies. Diablos' 
summoning attack, Dark Messenger is of a gravity type attack BUT, like 
FFT, it does damage according to the target's MAXIMUM HP (not current) 
so it's possible to kill an enemy with it. Also, the proportion of HP 
Diablos can remove is also dependant on his level, so when you first get 
him, he'd be very weak but he can later remove a much higher portion of 
an enemy's HP. I think this summon is not that worth it though, as it 
takes ages to animate (strange huh?) but has no Boost function. Use Demi 
or Quistis' Micro Missile instead. It's still one of the best looking 
summons in the game though. He also some of the most useful (although 
extremely expensive) skills so gaining him as early as possible is 
recommended. Diablos is the first GF to give you the advantage of 
equipping up to 3 Character/Party Abilities with Abilityx3. His Mug 
skill, although extremely expensive, will allow you to steal a foe's 
private possessions for rare items that aids weapon customizing or spell 
refinery. Enc-Half and Enc-None eliminates the annoyance of random 
encounters which is very important to this guide and of course, who can 
forget his Menu Abilities that lets you refine really good spells like 
Demi, Meltdown and Triple. 
>>Best abilities: Abilityx3, HP+80%, Mug, Enc-Half/Enc-None, ST Mag-RF 
and Time Mag-RF
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now return to Garden and heal up, or use Selphie's Full Cure. 

> Junction Check! Junction Diablos to Zell. Junction your Demis that you 
just drew from Diablos to Magic, it should increase it by about 40! 
Otherwise, use 100 Doubles. 

> GF Check! 
  - Quezacotl: His Mid Mag-RF should be (or close to) completed. Learn 
HP-J if so.
  - Shiva: Vit+40% and Spr+40%
  - Ifrit: Either Str Bonus or F Mag-RF (Str Bonus is not so crucial 
right now but make sure you learn it as it's useful later)
  - Siren: Mag+40%
  - Diablos: Mug or Enc-Half. If you're confident with carding enemies 
then choose Mug, if not get Enc-Half and Enc-None. Just note that Mug is 
extremely expensive. (I'd get Mug.)

> Card Check! At this point in the game, you should have gotten a few 
good cards (Ifrit and Diablos) so I'd recommend you take some time off 
for some major card battles if you like Triple Triad at this time since 
it's goin' to be a long time before you see Balamb again. You may have 
gotten a T-Rexaur card from the Training Centre and you should return to 
the Fire Cave and get a Bomb card, since they're quite powerful. (They 
helped me win countless early card battles.) 

> Challenge the Queen of Cards first. She should be a joke since she 
uses level 1-3 cards. This is to modify the trade rule from One to Diff. 
If you can get it to All that's be great but it's risky since you can 
end up with the terrible Direct rule. (It completely screwed up my 
Galbadia card games when I did it by accident!) If you do get it to 
"All" though, then contrats and play a LOT of card games and it'll 
eventually become a PERMANENT trade rule! (Could help when you're 
playing against the CC members in dsc 2.)

> Zell's mom is cool since she has Zell's card. Win it off her and it'll 
be one of your best cards that you can use all the way until the end of 
the game. (It's one of the "Top 3 cards" on my list.)

> The lil' kid in blue running around the lobby of Balamb Garden has the 
MiniMog's card, which is crucial for the Queen of Cards quest.

> You can win Quistis' card from any one of the Trepe Groupies (except 
me of course) however, keep in mind that it's a RARE card and it's 
SHARED between those 3 members so don't think you can get 3 of them! 
Trepe Groupie #1 (guy in the Caf) seems to use it the most.

> Challenge Headmaster Cid NOW for Seifer's card. You can do it later in 
disc 3 but you'll be stuck with the horrible Centra rule so win it off 
him now. It's THE best card in the whole game.

> Try to fill up most of the slots if you can. I was able to fill up all 
of my level 1-5 cards except for Pupu's. If you want a lot of really 
powerful LV5 cards, and very useful ones (Malboro, Chimera, Ruby Dragon, 
Behemoth, Elnoyle) then turn to Trepe Groupie #2. Combine it with the 
All rule, it'll shoot your card collection up fast so you can mod them 
into awesome stuff. 

> You can convert most of them into nifty items, and of course, ones 
that allow Quistis to learn new moves. Here is all the possible ways to 
get new Blue Magic from cards. You maybe not be able to do some of them 
now but keep these in mind in future card battles:
      Fastitocalon   -> Water Crystal    -> Aqua Breath
      Creeps         -> Corel Fragment   -> Electrocute
      Tri-Face       -> Curse Spike      -> LV? Death
      SAM08G         -> Running Fire     -> Gatling Gun
    4 Malboro        -> Malboro Tentacle -> Bad Breath
    5 Fastitocalon-F -> Water Crystal    -> Aqua Breath
   10 Behemoth       -> Barrier          -> Mighty Guard
   10 Ruby Dragon    -> Inferno Fang     -> Fire Breath

> Try to win an Elastoid card and change it into a Steel Pipe. Get some 
Screws with Geezard's card and modify Squall's Revolver to a Shear 
Trigger so you can learn his Fated Circle finisher.

> Those who are keen on the Queen of Cards quest can (and should) start 
now. Deliberately loose the MiniMog card to her and try to get her to go 
to Dollet. If she chooses Galbadia, reset and try again.

> You CAN'T start the CC quest now so don't bother.

When you're read to move on, take a train from Balamb Station, it'll 
cost 3000 Gil. (Don't you think the Garden should have provided you with 
the ticket instead letting you buy your own? If so, I want a pay rise!)

Inside the train, you'll see some sequence with Selphie and Zell. Then 
all of your guys falls over and enters the dream world. Spooky!


---I know where it's at---
You'll take the role of Laguna's team in this sequence. Squall is 
Laguna, Zell is Kiros and Selphie is Ward. The team gets lost in the 
woods so follow the path.

You can encounter Funguars and Geezards here but it's not worth the 
effort to card them, as the former keeps putting you to sleep while the 
latter gets killed in one hit. They don't give you enough AP either. So 
just run from them if you want. If you do want to card them, leave the 
Geezards alone, they're just way too weak. Attack the Funguars with Ward 
(Selphie, who has no Str-J.)

> Magic Check! There are 2 DPs here, Cure and Water. The latter is a 
pretty decent spell that you can cast all you want without having to 
worry about stock, since they can be refined easily. (But don't waste 
them though.)

As you approach a car, the gang hops in and drives to Deling City in 
Galbadia. Enter the hotel and watch some lengthy story and somewhat 
cheesy sequence. 


---Owls + Trains = Timber Resistance Group---
Once in Timber, choose the right password (something about the Owls.) 
I've heard that if you choose a wrong one you get to see a funny 
sequence and it doesn't lower your rank!

When you're inside the train, go get Rinoa at the end of the hall.

> Card Check! Challenge Watts here if you want Angelo's card. You can 
get it later though, but much later so I'd recommend you do it now.

Pay attention to the mission outline. It sounds really complicated if 
it's the first time you're playing, I remember I was completely stunned 
the first time, but it's actually rather simple. Remember to save your 
game before starting the mission.

The first test is the sounds/temperature censor guards, you're suppose 
to remain still for the former and keep moving for the latter. However, 
I was the other side of the screen in my first game before I even 
noticed that those guards (and the same in my third game) so just run 
and you won't have any problems. Then you have to enter 3 pass codes, 
get back up after 2 of them. Then you have to enter 5 codes without the 
help of Selphie and Zell. This is still easy as you can still enter 2 
codes at a time without having to worry too much about the guards. Do 
keep an eye on them though (R2.)

If you complete the mission without making mistakes, your SeeD level 
will be raised by 1. I think it will also drop if you get discovered. 
You'll have to confront the President now, so junction properly.

> Junction Check! Junction Diablos and Ifrit to Zell, Shiva and Siren to 
Squall and Quezacotl to Selphie. Basically, just Junction whatever you 
had previously. For some reason, the GFs from both Zell and Selphie are 
removed. As for ST-Def, Silence would be idea. You should have gotten 
some Character Abilities like Mag+20% or Str+20% so equip those. As for 
commands, here's what I had:
         Squall:  Attack, Draw, Magic, GF
         Zell:    Attack, Draw, GF, Item
         Selphie: Attack, Draw, Magic, Item

> GF Check! You should have the same thing as above.

Talk to Rinoa when you're ready.

BOSS - Fake President ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Not much of a boss here and not much to draw from. If you don't have 
enough Cure spells draw some from him. It only takes a few hits to take 
him down.. then he melts (ala Parasite Eve) an turns into...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BOSS - Gerogero ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Again, he's no joke and can seriously ruin your day if you're careless. 
He has a powerful claw swipe that does about 200 damage to a member, and 
breath attack that does 150 damage plus status and the rest of the time, 
he casts annoying status spells like Berserk, Silence etc.. 

He does have some decent spells to draw from, but nothing to die for. 
Pick up on some Esunas if you don't feel that you have enough (although 
they're really common later on) and more Doubles if you wish. He also 
holds 2 new spells - Berserk and Zombie. I'd say you get some Berserks 
even though they're useless on their own and crappy for junctions, but 
they can be very useful VERY late in the game (although you might as 
well refine them later if you're lazy.) Zombie on the other hand, is 
completely useless. It's a fair junction for HP and Str at this point of 
the game but wears off very soon. I've never had to use Zombie EVER! 
Anyway, Zombies don't hurt if you have a way to make them useful.

Anyway, if your HP gets too low, cast Cure. If you get inflicted by 
Slow, Silence or Berserk, have another member draw Esuna from the boss 
and cast it. Darkness don't matter and Curse is harmless when you're 
only drawing your spells. 

Use Selphie's Full Cure occasionally too, as it cures all status and 
restores HP. If you manage to find her Wall spell, give it a try. When 
you're satisfied with your spells, unleash your Limit Breaks (you have 
to get rid of Curse in order to do so) and nail him flat on the ground. 
You can also use recovery spells/items on him to damage him, as he's an 
undead. (I'm not sure if a Phoenix Down works, but I'd rather not waste 
a perfectly good Phoenix Down on an easy boss like him.) 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After the fight, Rinoa and her team will have a strategy meeting and 
after some discussion, they decide to take over the TV station in 
Timber. Watts will lead you out of the train if you talk to him.

When you have the freedom to explore the town, keep in mind that there 
are random encounters around town at this point of the game, so run if 
you encounter them.

> Junction Check! If you've gotten some Zombies, accumulate them 
together and junction it to someone's Str or HP. If not just keep 
whatever you had before, or just use Auto Junction.

> GF Check! 
  - Quezacotl: HP-J and Vit-J.
  - Shiva: Vit+40%, Spr+40% and the rest don't really matter
  - Ifrit: Str Bonus 
  - Siren: Mag+40%
  - Diablos: What you chose earlier

> Magic Check! Since you've probably have gotten Mid Mag-RF, turn all 
your low level Fires, Blizzards, Thunders and Cures into -ra level 
spells. It will take some time to accumulate 100 of each though, since 
they're upgraded with the ratio 5:1. If you want, you can refine more 
spells of those types with I Mag-RF or the other Menu Abilities, or draw 
some more from the enemy soldiers around here. If you do get 100 of the 
-ra spells, junction them to Str.
> There are a few DPs around here too. The room to the left in the 
Timber Maniacs building hides a Blizzaga DP, the DP in front of the pub 
is Cure and the one in the back ally is Scan. 

> NOTE! Ed Asano came up with this really nice idea, modifying M Stone-
Pieces into simple spells and upgrading them to -ra levels. This helps a 
lot as it solves the problem of having to draw from the soldiers and 
free up your inventory. (2 birds with 1 M Stone-Piece he said, :) I'm 
sure you all have many M Stone-Pieces tucked away in your item list and 
you can get more by refining useless cards like Bite Bug and Funguar.

> Card Check! If you're lookin' for someone to rip off, try the little 
kid on the bridge. He has some of the crappiest cards so you'll be at an 
easy win! Be aware of the Same rule though!
> This may not be a card now but be sure NOT to missed the kinky Girl 
Next Door porno mag, it's behind the pile of magazines in the hallway of 
the Timber maniacs building. It can be traded for a rare card (Shiva) 
way into the game!

Have a look around town if you like. You cannot stay at the inn yet, 
since it's cramped by Galbadia soldiers and you cannot leave town. If 
you need healing, go to the old man's house by the bridge and drink some 
water from the faucet. 

To carry on with the story, simple go down the steps that leads to the 
pub. You'll meet up with 2 Galbadian soldiers and they attack. You 
cannot run from this battle and they cannot be turned into a card. The 
best way I found is to let Squall and Selphie/Zell kill themselves and 
let Rinoa take the EXP alone. You'll get a Buel card for winning.

Enter the pub and talk to the drunk. Show him the card and he lets you 
keep it as well as giving you another (Tonberry I think.) Then he lets 
you out of the back door. 

Run up the stairs to the giant TV and another interesting story scene 
will take place. Rinoa runs away after the response (or the lack of it) 
from Squall and who ever you left in the train will join you. Don't 
bother exchanging junctions here since you don't have to fight for a 
while.

Run across the bridge to the TV Station after Quistis appears on screen. 
After a bit of story sequence, Rinoa comes back but goes off again, 
followed by Quistis and your team. Just run down the stairs where you 
came from. Squall decides to take Rinoa with him as their base got 
destroyed. 

When you get to the bar, the pub owner's wife tells you to hide at her 
house. Talk around a bit and when you can finally leave, Quistis says to 
go to the nearest garden for help - Galbadia Garden! When you leave, the 
woman that invited you to her house will give you some free items like 
Potions and Remedies!

Talk to both Watts and Zone, and Zone will get you free tickets for the 
last train to East Academy. Get on the train.


---Things to do #1---
I usually take a break away from the story at this point of the game and 
go to Dollet. 

> Card Check! You can win Siren's card here with the guy on the second 
floor in the pub. If you win, he'll show you to his private room and 
also gives you a bunch of cards. Also, be sure to examine the pile of 
magazines near the entrance. Most of the time you'll find nothing of 
interest or expired coupons, but occasionally you can find free items 
here! You can get Potions, Phoenix Down, Softs, Antidotes, Geezard Cards 
and a copy of Occult Fan II here! However, when you get about 3 times, 
you need to get out of the room and come back in to reset it to get more 
items.

> If you lost the MiniMog card to the Queen of Cards in Balamb, she 
should be here. Talk to her about her father and she'll tell you that 
Kiros' card has been made. You can win the MiniMog card back from her 
son in the old painter's home.

> If you're having trouble with card games here, try introducing the 
Open rule (easy) and abolishing the Random rule (not so easy) by making 
trips between Dollet and Timber. It is extremely important that you do 
not screw up the rules in Dollet as it's an extremely important city 
when cards are concerned. I was able to modify Dollet's rule to my 
favourite "just Open" games. :)

Also, I always take a lot of time out here to build up my GFs by carding 
the enemies. In the forest west of Dollet, you can find encounters with 
an Anacondour, a Funguar and a Wendigo with a total of 7AP. In the 
forests near lake Obel you can fight double Anacondours (8AP) and Ochus 
(7AP). If you meet up with 3 Funguars then it's not really worth 
fighting them. Thrustaevis are okay as they give you 3AP each. If you 
meet Geezards then do what you wish. They drop Screws and their cards 
can be refined into Screws so you may want to fight some of them. Don't 
junction magic to Selphie's Str and hit them once should be enough to 
card them.

> NOTE! Ed Asano said you can steal Whispers from Adamantoise from the 
coast near Dollet but I've never tried it. You should try it as Whispers 
are great as they let Quistis learn her useful White Wind. 

Also, if you can get some spare Whispers, turn them into Curagas with 
Siren's L Mag-RF, which is a great junction for HP or Vitality right 
now. In the mean time, carding the Fastitolacons near the beach will 
give you good AP as they comes in 3s and gives up 3AP each. Learning Mug 
and other expensive Diablos abilities is a piece of cake right now. 
Thanks to "nofear33" for this.

> Magic Check! The Thrustaevis holds Floats. Get a bit of them (not 
necessarily 100) as they're useful later. I can't remember whether 
they're good for junctions at this point.
> Also, you can refine lots of Aeros from the Shear Feathers you won 
with the T Mag-RF from the Thrustaevis, they're good for Str for a 
while, but they're also fairly decent spells to cast and for Elem-Atk 
junction. 
> Make sure that you've stocked up on some (refined) Breaks if you want 
to make the next section a bit easier. 

> GF Check! This is what I had after some hardcore training. Maybe it's 
a bit too high though.
  - Quezacotl: Complete the -J abilities and onto Mag+20% and +40%
  - Shiva: Complete both Vit+40% and Spr+40%, the rest of her abilities 
don't matter too much in which way you learn them, since they're not too 
good. I usually get Elem-Def and Elem-Defx2 first
  - Ifrit: Complete Str Bonus and HP-J. Then Ammo-RF would be good.
  - Siren: Complete Mag Bonus and then get all her Menu Abilities, if 
you haven't gotten them get
  - Diablos: I always try to complete the ability I chose earlier. If 
you chose Mug then it's quite a long way you need to go, but it doesn't 
matter too much if you haven't gotten it yet. (I wanted to steal Laser 
Cannons from the Elastoids in Laguna's second scenario, but it didn't 
work!) 

When you're ready to move on, go to the forest near Galbadia Garden. 
BTW, don't forget to trade the junctions of whoever you were using to 
Selphie and Quistis.

> More Magic Check! Souma told me about ways to get some cool new spells 
at this point of the game since I was a bit too lazy to explore the 
world at this point. Anyway, here it goes.

"Firstly, when you first leave Timber, there is a good place to go for 
some spells. If you head over to the mountains between Timber and 
Winhill, there is an alcove or a canyon of sorts (Shenand Hill). In 
there you can fight Vysage and win something like Shell, Protect, Haste, 
Esuna and a couple of others. Might be worth your time to check that 
out."

A note on that is that Vysages cannot be carded, so make sure you don't 
harm it and run away after drawing your load of magic.

EX TIP - Getting Lion Heart in Disc 1! ==============================
|Thanks to XP39C@aol.com for this trick.                            |
|                                                                   |
|Ok, this is no joke, as it acquires serious patience and it's very | 
|time consuming. Anyway, you can get Adamantines from refining the  | 
|Minotaur card, and the 12 Pulse Ammos by refining 20 Elnoyle cards | 
|into 2 Energy Crystals, then use Ammo-RF. As for the Dragon Fangs, | 
|you can get them from low level Grendels (don't mug) in the forest | 
|near Timber or Galbadia Garden.                                    |
|                                                                   |
|The "sacrificed" Minotaur card can be gotten back in disc 4, but   | 
|the 20 Elnoyle cards can drive a gamer insane. If you wanna try,   | 
|make sure you get them back in Balamb, since the people in Timber  | 
|tend to have really low powered cards.                             |
|                                                                   |
|The alternate strategy would be "Getting Lion Heart in Disc 2"     | 
|which is much easier. In FH, you can steal the Adamantine from the | 
|robot while you'll only need 10 Elnoyle cards since you can get 5  | 
|free Pulse Ammo by doing Irvine's quest. The choice is yours. :)   |
=====================================================================


---I know where it's at part 2---
Deja vu! You guys stumbled while inside the forest and woke up in their 
alternate lives, well, kind of. After Laguna gets lost again, follow the 
path down to some metal walkways. Before you progress any further, check 
your junctions as SPs are kinda hard to find in here.

Meet your identity crisis. Squall is Laguna and will always be in these 
"dream scenarios", Quistis is Ward and Selphie is Kiros in this scene.

> Junction Check! Uh.. Junction whatever GFs to whoever you like but I 
recommend giving Selphie/Kiros all the important ones with good junction 
abilities, Quezacotl, Shiva and Diablos is a good combination. Remove 
any spells from Laguna's and Ward's HP-J so they can be killed easier. 
As for commands, give Kiros Attack, Card, Magic and either Draw or GF. 

> Magic Check! Not much here really but give Kiros all your important 
ones. You should have at least 100 of each of the -ra spells by now, 
they're pretty good for Strength. Note there's a DP here with Sleep but 
even Funguars have that spell at your pleasure so it's not as crucial.

> GF Check! You should have gotten some awesome expensive abilities 
after those intensive training right? If you haven't then now is NOT the 
place and time to do it. Anyway, your first 3 GFs should have learnt 
most if not all their crucial abilities, if you haven't, here's the list 
of their good skills:
  - Quezacotl: Boost, Card, Card Mod, T Mag-RF, Mid Mag-RF, HP-J, Vit-J, 
Mag+20%/40%
  - Shiva: Boost, I Mag-RF, Str-J, Vit-J, Vit+20%/40%, Spr+20%/40%
  - Ifrit: Boost, F Mag-RF, Ammo-RF, HP-J, Str+20%/40%, HP Bonus
The rest of their skills don't matter, IMO. Your other GFs will be a bit 
behind at the moment:
  - Siren: All her Menu Abilities, then ST-Defx2
  - Diablos: Have you gotten what you wanted yet? Then either what you 
didn't choose or some of his really cool Menu Abilities like ST Mag-RF 
where you can get spells like Break and Meltdown easily, or Time Mag-RF 
where you can get lotsa Demis.

Try to cross the metal walkway bridge and you'll be attacked by 2 groups 
of soldiers. They're easy, but don't get dozy or you'll kill them off by 
accident. Have Laguna and Ward kill themselves and just summon or use 
regular attacks by Kiros to get rid of the enemies. 

> NOTE!!! If you've refined Break spells, cast them on the soldiers 
(don't junction it to ST-Atk) and it'll get rid of them in one hit and 
you won't gain ant EXP. The best point is that you won't have to kill 
your own guys.

After 2 battles you'll once again take control of Laguna's team. There 
should be 2 paths forming a Y-shaped junction in the walkway. I suggest 
that you take the left one as it's more convenient in doing the mini-
quests here. And yes they are optional, however, Zell and team will come 
back here later in disc 3 (this place is actually the Lunatic Pandora 
before it was excavated!) and will be able to access certain parts of 
the structure if you've triggered certain "traps" while playing as 
Laguna. It is rather important that you do not miss this opportunity the 
areas it later unlocks contains some of the coolest goodies in the game, 
such as a rare Ultima DP and Quistis' Ray-Bomb.

There is also another reason to trigger the traps, as the more traps you 
set, the lesser streams of enemies you'll have to face at the end of the 
scenario, which is important here and you don't want to gain any 
experience. 

> Magic Check! Don't miss the Confuse DP to the right side

Climb the ladder down and press the X button when you walked over to the 
space on the ground where you hear a "clink" noise, it's an old key. 
You'll see some funny scenes but I'm not sure if it's gonna affect 
future events.

You can run into random encounters in the following locations. If you 
have acquired Enc-None, equip it for a better time navigating the area, 
if not, you'll just have to run most of the time as most enemies you 
encounter here are soldiers that cannot be turned into a card.

In the next section, walk across the middle metal plank thing and you 
should hear another "clink". Examine it and choose to "tamper with it" 
and exit the screen to the right. But before you do anything, re-enter 
that screen and try to tamper with the right hatch, it doesn't do 
anything now though. 

The next screen has another key that Laguna can pick up (and loose it 
again) but I'm not sure if it affects anything. Take the exit to the 
right though, you'll end up at a walkway that looks kinda like a sewer 
system. Climb the ladder and you'll end up at the right path in the Y-
junction (the one you didn't take.) Go all the way back to the 3 hatches 
and examine the left one, then retrace your steps to the other end where 
you found the second key.

Take the upper path this time and you can see a large boulder to the 
left. There are another 2 paths in this screen but the one to the right 
don't seem to be very useful so you don't have to be bothered with it. 
Head left to the next screen where you see another boulder and a 
detonator. 

Activate the detonator but you MUST clear the boulder in the previous 
screen first (I forgot what color the fuses were, sorry) then the one 
nearest to the detonator, because if you do it the other way, the 
boulder in the previous screen will block the path of the nearest 
boulder and it will not only seal off that exit, you'll also unable to 
clear the path to the "hidden" areas later in disc 3. So activate both 
switches in the correct order, and enjoy some of the most POINTLESS 
conversations between the trio (especially Laguna.) 

When you're done, head up and enter a new screen, it should be the one 
with steps in a pink background. As a side note, you can encounter 
Elastoids here very easily. They're not that hard to beat (use about 2~3 
Thunders should do the job for carding purposes) but you can draw 
Dispels from them (good spells for HP and Vit) and their cards can also 
be refined into Steel Pipes. (So if you cannot seem to get Steel Pipes 
from Wendigos, get lotsa of Elastoid cards here.) They also give you 
3AP. You can steal Dynamo Stones from them (can be refined into 
Thundagas) if you have acquired Mug, but it's a shame really since Laser 
Cannons can be stolen from them but only when they're at a high level. 
(And they only appear in this and a future Laguna scenario.) If you 
managed to get one somehow, it's really good as it will let Quistis 
learn her potent Homing Laser skill.

You can also encounter Gespers throughout the cave and they drop Black 
Holes that can be refined into Demis. They're really annoying though as 
they love to cast status changing spells like Silence and Blind. Try 
about 3 Fires on them, it should weaken them enough to turn them into 
cards. As for the dead Laguna and Ward, you don't really have to revive 
them if you don't want to, as this part of the game is not too 
difficult, and Kiros is really strong! (He's probably the fastest 
character in the game!!!) If you wanna be safe, just use a Phoenix Down 
on Laguna and/or Ward. 

Anyway, continue heading right will bring you into another one of those 
greenish cavern paths. There's also another boulder in this area to the 
left, examine it and Laguna will push it, crushing more soldiers in its 
path. 

> Magic Check! There's a Cure DP behind the boulder. Also, Gespers have 
Protects and Shells, if you feel like stocking them up.

Continue heading north will bring you to a SP (FINALLY!) Save of course. 
The path to the right will lead to the right side of the screen with the 
"far boulder", the one that I said it doesn't matter.

Finally, when you're ready, head north again for the final battle(s) of 
this scenario. You might want to collect more Elastoid cards here 
though. Also, you'll have to face 5 battles at the end of this scenario, 
but 4 of the traps that Laguna can trigger will eliminate one fight 
each, those 4 traps are:
* The middle hatch where the soldier steps on and falls
* The 2 boulders that you needed to use the detonator for, remember to 
use them in the right order
* The boulder that hides the Cure DP
So if you did everything right, you'll only have to fight one easy 
battle, and what's even better as it won't give you any EXP! Anyway, 
it's very easy as one summon will get rid of both soldiers. But right 
before the last soldier dies, he uses an attack that lowers both Ward 
and Kiros' HP to 1. If you only have Kiros alive (like I did) then don't 
fear since it's not Game Over yet as Kiros still has 1HP. 

After the fight, both Ward and Kiros will receive some near fatal 
injuries. Then Laguna throws both of them off the cliff (not before 
saying some pointless things of course) and tries to lower himself down 
but tripped and smacked his head in the rocks instead, OUCH!


---Gardening Galbadian style---
After you team wakes up in the forest, you'll notice that both Squall 
and Quistis have been revived with 1HP. Use a Cure on them if you wish 
and continue on with the journey to Galbadia Garden. If you want to 
build up some more, do it now as power up opportunities are pretty slim 
over here in the Galbadia side of the continent.

You can find Belhelmels and Blood Souls in the area surrounding Galbadia 
Garden, but they're pretty bad for carding, as they put you to sleep or 
berserk/blind you all the time. I've heard that the Belhelmels may drop 
Laser Cannons occasionally but I've never gotten one. You can get Saw 
Blades from them though, and can be refined into Death via Siren's L 
Mag-RF. I recommend the forest is you do want to gain some AP since you 
can find enemies that gives you more AP and are easier.

When you're happy, enter Galbadia garden, don't worry, you don't have to 
fights here.. yet. Quistis leaves to have a word with the head-master 
and you can freely explore the garden, however, the second you enter the 
lobby, you are called to the second Reception Room. I suggest you go to 
the Reception Room and progress through some story scenes first then do 
what you want.

There are 2 cut scenes here, one with your team in the Reception Room 
about Seifer. Then Squall foolishly runs out of the room because of some 
stupid thoughts of his and you'll get another scene with Fujin and 
Raijin. Then you can explore all you want.

> Magic Check! This area is rich in DPs. The centre of the lobby hides a 
DP for Haste. The 2F Auditorium has a non-recoverable DP for Double 
(hidden). There's one for Shell in the tennis court. There's a DP you 
can't reach yet in the ice hockey field but don't worry about it, you 
can get that later (it's Protect, if I remember correctly.) Search for a 
locker room leading from the left door in the ice hockey field, there's 
a DP for Life.

> Card Check! Although no rare cards are in this area, you might want to 
challenge the girl in a classroom to the right of the lobby (the one who 
says she's too old for cards) as you can win every LV6 Boss Card from 
her.

Then go back to the entrance to meet Martine, the headmaster of Galbadia 
Garden. He issues you a mission and introduces a bad flirt sharpshooter 
Irvine as your newest team member.

You'll leave the Garden now. Divides the team up however you like but 
you might want to leave it as Irvine wishes to see a hilarious scene 
with Rinoa, Selphie and Quistis. Or, put Irvine and Zell in your second 
squad to see another funny scene with Irvine and Zell. 


---I choo choo choose Deling City---
Move to the train station. You HAVE to catch a train here for 3000 Gil, 
since the road to Deling City is blocked and you can't get there any 
other way. 

Deling City is probably the most atmospheric city in FFVIII but it's so 
big that its geography is still puzzling me. The easiest way is to catch 
busses, but remember, there are 2 bus routes so catching one bus won't 
take you to every location in town. Try hanging around the place and get 
used to it before heading to Caraway's Mansion. 

> Card Check! If you started the Queen of Cards quest like I recommended 
and lost the MiniMog card to her, you can win Kiros' card from the guy 
dressed in black outside the shopping arcades. 

> Magic Check! There's a Thundara DP on the bridge if you exit the 
screen with Caraway's Mansion from the left side. 

Talk to the guy outside Caraway's Mansion and he won't let you in unless 
you prove yourselves in the Tomb of the Unknown King to the north and 
get the password. He hands you a map as well. Buy a location displayer 
from him if you want and have him escort you out of town. 


---The known Tomb of the Unknown King---
The Tomb of the Unknown King is not shown on the map but you can find it 
to the north-east I think. Look for a long and slim peninsula on the 
map, and finally, the grounds around it should be grasslands, not rough 
land like the rest of Galbadia. 

> Magic Check! Before you enter the Tomb of Unknown King, make sure you 
have an adequate supply of Float spells. Draw from Thrustaevis if you 
haven't.

Enter the tomb and save at the SP, check you junctions. BTW, you should 
choose your characters carefully too. I ALWAYS have Selphie in my party 
in the first half of the game because you can get some really cool 
spells that you can't get at that point of the game with her Slots. 

> Junction Check! All your characters should have Mag-J and 2 have Vit-
J. Junction to HP too, if you have it. Here's what spells are best for 
each attribute that this point.
         HP:  Zombie/Dispel/Aero
         Str: Zombie/Aero/Demi
         Vit: Protect/Dispel
         Mag: Demi/Break
         Spr: Shell
Junction Aero to Elem-Atk if you want. As for commands, everyone should 
have Draw and Magic, the Card command if not very useful here though.

> Magic Check! Draw from the DP here, it's Protect. You can refine items 
into spells of higher use than the above listed. Below are some of the 
spells that you should be able to have access to since the ingredients 
are pretty easy to get. The () indicates that attributes they're good 
for and the [] is which menu command it can be refined from:
      Dynamo Stone      -> 20x Thunderga (Str/Mag)    [T Mag-RF]
      Tent              -> 10x Curaga    (HP/Vit/Spr) [L Mag-RF]
      Saw Blade         -> 10x Death     (HP/Spr)     [L Mag-RF]
      Steel Orb         -> 15x Demi      (Str/Mag)    [Time Mag-RF]
      Black Hole        -> 30x Demi      (Str/Mag)    [Time Mag-RF]
      Dino Bone         -> 20x Quake     (HP/Str/Mag) [Time Mag-RF]
      Soft              -> 3x  Break     (Mag/Spr)    [ST Mag-RF]
      Cockatrice Pinion -> 20x Break     (Mag/Spr)    [ST Mag-RF]

Tents and Softs can be bought in shops, Saw Blades are dropped by 
Belhelmels, Steel Orbs dropped by Wendigos. If you trained your 
characters in the Training Centre in Balamb Garden, you'd have plenty of 
Dino Bones and Quake is a great spell. Black Holes dropped by Gespers 
and Dynamo Stones can be mugged from Elastoids in Laguna's second 
scenario.

> Card Check! As with the above, you should have some cards that can be 
refined into items that turns into excellent spells! Such as Gayla's 
card that can be refined into a Mystery Fluid then into Meltdowns, which 
is the best all-purpose junction spell for Vitality. Try toying around 
with some of the cards.

I suppose I was a bit vague here. Souma written to me a kinda laughed 
(in a good way right?) at my magic list up there with Aero and that. 
Anyway, here's the list of spells and believe me, they're VERY good. 
Wanna see?

"I think my junction list looked a little more like:
HP: Quake (Dino Bone from Armadodo/T-Rexaur card+Time Mag-RF=20 each)
Str: Tornado (Windmill from Abyss Worm card+T Mag-RF=20 each)
Vit: Meltdown (Mystery Fluid from Gayla card+ST Mag-RF=10 each)
Mag: Pain (Cursed Spikes from Tri-Face card+ST Mag-RF=10 each)
Spr: Regen (Mesmerize Blade from Mezmerize cards+L Mag-RF=20 each)

The cool thing is, you can win all these cards in games at Balamb 
(especially with Diff or All rules in effect) so as soon as you get the 
appropriate Mag-RFs you could be really mowing the opposition down :)"

Hey thanks. So if you're a keen card player and wants to put all the 
time you've played the card game into good use, why not give this a try? 
It'll save you time having to drawn them later.

> GF Check! Uh.. is this section getting boring or what? That's 'cuz you 
haven't gotten any new GFs in a while, but that's about to change. 
Anyway:
  - Siren: ST-Defx2 is very useful
  - Diablos: Mug/Enc-None (whatever you didn't choose) or any Menu 
Abilities

Enter the tomb and you should find something to the right side on the 
ground in the second screen also, examine it and you'll get the pass 
code. It is random in every game and it's a 3 digit number, HOWEVER, if 
you only get a 1 or 2 digit, it means that the digit for hundreds and/or 
tens are zero. (The code was "1" in my last game y' see!)

You can get out now and carry on with the story, but who'd want to since 
there's a pair of GF in here. You can get lots here easily so the best 
solution is to turn either left or right at EVERY junction, that way, 
you can cycle around the tomb and never get lost.

There are random encounters here BUT, they will never appear at the 
junctions. Enemies here includes mostly Blobra and Buel, but they're 
just not worth the effort to card since the former is exceptionally 
resistant towards regular attacks, while the latter is especially weak 
against it. I don't know about the other enemies here though, I usually 
just stick Enc-None on someone and run away.

Take a right turn 3 times and you'll arrive in a chamber to the east. 
Sacred is in this room, and you'll have to fight it.

BOSS - Sacred ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sacred is an earth based creature, and he is so powerful in that, simply 
being in contact with the ground will give him regenerative properties 
every round. (Heals about 100HP each time!) Its attacks are not very 
strong though.

Hopefully, you've given the Draw command to everyone since Sacred holds 
Life spells, and they're exceptionally useful. Get as many of them as 
you want and you shouldn't have much problem drawing with the spells I 
listed above junctioned to your Magic, equip abilities like Mag+40% too. 

One "fun" thing to do here is to cast Shell on Sacred and it reduces the 
healing by a half, of course, I was just toying around with him. To get 
rid of his regeneration, simple cast Float on him. I have heard of how 
you can summon Siren to silence him and does the same thing but it 
didn't work for me at all! You don't have to worry about casting Float 
on yourselves here though, since Sacred has no earth based attacks yet.

It is weak against wind so you can do extra damage if you junctioned 
Aero to your Elem-Atk. Otherwise, he's pretty easy. Simply summon a high 
level GF like Shiva will get rid of him easily. Else you can try your 
hands at Selphie's Slots and see if you can get some nifty spells (not 
necessarily offensive spells, ones like Aura and Haste are great!) 

This fight is exceptionally easy and Sacred usually dies before you can 
even say "what?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

> Junction Check! If you have gotten 100+ Life spells, trade them in HP-
J or Vit-J, they're really good spells for now. Also, make sure that 
(since you only have access to 2 HP-J abilities) the character who 
hasn't got HP-J gets the Vit-J ability, or else they just won't survive 
the next fight!

Take 3 more right turns and you'll end up in the northern chamber. 
Examine the right side of the wall where there should be a chain, Squall 
will release the floor gate, bring water into the man made canal. 

> Magic Check! There's another DP here and I think it's hidden, it holds 
Float if I remember correctly.

Take another 3 right turns and you'll end up in the room to the west. 
Examine the wheel thingy on the left side of the wall to turn it, I 
think it lowers the drawbridge leading to the centre of the tomb. 

> Magic Check! A DP is here (Cura I think) and a hidden SP is a little 
further away into the screen.

Make your way to the centre of the structure. If you're don't have a 
very good sense of direction, try take 3 right turns to go back to the 
entrance and take 3 straight paths to the centre. A bridge leads to the 
coffin and you'll see Sacred again but this time, he's angry and calls 
his big brother Minotaur, who is actually a miniture version of Sacred. 
They'll both attack you!

BOSS - Sacred and Minotaur ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Minotaur is a good prove that size does not matter since he's actually 
stronger than Sacred. His attacks HURTS! He also has an attack that 
deals damage to all your members and both brothers have a combination 
attack (Mad Cow Special) where they strike the ground, sending 
shockwaves that can do a lot of damage! Oh yeah, don't forget that they 
can both regenerate every round.

The first thing I do is to draw Double from Minotaur and cast it on 
Selphie, then let her cast Float on everyone (which eliminates the 
threat of Mad Cow Special.) Also, Minoaur's attack does so much damage 
it's also a very good idea to draw and cast Protect on everyone. 

I recommend that you take down Minotaur first since his attacks do so 
much damage so cast Float on Minotaur first. You can damage him with 
either high level GF summons or your Limit Breaks (Zell's Duel is 
excellent at that.) If anyone gets KO'd, Sacred offers Life spells that 
you can use at your pleasure.

When Minotaur's gone, it's basically a sure victory. Draw some more Life 
from him if you want some more and beat him again like how you beat them 
before.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

> Card Check! You'll win Sacred's card after beating them and then the 
ghost of the unknown king shows up (spooky!) and gives you Minotaur's 
card also. They're both excellent corner cards y' know.

Get outta the tomb when you're done and get back to Deling City.

GF PROFILE - BROTHERS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Strong like stones, the brothers Sacred and Minotaur have replaced Titan 
in the series. Their summon attack, Brotherly Love, really puts on a 
good show and crushes enemies in their paths with falling rocks and 
stones. Although it's strong in their own element, Brothers' summon is 
probably the least useful out of all GFs in the game since earth 
elemental attacks are not all that useful in the first place. It can get 
most jobs done if you're good at Boost though. Ability wise, Brothers 
resembles mostly Shiva in that not very many of their skills stand out, 
but it's still a useful GF that offers a good deal of Junction 
Abilities. The part that makes Brothers really shine is its ability to 
raise one's HP to the extreme, easily turning a weakling into a giant 
pincushion. 
Best abilities: HP+40%/80%, HP Bonus
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

> GF Check! Set a new ability for your new GF Brothers. Boost should 
come first especially if you decide to do a tiny bit of powering up for 
the 10AP needed. Then Spr-J would be as good as anything (since you'll 
only have 1GF that offers the same ability that this point.) HP+40% is 
also very good but remember, it's also very expensive. 


---Things to do #2---
Ok this is quite a minor thing but if you're the kind of person like me 
who got really excited after getting a previously unobtainable Kiros' 
card and wants more, you can continue with the Queen of Cards quest now.

> Card Check! Return to Dollet to visit your old friend the Queen of 
Cards. Save at the hidden DP located above the stairs in the pub and 
challenge her to a card game. Deliberately try to loose her the Sacred 
card and try to get her back to Balamb. 

> To loose a specific card, choose to use that card plus 4 really cheap 
cards like Funguar that I bet you guys all have many. Just loose the 
game and they're sure to choose the card you want to loose. If you're 
playing Direct (arrgghh!!), you can probably trade your cheap cards for 
something better by leaning the strong(er) side of your weak cards 
against a weak(er) side of your opponent's card but make sure that she 
cannot take it back afterwards. 

> You don't have to get her to go back to Balamb really, but the problem 
is that the probability for her to return to Dollet is exceptionally low 
in ALL cities in the world, and you can ONLY get access to the 
information about the new cards in Dollet, meaning you'll have to do 
lots of resetting. Anyhow, it seems that the probability for her to 
return to Dollet is at its highest in Balamb, making it the best choice 
when you don't have many choices. 

> You can't really get the new card until FH in disc 2 though. :( But 
you can win back the Sacred card from her son.

Also, you might want to obtain Squall's Blasting Zone finisher by 
modifying his Shear Trigger to either a Cutting Trigger, Twin Lance, 
Flame Saber or Punishment (if you haven't already done so.) Blasting 
Zone is not a very good move if you ask me, although it seems to be the 
one that's triggered the most out of all his finishers. 

A Cutting Trigger is easy, modding Mesmerize's card for the blade. You 
can get Betrayal Blades and Turtle Shells needed for the Flame Saber 
from modding Forbidden's and Adamantoise's cards respectively. (I think 
you can also win them with enemies inside the Tomb of Unknown King.) The 
ingredients needed for the other 2 models are rarer since you won't have 
fought the enemies that drop them and they require many higher level 
cards. I got a Flame Saber at this point.


---Sorceresscide---
Make your way back to Deling City and talk to the guy in front of 
Caraway's Mansion, but before you do that, don't forget to buy some 
Normal and/or Shotgun Ammo for Irvine, without them he'll be shooting 
blanks. Alternately, you can refine them from Ifrit's Ammo-RF and you 
may even be able to afford more advanced deals like Dark Ammo etc. 

Give your code to the guy in front of the mansion, remember, you have to 
input the ones, then tens and then the hundreds digits in that order. 
I'm not sure if you can raise/lower your ranks with this.

Get inside the mansion and after Rinoa runs away, Caraway will appear 
and give out detailed explanations about this mission. You'll have to 
follow him around town for it but do pay attention to his briefings. 
When you're ready, talk to him again in his mansion of begin the 
mission. You'll divide into 2 teams:
         Gateway team: Quistis, Zell, Selphie
         Sniper team:  Squall, Irvine
Notice that Rinoa is in neither team, but it doesn't mean that she does 
not come into play here.

When General Caraway and the Sniper team leaves, you'll control Quistis. 
Try to leave and she'll bump into Rinoa who said that she has a plan. 
Quistis then does her Judge Judy impersonation and leaves.

You'll then take control of Squall and Irvine, just follow the rest of 
the gang as the general takes you guys to your stands. The scene then 
switches back to Quistis who wants to apologize to Rinoa, so move back 
to the mansion. You don't need to alter your junctions just yet.

Inside the mansion, Rinoa escapes but Quistis arrived at the wrong time 
and got locked in!

Rinoa
You'll now play as Rinoa alone. Save at the SP and descend into the 
manhole if you wish. You can remove the GFs from the other characters 
and junction then on her if you want, but it's just way too much of a 
fuss since this scene is short. 

Inside the sewers, just keep heading left to get a weapon magazine at 
the dead end. If you encounter any fights just run. If you want to card, 
ignore the Red Bats since they're so weak! The Creeps are okay but 
Angelo Rush can come at the unexpected moment so I suggest you just run.

Climb the crates once outside to get to the sorceress' chamber. Watch 
the awesome FMV and Edea's speech.

Gateway team
Quistis' team is being locked inside the mansion. Selphie and Zell will 
search for clues. The lady in the painting and the maiden statute will 
hint a way outta here, cups! Grab a glass off the shelve and examine the 
status to open a doorway to the sewers. 

There's another SP down the stairs. You don't really have to re-junction 
your character for this scene as it's exceptionally short and not worth 
the effort. Just climb the ladder and you can climb the first water 
wheel to get to an upper path. The scene will end after a little walk, 
then the parade starts.

Sniper team
Watch another exceptionally cool FMV and sneak into the palace after 
Irvine. Climb the crates like Rinoa did but do junction yourselves 
properly this time, as a fight is coming up.

> Junction Check! Junction all your GFs on Squall and Irvine, try to 
spread them out a little so each character gets the Junction Ability for 
all 5 main attributes. As for commands, Attack, GF, Magic and Draw would 
be ideal.

> Magic Check! Not much here yet but if you want a lot of Break spells, 
give any Breaks your guys already have to a non-active member.

> GF Check! 
  - Siren: You should have gotten ST-Defx2 already, so the rest don't 
matter so much. Treatment is good but it's likely that Siren's level is 
a bit too low to acquire that skill. Remember to get it once she's level 
12 later ok?
  - Diablos: The important ability that you didn't choose earlier should 
be complete now, then move on to the Menu Abilities if you haven't yet. 
If you really have been training hard, his HP-J, Hit-J and maybe even 
Darkside ain't bad either.
  - Brothers: Spr-J is quite important in the up and coming battles. I 
don't think Str-J is that crucial since a couple of other GFs should 
have it too, so move on to their HP+40%.

Move all the way to the sorceress' chamber and you'll see Rinoa, being 
attacked by 2 Iguions.

BOSS - Iguions x2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Irvine will explain his Limit Break in this fight. Isn't it kinda cheap 
how they made a tutorial for the other character's Limits except for 
Irvine and Selphie's?

Not much of a threat really. Their Magma Breath will set a Petrifying 
countdown on a character but it's easily remedied by drawing Esunas from 
them. They have a combination attack called Resonance, a pretty strong 
attack to both characters, just draw Cure from them. If you don't have 
HP-J, Resonance is gonna hit you pretty hard.

> GF Check! Do NOT forget to draw the GF Carbuncle!

They have Break, a fairly good spell to draw. If you're planning to draw 
from them, get rid of one of them first so to stop Resonance. Simply use 
either guy's Limit Break when you're in critical condition to dispose of 
one. (Use Normal Ammo for Irvine.) 

If you just wanna move on, summon Brothers coupled with Boost to get rid 
of both of them in one hit! (I sure did!)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rinoa will join you here, but you don't have to alter your junctions 
just yet. Return to the previous screen and examine the little hatch to 
the right side of the hall. In the next room, just examine the rifle and 
Squall'll pass it to Irvine, who's suddenly turned frail. After a bit of 
dialogue, Irvine will freak out and refuse to shoot.

GF PROFILE - CARBUNCLE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I wonder how the mother of all useless summoned beasts made it into 
FFVIII while some of the more useful ones in the series like Golem 
didn't. Carbuncle is a cute cuddly toy, and it's unique for its large 
ruby embedded on its forehead, capable of emitting a ray of light that 
envelops its masters in an anti-magic barrier. Its trademark skill Ruby 
Light does exactly that, but it's probably the least useful action in 
the whole game as the Reflect status is really a double edged sword, 
both positive and negative magic will be reflected. On toppa that, 
Reflect has no effect towards some of the more damaging spells like 
Meteor, Tornado and Quake, making it as pointless as it gets. Carbuncle 
is a defensive GF, giving many abilities involving the user's Vit and 
HP. Its Abilityx3 skill will give a second character the chance to try 
out 3 Character/Party Abilities at once. Its only Menu Ability, Recover 
Med-RF may not be very useful in itself but it proves to be a big 
potential moneymaker. 
Best abilities: Abilityx3, ST-Atk, ST-Defx2, Vit Bonus, Recover Med-RF
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gateway team
This scene picks up at where it was left off last time. 

> Junction Check! Remove the GFs from Squall and Irvine and share it 
around between 3 people. Put the Card command on someone as some enemies 
here are kinda worth carding. Don't forget to junction your newly 
acquired GF Carbuncle to someone.

> Magic Check! You can draw Waters from the Grand Mantis and Life from 
Creeps. There are also 3 DPs in the sewers: Esuna, Zombie and Bio (in 
that order.) 

I won't detail how you make it through the sewers exactly since I can't 
remember it myself, but it's quite simple. There are quite a few 
features here in the sewer:
1) Some gates leading left or right can be opened, just try examining 
them
2) Certain ladders will fall flat across the sewer, allowing you to 
cross to the other side
3) When you're stuck, try examining water wheels, as some of them can be 
"ridden" and takes you to the platform above/below.

> GF Check! Brothers should move onto HP+40% and Carbuncle should start 
by learning either Recover Med-RF or HP-J.

If you encounter Red Bats, ignore or run from them since they're quite 
impossible to weaken as they're too weak in the first place already. 
Against Creeps, use a basic elemental spell or two like Fire. I usually 
just stick Enc-None on someone and run through it.

At one point in the sewer, you'll come across a falling ladder that lets 
you cross to the side where you first started, where you can take the 
ladder and return to the stairs leading to Caraway's Mansion. You can 
encounter Grand Mantis here (but you might be able to encounter them 
inside the sewer as well, don't know) and you can draw Water from them. 
They also drop Sharp Spikes but are very strong. I think they're weak 
against Ice so summon Shiva a few times to weaken them.

Cross a few more passages and climb a couple more of water wheels and 
you'll be at the exit, a ladder near a hidden SP that leads Quistis' 
team back inside the Arch of Triumph. Climb the ladder again and watch 
another set of awesome FMVs, throw the switch when Zell says so and 
watch how the sorceress gets trapped inside the Arch!

Gateway team
Seeing how the Gateway team fulfilled their task on time, it is now up 
to Irvine to shoot down their target. Watch how Squall talks Irvine into 
it, did that look like a "Lone wolf" to you? (Official character 
overviews can be so deceiving at times.) Anyway, Irvine finally picks up 
the rifle and blasts at the sorceress, but it got bounced right off a 
"Protect-like" barrier thing. It's now time for plan B, frontal assault. 

> Junction Check! Remove the GF from the other members and junction them 
to Squall, Irvine and Rinoa. Don't just use the Switch Junction but you 
should re-junction everyone from scratch. Give Spr-J to whoever didn't 
receive HP-J (you should have 2 of each) and junction good spells to 
them. Each character should have the commands: Attack, Magic, GF, 
Draw/Item. Equip any Spr+??% skills if you have them. Oh yeah, put Mug 
on someone too.

> GF Check! 
  - Diablos: Any of his Junction Abilities would be fine
  - Carbuncle: Recover Med-RF or HP-J, remember you'll gain 20AP in the 
next fight, so if you wanna be AP efficient, adjust accordingly

BOSS - Seifer ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Squall will have to fight Seifer alone, but he's a piece of cake. You 
shouldn't have any problems here. Even Squall's regular attacks can take 
him down easily if you junctioned good spells to his Str. Has anyone 
mugged him? 

(DarkHoly17@aol.com told me that a Hero is available for grabs but 
careful, it's exceptionally hard to mug him. Cure him if you can't get 
it after a couple of times, or you'll kill him by mistake.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BOSS - Edea ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rinoa and Irvine will rush up to join Squall in this fight.

I can see why so many people whine that this fight is too hard. Edea 
casts mainly -ga spells like Firaga. If you don't have HP-J, it's gonna 
hit you really hard, 2 consecutive hits can knockout a character. But 
I've taught you how to junction your guys properly right? If the 
character who don't have HP-J gets hit by a spell, draw Cura from Edea 
to heal them instantly, or just let them summon a GF to take the hits 
for them just in case.

Anyway, this can be an easy fight if you summon Carbuncle with someone 
to put up Reflect on all your guys (this is also the only fight 
Carbuncle comes in useful.) Edea's AI will then be screwed up as she'll 
continuously cast Dispel on all your characters until all Reflects are 
destroyed. She'll sometimes use her "physical" attack Astral Punch 
though, but that's extremely weak.

For offence, just use your regular attacks (my Squall was doing ~1000 
damage to her at this point) or summon high level GFs like Ifrit. Don't 
bother with Siren, as Edea is powerful enough that she cannot be 
Silenced at all. If you like spells, Water is a good and cheap spell to 
cast, just draw Double from her and use it on yourself. 

Her draw list is pretty disappointing for the "most powerful sorceress 
in the world". If I remember correctly, she has Cura so get a few of 
them if you want. And mug her for a goodie.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The fight ends with a pissed off Edea, as she unleashes her Limit Break 
and nails Squall. Is this the end?

========================= End of Disc 1 =============================


============================ Disc 2 =================================
Disc 2's in most long RPGs are mostly drag-ons, making a game longer 
with boring events, it's more so in FFVIII. The first half of this disc 
is exceptionally linear, but you can have a good long break from the 
story halfway through it, with a good number of side quests and secrets.


---Win a hill---
My first reaction was "What the? Did I put in the wrong game?" at the 
start of this disc, since you're given a scene that has absolutely no 
relation to the one you've just seen. 

Anyway, you're Laguna and a little girl runs up to your room and tell 
you someone's here to see you. 

> Magic Check! A hidden DP to the left of the door has Curaga.

Go down the stairs and make your way to the bar. Yay, Kiros is here! 
You'll then get to have a conversation to see what Laguna had been up to 
for all this time. After some more of Laguna's trademark pointless 
conversations with Ellone, Kiros joins you to go monster hunting 
outdoors. 

> NOTE! Kiros is Irvine this time, so you won't have to worry about him 
being magic-less after the fight with Edea on the previous disc, 
although it makes absolutely no sense if you think about an event later 
in the disc.

> Junction Check! Junction all your GF to both guys. Don't junction any 
spells to Kiros' Strength though, and put the Card command on Laguna.

> GF Check! 
  - Diablos: He should have gotten all of his major abilities so just go 
with his -J abilities for the moment if you haven't done so.
  - Carbuncle: Recover Med-RF should be ready to put to the test as a 
big-bucks maker, but don't try it here since Laguna and Squall has 
separate accounts. Get its HP-J then Vit+20%.
  -Brothers: HP+40%

Outside you'll encounter Caterchipillars and Bite Bugs. They're really 
weak so that's why you need to have no Str-J to deal with them. Attack 
them with Kiros twice and card them with Laguna. They're quite hard to 
card for some reason. Actually, it's not worth it really so if you have 
Enc-None, equip it. 

The objective here is to make it to the town's entrance, so do it anyway 
you like, just don't miss the DPs on the way.

> Magic Check! The town square has a DP for Dispel, there's one near the 
flower shop for Drain and if you take the right path, you'll end up near 
a cliff with a non-recoverable and hidden DP for Reflect. 

After you reach the town entrance, Laguna will have a chat with Kiros 
and they decide to head back. Before you do so, you might wanna try the 
trick below.

> NOTE! Ripping off Laguna
Have you noticed that Squall and Laguna will share the same inventory 
BUT not the same cash account? So, Laguna has 3000 Gil to spend, if you 
purchase something in his scenario, Squall'll receive them as if they 
were free! This is the only Laguna scenario where you have the access to 
a shop so buy anything you like until Laguna's broke.

Return the way you came and Laguna will chat some more with Kiros. Go 
back to Raine's bar and head up stairs. After another cut scene, Laguna 
will report how many monsters they've killed (carded monsters counts as 
well.) I'm not too sure if this has any significance and I don't know 
what happens if you stuck on the Enc-None skill and killed no enemies.

Now return to Laguna's room in the house next door and choose to rest. 
His scenario will end.


---Is cheapness contagious?---
Zell wakes up inside a cell with Rinoa, Selphie and Quistis, he had been 
in the dream world too as Ward. After a fairly long sequence, Rinoa will 
get taken away. I suggest that you save the Moomba as it's cute having 
it following you for a long time. You'll also see scenes with Seifer 
torturing Squall.

The team plans for a jailbreak but their weapons have been snatched 
away. Zell came up with a good idea to go reclaim all of the weapons 
since he fights with his fists.

You'll be on the 7th floor of the prison. You don't have to go far, just 
take the stairs up one level and you'll see 2 guards toying around with 
the team's weapons. Approach them and you'll have to fight. You have no 
choice but to kill them and gain the EXP here, as they cannot be carded 
and you cannot run away. Hopefully, your Zell's "EXP needed for level 
up" is still low. You can also cast Break to kill the guards without 
gaining any EXP.

Now that you've claimed your weapons, it's time to give the guards a run 
for their money. Watch the awesome sequence where your team shows off 
their skills! (Especially how Selphie handles her nunchakus.)

> Junction Check! Remove the GFs from Squall and Irvine and replace them 
on the trio, make sure your Magic attributes are good. Everything else 
ain't as important but give the GF command to whoever that gets Siren. 
Give Mug to someone too.

You'll then get a visit from your old friends, Bigg and Wedge, who are 
not very happy after the Dollet incident. They attack your team.

BOSS - Biggs and Wedge ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This battle is again pretty easy, and again, they have good spells 
worthy to spend time to draw. The most valuable spell is probably 
Wedge's Reflect, as they're excellent for Spr-J even though they're 
lousy by themselves. Biggs' Regen is also fairly decent for junctions at 
this point of the game (HP/Vit) but ain't as good later except for 
casting. Biggs also holds Haste and Slow. You can get some of them if 
you want but keep in mind that both of them (especially the latter) can 
be refined extremely conveniently from Diablos' Time Mag-RF. So just get 
300 Reflects and maybe some Regens.

Their attacks are fairly weak, but they do occasionally cast spells. The 
first thing to do in this fight is to summon Siren to Silence both of 
them, or they'll cast annoying spells all the time.

Oh yeah, mug them if you have the command. You can get a rare Regen Ring 
from one of them, compared to the crappy Potion or something you get for 
defeating them.

When you're satisfied with your stock load of drawn spells, just summon 
a high level GF to kill them off. Or use your Limit Breaks or whatever.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now you'll have the freedom of exploring the complex, however, when you 
step out of your cell the alarm sounds as monsters are released. I don't 
know but I didn't really fight here. Carding enemies here is NOT a good 
idea because sometimes you'll encounter GIM54A CANNOT be carded (I'm not 
sure if you can run away from them.) I usually just stick Enc-None on 
someone to get through this part.

You should check the bottom floors before you ascend the complex since 
there are plenty of goodies in those floors ready for grabs. (I actually 
missed all of them in my first game!) The really good things to look out 
for are a Str-Up and a Combat King 001!

Then climb all the way to the top floors to continue with the story, 
they'll be more rooms with treasure.

> Card Check! There are prisoners on certain floors that will play cards 
with you FOR MONEY! If you win however, they will give you some goodies. 
Most of the time you'll just get crap like Potions but occasionally 
they'll give you really good ones like Mega-Phoenixes and I've even 
heard of a Rosetta Stone!!!!! One of them will also upgrade your Battle 
Report to a Character Report if you win. Finally, all of them uses 
Galbadia rules so if you somehow screwed up the rules in that area, just 
avoid them.

Card trick - "My first Rosetta Stone" ;) ============================
|In curtesy of Jonathan Ng <j6ng@engmail.uwaterloo.ca>              |                                                                    
|                                                                   |
|Well, most of the time you'll get crap like Potions and Phoneix    |
|Down right? That's right, but Jonathan said that if you have a lot |
|of those items in your inventory already, then the chance of       |
|winning a rare item like Rosetta Stone will be raised. So what you |
|gotta do is to purchase 100 Potions, Phoenix Downs and Eye Drops   |
|(there's even an "item shop" inside the prison for goodness sake!) |
|                                                                   |
|Now challenge the card players, you'll still get the common items  |
|though, but I guess not as often as if you didn't have any common  |
|items in stock.                                                    |
|                                                                   |
|Also challenge both card players in the prison, as they give you   |
|different items. The one on a higher floor will give you HP-Ups,   |
|Holy Stones and (drum roll please!) Rosetta Stones!!! The other    |
|one has Luck-Ups and another source, great for earning Luck-J      |
|Scrolls! Because of this, make sure you DO NOT mess up the rules   |
|(and trade rules) in the Galbadia region! Oh yeah, you CAN actally | 
|get more than one of them, so what are you waiting for?            | 
|                                                                   |
|You can actually start powering up right now when you get your     | 
|Rosetta Stones (gotta wait a bit for Leviathan's Spr Bonus though.)| 
|I'd rather wait 'til disc 3 as most enemies don't give you much EXP| 
|right now.)                                                        |
=====================================================================

> Magic Check! Certain rooms may look empty but if you equip the Move-
Find ability, hidden DPs can be reviewed. There's a Berserk DP on Floor 
9 and Thundaga on Floor 11.

> NOTE! There's also a guy who claims that he is from Balamb Garden 
here, he'll sell you items. (To you card players out there, he is the CC 
Joker so you know who to look for later.) 

When you get to the top, free Squall in the room and you'll get Squall 
back. The team decides to get to the bottom via the crane while Zell 
operated the machinery in the control room. When you get to the bottom 
you find that it's all covered in sand and have to get back up again. 
(You'll have to do a LOT of climbing here, that's what I mean by the 
game keeps DRAGGING ON!!) 

Blah blah blah, then Zell's in trouble. When you control Zell, hold the 
left stick down to make him run clockwise to the next screen, if you do 
it correctly, the guard will barely miss Zell, else you'll have to fight 
the guard. 

After some more cut scenes, Irvine shows up with Rinoa and the team gets 
reunited yay! You'll now have to divide into 2 teams again, Squall's 
team will look for an exit to the top level while the Irvine's team will 
hold the enemies back.

Choose whoever you wish but remember, Rinoa is a mandatory member in 
Squall's team and Irvine's team don't have to fight the boss, so choose 
someone with good abilities as the third team member in Squall's team 
(either Quistis or Selphie, I recommend.)

Squall's team
> Junction Check! Hopefully, you've exchanged the junctions from the 
other characters, and keep that Enc-None equipped at all times. Keep the 
Mug command though.

Keep headin' up.

Irvine's team
Not much here really. You don't have to exchange all the junctions since 
they're not going to fight anyway. Just exchange whoever has Diablos 
with the Enc-None ability to one of the guys in Irvine's team and climb 
the stairs down.

Squall's team
Take back Diablos and keep movin' until you reach a round platform with 
a computer terminal. The computer is there just for decoration but what 
you really wanna do is to equip Siren's Move-Find to review the hidden 
SP to the right. Save there and move up a bit more to trigger a boss 
fight.

BOSS - Elite Soldier, GIM52A x2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ouch, these guys can really hurt! The Elite Soldier is most annoying as 
he keep casting support spells like Aura and Shell on the robots and 
negative ailment spells like Meltdown on you! The robots are big damage 
makers with their Micro Missile.

The gang has no to die for spells for draw so don't bother.

The obvious thing to do here is to summon Siren to Silence the soldier, 
however, unless your Compatibility with Siren is 800+ (which I doubt), 
it's an extremely dangerous act. The problem lies with the Micro Missile 
attack. Siren is likely to be your weakest GF at the moment with the 
least HP, so the Micro Missile attack can really kill her in one hit if 
your character has a high HP level. 

Instead, just attack and kill the soldier with Squall, it should do the 
job in one hit if you junctioned his Str properly. 

With him out of the way it should be easy. Cast Wall with Selphie's 
Slots after Micro Missile if you can. If you need healing, use Selphie's 
Full Cure or Quistis' White Wind. 

Remember that I told you to keep Mug? Well, if you steal from the robots 
you can get a Missile which lets Quistis learn their special attack 
Micro Missile for your own use. Of course, you can just win them and 
you'll get more Missile if you do it that way, but the game will 
sometimes give you a different item instead. 

For the 'bots, use anyone's Limit Breaks to kill them. Someone dies, use 
Life/Phoenix Down. You can also draw and cast Haste to your advantage if 
you wish.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After the battle, have Quistis learn Micro Missile. Irvine's team sends 
a message and Squall will aid them with the computer terminal. Now just 
head out to the bridge.

After an awesome and death threatening FMV, the bridge give away and 
Squall is stuck hanging onto the platform. Careful here, you can get a 
Game Over if you don't do it right. Just keep moving to the right until 
you can't move any more, then the scene will end. Oh yeah, one last 
thing is DON'T listen to the annoying girl Rinoa, I actually got a Game 
Over in my first game. Why? She yelled "Squall, over *there*!" instead 
of "Squall, over *here*!" so I went for the wrong direction!!

Hopefully you didn't see the Game Over screen earlier. The team will 
drive away in 2 cars, but Irvine didn't get to sit with the ladies.


---Haha, missed me by a mile... NOT!---
The team arrives in the desert, Irvine tells you that Edea's planning to 
bomb both Trabia and Balamb Garden with missiles.

> Magic Check! A DP for Aero is here.

Keep talking to Selphie to get on with this scene. Then you see missiles 
being launched at Trabia. The group suggest that you divide into two 
teams again, Squall'll lead the team back to Balamb Garden to warn 
people of the missiles while Selphie will lead a lead to infiltrate the 
Missile Base and try to stop/delay the launch. 

I think if you put Rinoa with Squall, you'll be treated to an extra FMV 
back in Balamb. So here's my recommendation:
         Missile Base team           Balamb Garden team
             Selphie                       Squall
             Irvine                        Rinoa
             Zell                          Quistis

The lovebirds (Selphie and Irvine) will be happy, but Irvine is a great 
member to support Selphie's team. Also, her team needs heavy offence so 
Zell makes another excellent member. As for Squall's team, Rinoa is 
basically there for the FMV (yup, that's all she's good for) but Quistis 
is absolutely marvellously useful with her newly acquired Micro Missile 
at carding the enemies.


---We're the train-stealers---
The group separates again and you'll control Squall's team. This is an 
extremely short scene so just head to the engine of the train and the 
scene will automatically take place. It's funny how the soldier runs 
after the train and Rinoa (or was it Quistis) says some funny stuff.


---Is that a rocket in your pants or are you just happy to see me?---
The scene switches to Selphie's team and you get to control her even on 
the world map, yay! Oh yeah, you have a car too, but it can still run 
out of fuel, so don't get "carried away" by it. (Ok, bad joke, but I ran 
out of fuel in my first game when I took to car for a cruise.)

> Card Check! The card maniacs will be happy to know that another rare 
card is available for grabs after a long, card-less journey. Head back 
to Deling City with Selphie and enter Caraway's Mansion. General Caraway 
has Rinoa's card but he refuses to use it if you don't loose your 
Ifrit's card to him first. So do it and after a couple of rounds, he'll 
use Rinoa's card (crap card BTW!) Don't worry, Ifrit's card can be won 
back just a teeny weeny bit later in the game in FH.

Get back to the Missile Base by heading west. You're suppose to drive 
into the place but if you walk instead, you'll see a scene where Selphie 
says quite possibly the funniest sentence in the game!

The gang parks the car in the parking lot and comes out dressed in 
Galbadia uniforms. It's funny here if you took Irvine along. Just enter 
the room and save at the SP. 

> Junction Check! Not much to say here but just the usual, I usually use 
the auto-junction command to set my characters automatically (favouring 
magic) but do check your Elem and ST Def and Atks, since the game 
usually junction attributes you don't want. (Actually, it's a good idea 
to keep your Elem-Atks free of spells.) You don't have to fight for a 
while so you can readjust later if you want.

> GF Check! 
  - Diablos: Hit-J
  - Brothers: HP+40%
  - Carbuncle: Vit+20% and Vit+40%

Examine the left ID card slot and Irvine'll give you a card he found in 
the car, which is accepted. Ok, you're basically crawling inside the 
enemy's base so it's not a very good idea to muck around too much. 
You'll meet many soldiers within the complex and they'll ask you 
questions. The answers you give back are usually divided into 3 types: 
Talk your way out of it, run away and fight. 

Choose to talk your way out of as many situations as you can because not 
only you get to hear some of the craziest excuses Selphie makes up (and 
how the idiots actually believes her!), you'll also avoid fights. If you 
choose to run away, the soldiers will realize that you're fakes and 
sends some monsters at you.

To get pass the first guard, just act casual or whatever, although you 
do get to see a funny scene if you choose the second option. Two more 
screens after that you'll reach an intersection-like platform with a 
computer to the right. 

> Magic Check! If you take the exit to the left, you'll reach a hidden 
DP with Blind on the same platform as 2 guards who looks like they're 
urinating at the edge of the platform. The central room has a DP for 
Full-Life!! (And it's recoverable too!)

What to do here is to talk to the soldiers near the Blind DP then go 
into the central room and talk to one of the guards, then go back again. 
They'll want you to do a favour of checking the control room or 
something like that.

So head back to the place where you saw the first guard and tell him 
you're there to take over.

> Magic Check! Another DP in here has Blizzara, if you even bother that 
is.

Have Selphie screw around with the key panels, do what you like here. 
All of a sudden the lights went out as the power had been cut off. Exit 
the room and you'll bump into 2 guards. Choose to talk your way out of 
it (funny) and you'll dispose of them anyway. 

Head back into the intersection platform and try to get pass through the 
central door, a commander steps out but just play along and help him. 
You know what they say - "No pain, no gain" so you won't get anywhere 
without putting in some labour, so help the guard to push the large 
don't-know-what to the right. You'll then get the card to operate the 
computer.

> Magic Check! The Full-Life DP should be active again so get yourselves 
another pump before sayin' goodbye to it. :(

Operate the computer and all your gotta do here is just to set the Error 
Ratio to the maximum and hope that the missiles will miss Balamb Garden. 
Then upload the data and you're all set. Save your game again.

Try get up the stairs to the right. You'll meet up with another 
commander but talking your way out of it doesn't work this time, since 
he's the only smart one around here and knows that your salute is wrong. 
So you do have to fight.

They're waaaaay too easy, one hit and they're gone. But you might want 
to draw some Confuses. Like Berserk, they're useless by themselves but 
are excellent in ST-Def later. The soldiers also have Reflect if you 
want some. You WILL gain EXP for this fight so don't get too cocky yet. 
But killing your guys off is sometimes a bit more hassle than its worth 
so if your "EXP 'til level up" is high, just summon a GF to wipe them 
out and hopefully the EXP you gain for this fight won't do much harm. 
Otherwise you'll have to kill your guys off and let the one with the 
highest "EXP 'til level up" guy handle it. I've been told that Break 
doesn't work in this battle.

After the fight, just examine the computer terminal to the left. Enter 
the next room and set the self-destruct sequence. If you're feeling 
confident with the game and wants a pay raise, choose 10 minutes to rise 
your SeeD level by 2. I think 20 minutes raises it by 1 but I'm not too 
sure about it. Before you choose a time interval, check your junctions.

> Junction Check! Junction Quezacotl to Selphie because she should still 
have a high Compatibility with it after the Dollet event. Junction good 
spells to both Zell and Irvine's Str (ie, Quake if you have it, or Demi 
or something like that.) Equip Enc-None now, but you don't have to 
bother with Mug.

> NOTE! For the up coming battle, you might want to put Zell and Irvine 
at critical by swapping junctions with another member and change back. 

Choose your time and if it's 20 minutes or below, you can use the 
shortcut to the right, which leads to the first room with the card-
locked doors. If I remember correctly, all the SPs disappears for no 
reason, which is a pain. Exit the door and you'll see a long sequence 
with the timer ON (which is frustrating but shouldn't be a problem.) A 
large robot comes in and you'll have to fight another boss.

BOSS - BGHZ51F2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A large robot but its attacks are quite weak, it has a high defence 
though, which can be a problem. It has Stop in its draw list, but the 
last thing you want to think about is drawing with a timer on right?

What you do here is to let Selphie repeatedly summon Quezacotl like in 
the X-ATM092 fight and aid it with Boost. If you've acquired the 
SumMag+??% then it'll be great too. If not, just repeatedly cast Waters, 
a cheap and fairly decent spell or Thundagas. 

Irvine and Zell should be in critical if you did the swap junction trick 
so just unleash their Limit Breaks to make this fight a breeze. It 
should only take like 2 minutes.

With the robot out of the way, you'll have to fight the soldiers. One 
cool thing is to let Selphie charge up for Quezacotl when the robot is 
almost dead, then have Zell unleash a long and powerful chain combo with 
his Duel and kill it. When the guards arrive, Quezacotl should kill them 
before they can even act!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The gate shuts locking Selphie's team in.. Oh no! Oh well, I'm sure 
they'll survive since even Squall survived after Edea's chilling spikes!


---Hanging Garden of Balamb---
The scene will switch back to Squall's team, who has just made it back 
to Balamb Garden. It's total chaos back here, SeeDs and cadets running 
around like headless chickens.

> Junction Check! Swap all the junctions from Selphie's team but do 
equip the Card command on either Squall or Rinoa. Swapping the junctions 
will make your characters critical. 

You'll be mistaken for Cid's followers and those guys dressed in cult-
ish clothing will send monsters at you. They're easy so simply use 
Quistis' Micro Missile (since she's in critical status) and card them. 

You have to search every area in the garden, and each time you'll have 
to fight. Note however, the enemy in the Infirmary is a Granaldo, an ex-
boss. It's counted as a boss so you cannot card it but you will gain EXP 
for defeating it. So the best thing to do here is to be ignorant and let 
the SeeD members take care of their own business.

> NOTE! In every area, talk to the people when you clear the monsters 
and some of them will give you free items like Remedies.

Trick Plus - A Rosetta Stone worth shaking your bootie for! =========
| Thanks to Niek <niek_maasdijk@hotmail.com> for this trick!        |
|                                                                   |
| All you've gotta do is, simply, fight the enemy at the library    |
| LAST. One of the SeeD members there will give you a Rosetta Stone |
| instead of a minor item. Cool beans!                              |
=====================================================================

When you clear all the enemies, head back to the lobby and you'll see Xu 
sneaking up the elevator. Follow her to the second floor and after a bit 
of conversation she'll take you to see Cid.

After a long scene in Cid's room, he gives Squall a key that takes them 
to the MD level in search of a way to save the Garden. (Cid says that 
the Garden used to be some sorta shelter so a secret is hidden.) 

Take the elevator do and suddenly the power goes off, you'll have to 
climb down from the evacuation hatch. All of a sudden the elevator's 
power comes back and it descents after you at full speed. Watch as your 
team make the grand escape. :)

Descend into the sewer like piping and Quistis will tell you some tips 
on Elem-Atk. 

> Junction Check! This place is full of sissy enemies like Blood Souls 
and Blobras that give you crap and are very resistant to attacks, so I'd 
avoid carding here and stick on Enc-None. Although you do occasionally 
encounter Tri-Faces that give you good stuff. Pack Mug with you too.

> GF Check!
  - Diablos: Should have gotten his -J abilities by now, or about to. 
Get his Darkside next but it doesn't matter too much.
  - Brothers: HP+40% should be done, so I'd suggest moving on to the 
horribly expensive HP+80%.
  - Carbuncle: Vit+40%

Follow the path and enter a room with a large wheel handle thingy. Open 
it (only seems to open when all 3 characters are turning it) and make 
your way down the ladder into a large circular room with a pillar in the 
middle.

> Magic Check! There's a DP (hidden) here with Full-Life

Have Squall climb the ladder and he'll fall into a room, activate the 
switch and take the ladder back. Climb down another kinda hard to see 
ladder in the foreground down to a platform with a SP. Examine the 
terminal near the SP to open up the gate, then save because when you try 
to approach the gate, 2 monsters jump out of the water and attacks.

BOSS - Oilboyle x2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
These 2 white squid-like thingies likes to spit oil on you, which does 
quite a bit of damage for oil. 

They have Confuse so draw some if you like, and if you haven't had the 
chance in Missile Base. If one of your character gets inflicted by a 
status change, draw Esuna.

You can steal 4 Fuels for your car by stealing from each Oilboyle, which 
ain't the best items around but it sure beats the Magic Stones or 
whatever you get for beating them.

Defeating them is easy, simply summon Ifrit will cause major damage. Try 
out some of Quistis' Blue Magic for this fight, although Aqua Breath 
won't do much good since they're immune to water. If you have gotten 
Fire Breath by exchanging cards, use it to maximum effect, otherwise use 
her Gatling Gun (if you junctioned spells to her Str) or Electrocute. 
This is an easy boss.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When it's over, make your way deeper into the structure and you'll 
eventually get to some kinda power generator. Fiddle around with it and 
you'll eventually see an awesome FMV where the Garden takes flight, 
barely escaping the missiles. 

After some event, you're called to the boucany. Go there (on second 
floor) and you'll get more FMVs and a special one if you bought Rinoa 
along (but I'd rather if Selphie, Zell or Quistis were in this sequence 
instead.) You are then called back to Cid's office again, and you'll see 
how Squall pilots the Garden to avoid the Balamb town.

The next day, Squall'll be lying on his bed as Rinoa comes in and wants 
him to show him around. Take her around the place if you wish. When you 
get to the lobby, a Garden worker guy comes and tells you that Master 
NORG wants to see you and tells to you go to the basement. 

When you get down there, you'll see a very angry Cid loosing his temper, 
he leaves and Quistis comes in. 

> Junction Check! Make sure you have a good Spirit level, and Str for 
both Rinoa an Squall. Take Mug for this fight. Junction Silence to ST-
Def and give Item command to someone. Try to exchange junctions to lower 
someone's HP to critical (preferably Squall.) 

Then you'll be called to see NORG. YIKES! What is that THING? Squall 
reports to NORG and it eventually gets angry and angrier and attacks. 

BOSS - NORG ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NORG fights in a tank thingy. The Left and Right Orbs have an insane 
Spr/Vit level, high HP, immune to all elements and regenerates every 
round so it's impossible to beat them. All you gotta do here is to beat 
NORG's Port. 

Steal from the Left and Right Orbs will get you Mag-Up and Spr-Ups 
respectively, don't miss them!

NORG loves to cast spells on you, including various elemental type 
spells. Summon Carbuncle to bounce spells like Fira back to him but he 
can still cast Tornado to hit you. If you need healing use items or 
Quistis' White Wind. As long as you have HP-J, the spells won't hurt you 
bad. 

If Squall is in critical, have him execute Renzokuken on NORG Port, 
otherwise just summon some GFs like Shiva and Quezacotl, or just use a 
well junctioned regular attack. It may take a while. When you defeat 
NORG Port, NORG himself becomes available for targeting. 

> GF Check! Don't for get to draw GF Leviathan from him.

NORG is weak against wind but casting Aero on him will still do less 
damage than a well junctioned regular attack + trigger. Just use your 
regular attacks, summon GF or Limit Break to take it down. Also, try to 
use Rinoa's Limit Break to get Invincible Moon. Quistis' Gatling Gun and 
Aqua Breath also works well.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GF PROFILE - LEVIATHAN ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The giant serpent of the deep sea that swallows sailors is probably the 
least exciting GF to many people since I'm sure you all have seen 
movies/screenshots of this many many times since the FFVIII demo. 
Anyway, we all know what the summon looks like but it's actually not too 
bad, even though Quistis' Aqua Breath will often do more damage in less 
time. Tsunami works well against a wide bunch of enemies simply because 
they're rarely resistant towards it. One cool thing about Tsunami is 
that if it kills an enemy, they'll get swept away along with the water. 
Some of Leviathan's abilities are really cool although it doesn't have 
that many of them, so Leviathan will get boring quickly. Its Recover 
command is quite unique as it will heal a single character to their full 
HP for free, but I'd say the Magic command is more versatile. Leviathan 
also comes with 2 separate Menu Abilities so it's still quite a handy GF 
to have around when you want spells like Aura. The rest of its skills 
are a bit unbalanced, but Leviathan's Spirit skills are nice to have 
around when fighting the bosses. 
Best abilities: Recover, Spr Bonus, Supt Mag-RF, GF Med-RF
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What to do now is to ask Cid in the Infirmary some questions and return 
to the lobby where Xu catches up with you. Follow this event to find 
Ellone and more plot information will be reviewed, wouldn't want to 
spoil it.


---Do you like fish?---     <'>>>><
The next day Rinoa goes to bother Squall again and when you're just 
about to leave, the Garden goes boom and crashes into Fisherman's 
Horizon. Go to see Cid and he wants you to go apologize to the people in 
FH. (Oh, letting other people do his dirty work.)

Head to the boucany in 2F and you can explore FH after a bit of talk, 
god how I looooooove the music in this town! 

> NOTE! On the platform where the elevator leads down, there's a VERY 
hard to see ladder leading down. It's quite hard to find and I missed it 
in my first game. When you get to the bottom platform, head all the way 
to the left, climb a few ladders in the process and you should reach an 
old fisherman (Master Fisherman, the guy you saw in the FMV.) Talk to 
him and apologize, he will give you Occult Fan III magazine. Remember 
this place though, he hides a very good DP that you cannot get yet.

> Magic Check! There are a few DPs scattered around this place, so try 
to get them before talking to the mayor. One for Shell is next to the 
junk shop, a Regen DP is near a SP on the train tracks and you can find 
a DP for Haste at the abandoned train station. 

Go to the mayor's house and they'll order you to leave as soon as 
possible in a sissy kinda way because they say that they hate violence. 
After the scene is over, there are still MORE goodies to be found.

> Magic Check! In the mayor's house is a hidden DP for Ultima! Of 
course, something this good must be non-recoverable.

> Card Check! Mayor Dobe has Quezacotl's card. Try not to loose any rare 
cards to him as it's very hard to get them back again.
> The mayor's wife has Irvine's card if you lost the Sacred's card to 
the Queen of Cards like I've told you to above. 
> Martine who sits outside the mayor's house uses many LV7 bosses cards 
that he confiscated from students in Galbadia Garden so you might want 
to play a few hands with him. (He's slow though.) Also, if you lost 
Ifrit's card to General Caraway, you can win it back now.

When you're on your way out, calls for help indicates that Galbadia 
soldiers are invading. The stupid mayor tries to talk his way out of it 
and his wife blames it all on you! Gosh what a bunch of sissies!

> Junction Check! Give your characters appropriate junctions and spread 
your GFs around, Vitality is very important here. Also, make sure that 2 
of the members have low HP (makes them easier to kill.) Give someone Mug 
and Enc-None. 

> GF Check! 
  - Diablos: Think you've gotten all his important abilities already? 
Not yet, he's such an exceptional GF as if you learn HP+20%, you'll 
unlock his +40% and +80%!!! Wow, you'll almost never get bored with him.
  - Brothers: HP+80% takes ages!
  - Carbuncle: Vit+40%
  - Leviathan: Don't get Boost first a lot of AP is gonna be a wasted, 
instead get its Supt Mag-RF first.

Now head towards the way to the train station, save at the SP. If you 
didn't pack Enc-None you can fight SAM08Gs here. They drop Running Fires 
which are good to turn into Demolition Ammos. When you do reach the 
mayor, you'll have to help.

The first fight is against some soldiers. They'll net you EXP so it's a 
no-no to fight this properly. Kill off (preferably) Quistis and Squall 
and let Rinoa handle them. Next up, it's boss times.

BOSS - BGH251F2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yup, that one again, except it's already been trashed. It can only do 
some gun shot attacks but they can be quite damaging if you didn't 
junction spells to your defensive attributes.

Hurry up and revive both Squall and Quistis. Draw Protect from the boss 
and cast them on the weak members. 

Did you bring Mug? Good, now steal an Adamantine from it.

This fight is as easy as back when Selphie's team had fought it. Have 
Quistis use her Aqua Breath (which can do 3000+ damage!) and let Squall 
have his Renzokuken. Rinoa do whatever, preferably summoning Leviathan 
or casting spells like Water or any Thunder spells.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When you kill it for good, it'll fall into the sea and.. Selphie's team 
climbs out! They're safe, YAY!!!

After the grand reunion and a talk with Rinoa, you can explore the town 
again. You can take a mini-quest involving the Master Fisherman to get 
some items, but what you really wanna do is...

> Magic Check! ...Get Master Fisherman out of the way so you can have 
access to the Full-Life DP, it's non-recoverable though.

> NOTE! Before you carry on, read the "NOTE!" in the next section for a 
trick to get some Pulse Ammo.

Go back to the Quad and cheer Selphie up, then go back to Cid. He kinda 
chickens out at the critical moment and offers Squall the leadership of 
the Garden. Oooooh.


---Top of the Pops---
Now you'll see an interesting scene where Selphie and Irvine got 
everyone together to perform a number. To the musically inclined it 
should be a piece of cake in determining which tunes goes with which. 
Choose which ever instruments you want but I'm telling ya, if you piece 
together the Electric Guitar, Bass, Piano, and Saxophone, you get to 
hear a nice instrumental version of Eyes On Me.

> NOTE! Ronny Boen told me that when you get control of Irvine here, you 
can head west to some soldiers, talk to them and you'll receive some 
Pulse Ammo! I understand that Ronny's procedure was very confusing, 
since his english wasn't very good. Thanks to Wee 
<brenanne@cyberway.com.sg> who cleared out the procedures (and found an 
extra bonus :) Here's what he has to say.

"Meet up with Grease Monkey after the fight with the machine (when you 
pick Irvine near Balamb), you see the sergeant. Talk to him, go out of 
the hut and go back in. Now talk to Grease Monkey, you will recieve a 
Mega Phoenix. 
"In Irvine's sound bit. (Ie, after returning to Garden.) Go back to GM, 
you see the sergeant again.... Do the same but when you go back into the 
hut. You see him sprawling on the floor, evidently GM have kicked him 
silly. You recieve a phoenix (only phoenix no Mega :*) and you get the 
ammos from the unconcious sergeant."

This now work now.. :) Thanks all...

Now when Squall wakes up, Rinoa takes him out to the concert. Hey, this 
is like the Golden Saucer date scene in FFVII!!! Just follow this scene 
and hear some seedy stuff Irvine has to say. When the concert begins, 
exit that screen to the place with a porno mag and another loooooooong 
story scene will take place, and it's different depending on what 
instruments you chose.

After this scene Squall will be back in his bed. Make your way back up 
to the bridge and you'll see that Quistis, Nida and Xu have taken over 
the controls of the Graden. And you can also control the Garden as a 
vehicle, just talk to Nida when you want to go. 


---Things to do #3---
Having the ability to control Garden will open up a HUGE number of new 
places to explore, tons of mini-quests, new GFs and cards! You'll spend 
at least 2 hours with these mini-quests, so I'll divide this into more 
sections but you can do these in any order.

-> New GFs <-
Take the Garden south (you need to bypass the bridge first, or head 
north all the way) to the southern continent. It's the Centra continent 
(apparently no connection to the Centra as in Ancients of FFVII) and 
hover all the way to a place like an oil rig. 

I recommend that you take Squall, Quistis and perhaps Zell for this 
quest. Note Selphie would be useful here, but you cannot make her a 
party member yet since she needs some beauty sleep after the Missile 
Base mission.

> Junction Check: Very important here, you all should have HP-J and 
most, if not all, of the important Junction Abilities. Also, make sure 
that all your members are in critical before entering. Pack your best 
spell in MAGIC attribute as it'll be very important, and for Squall and 
Zell, junction your second best spells in their Strength. Equip Mug, 
Enc-None, any Mag+??% or Str+??% for Squall/Zell. 

> Magic Check! If you've somehow gotten some Triples, exchange them to a 
non-active members. 

> GF Check! Leviathan should start on Spr+20%

Now save your time and enter the Centra Ruins, you'll immediately notice 
a timer which will start the countdown as soon as you enter. You have 20 
minutes, but it'll be more than enough if you followed my advice of 
equipping Enc-None and made your characters critical. 

What you do here is to climb the stairs. There are many DPs in this area 
but I'd advice you to ignore them for now, as the timer is rather 
merciless if you decide to make those side trips. 

Climb the stairs again in the place with a round statute in the centre 
keep heading forward and into a room with some steps. Walk up the steps 
and an elevator will take you up into a round shaped platform with 2 
ladders. Take the left one, which will lead to a room with some devices. 
Press the button on the wall and get back down to the ground, press the 
blue thing between the ladders and steps will magically appear to the 
right side of the screen, wow!

The stairs spiral around the central pillar thing. When you get to the 
top, you should see a gateway thing and a demon statute atop it. Climb 
the ladders to reach the statute and take out the eye. Now make your way 
down and climb more steps to the right. Clime another ladder leading to 
the top of the dome and you'll see the identical statute. Place the eye 
you found into the statute and it'll give you a 5 digit pass code, jot 
it down if you can. Then remove both eyes from the statute. 

Return back to the first statute and place both eyes into the socket. 
The flame to the right will start to emit rings, it's actually the place 
you enter the pass code, so do it and press the cancel button. If the 
pass code is correct, the gate should open, leading you to a big guy 
sitting in his throne - Odin! Check your timer, you should have about 10 
minutes left.

BOSS - Odin ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Odin does not attack at all, but if you check his draw list, he has 
Triple! That's why I wanted you to have a good Magic attribute. Anyway, 
draw 300 Triples, and no, it's NOT optional this time! You must draw 
them... actually I couldn't care less if you don't but this is THE best 
opportunity to stock up on one of the top 3 spells in the game, if you 
don't, you're gonna be REAL sorry later.

It shouldn't take long, maybe 3 minutes or so. When you're done you 
should still have plenty of time, and the critical status helps you to 
do Limit Breaks easily. So let Squall and Zell unleash their Renzokuken 
and Duel respectively, while Quistis uses her best Blue Magic, Aqua 
Breath should do it.

You should also Mug him, which in term gives you a Luck-J Scroll, much 
better than the G-Potions or whatever you get normally. 

This fight is fun, but not long. Odin's really weak for some reason and 
goes down in 30 seconds flat! Congrats, now you have a new GF (well 
kinda), 300 of one of the best spells and a new rare card!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

> Magic Check! Now that the timers has stopped, you can feel free to 
wonder around for the DPs, some of them are hidden. There's one for Pain 
near the dome with the top statute, the right ladder at the double 
ladder tower thing has Aero and the DP in the round shaped room with a 
statute in the centre has Drain. 

GF PROFILE - ODIN* ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Odin is unlike all other GFs, you cannot junction him and you cannot 
summon him either, instead, he will come randomly at the beginning of a 
battle. This fact makes Odin potentially the most annoying thing in this 
game, especially when you're trying to not gain a level, as he will slay 
everything in his path and let you handle the EXP. (So for the rest of 
the game, it's a very good idea to just stick on Enc-none and sprint 
through it.) He has only one attack, Zantetsuken, a blade skill that 
EVERYONE fears and it will tear everything into shreds! (I wonder why 
they didn't even translate it.) Yeah yeah, Odin is a dumb GF but getting 
him will clear the way to 2 other cooler GFs a bit later.

> NOTE! TunzVic@aol.com informed me that if you hold L2 and R2 when the 
battle is loading (ie, trying to run away), the chance that Odin appears 
will be increased. Now I am really not sure about this because Odin 
appears way too often in the first place anyway. "Call upon me in times 
of need" was what Odin said when you defeat him, could this have been a 
clue?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With Odin out of the way, you'd want to get another GF - Tonberry! To 
prepare for it, just Card Mod any Tonberry/Tonberry King cards you have 
into Chef's Knives. Go back to the room with the round statute and de-
equip Enc-None (you might want to save your game before doing this 
though) and keep fighting the Tonberries until you have about 20 Chef's 
Knives. (Note, ok having 20 Chef's Knives isn't exactly the correct 
solution, but I think you gotta collect 20 of them by defeating 
Tonberries. Otherwise I have no clue how to trigger the appearance of 
Tonberry King, just keep fighting Tonberries.) They have a very high HP 
level and is immune to all instant death attack except for Selphie's The 
End, which makes them very hard to kill. They don't give you any EXP so 
it's ok just to kill them, but they don't give you much AP either, so 
it's not the best place to build up.

> NOTE!!! I was wrong, you CAN get Tonberry before acquiring Odin, just 
exit and re-enter if the timer's about to run out. This is quite a good 
idea if you don't want Odin to screw up your Carding attempts in the 
future. However, you won't be able to get his card and the 100 Triples 
until very late. 

> NOTE2!!! Well, since Odin is such a pain in the *** you might want to 
ignore him until the disc 3 after you've done with powering up. If you 
don't get Odin I don't think you'll ever acquire the power of lord 
Gilgamesh, so by all means pick up Odin before heading back into the 
Lunatic Pandora the second time in disc 3. The disadvantage to this is 
that you won't get his card for a long time (no big deal) and missing 
out the 300 Triples for a very long time (Arrrggghhhhh!!!)

Try to use your character's Limit Breaks repeatedly and let Quistis have 
them with Micro Missiles, which should do like 9999 damage! When you do 
have 20 Chef's Knives in stock, the next Tonberry you fight will give 
you a surprise because...

BOSS - Tonberry King ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
...A giant king of the Tonberries will appear to avenge for all the 
Tonberries. It does have some killer attacks and likes to cast death 
sometimes, but it'll just sit there most of the time.

Release your well-trained Limit Breaks and it should be gone easily. I'm 
not sure if Micro Missiles works here, but Quistis' other Limits works 
well too. If anyone dies, cast Life. You should know what to do..
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GF PROFILE - Tonberry ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Perhaps the most annoying enemies in the series is now one of the good 
guys. Tonberries are creatures that resembles the Shumi Tribe who wears 
coarse tunics, the knife and lantern they hold on their hands are their 
trade marks. This GF's attack, Chef's Knife will stab a random enemy in 
battle. It's non elemental, but it's still not very strong and only 
targets one enemy, making the summon attack rather useless, although 
it's cute. (Doink!) The Tonberry has a hand full of good merchant-like 
abilities. The part where this GF really shines comes from Tonberry's 
Menu Abilities, being able to alter the price and stock of every shop 
you've visited and make them come to you! It also has 2 unique commands, 
LV Up and LV Down which are helpful for countless future battles. A few 
other skills are also pretty cool, but the disappointing fact comes from 
the lack of Junction Abilities.
Best abilities: LV Up, LV Down, Initiative, Call Shop, Sell High, 
Haggle, Familiar
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

> GF Check! Tonberry should start with Boost then his shop abilities, 
such as Haggle.

-> Chicobo's Card <-
This is an important card as it can lead to another new rare card from 
the Queen of cards. All you've gotta do here is to catch a Chocobo at 
each of the Chocobo Forests around the world, but before you leave, 
sound the Sonar until you find a place where it reacts, and activate the 
Ziner. No there's no Chicobo, but the mother Chocobo will find gifts 
like Aura Stones or Ultima Stones and give them to Squall. (They 
consider that Squall as one of "them".) I won't detail how you catch a 
Chocobo at each forest though, as it's really boring.

Now all you need to do is to catch a Chocobo near Trabia and ride it all 
the way to the Chocobo Holy Ground to the north of Esthar. (Just 
remember you can cross shallow water with the Chocobo.) When you get 
there you should see 7 Chocobos, if less, it means that you haven't 
completed some Chocobo Forests. You'll witness the Chocobos dance to the 
sweet tunes of Eyes On Me (but I think the Chocobo dance in FFVII is 
cuter) then examine the Chicobo and you'll get the card. Talk to the 
Chocoboy to get a ride out of this place.

BTW, you can purchase Gysahl Greens from the Chocoboy. Using it in 
battle will summon the Chicobo.

GF PROFILE - CHICOBO* ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A fun loving baby Chocobo, nothing too spectacular... unless you have a 
Pocket Station that is. Without it, the Chicobo will only be able to do 
3 digit damage with its weak ChocoFire. However, if you powered up your 
Chicobo up via a Pocket Station, its attacks will upgrade into more and 
more powerful versions. The Pocket Station is not available on sale 
outside Japan and it's not likely that 99.9% of us will ever get our 
hands on one. I personally don't have it, and not planning to import one 
just for the sake of this game. It's a cute summon so you will wanna see 
this at least once.

If you've powered Boco up through a PocketStation (or the PC version for 
that matter), its attack will upgrade from ChocoFire to ChocoFlare, 
ChocoMeteor and finally Chocobuckle. Katman told me that he has seen 
Chocobuckle doing voer 13000 damage!!! Not bad for a Choco**** huh? 
Still not as good as Eden or Quistis though.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

-> Shumi Tribe <-
This is located to the northern most island in the world. 

> Magic Check! I think the biggest charm of this village is the fact 
that it has the only recoverable Ultima DP in the world, and it's 
unusually drawer-friendly too, meaning that you'll always get a decent 
number of spells. However, you'll need to pay 5000 Gil for a pump, but 
I'd say it's worth it. Remember to return regularly to stock up on the 
best spell in the game.

You can take a quest here to find some stones to help build the statute 
of Laguna. Again, I won't detail the procedures here but it's very 
simple. If you need help, talk to the guy sitting outside at a table and 
he'll give you some tips on how to find the stone. 

When you're done, check back on the elder and after some pointless 
conversations (they've obviously picked it up from Laguna) you'll be 
rewarded with a Phoenix Pinion which summons the Phoenix GF during 
battle, and no, this item is not unique. You can get them via several 
other ways.

GF PROFILE - PHOENIX* ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This Bird of Immortality has been a favourite among the series. By using 
a Phoenix Pinion during battle, the Phoenix will appear (in a VERY cool 
graphical sequence) to aid your characters. Its flame will burn the 
enemies for a good deal of damage and will revive all fallen allies as 
if Life has been cast on them. The fire elemental damage is pretty good 
IMO, I've seen this doing 8000+ damage. The item is rare and expensive 
so it's not like you'll see Phoenix very often, but you should see it at 
least once as it looks really awesome.

NOTE!!! Stephanus Rudiyanto Natari <s_rudiyanton@mailcity.com> said that 
if you have summoned Phoenix at least once in the whole game, there'll 
be a chance that Phoenix will appear when ALL of your party members are 
defeated in battle, therefore savin' your butt. It's random whether or 
not that Phoenix will appear though, and it'll still use up a Phoenix 
Pinion, so keep some of them in stock. (I don't know if the number of 
Phoenix Pinions in your inventory will affect the chance of the GF 
sppearing though.)

NOTE2!!! Katman told me that you do NOT use up a Phoenix Pinion when it 
appearswhen you die. I don't know about this because I've never seen it 
appear randomly. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

> Magic Check! There are 2 more DPs around this area, the one in near 
the statute is Firaga and the one outside the elder's house has 
Blizzaga.

> NOTE! Free Status Guard
Yes, you can get a free Status Guard in the Shumi Village at some point 
later in the game, but I'm not sure how much later. It's probably 
obtainable right after the above mini-quest by exitting and re-entering 
the village, but I cannot confirm this. Basically what you do is head 
back to the village and you'll see that 2 Shumis are working on the 
statute, but they need more labour, and Attendant isn't too keen to do 
it. So talk to the Elder and convince Attendant. After that, it's still 
not enough and the gang wants Antisan's help, but Artisan is stubborn 
and is worried about turning into a Moomba. So you need to talk to 
Artisan's friend in FH, who tells you to take the toy Moomba back to 
Artisan in Shumi Village. So go back there and show Artisan the toy 
Moomba. Then he'll agree to do it. Then talk to the Elder for the Status 
Guard, which is very useful later.

-> CC Quest <-
If you've been a keen card player, I'm sure you've all heard about the 
CC gang. A group of card players who just loves cards and are in search 
of worthy players day and night. So why not start challenging them now?

Jack
Actually, it's not as easy as it sounds. First you need to build 
yourself a reputation by winning the card game about 20 times inside 
Balamb Garden. Then the guy who walks in the lobby will start to review 
himself as the CC Jack. Winning the battle and you're ready to move on, 
there are 6 more members of the CC gang left. If you're really havin' 
trouble with this guy then you need to practice your card skills. I do 
have many card strategies but I don't know if I should detail them here, 
as most of the strategies can change easily and you need to think fast 
for it. 

Club
He's a guy walking around in the northern passageway. Just talk to some 
guy around that area and you'll probably hit the jackpot. After him, 
it's time for Diamond.

Diamond
The 2 girls standing nears the map of Garden in the lobby will play 
against you next. (Hey not fair, 2 against 1!) Afterwards it's Spade's 
turn, although I will make a side trip and challenge the Joker first.

Joker
The Joker is the guy who was selling you items inside the prison. He 
appears randomly inside the Training Centre. All the FAQs says the same 
thing but they never detail where exactly he appears in (there are about 
4 separate screens inside the Training Centre) so it took me a long time 
to find him. Joker appears on a tiny island connected by planks to the 
screen to the _right_. He has Leviathan's card so you'll want to play 
him and win that card from him. Ironically, it's the only other Water 
elemental card in the game! (And if it's not enough, wait 'til you get 
Alexander.)

Spade
He appears on the platform outside the elevator on the second floor and 
apparently he is the same person who handed you those 7 cheap cards at 
the start. 

Heart
Head for the bridge because... Heart is actually Xu!! Play her (she 
seems to be quite slow) and win from her. She also carries Carbuncle's 
card so it's another nifty win. After the battle Nida will comment how 
he didn't know that Xu was actually Heart. Xu said it was a secret and 
Quistis said she already knew. One more member to go, the King!

What you need to do now is talk to Dr. Kadowaki in the Infirmary. She 
will say that she was the former King of the CC group, but she handed 
the title down to another girl sometime ago. 

King
What you need to do now is get back to your room and choose to be alone, 
then rest. It's a random event so if you don't get to meet the King, try 
again. During the middle of the night, Squall will be wakened by the 
King who is actually... Quistis!! *Gasp* Actually it was rather obvious 
if you piece together the clues. Anyway, she challenges you. The King 
carries Gilgamesh's card so it'll be another great find. If you didn't 
get it this time, go back to the bridge the next day and challenge her 
there. She usually uses very good cards but she's also the slowest card 
player that I've played, very frustrating.

> NOTE! All of the CC members carriy LV7 boss cards so you know where to 
go if you wanna complete your collection. IMO, the LV7 boss cards are 
the WORST! They are quite hard to get (as it's not a sure thing that 
they'll use them, unlike the rare cards), harder to beat (since they're 
powerful and hey, even rare cards have weaker sides!) and gives you 
really crap items with Card Mod. The higher the CC rank, the more likely 
that they'll use a LV7 card, so if you want LV7 cards, I found Xu is the 
best person to go to.

> NOTE2! Do you guys want me to list some card strategies? I personally 
have had no problem with a majority of the card games but I've heard 
that many people are having troubles. I can list them here but it's a 
"Power-up guide".. who knows, just e-mail me with your suggestions if 
you think I should have more coverage on cards. 

-> Lotsa AP <-
Ok, everybody knows that Cactuars are good for AP right? Well, you don't 
necessarily have to step onto Cactuar Island (which is only approachable 
with the Ragnarock) to meet them. Voltroneo@Hotmail.com says that you 
can encounter them on Kashkabald Desert in the Centra region. Fight 
there for lotsa AP and not a lot of EXP, whoohoo! You might wanna come 
back here every so often when you get a new GF to learn its skills. 

-> Collect Flares <-
Thanks to Brad White <bm-white@telus.net> for this trick. 

You can encounter Ruby Dragons in the forests near Edea's house in the 
Centra region, although they're really rare. If you've gotten Tonberry, 
you can start collecting Flares/Meteors right now, although you have to 
make sure that you have good junctions. Else you might wait 'til later 
when you have better spells.

What you can do however, is to mug Inferno Fangs from them, and they can 
be modded with Ifrit's F Mag-RF into 20 Flares each. It might take quite 
a while though. since they're so rare. (It might not even be worth the 
effort.) If you've already gotten Odin, make sure you save a lot.

The other way to collect Flare is to collect Ruby Dragon cards, 
especially if you play a lot of Triple Triad and you've modded the trade 
rule to All. You can get a few Inferno Fangs from those.

-> Others <-
There are a few more mini-quests right now, but I won't detail them here 
as they're not that exciting. Basically, just check up on all major 
cities and see what's new, and explore the new lands. 

> NOTE! Don't do the Bone searching quest in Dollet yet, as the items 
will be upgraded once you're in disc 3


---Silence of the (Ba)lamb---
Ho ho ho, when got the weight of the tons of mini-quests off your 
shoulders, it's time to follow on with the story. Head over to Balamb 
and you'll see that Galbadia Garden (also taken flight) has occupied the 
town of Balamb for some reason. 

Zell rushes in and demands that you take him with you, as for the other 
character, notice that Selphie is healed after the Missile Base mission? 
Take her along if you want (gosh I just LOVE that girl!) Quistis ain't 
too bad either.

Talk to the guard next to the car and Squall'll make an excuse to get 
in. Try going to the hotel to talk to the commander but it's blocked off 
by guards. They want you to find the captain.

Go back to Zell's house and since the hotel is occupied, Zell has no 
choice but to let you use his room. If you brought Selphie, you'll see a 
scene where she jumps onto Zell's bed, if you chose Quistis she'll tell 
you something about Zell's adventure on a T-Board and if you brought 
Irvine, he'll fiddle around with Zell's gun collection. All of them are 
hurlarious, but if you brought Rinoa instead, you'll see a lamn scene 
with her talking about Zell's grandfather (she's rarely funny.)

If you wanna get outta town, talk to Big Bad Rascal and follow him 
around, distract the guard when he goes to find the girl's parents and 
then he can help you escape.

> Card Check! According to David Seo, if you did helped Big Bad Rascal, 
talk to the hotel owner's daughter in the house next to Zell's. The girl 
will tell you that she has her father's card (Pandemona) and you can get 
it now instead of later. Whoohoo!

Whacha have to do here is to find the captain. He likes to play hard to 
get and you have to keep asking people around town for details. If you 
can't be bothered, just talk to a guy near the docks and he'll tell you 
that the captain caught some fish. Return to Zell's house and you'll see 
smoke coming out of it. Then go to the train station and the guards 
should be down on the floor after eating the fish. To make them move 
outta the way, keep talking to the one blocking the stairs and everytime 
you do so, he'll move a little bit. 

Enter the train and you'll find that the captain is no other than 
Raijin! He runs away. Go back to Zell's house to save first though, and 
check your junctions.

> Junction Check! Junction good spells to Vit. GF and Magic commands are 
useful for this fight. Pack Mug if you wanna goodie.

> GF Check! Your GFs should have learnt a few new skills after the mini-
quest events right? 
  - Diablos: HP+??%s
  - Brothers: HP+80%
  - Carbuncle: Vit Bonus
  - Leviathan: Should have gotten Spr+20% and Boost, move onto Spr+40% 
and Spr Bonus when you're done
  - Tonberry: Should have gotten Boost and maybe even Haggle, if so move 
onto Sell High.

Head to the hotel when you're done, and you'll have to fight Raijin. 

BOSS - Raijin, G-Soldiers x2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nothing much of a threat. The soliders will go down in one hit. Raijin 
is stronger and his attacks can hit for decent damage, about 200 each 
hit. He has Thunder-type spells too, and can hit pretty hard but he's 
likely to go down sooner than expected. 

Mug 2 Str-Ups from him too. You can get them if you win the fight 
instead, but you'll only get 1, so my advice is that you steal them.

Use regular attacks to take out the soldiers. Don't cast Thunder on him 
as he'll absorb it. (It's actually pretty obvious when you look at his 
name. I think Raijin means "Thunder" in Japanese.) 

Leviathan works amazingly well on Raijin, about 1000 damage. Otherwise, 
use your regular attacks or spells like Water (economical and decent 
power.) Tonberry might work too (since he starts off at about level 40.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After he's been beaten, you'll enter the hotel and yes, the commander is 
actually Fujin! You'll now have to fight against 2 of them.

Boss - Fujin, Raijin ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yeap, Raijin still absorbs Thunder and Fujin will absorb Wind attacks, 
so don't use them. Raijin still uses same old same old stuff but do look 
out for his Raijin Special attack, as it can hurt you pretty bad. 
Fujin's Zan don't pose much of a threat but her Aero can hurt.

> GF Check! Do NOT forget to draw GF Pandemona from Fujin!

Mug Raijin again for more Str-Ups, Fujin has a Megalixir but winning 
gives you the same thing so it doesn't matter. 

For offence, Leviathan again works well, but it won't do as much damage 
to Fujin as Raijin. Tonberry + Boost too. Regular attacks works 
exceptionally well if you have good spells. Try getting your character 
to critical to unleash their Limit Breaks if you want, but it won't 
matter too much. Magic isn't bad either, but Fujin seems to be quite 
magically resistant so it's better to deal with her with physical 
attacks.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GF PROFILE - PANDEMONA ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Originally named Pandemonium in the Japanese version, this GF had its 
dignity taken away by the translation team by changing its name to suit 
the 9 letter limits. Pandemona resembles a squid-mage creature from FFT 
only purple colored with a large squirrel-like tail. Fortunately, its 
summon attack is of straight wind-elemental, not completely screwed up 
like FFVII (Typhoon was actually earth!) or non-existent like the 
previous Fantasies. Tornado Zone sucks all enemies into Pandemona's guts 
and then thrown out in a gust of wind, hurting all enemies badly amidst 
the fiery tempest. It's great for just about any enemy, especially ones 
taking flight. Not only that, Pandemona is also the first GF that grants 
you Spd-J and Spd+20%/40% which are essential to winning most fights 
later on. The only bad part is that you need to learn Spd-J yourself by 
accumulation a large bundle of AP. Pandemona also has decent Strength 
abilities and the Initiative ability that allows you to act first.
Best skills: Spd-J, Spd+20%, Spd+40%, Initiative
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


---My heart will go on---
You're in the bridge of Balamb Garden and the blissful Selphie comes 
along and wants your team to take a look at the remains of Trabia 
Garden.

> Card Check! Before you go anywhere, go back to Balamb and challenge 
the guy standing outside the hotel. He has Pandemona's card and it's a 
really good card with THREE strong sides!!! If you've won the card off 
her daughter earlier, just ignore this bit.
> Uh uh, don't leave yet. Remember how I told you to try to get the 
Queen of Cards to Balamb after loosing Sacred's card? Well she should be 
here right now and that Chicobo card can open up another opportunity to 
get a new rare card. Save at the hotel and challenge the queen and 
deliberately try to loose the Chicobo card, try to get her back to 
Dollet.
> If you've done so, head back to Dollet and she tells you her father 
has painted another card and it's somewhere in Balamb Garden. Before you 
leave, win back Chicobo's card from her little brat.
> As for the new card, you might want to try the guy who's sitting next 
to a fountain and he can be found by taking right once in Balamb 
Garden's lobby. You can win the Chubby Chocobo card off him.

Once you're ready to move on, move the Garden north-eastwards to get to 
Trabia Garden, or at least what's left of it. You must have Selphie on 
your team for this, as for the other member, it doesn't matter yet since 
you won't have to fight here.

Climb the fence and your other team members arrive. Just follow the path 
and explore for some goodies.

> Magic Check! There's a DP for Thundaga next to the fountain, the 
screen with the gravestones hides a DP for Zombie and a non-recoverable 
DP for Aura can be found on the ruins of a stage.

> Card Check! Play a game with Selphie's best friend when Selphie leaves 
(or else you won't be able to challenge her) and she uses Selphie's 
card. The Random/Same/Plus rules makes this really tricky but (at least 
IMO) it helps to introduce the Open rule from Balamb. The Card game will 
become extremely strategic.

Move to the basketball court for a long story scene, I won't spoil it 
here but there's actually not much to spoil, considering the simplicity 
of the story. Oops, I should shut up now.

> Magic Check! Well, before you leave, you might want to try to 
encounter some Gaylas around the Trabia region, they're quite common. 
Then level them up and draw Meltdowns from them, then card them or level 
them down when you're done. Meltdown is a very good spell both for 
casting and junctioning, so it's worth it. Thanks to Voltroneo for this.


---Boom boom boom boom, the Garden goes boom---
Somebody suggests a visit to Matron's orphanage, but make sure you 
complete all the mini-quests do anything you need to do first, because 
you won't see the world map until disc 3.

Take the Garden south to the Centra region and you'll see Galbadia 
Garden hangin' near Matron's orphanage. It's kinda hard to see since 
it's most likely to be in the screen's blind spot and takes most people 
by surprise. Upon getting reasonably close to the enemy Garden, a cut 
scene will follow where the Garden prepares for combat. 

You'll be given a list of options but I have absolutely no idea what 
they're good for, and neither do I have any idea how it works. So just 
choose whatever (or bang on the buttons like Selphie does) since I don't 
think it matters too much in the game.

Squall'll give a speech and commands to all pupils within the Garden, 
then Irvine, Quistis and Selphie arrives. Make a new team but it doesn't 
matter since it's going to be a short scene. 

Make your ways to the Quad and you'll see Zell and Rinoa. Then Nida 
calls you back to the bridge (drag ons.) The scene switches to Zell's 
team, but you need to junction yourselves this time, since you will 
encounter enemies (I think) but it doesn't matter too much what you 
junction. I usually just stick Diablos and Enc-None on Zell since this 
scene is extremely short and don't deserve a careful junction.

Continue as Zell and after the scene where the ground gives away and 
Rinoa falls, you need to make a retreat back to the lobby to meet with 
Squall's team.

You will now have to choose 2 members between Quistis, Selphie and 
Irvine to stop the enemies in the classroom. Zell will help Rinoa and 
the member who is not chosen by Squall will help Xu defend the front 
Gates. It doesn't matter what you choose here, as both Quistis and 
Selphie are good characters, but take Quistis if you want an easy fight 
and have gotten Bad Breath. Save the game though.

> Junction Check! Whatever here, but pack LV Down on whoever gets 
Tonberry.

> GF Check! 
  - Diablos: HP+??%
  - Brothers: HP+80% then HP Bonus if you wish
  - Carbuncle: Vit Bonus then ST Def
  - Leviathan: Spr+40% then Spr Bonus
  - Pandemona: Boost if you haven't gotten it yet, then definitely start 
on Spd-J
  - Tonberry: Any "shop" abilities will do

Make your way to 2F Classroom and the enemies will come through the 
window. You'll be against 4 Paratroopers who are a real pain to beat 
since they love to cast annoying spells like Silence. I'd recommend 
using Quistis to cripple them with Bad Breath, else summon Siren first 
thing. Then take your time lowering their levels with LV Down since 4 of 
them will surely give you more EXP than you can handle by defeating them 
stright away. Draw some spells if you wish, then kill them off one by 
one.

You'll be called back to the bridge afterwards where your characters 
will argue about what you should be doing. Squall finally decided that 
it's about time that they take an offensive turn and tries to  crash 
into Galbadia Garden to get on board.

Now you take control of Squall alone. On the second floor you have to 
help the girl to look for the little boy down the end of the hallway. 
When you do however, a Galbadia soldier with a jetpack comes through the 
entrance and pins Squall against the emergency door. It's time for a 
terrible micro-minigame but you are treated to an unfair advantage since 
the enemy will be able to hit you twice before you can even retiliate! 

What you need to do is to munch on the controller and you'll get an 
option of what you want to do. Escape is NOT an option since you cannot, 
you'll simply give the enemy the opportunity for a free hit. Try looking 
for another option, you'll get hit once more but it'll give you the 
choice of releasing the emergency lock the next turn. (I have no idea 
what happens if you try other options though.)

The enemy tackles Squall just as he releases the lock and they both 
falls outside, hanging onto a rope and the only thing that keeps them 
from falling is the opponent's jetpack. You'll have to fight your way 
out though. Remember to block often as you don't start off with as much 
health as the enemy and you can easily get knocked out if you're not 
careful. Block when you don't have enough time to attack and when the 
opponent is about to hit you. Otherwise, punch them right after his 
attacks you, you should get a free hit. Then wait a split second to see 
if the enemy is about to attack, if so block. If not try attacking. 
Alternate between punches and kicks too and you'll eventually knock him 
out.

Squall saves Rinoa by offering her the rope and they'll end up on 
Galbadia Garden. The couple will have more conversation before entering 
the Garden.

Your other members already made it there, you'll now have to seek out 
Seifer and the sorceress. I think Irvine is a mandatory member here if 
I'm not wrong. (Is Rinoa also a mandoatory character here? I forgot but 
I always seems to choose her as the extra member.) Anyway, Selphie makes 
a great support member here. Rinoa's Invincible Moon is also very 
useful.

> Junction Check! Make sure you pack Enc-None here for 2 reasons, Odin 
can ruin your carding attempts and some enemies here cannot be carded. 
If you do feel like carding, save often.

> Magic Check! Yup, the same old DPs are still here if you feel like it 
but the one in the ice hockey field is now reachable (Protect.)

Run around the rooms and you need to find 3 students within the complex 
who gives you a different key card each, which unlocks certain doors. 
It's pretty straight forward.

> GF Check! When you get to the main lobby of Galbadia Garden, you'll 
see a giant monster with a tail occupying the stage in the centre of it. 
It is the GF Cerberus and I'd advice you challenge it but do save at the 
SP first.

> Junction Re-Check! Alright, finally some serious preperations. 
Junction Quake (use Float if you don't have it) to Elem-Def and if you 
have a spare slot, junction Thungaga to it as well. As for ST-Def, try 
Berserk. Pack the Mug command along with the usual (Magic, GF, Draw 
etc..) Spr is very important here, and give a good Str boosts to both 
Squall and Irvine. If you brought Rinoa, make sure her condition is 
critical.

> Magic Check! Make sure you have an adaquate supply of Dispel spells 
stored on all members. It's about the only time that spell is useful. 

BOSS - Cerberus ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This boss can really hurt you bad, I mean, REALLY bad if you didn't take 
the precautions. It has 3 heads and each one like to cast different 
spells. Quake is the most common but sometimes Thunder-type or Tornado 
too. It also likes using Berserk on your members. Finally and the 
biggest threat of all, it LOVES casting Triple on itself!

Obviously, Siren and Silence will not work so that's why you need to 
protect yourselves from the elements. Cast Dispel on it IMMEDIATELY 
after its Triple and use Esuna on whoever got affected by Berserk.

Mug a Spd-J scroll from it too.

You can draw Quake from Cerberus, as well as Double. I've heard of 
Triple but I guess you have to be at a high level to have that spell 
available.

If Rinoa is in your team, let her use her Limit Breaks continuously and 
you'll eventually get Invincible Moon. For offence, Limit Breaks are the 
best options. Otherwise, Squall's regular attack works fine. 
Tonberry+Boost works too.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You'll get Cerberus' card for winning, as well as a new GF.

GF PROFILE - CERBERUS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The 3 headed dog who guards the gate to Hades' realm is probably the 
most valuable GF in the whole game. Despite being cute, the summon 
Counter Rockets is also most useful. Even though the name makes no sense 
whatsoever, it gives all members in your party the Double AND Triple 
status in battle. A definate "must-have" for all the people who likes 
using magic as their main source of offence or defence. Just make sure 
you have a good compatibility. :) Cerberus also has the largest 
collection of the MOST useful abilities and MANY Junction Abilities for 
a variety of stats. Abilityx3 is great like you've all seen before but 
Cerberus' Spd+??% and ST-Defx4/ST-Atk has the guts to take on BOTH Siren 
and Pandemona! It's unique skill, Auto-Haste is also one of the most 
useful abilities in the whole game and is especially important for 
maxing out the Spd attribute. Make sure you so not miss this GF!
Best skills: Spd-J, Spd+20%, Spd+40%, ST-Atk, ST-Defx4, Auto Haste, 
Expendx2-1, Abilityx3
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

> GF Check! Cerberus should start with Spd-J like Pandemona.

When you acquire keycard #3 you can take the lift up to what seems to be 
the ex-headmaster's office, but now taken over by Edea and Seifer. 
There's another SP here so save. Don't really have to redo your 
junctions yet.

BOSS - Seifer ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*Yawn* Same old same old Seifer but this time her has a new Limit Break, 
Demon Slice. Not all that damaging, just laugh at how weak he is 
compared to your guys. :)

Not much strategy here, normal attacks can take him out in a few hits 
but do try to mug a Hero from him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Edea calls Seifer useless and disappears. Take the elevator down to 2F 
and head for the Auditorium. There's a hidden SP outside so save there 
and check your junctions.

> Junction Check! Make sure you have a good spirit. Junction Death to 
Squall's ST-Def and also Aura if you have an adaquate amount of it, if 
not, use Esuna/Life.

BOSS - Seifer and Edea ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Seifer rushes into battle again saying that he's not weak and he's going 
to protect Edea. He's just the same as last time, a couple of regular 
attacks and he'll go down in no time. If you brought Rinoa, try again 
for Invincible Moon, which will lasts through the encounter with Edea.

When he's defeated, Edea gets angry and will start the battle with 
Maelstorm, a gravity attack that takes out a lot of HP and gives you the 
Curse status. If you have Selphie, have someone draw Esuna and use it on 
her and cast Full Cure from her Slots. Otherwise, cure the status with 
Esuna and cast Cura/ga on yourselves. 

> GF Check! Do NOT forget to draw GF Alexander from Edea!

Carbuncle still sorta works here, try it if you want. I've heard that if 
you do so, Edea will cast Reflect on herself and bounce spells off it to 
hurt you. She DOES cast Reflect on herself BUT she doesn't cast spells 
on herself to bounce it off both times when I fought her. I guess it's 
probably because her levels are low and therefore, she has low AI. 

Anyway, if you do summon Carbuncle, she'll again try Dispel on you. 
However, at times she will ignore 2 members and goes out on Squall at 
full force and occasionally she will cast Death on Squall, that's why 
you need to junction Death to his ST-Def.

Try out your Limit Breaks on her, which IMO is the best form of offense 
as Edea has very high Spirit and resists most summons. Rinoa's 
Invincible Moon is great in this battle. Also if you can, try out the 
various bullets for Irvine. It was fun as I put Edea to sleep with his 
Dark Ammo! :) Edea isn't all that hard if you've taken precautions and 
heal yourselves regularly.

ALTERNATE EDEA STRATEGY  by James Wennberg <tanar_ri_zande@yahoo.com>
This is pretty cool. You need to junction 100 Sleep into someone's ST-
Atk and fight Seifer normally. When he gets crippled, you need to 
command the character with Sleep ST-Atk to attack before Edea arrives on 
the scene (ie, when Seifer starts talking.) This way, that character 
will get to hit Edea before she can act, and thus you can avoid her 
Maelstorm attack. Fill her up with magic to beat her easily (as it won't 
wake her up.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GF PROFILE - ALEXANDER ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This powerful GF have always raised a common question throughout the 
series: Why is Alexander a robot? Strange huh? Hmm, well Alexander had 
always been a popular summon since it's one of the very few ways of 
causing Holy-elemental damage. Holy Judgement is more spectacular than 
ever in FFVIII, and is strengthened even more by offering a long 
graphical sequence aided by Boost. Its skills however, will only hold 
your attention for a very short time. Like Leviathan, Alexander has only 
a few very good skills. High Mag-RF will refine medium -ra spells into 
better -ga spells, and frees up more slots! Med Data isn't very useful 
in battles but it'll uncover the Med LV-Up skill, a MUST acquiring 
another GF later on in disc 3. The Revive command will bring back a 
fallen ally for free. Elem-Defx4 is one of the best defensive skills and 
Abilityx3 is the last worthy member in Alexander's skill list that you 
can call good skills.
Best skills: High Mag-RF, Abilityx3, Elem-efx4, Revive, Med LV-Up
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Just when you thought that Edea gets pissed off with you again and about 
to throw another buncha icicles at you, Matron regains her consciousness 
and sanity. Rinoa walks her way to Seifer, kissed him (at least it looks 
like it, gee she must be desperate) and feints. Oh no...
========================= End of Disc 2 =============================

============================= Disc 3 ================================
Disc 3 will probably be the climax of the story and plot development, 
most questions will be answered and yup, it's a now or never situation 
with most of the subquests. You can get the remaining GFs and cards 
about mid way through where the game gives you a good long break away 
from the game. Just hold on for a bit more, because your training is 
about to start.


---Taxicab Confessions V: A witch's secret--- (Ah, not really...)
After a scene with Squall and the unconscious Rinoa, Quistis calls 
saying the sorceress Edea is back in her orphange and wants to see 
Squall and gang. 

The Garden should be relatively close to the lighthouse and Edea's 
house. Go there and check out Edea and Cid. Listen to her when she 
explains the situation and a new threat. Squall drifts off to his own 
little world again, this time without Rinoa. What Squall really want is 
just to see Rinoa back on her feet so he left.

> Magic Check! A DP in the basement has Curaga

> Card Check! Edea's card is now obtainable from the sorceress herself. 
Make sure you save first because the pain in the a$$ Centra rules are 
used in this region, along with Random. Do what you did in Trabia and 
see what happens. You can make trips to abolish these rules but 
considering the only good card in the Centra region is Edea's, it's not 
worth the effort. Hopefully luck will be on your side.
> If you didn't get to challenge Cid for Seifer's card in the previous 
discs, he's here.


---To be scorched, or not to be scorched---
> Magic Check! If you want good spells early, give all Meteors and 
Flares that Squall and the member whom's about to enter Laguna's 
scenario to someone else.

Squall will return to the Infirmary to see Rinoa, and boom, there he 
goes. It's the dream world again and this time, you get to choose who 
you want to tag along with. I personally chose Irvine since he started 
off at a higher level than my other characters so he'll have a _few_ 
more HP. The other thing to note is, Kiros will inherit all the spells 
from the character whom will enter the dream scenario. 

> NOTE!!! This is a very strange scenario because sometimes Ward does 
appear and sometimes he does not! I do not know what is the exact 
requirement to get Ward to appear in this scenario but if you do, be 
sure to down me a line and I'll fill your name in this guide. (I didn't 
have Ward in both of my games.)

> NOTE2!!! Thanks to Colin Pentney, who told me that, to get Ward, 
simply skip the issue of Timber Maniacs in Shumi Village (the one where 
it features Laguna and Kiros in the film and Selphie commented that "I 
wonder why Ward is not in the picture.")

Zap zap, Laguna ran out of money and is posing as an actor like it 
detailed in a copy of Timber Maniacs. When the camera starts rolling, 
you'll see Laguna taking the role of a sorceress slayer. Then came the 
dragon that was supposed to be played by Kiros except it smells like 
barbecue. Uh oh, another horrible micro-minigame's comin' your way.

This time it's a fair fight, except Laguna's gunblade does way too 
little damage compared to the dragon. Remember to block when the 
dragon's about to attack, or else you won't last long. When you see an 
opening, jam on the attack button and continous slices will sorta work. 
It's not fool proof though, as sometimes his claws will break through 
your attack, but it works most of the time.

When you "kill" it, Kiros joins you. Don't fight it yet since you'll be 
junction-less. Choose to get ready and head back to the save point in 
the previous screen.

> Junction Check! Spread out your GFs between 2 characters. Junction 
Aero/Tornado and any Fire spells (preferably Firaga) to your Elem-Def to 
block its magic attacks. Junction good spells to Vitality and Strength. 
ST-Atk don't matter too much since it rarely works against powerful 
enemies that a Ruby Dragon when your levels are so low. As for commands, 
pack Card if you wanna card it, else pack LV Down. Also equip Mug if 
Quistis hasn't learnt her Fire Breath yet.
> ALTERNATE! If you wanna try out my alternate strategy for getting good 
spells, it's much more important. The Elem-Def junctions won't protect 
you enough, so you need a good Sprit too. These are some examples:
         HP:  Tornado     =+3000
         Str: Quake       =+40
         Vit: Meltdown    =+80
         Mag: Pain        =+60
         Spr: Reflect     =+72
         Spd: Triple      =+70
You should have at least 100 Ultimas if you've returned to the Shumi 
Village regularly, so put it in place of HP/Spr if you like. Str isn't 
all that important here. Equip Character skills like Vit+40%, Spr+40% 
and something else (Mug/HP+80%) and you should be powerful enough.
You also need both LV Up and LV Down, because of this, one character 
will have to sacrifice the Magic command for the Draw command. An Item 
command can be useful here too. Finally, switch the battle speed to the 
slowest.

> Magic Check! For the alternate method, you need an adaquate supply of 
Shell, Haste, Protect, Life, Regen and Curaga.

> GF Check!
  - Brothers: HP Bonus then their other -J abilities.
  - Carbuncle: ST-Def and x2
  - Leviathan: Recover/Mag-J
  - Pandemona: Having already learnt Spd-J will be a great asset, start 
on Spd+20% if so
  - Cerberus: Ditto, but he maybe a bit slow at that
  - Alexander: You should get his Boost first if you haven't, then the 
useful High Mag-RF is worth looking at

You might wanna take your GFs to the desert regions and fight some 
Cactuars to learn some abilities, especially for Alexander. Try to 
complete High Mag-RF, Med Data and Med LV-Up if you can.

> NOTE! On the screen with the Ruby Dragon, you can encounter Ochus. 
They're pretty decent to fight against since they give you 7AP each! 
Fight here for a while to learn some expensive abilities if you wish.

When you're done, heal, save and go for the dragon.

BOSS - Ruby Dragon ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ok, this isn't REALLY a boss since you will receive EXP for it but 
making this section for this fight is gonna make my guide look tidy 
right? Don't shake your head like that...

Anyway, if you've juctioned yourselfves properly, it shouldn't be able 
to hurt you with its spells. Just use LV Down on it a few times and kill 
it off. Mug it for a Inferno Fang (but sometimes you'll get a crap fang 
if its levels are too low.)

ALTERNATE STRATEGY! - The quest for the better spells early.
Alright. We all know that Ruby Dragons has some great spells available 
for drawing right? The problem is this one is too weak. So you need to 
level it up to steal its spells and level it down again to kill it. This 
is VERY dangerous though, since the most powerful monster in the whole 
game can crush you like peas when there's a big level difference. 

Before you level it up, cast your support spells while the dragon is 
still weak. The first priority is to summon Cerberus or cast Double. 
This makes casting spells quicker, so add Haste, Protect, Shell and 
Regen.

Now you should determine what level you should raise for the dragon. 
Your aim should be above 30, but if you raise it too much, it'll be way 
too powerful. Level 30-50 would be my recommendation. (If you cannot get 
it right, rise it to level 100 and use LV Down to make it go back to 
50.) 

The character WITH the magic command is VERY crucial here, so do 
anything to keep him alive. 

The dragon's spells are going to hurt you bad, but the Spirit and Shell 
will deduce the damage by quite a lot. Its most damaging attack is 
Breath, which by my calculations with the HP/Vit boosts and Protect, 
you'll probably survive.

Now draw both Flare and Meteor at your leasure, but if a status wears 
off, renew it quickly. Don't hesitate if you need healing, it's better 
off safe than sorry. 

Finally, when you've done all the hard work accumulating 200 Flares and 
Meteors, use LV Down and crush it. Oh and don't forget to steal Inferno 
Fangs if you want to.

THE ALTERNATE ALTERNATE STRATEGY! - Taming the Ruby Dragon
Thanks to Colin Pentney <salivator@hotmail.com> for this trick.

"Well, I have a strategy that could theoretically let you LV Up the Ruby 
Dragon as high as you want, without (much) fear of it turning your party 
into crispy, bite-size snacks. I say "theoretically" because although 
I've seen it work many times before, I'm still not EXACTLY sure how or 
why it works. But here's what I know: 

"Ok, this happened to me in my first game of FF8, while I was 
(foolishly) wandering around in the forest near Edea's house, completely 
unaware that Ruby Dragons sometimes make their residence there... I was 
also lv. 100 at the time. So I ran into a lv. 100 R. Dragon, and began 
what would turn out to be an hour and a half long battle. It wasn't 
going so well for the first hour or so... he would basically do either 
Meteor or Breath every single turn, so I was forced to sit back and do 
nothing but heal, rarely getting the chance to attack. 

"After a while, it eventually killed of Zell, and I had no real way of 
reviving him, because I couldn't afford to take that extra turn to use a 
Phoenix Down or cast Life. That's when a funny thing happened... the 
dragon completely stopped doing Breath and Meteor! In fact, the only 
things it was attacking me with were Aero and Fira (not even Firaga!). 
So I was able to draw all the spells to my heart's content, only taking 
several hundred damage on one person per turn, instead of several 
thousand per turn on everyone! Actually, it would still rarely do it's 
claw attack, but that only did about ~1000 to one person, anyway. So 
after drawing 100 Meteors and Flares for Squall and Rinoa, I went and 
resurrected Zell... big mistake. Instantly, the dragon started it's old 
attack pattern of using Meteor or Breath every turn! So I cleverly 
deduced that it was Zell's death that caused it to cease attacking so 
fiercely. So I put my theory to test... I let Zell die again. And sure 
enough... it would throw nothing but Aero, Fira, and the occasional claw 
attack at me. 
So if you haven't caught on by now, my strategy is to kill one person in 
your party while facing Ruby Dragons, and it'll apparently become 
'tame', leaving you free to draw all those juicy spells at your leisure. 
I've tested this again and again, and it seems to work every time on the 
Ruby Dragons in the forest! 

"Now... there SHOULD be no difference between those dragons and the one 
you fight in Laguna's scenario. So just kill off Kiros or Ward 
(preferably Ward) at the start of the battle, then Lv Up the dragon as 
high as you want. It should then be tame, and only hit you with weak 
spells. Draw all you want, then kill off Kiros and revive Ward, letting 
him get a turn at drawing. Lv Down the dragon when you're done, and then 
kill it off or Card it! It's that simple!"

Gee, it just keeps on going. Oh, this strategy has been tested by 
Qualera and a few other readers, so it does work. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When you're done, the scenario ends after a little walking.


---Seedy... I mean SeeD Ship---
Squall will share some conversation with Ellone via telepathy and that's 
when he get the idea of trying to get Ellone to bring back Rinoa... 
doesn't make too much sense to me I know.

Go back to Edea's place ("Look who came crawlin' back!"... is what I'd 
say.) She tells you that the white SeeD ship is of nomad blood and never 
stays at the same place for long, but seems to be adapt to the Centra 
region. 

Take the Garden for a spin around that region. The ship is located in 
one of the "ditches" around the land that looks a bit like a hand. It's 
quite hard to find even in your second game, but following the above 
guidelines will narrow down the possibilities. 

Once you're on board, you need to convince the white SeeDs that you've 
been sent by Edea, and you'll also find 2 familiar faces: Watts and 
Zone.

> Card Check! If you held onto the kinky wet T-shirt edition of Girl 
Next Door all the way back in Timber, you can exchange it for Shiva's 
card if you give it to him for free. (Gee, it almost makes you wonder 
what he's been doing with a card of a naked lady...)

> Magic Check! There's a Holy DP in one of the rooms. It's quite a rare 
spell in this game for some reason.

Talk to the guy who appears to be the "captain" and he'll tell you some 
stuff about Ellone. She decided to play hard to get and was taken by 
Esthar soldiers.

Well, no luck here so head back to the Garden and Squall'll foolishly 
try to carry Rinoa to Esthar and you'll see a long scene with the 2 of 
them. When you get to a train station, Zell and Quistis will be waiting 
and guess who's tagging along? Edea of course, she'll be a great asset, 
even though she may not be as powerful as Seifer.


---Salt Lake City? Yup, I've been there---
With the mighty Edea in your team (BTW, her status picture looks really 
cool!) will allow your second power up session, and some of your GFs, 
like the poor Siren, REALLY needs some EXP. So do what you did with 
Seifer earlier, kill of 2 members and let Edea take all the EXP.

> Junction Check! Well, if you want to quickly level up a few GFs, 
junction only 1 or 2 GFs you want to level up (Siren) to a dead member 
so the EXP gained isn't spread over a large majority. Junction all the 
important ones to Edea though, and make sure she has all the -J 
abilities. Equip LV Up on Edea if you want. Also, don't junction any GFs 
who has mastered both their level and skills (ie, your first 3 GFs if 
you did the Seifer power-up trick in Dollet.)

> Magic Check! Make sure that Edea has a large supply of good spells for 
junctions.

Now you can fight either on the world map or in the Great Salt Lake 
area. You can only encounter Vysages in the latter, they're pretty good 
for AP though, and if you level them up, you can get some pretty decent 
spells for drawing, but watch out for Meteor, it can be lethal when you 
have only a single member. 

> Note! Junction good spells to Edea's HP and equip HP+80% for a huge HP 
boost. Edea can execute her Limit Break, Ice Strike, more easily than 
the other members but not as much as Seifer. (I'd say about 50% health 
remaining or less.) So use it to your advantage.

Try out Edea's Ice Strike on the Vysages, or you may wana try to Silence 
them with Siren. If you decide to power up on the over world, expect to 
see a lot of Mesmerizes but you can encounter a Hexadragon or something 
occassionally that're great for EXP.

> GF Check! I think I'm gonna stop listing this section since it's 
towards the end of th game where things can get a bit loose, so I'll 
just list what skills you should learn in what order. 
  - Brothers: All of their HP skills first, then the -J skills.
  - Carbuncle: All Vit skills, then ST-Def and ST-Atk skills and finally 
complete the -J skills.
  - Leviathan: All Spr skills then Recover and -J skills
  - Pandemona: All Spd skills then Initiative and -J skills
  - Cerberus: VERY tricky here, since many of its great skills has 
prerequisites. I'd get its Spd skills first, then Spr-J will unlock ST-
Def and learn everything until ST-Defx4 is complete. Then Mag-J will 
unlock ST-Atk and finally all his other Character Skills. 
  - Alexander: You'll want to complete High Mag-RF ASAP, then 
immediately move onto Med Data, which unlocks Med LV-Up. (These skills 
are required to acquire the GF Doomtrain but are as expensive as hell!) 
Afterwards, complete Elem-Defx2 and x4, then Revive.
  - Tonberry: All of his shop skills are exceptionally useful, not 
crucial but convinient, especially if you wanna use the money trick. 
Completing all 3 of its shop skills will trigger Call Shop. It also has 
3 interesting Character Skills.

I stayed in this area until Alexander learns High Mag-RF, which comes 
just in time since I was running out of magic slots and it helped to 
turn -ras into -gas. If you've done Seifer's power-up trick in Dollet, 
you shouldn't need the ra spells.  

> Magic Check! There are 2 DPs here. There's a hidden DP for Meteor 
before a bone bridge hanging over a cliff, it's also non-recoverable. 
The other DP is Thundaga and it's over the other side of the bridge. 
When you're satisfied, find the SP and revive your members with a Tent. 

> Junction Check! Spread out your GFs again and pack Leviathan's Recover 
if you want an easy fight, also Enc-None too. Junction Confuse and other 
status spells to your ST-Def.

Whenever you're ready, save and head all the way to the left, you should 
be on top of a cliff over looking a large canyon, where you'll find your 
next boss.

BOSS - Abadon ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This boss is an undead, but it has very powerful claw swipes and it can 
cause the Curse status. After a while, it'll take a defensive stance by 
standing up, where it'll start to cast negative status spells on you. 
Its defence is also rised during that period.

Since it's undead, cure-type spells can deal damage to it. If you've 
equipped Leviathan's Recover command, use it on the boss and it will 
deal 9999 damage, killing it in one hit. Else, draw Cura and cast it on 
the boss. If you've became critical, use your Limit Break, also take 
advantage of Edea's Limit Break.

If you brought Mug, you can steal a Power Wrist, else you'll win 10 
Flare Stones.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When you're done, exit the screen and you'll have a sequence with a 
hidden portal. Work your way into it and after taking the elevator a 
couple of times, your team will arrive in a giant modern looking city 
complex... Esthar?! 

> Magic Check! Oh yeah, before proceeding with the story, trade Edea's 
spells to another member... you'll see why in a sec.


---And then a hero comes along..---
Just when things are heating up, someone has to ruin it by sending your 
team back in time to Laguna's world. Ward is back in this final Laguna 
scenario after a long absence as a janitor and you can assign who is 
going to play the parts of Kiros and Ward yourself. I don't think 
sorceress Edea is selectable so that's why you need to trade her magic 
to someone else. Basically, just choose whoever has the majority of the 
spells stocked.

You'll see Laguna's team being held as prisoners and are used as slaves 
for manual labour. Ward and Kiros gets taken away, but before you do 
anything, check your junctions.

> Junction Check! Juction all GFs on Laguna first, and give him the 
command LV Down.

Talk to everyone on the screen and eventually it'll yield a fight with a 
guard, one on one. You need to use LV Down on him, it should be an easy 
fight.

Actually, I've forgot what really happens here, but eventually Ward and 
Kiros will be back in your team and you'll get surrounded by soldiers. 
Don't fight yet as you need to prepare.

> Junction Check! Spread out your GFs and keep the LV Down command, 
maybe the Card command too if you want.

I think you'll have to fight 2 streams of soldiers, with a Gespar in the 
second fight. Just the usual LV Down strategy, but you may want to card 
the Gespar, doesn't matter anyway.

Head all the way up to the surface where you'll meet up with the lab 
assistant guy. They'll mention something about Ellone being held 
captive.

> Magic Check! A DP for Death is near the entrace.

> NOTE! If you haven't gotten a Laser Cannon to learn Quistis' powerful 
Homing Laser already, you can get one now, but it also requires a bit of 
work. Make sure you equip both LV Up and LV Down commands and the Mug 
skill. 

Save at the SP and return to where you started. You'll encounter another 
fight when you approach Dr. Odine. It's 2 soldiers and an Elastoid. You 
can normally steal Laser Cannons from the Elastoid easily, but not when 
your level is so low. (This is also the last time you will ever fight an 
Elastoid so don't miss this chance.) 

Alright, now use LV Down on the soldiers and eliminate them. Use LV Up 
on the Elastoid until its level is above 30, then use Mug. You should 
get a Laser Cannon.

> Magic Check! The high level Elastoid has Meltdown, a great spell, for 
drawing. So stock up on it if you want. (It's also a good idea to trade 
all your Meltdowns to a member who's not going to participate in this 
scenario earlier. Oops, I should've mentioned this earlier shouldn't I?) 
Anyway, get as many Meltdowns as you want. It also has Stop, but you 
don't need to stock it. Just draw it and cast it on the Elastoid, it 
should freeze it for 2-3 rounds.

Use LV Down on it and either card it or squash it. Done.

After you beat the enemies, you'll see a scene where you take the car to 
the research centre to rescue Ellone. You'll fight another battle when 
you get inside the structure, just use the usual LV Down strategy.

> Magic Check! 2 more DPs are in this section, equip Move-Find to see 
them all. The first one to the top right corner has Double and the one 
upstairs has Flare.

You can take the yellow disc thing in the centre of the room (it looks 
like a throne) up. Enter the door and you'll fight another boring 
encounter, just use the usual. Examine the computer terminal and take 
the elevator thing back down to find Ellone. This scenario will end with 
a happy ending. (And they lived happily forever after... or did they?)


---Scarred for life---
Squall and team will wake up where they fell unconscious. A car arrives 
to pick them up. You'll get a quick tour (well, not really a tour) of 
Esthar and you'll arrive at the Presidential Palace. Edea will explain 
her situation and Dr. Odine wants to examine the unconscious Rinoa. 
Nope, Ellone is not here either, but they arranged to have Squall and 
Rinoa launched into space. Lunar Gates is your next destination, but 
you'll want to check out Esthar before you do so.

> Card Check! Before you go, challenge Dr. Odine to a card game since he 
has Ward's card, my personal favourite card, as it's basically a more 
powerful version of Ifrit's.

> Magic Check! Esthar is HUGE, so you'll have to run around to find all 
the DPs, but some of them are not worth the effort. The one outside the 
Presidential Palace has Blizzard (?!) A DP for Tornado is outside Dr. 
Odine's lab and one for Quake is in the shopping mall. (Or was it the 
other way around?) The other DP (Curaga) is on one of the highways 
somewhere to the east.

Before you go though, check out the shopping malls, you can buy a lot of 
cool stuff here, especially if you have gotten Tonberry's Familiar 
ability. Don't forget to repeatedly visit Cheryl's shop for a free 
Rosetta Stone. Johnny's shop may appear to be closed, but just 
repeatedly visit his shop and it'll eventually be open for business. 
It's worth it though, as he sells some great and rare stuff like 
Elixirs, saving you time of having to make them. Once you visited his 
shop, you'll be able to shop "online" at anything through Tonberry's 
Call Shop ability.

Leave the city when you're satisfied, but Lunar Gates is pretty far away 
so you might wanna hire a car. But then again, there's a few things you 
can do right about now so maybe not. 


---Things to do #4---
You'll want to check your map for the location of Tears Point, which is 
to the south east of Esthar. Head over there since you can pick up a 
vital item.

> Magic Check! There are 2 DPs in this area, one for Reflect next for 
the statutes and one for Life (hidden) on the path leading to the 
statutes.

Walk towards the statutes in the centre of the area and you can vaguely 
see a shiny thing on the ground. Examine it to receive the Soloman's 
Ring.

This ring is indeed the one detailed in the third issue of Occult Fan 
magazine (no, not Squall's ring!) The other issues of Occult Fan hints 
the key 666 items to unleash the cursed GF. So these items are:
* 6x Malboro Tentacle
* 6x Steel Pipe
* 6x Remedy+

Once you have the required key items in your inventory, you can use the 
Soloman's Ring to summon the GF Doomtrain to be your ally. 

You should have accumulated quite a number of Steel Pipes from fighting 
with Wendigos, or you can mod Elastoid's card. Six of them is not hard 
to get. As for Remedy+, it can only be obtained from refining 10 
Remedies into 1 Remedy+ through Alexander's Med LV-Up skill, which is 
quite a pain since it's so expensive and requires the prerequisite of 
Med Data. As for Malboro Tentacles, you can obtain them now or later, by 
defeating or stealing from Malboros.

Malboros can be found in the Esthar region but only before the Lunar 
Gate event, they also seem to favour the western border. Also, it's also 
going to be quite a mission to get its tentacles since you don't want to 
level up, but here's how I did it.

Quest for Malboros Tentacles early ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ok, junction Tonberry, Siren, Shiva, Quezacotl and Cerberus to Edea, and 
make sure she has good spells in every category to junction. (Put 100 
Triples in her Speed.) Kill off the other 2 members like always so they 
won't gain any EXP. 

ST-Def is vital for this mission. ST-Defx4 can be learned from Cerberus, 
but it's very long way and requires MANY prerequisite skills. If you've 
gotten the Status Guard from Shumi Village, use it on one of your GFs. 
Else, just stick to Siren's ST-Defx2. (I only had an ST-Defx2 when I did 
this.) Junction 100 Berserk and Confuse in it. And if you have ST-Defx4, 
junction 100 Sleep and Silence as well.

Make sure Edea has an adequate supply of Regen, Shell, Protect, Haste, 
Demi, Curaga and at least one Double/Triple. Give her the commands, 
Attack, Magic, LV Up and Treatment. As for character abilities, I'd 
choose any Spd+??% and HP+80%.

Run around the western border until you encounter a Malboro. You're 
gonna need some luck on your side. The first thing it will do is Bad 
Breath, which is gonna put Edea to Sleep if you only have ST-Defx2, but 
it's quite mild if you have x4. If you have only x2, just wait until it 
hits you with its Dissolving Acid attack, which will wake you up.

In either case, use Treatment on yourself, since the Malboro won't use 
Bad Breath for a while. Now cast all the positive status spells on Edea, 
in this order: Haste, Regen, Protect (wards off Dissolving Acid), Shell 
(wards off Eerie Sound Wave) then Double or Triple. 

Now use LV Up on the Malboro ONCE, it should bring its level over the 30 
barrier. This is needed because low level Malboros gives you Poison 
Powder instead. 

Now keep casting Double/Triple Demis when your turn comes up. If you get 
affected by Bad Breath again, use Treatment like before. If you really 
need healing fast, just use Curaga on yourself (one should be enough.) 
If one or more positive status wears off, renew them.

Soon, the Demi you cast will start taking off less than 9999 damage, 
it's an indication that you're getting close. You may switch to other 
spells if you want, but just take note that they won't do all that much 
damage for some reason. Firaga is decent since the Malboro is weak 
against fire. Else just execute Ice Strike for a lot of damage (about 
8000.) You should be able to nail the Malboro without much problems with 
this strategy. The only threat is not having ST-Defx4 and the Malboro 
keeps using Eerie Sound Wave, I remember getting KO'd once because of 
it.

You should win 8 Malboro's Tentacles (or rarely 10 Cursed Spikes) and 
tons of EXP! (My Edea went up TWELVE levels!!!!!) 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you do not wish to obtain the tentacles now, you'll have to wait 
until after acquiring Ragnarock. As for the Remedies+, buy 60 Remedies 
and refine them from Alexander's Med LV-Up into 6 Remedies+. Now you 
should have the basic requirements to summon GF Doomtrain, a VERY cool 
GF!

GF PROFILE - DOOMTRAIN ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When I first downloaded the Grasharaboras (Doomtrain) video off the net, 
I immediately knew that Doomtrain would become my favourite GF in the 
game. I wasn't disappointed. Never in videogame history had you given 
the choice of summoning a _train_ to your aid, which makes Doomtrain 
extremely unique and, well, hip. In someway related to the Phantom Train 
boss in FF6, a vehicle that carries all "past aways" to the "other 
side", Doomtrain's graphical sequence is no less than breathtaking 
(IMO.) Its attack Runaway Train is of Poison elemental, and can get very 
strong because Doomtrain is capable of learning SumMag+40%. As an added 
bonus, Doomtrain's attack will also cause every single negative status 
on the targets that you can think of, except the ones where the target 
is immune against. Doomtrain is a good choice against bosses because of 
Vitality Zero. It doesn't have that many to-die-for skills, but enough 
to keep you going. ST-Defx4 and Elem-Defx4 are both invaluable defensive 
skills. Forbid Med-RF is essential to get your characters stronger if 
you have the cash and Junk Shop is the only "shop" skill that Tonberry 
does not have, whoohoo!
Best skills: ST-Atk, ST-Defx4, Elem-Defx4, Auto-Shell, Forbid Med-RF, 
Junk Shop
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

> GF Check! Start with Doomtrain's Boost, then Forbid Med-RF for its 
ability of creating goodies. Then Elem-Defx4 and ST-Defx4 will be great 
assets to your party. Auto-Shell is nice if you put it to use. IMO, 
Doomtrain benefits greatly from the SumMag+??%s, since it's rather weak 
at first when you get it (and since it's the GF that you want to use a 
lot.)


---Gateway to the moon---
When you're ready to move on, head to Lunar Gates where you'll see a 
scene. They're preparing to launch Rinoa, Squall and another team member 
into space. Choose whoever here since they don't have to fight, but if 
one member is really in trouble of almost gaining a level, take them. 

Zell will accompany Edea for her stuff and you're prompt to take someone 
else. You'll hear a loud thump and it's time to head back to Esthar to 
check out what happened.


---The box in the sky---
You need to go to Dr. Odine's lab (the one where you can't get into 
earlier) and he'll explain the situation. The Lunatic Pandora will cross 
Esthar and you have 20 minutes. There are 3 points where the Lunatic 
Pandora will pass over a certain point in the city, and you're given the 
approximate time which the Lunatic Pandora passes by. What you need to 
do it to be at a certain point in the city during a certain time frame. 
Just pay attention to Dr. Odine and you shouldn't have much of a problem 
finding your destination.

> Junction Check! Give the LV Down command to the person who has the 
best speed, and pack Enc-None as well.

Exit the lab and head for the destination. You can press the Square 
button to bring up a very helpful time bar showing the time left, the 
time and where the Lunatic Pandora passes through the city. I'm not too 
sure if you will meet random encounters here though, can't remember. 

The first destination is the "city centre"... You can play "spot the 
difference" with the picture you're shown and they real destination, 
it's somewhere to the central western part of the city. It's kinda hard 
to find but you have 5 minutes so no worries. If you get there in time, 
just wait a little while.

When the time comes, some soldiers will jump out and attack. Just lower 
their level and kill them, they're easy. Note that the timer is still on 
during the fight but there should be enough time for it.

After the fight, Zell's team will enter the Lunatic Pandora. There are a 
LOT of goodies in here, and even MORE if you've triggered all the traps 
in Laguna's second scenario. Make sure you catch 'em all.

Anyway, I've gonna be detailed here to get you all the cool stuff in 
there. From the entrance, there's a Meteor DP and a Curaga DP is in the 
room with 3 elevators. They recover very fast so stay here for a while 
to pick some of them up.

The right #3 elevator up to the basement and climb the ladder in that 
area down. There is a DP for Confuse here, and the circular red gate 
would be open if you triggered a certain trap, leading to a LuvLuvG 
(kinda hidden.) Now take the path south and you'll regconize this area. 
It's the infamous three hatches! So if you fiddled around with all 3 of 
them, they should all be open. The left one has a Phoenix Pinion, the 
middle one has a Silence DP and the right one (and the best one of all!) 
has a Power Generator! Now Quistis can finally learn Ray-Bomb!

Further along with path, you can pick up a copy of Combat King 005 (very 
obvious) and to the end of the passage has an Ultima DP. (Maybe 
something else in there too, forgot.)

Make your way back to the elevator hall. You don't have to worry about 
#2 as it will lead you to some empty hallways with NOTHING in them. 
Don't even try to find stuff in there. I remember spending like half in 
hour jamming on the X button trying to find items in there... Ugh... Bad 
memories, don't wanna talk about it.

Take elevator #1 down and there's a Holy DP ready to be drawn. There's 
also a Spd-J Scroll near by. That's about all folks, not too bad huh? If 
you didn't get everything now, you'll still have a chance later with 
Squall. So just follow the path past a SP and take the top exit. Your 
team will be kicked out of the Lunatic Pandora.


---Vixen or tramp?---
You'll get to see a pretty cool scene on how they catch those capsules 
in space. Afterwards, Squall and gang are quick thawed. You'll be asked 
to carry Rinoa to the medical room.

> Card Check! Save at the SP and challenge Piet to a card game, as you 
wanna rob his Alexander card. The space region is the most annoying as 
it uses ALL rules, so you really need a lot of strategy and luck. (But a 
lot of strong cards isn't the answer, since he can combo you badly.) It 
might take a few tries, but eventually you'll get it. It's the _only_ 
holy elemental card in the whole game, making it absolutely perfect for 
elemental battles, since Holy elemental spots appear more often than 
others. Note you _can_ delete rules even if this region has every single 
one, but it's rarely of much help.

Leave Rinoa and follow them to the control room. After a bit of speech, 
you'll be told that Ellone is in the room upstairs. Save your game again 
though, because...

> Card Check! Ellone has Laguna's card. It's not as easy as it sounds 
though, as Ellone is a real b**ch when it comes to card games, even more 
so than Edea/Quistis/Xu/Selphie's friend/Queen of Cards and her little 
brat put together. First, she rarely uses Laguna, then she'll usually 
combo you _really_ badly. (Talk about a 5 hit combo outside of a 
fighting game. :) Curse that girl! It'll take some reloading for this 
game. (Prepare some Asprin too.)

Make sure you play the card game with Ellone _before_ you speak with her 
normally. Squall will take Ellone with him to see Rinoa, then the alarm 
sounds as Rinoa wakens and is possessed. Follow her around and she'll 
eventually switch off Adel's seal, and flies out of space to free her. 

The Lunar Cry has started, what shall I do? Anyway, go upstairs to the 
locker room and put on one of those astronaut suits and try to get outta 
there. You'll see another pointless scene where you try to race them 
outta the air lock but it shuts and you'll have to go back again. Geez, 
if that's how they're planning to lengthen FFIX by 2 minutes then I'm 
gonna go complain.

You'll have to get onto an escape pod right now. You'll have to talk to 
Ellone and then descend an elevator. Don't go into the pod yet 
because...

> Magic Check! If you examine a hatch to the left-hand side, it'll open 
reviewing a DP for Meltdown. 

Then hop onto the escape pod and ready for lift off. The space station 
is completely destroyed after that. Ellone will try to send Squall into 
Rinoa's past, just watch some nifty cut scenes to see what Rinoa had 
gotten up to during her absense. You'll see quite a long scene with 
Rinoa in space and her past, I won't spoil it here (and there is 
something to spoil this time :)

Anyway, the scene ends with Squall's voice reaching Rinoa's heart, this 
part's kinda touching. He just rushed out of the escape pod to chase 
after her in space.

You'll be forced to play the _worst_ micro-minigame in all videogame 
history. Not only is it boring and pointless, you're not even informed 
about the controls until you fail! Geez, what you do here it to keep 
your finger on the accelerate button (it's the Triangle button) for 30 
seconds and aim for Rinoa's figure with the stick. Playing this game 
almost makes me vomit...

Squall rushes up to Rinoa and embrace her in his arms, holding onto dear 
life. The end is nigh...


---Eyes on me--- (No, not her, ME!!!)
An airship just happens to be near by, watch the awesome FMV sequence. 
The couple will climb in. Go release the air lock and save at the SP.

In the next room, Squall and Rinoa will take off their bulky astronaut 
suits. Rinoa wants a hug but Squall isn't very keen. Keep going, but 
check your junctions first.

> Junction Check! Junction all GFs on these 2 characters, and just use 
whatever you see fit. If you don't have enough spells, steal them off 
another team member. Not all that much here really but be sure to give 
Rinoa a good magic level. Junction any Thunder-type spells to Elem-Def 
(or use Flare) and junction any Silence to ST-Def. 

> NOTE! Rinoa will loose the ability of her Angelo skills inside the 
Ragnarock, since Angelo did not accompany her into space. To make up for 
it, Rinoa will gain the access to her Angel Wing Limit skills.

> Magic Check! Make sure Rinoa has a variety of good offensive spells 
and trade any status spells not being junctioned or Scan/Dispel to 
another member to make her Angel Wing more effective.

Y..yikes! A..aliens! You've gotta fight them because the air ship will 
refuse the access to the pilot's chamber when it detects a biological 
contamination. They are counted as bosses too...

BOSS - Propagator ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They are not all that hard. They love casting Thundaga but you should be 
protected. Use Squall's Renzokuken for a quick fight, and you might want 
to try out Rinoa's Angel Wing too. 

There are 8 of them on the ship, but if you kill them in an incorrect 
order, they will keep regenerating. The trick it to kill them off in 
pairs. If you kill 2 Propagators of the same color one after the other, 
they both will remain dead forever. It's kinda cruel to the color 
blinded people though.

You might need to do a bit of sneaking as once one of them sees you, 
they'll chase after you. They give you 5AP each and isn't all that hard 
so if you want some AP, here is not a bad place.

Qualera told me a long time ago (I think) that you can also get pass 
this point by defeating the Propagator enough times, 36 I think.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

> Magic Check! I'm not sure when these DPs will become available but 
it's probably after you've eliminated all the aliens. There's one for 
Life (hidden) near the door on a bridge-like platform above another 
platform. The other is a non-recoverable DP for Full-Life in the room 
with a SP.

When you've killed them all, the elevator will be active and you can use 
it to get to the bridge. A loooooong cut scene will follow, followed by 
a musical sensation sung by the brilliant Faye Wong - Eyes On Me!!! 
Enjoy. (Although it does kinda distract you from reading the text 
conversations between Squall and Rinoa.) I won't spoil anything here.

After you land, Rinoa gets taken away. Then whoever you took with you to 
space will come back safe and sound. (Watch what Quistis says here, if 
you took her.) Then Zell's team will also arrive, saying that Matron is 
not a sorceress anymore. You will now loose Edea as a playable character 
:-( but she's still an ally. After hearing how Rinoa got taken away, 
everyone got angry at Squall, and Quistis calls him a coward. (Or was it 
idiot, or looser, can't remember.) 

Then a hilarious scene involving Selphie piloting the Ragnarock will 
follow. The Sorceress Memorial is your next destination. You might be 
tempted to start powering up now, but it doesn't hurt to start it after 
taking back Rinoa.


---2gether---
Land the Ragnarock near the Sroceress Memorial and head inside. There's 
no fights here so don't worry about junctions. 

> Magic Check! There's a DP for Stop right outside the structure.

Squall will take Rinoa by force (don't you think sound effects or music 
would help during that FMV?) while your other members will hold the 
protesters back (watch out for Selphie's nunchacku!) Then your team 
returns safely back to the Ragnarock.

Rinoa suggests to go to Edea's orpahnage but tell her "shove it" because 
it's powering up time!

=====================================================================
                          Power Up Extra
Hehe, this is a new section with any comments that I have to help you 
power up. I will re-type the above Cactuar/Bahamut sections plus the 
strategies. Also, I will also detail any fun mini-quests you can do 
while powering up, you can do them in any order though, so you might 
want to read through all of them to see which ones you want to do. 
Basically, this section is here to help you get powerful and prepare for 
the last showdown in disc 4. 
=====================================================================

---Acquiring Cactuar---
Take the Ragnarock south past the desert and land of the tiny island, 
the Cactuar Island. Check your junctions. As for party members, I'd take 
Quistis, Squall and Rinoa (for her Invincible Moon.)

> Junction Check! Speed is very important here, junction 100 Triples to 
all character's Spd, equip Spd+40% and Auto-Haste if you have it. 
Junction Water to your Elem-Atk. Try lower your HP to critical if you 
can (or just for Rinoa.) As for commands, try:
     Squall:  Attack, Magic, GF, Item
     Rinoa:   Attack, Magic, Revive, GF
     Quistis: Attack, Draw, Magic, GF
If you wanna draw spells from Jumbo Cactuar, pack Draw instead of GF. 

BOSS - Jumbo Cactuar ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hey, the Jumbo Cactuar is Italian!!! Jumbo Cactuar is pretty bad, since 
it has the 10,000 Needles attack that does 10000 damage to one target 
regardless of your Vit/Spr, which is instant death.

Try letting Rinoa use her Angelo Limit Break and hope for Invincible 
Moon. That way, it'll render the boss' 10000 Needle attack useless. If 
you wanna draw spells, Meltdown and Tornado are never a bad choice, 
although you can get them from other enemies. Draw your spells during 
the time where your characters are invincible.

If you don't want to draw spells, Invincible Moon is still great, 
especially if all your characters are in critical condition. If someone 
gets knocked out by 10000 Needles, use Life or the Revive command on 
them.

For offence, nothing can beat your Limit Breaks. Use Quistis' Aqua 
Breath for big damage since the Jumbo Cactuar is weak against water. A 
regular attack with Water junctioned to Elem-Atk is also very strong. 
You should have no problem beating it.

Oh yeah, don't steal, because you'll get some crap Cactuar Thorns 
instead of a Gaea's Ring (a free HP-Up!) 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GF PROFILE - CACTUAR ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Like the Tonberry, Cactuars are another enemy in the series. These 
cactus-like creatures have been through numerous identity-crisises, from 
"Cactrots" in the old days, "Cactuar" nowadays and "Sabotender" in the 
Japanese versions. This Italian needle thrower may look stupid, but that 
fact hides the potential of a deadly attack. 10,000 Needles is different 
to any other GF attack in that it does damage purely based on GF 
Cactuar's level. The amount of damage dealt is equal to the "tens" digit 
of Cactuar's level x 1000. For example, if GF Cactuar's level is 30-39, 
the damage dealt is 3000, simple and effective. This also means that at 
maximum level of 100, Cactuar will do 10000 damage to all targets 
everytime, just like its name. Not that there's much difference from the 
9999 from other GFs, but the extra digit sure does appeal to the eye. :) 
Cactuar is also the master of Character Abilities, since it comes with 
all Bonuses learnt and many other potentially useful ones to be learnt. 
It is also few GFs that offer the Luck-J and Eva-J ability that's more 
useful than it sounds.
Best skills: HP Bonus, Str Bonus, Vit Bonus, Mag Bonus, Spr Bonus, Eva-
J, Luck-J, Expendx2-1, Initiative
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

> GF Check! GF Cactuar should start by learning Luck-J and Eva-J 
abilities, then any Character Abilities will do. Its extra Command 
Abilities ain't all that great.


---Acquiring Bahamut---
Save the game somewhere. Take the Ragnarock to the south-eastern corner 
of the map and try to find a place that resembles an oil rig (Deep Sea 
Research Centre.) Land there and select your team. It doesn't matter who 
you take for this mission though, but I'd suggest you bring along Mr. 
Know-it-all Zell.

> Junction Check! Make sure your party members has good HP and Spr 
levels. LV Down is required, and the Recover command is nice. Also, 
remove any spells you have junctioned to Luck since if it's too high, 
Odin may appear and ruin it for you.

> Magic Check! Try giving away any Full-Life your active team members 
have, since it's about time to get them by the truck loads.

Enter the structure and you'll see a glowing tube. Don't retreat when it 
asks you to and inch your way towards the tube but only when the lights 
spinning around the tube goes away, else you'll be attacked by some 
monster. 

Examine the glowing tube and it'll ask you a question. You don't have 
any choice on what to answer so just select "It's not our will to 
fight." You'll have to fight a Ruby Dragon. It's not that hard, given 
that your levels are so low. So just use LV Down on it until it drops to 
level 1 and kill it off. 

Then the tube asks "Begging me for mercy?" Just choose the Bottom 
option, "Never!" You'll fight another Ruby Dragon, same old same old. 

Then it asks you a third question, a trick question in fact. Choose 
neither answer but instead, move the curser down to the bottom where it 
lies a third hidden option. Choose that, and you'll fight the mystery 
existance behind the light - Bahamut!

BOSS - Bahamut ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You'll now enter the light tube to fight Bahamut. It'll spend most of 
its time hangin' around in the air doin' nothing. It occasionally swoops 
down and slashes one member with a claw swipe, that's kinda powerful but 
you should have a decent Vit so it won't matter too much. If needed to, 
use Leviathan's Recover command.

Another great spell is finally available for mass-drawing: Full-Life! 
Try getting 300 of them. If you don't damage Bahamut, it won't attack 
very frequently, just an occasional claw swipe or so. Your Mag attribute 
should be good enough to get 9 charges every turn. Bahamut also has 
Flare, so get some if you want it, although it's quite common a bit 
later and ain't as powerful as it should have been.

When you feel it's done, finish off Bahamut in anyway you want. 
Doomtrain won't work very well since Bahamut is strong against Poison, 
but the Vit Zero status is useful (or you can try Meltdown.) Another 
strategy is to draw Flare and cast it back at Bahamut. It's not that 
powerful, but since Bahamut is at quite a low level, it may surprise you 
at the number of Flares needed to take the legendary GF down. Regular 
attacks will work well too and if you're feelin' generous, try out Aura 
and unleash someone's Limit Break. 

Bahamut has an ultimate attack - Mega Flare! It'll only use it when its 
HP gets low though, or after a loong loooooong time. If you get hit by 
it, immediately use the Recover command, draw Curaga from Bahamut or use 
Selphie's Full Cure/Quistis' White Wind. Mega Flare is no joke, as it 
can do 3000 damage to all your guys, that's why you need high HP, 
because it would be a "Super Douper Mega Bummer" if you've spent the 
time to draw Full-Life and gets wiped out by it. If you're fast enough 
in finishing Bahamut, you may not even see Mega Flare! (I didn't!)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GF PROFILE - BAHAMUT ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As any FF fanatics will know, it's just not a FF without Bahamut. (Yup, 
FF2 was more of a SaGa than a FF.) Of course, Bahamut is not as good as 
he was in the _really_ old days, since he hasn't been the most powerful 
summon for a very long time. His trademark Mega Flare is powerful and 
non-elemental, but still caps at 9999, making it an iffy summon if you 
ask me. It cannot, however, be blocked by Shell like the other summons 
though, so it still has some value. Bahamut has more value in its skills 
than the summon, since it's the only GF that gives Abilityx4, Mag+60% 
and Str+60% naturally. Rare Item comes in handy when you want the good 
items from enemies, as the chances for the enemies to drop a better item 
is increased. Forbid Mag-RF is also the most handy way of get your hands 
on Ultima spells, although the ingredients may be hard to find. 
Best skills: Abilityx4, Mag+60%, Str+60%, Mug, Auto Protect, Forbid Mag-
RF, Rare Item, Expendx2-1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

> GF Check! Get Boost first for Bahamut, then just get all his best 
skills that I've listed above first.

Now it's your time to power up, but there are a few things you might be 
interested.


---Complete your collection... nearly!---
Did you mug Alexander's card off Piet? Good. (If not, I think you can 
find him somewhere in the over world, although I've never found him.) 
Take it to the Queen of cards, who should be back at Dollet after the 
Chicobo card event above. 

Anyway, loose the Alexander card to her and try to get her back to 
Balamb. I know it's a pain having to rest but if you let her go anywhere 
else, it'll take even more time to get her back to Dollet. Before you 
leave Dollet, win back Alexander from her son.

The newly created card is Doomtrain, which can be gotten from the guy 
who's sitting in a booth in the "Aphrora pub" in Timber. If he 
challenges you to a card game when you talk to him regularly (ie, with 
the X button instead of Square) then you know it's him, can't miss it. 
It might take some time to get him to use the card though, I think it 
was after about 30 matches before I saw him use it and won it from him. 
Have some patience.

Guess which card is acquired for the last "special" rare card? Why it's 
no other than Doomtrain's card that you just won. So take it back to the 
Queen of Cards (in Balamb) and loose it to her, and you must try to get 
her back to Dollet one last time. 

Afterwards, chase her back to Dollet and she'll tell you another card 
has been created. Whew, what a woman, but the good news is that you 
don't even have to be bothered by her again... for this disc anyway. :( 
Before you go, pick up Doomtrain from her son. Oh yeah, if you haven't 
done the bone searching quest, do it now while you're in Dollet.

The new Phoenix card is in possession of Presidential Aide in Esthar 
city. So take the Ragnarock back Esthar and find him in the Presidential 
Palace. It might also take some time until he uses Phoenix, but not as 
long as the guy in the pub. When you've finally won Phoenix, you should 
only have 3 more empty slots in your card menu, Pupu, Squall and Eden. 
Don't worry, they're all easy. 

If you're missing any LV7 boss cards, go to either Xu, Quistis or 
Martine for them. It's pretty hard to complete a full set of LV7 cards 
IMO.

Pupu
For Pupu's card, a rare LV5 card that's even rarer than the LV10 card 
(!!) you'll need to prepare 5 Elixirs. They can be refined or bought in 
Johnny's shop in Esthar, and you should have a few in your inventory. 

Now you need to see 4 UFO encounters, they're in these locations:
  - Mandy Beach near Timber
  - Near Winhill
  - Kashkabald Desert
  - Health Peninsular east from Trabia Garden (island)

The first 3 encounters can be seen during earlier stages of the game, 
while you'll need the Ragnarock for the last I think. Anyhow, these 
encounters will occur even if you have equipped the Enc-None skill, so 
equip it and walk around that region and you'll encounter the UFO 
easily. 

When you've seen all 4, take the Ragnarock toward the direction of the 
Chocobo Holy Ground and land on the rocks. Walk around and you'll 
encounter a flying saucer. Kill it (!!) and it'll explode and you'll 
earn a VERY useful Aegis Armlet, which teaches a GF the useful Eva-J.

Now take the Ragnarock back to where Balamb Garden used to be, and walk 
around the giant crevice and you'll eventually encounter an alien, a 
cute green thing. It'll say "Elixir please" (what? This is the 
replacement for the Magic Pots?) so use all your Elixirs on him. Don't 
forget to equip the Item command. :) After 5 of them, the fight will 
stop and you'll earn Pupu's card, which is the rarest card in the game 
and can be refined into a Hungery Cookpot, which teached the Devour 
command to a GF. 


---Mmmmmmm, Rosetta Stones... *Drool*---
You may be tempted to go fight Ultima Weapon and acquire Eden right 
away, but I'd advice you wait a little, and there's a very good reason 
for it: To gather Dark Matters/Rosetta Stones. 

I usually do this after powering up 2 members, Quistis and Selphie. Now 
replace Selphie with Zell and revive Squall and maybe do just a little 
more powering up. Now take the Ragnarock back to the oilrig thing, the 
same place where you got Bahamut. Climb down the hole where you fought 
Bahamut. (Note: I've received some mail from a few people who claimed 
that they CANNOT reach beneath it. All you gotta do is climb aboard the 
Ragnarock and talk to everyone on deck.)

> Junction Check! Make sure that Squall and Zell are junctioned with the 
right GFs for power-level-upping and all the bonuses you want. Give 
Diablos and Tonberry to Quistis and give her the commands: Mug, Magic, 
LV Up and something else. She should be really powerful now, doing 
godful amounts of damage with each blow. The other characters are weak 
though, so you might want to junction 100 Deaths into their ST-Atk to 
beef them up. Junction 100 Confuse to ST-Def, Bio helps too if you have 
it. Doesn't matter if you don't. 

> Magic Check! There's a DP for Dispel at the bottom of the pillar thing 
you just climbed down, but who cares?

Approach the generator and use 4 blocks of energy to operate it. Now 
there are multiple ways of getting down that thing. I used 4, 2, 1, 1 
and 1, so that works. Note that you can encounter Grendels and Bombs on 
those levels. They're crap so just do whatever. At the bottom is the 
main generator. Let Zell handle it and he punches the piece of junk, and 
guess what? The gate opens!

The next screen is your target, it should be look like an ancient ruin 
underwater. Strange indeed. Anyway, you must make sure you have more 
than 10 blocks of steam pressure left since it's required to acquire 
Eden a bit later, but lets not worry about it now. 

Save at the SP. The deal with the encounters in this floor and every 
floor below it is that they're NOT random. Everytime you step across a 
certain point on the ground, you'll be attacked. The type of enemy 
varies from floor to floor. This floor is full of Tri-Faces, who you can 
steal Curse Spikes from. Why, they're the ingredients for Dark Matters 
you say? That's right, you sure do catch on quickly. So repeatedly 
fighting them on this floor will result in building up your collecting 
rapidly. 

However, Siren MUST be at level 100 to do the conversion, which is a 
hard job since it's not a good idea to junction her alone to a dead 
member when doing level upping so she don't have to share the other GF 
would not work. Siren hold the Mag Bonus skill required for the second 
member. However, if you're following my "Customized character" method 
above, then you might want to junction Siren to a dead Squall when 
you're levelling up Quistis earlier. (In that case, trade Selphie's 
place for Irvine.) Otherwise, you'll have to do a lot of EXP gathering 
to get Siren to level 100.

The 3 encounter points on this floor are located: 
  - Right before the SP
  - The steps to the centre of the screen
  - In front of the steps leading down

> NOTE! I don't know if random encounters occur on this floor in 
addition to the fixed encounters, but I know that the floors below has 
random encounters, so it might be a good idea to give Quistis Enc-None.

Now keep fighting the Tri-Faces. Let Quistis use LV Up on it to get it 
to level 100, while the other 2 characters can draw some good spells 
like Pain and Flare. When it gets level 100, have Quistis steal from it, 
you should get 6 Curse Spikes (or rarely 8) which is good. Then have the 
low level characters kill it in one blow with Death in their ST-Atk. In 
addition to the Cursed Spike, it gives you decent EXP so that's 2 birds 
with one stone, whoohoo! Tri-Faces do occasionally drop 8 Curse Spikes 
upon its defeat, but it's rare and most of the time you'll get crap like 
Poison Powder. Odin will occasionally come and ruin it for you though, 
but there's not much you can do about that, maybe remove any spells in 
Luck-J.

When you fought all 3 of them, just exit the screen and come back, 
they'll be back, so carry on.

Once you've accumulated 100 of them, use Siren's Tool-RF to turn it into 
a Dark Matter. Then carry on until you're worn out.

***************** The wonders of a Dark Matter **********************
* First and foremost, you should always give your first one to      * 
* Quistis to let her learn her best Blue Magic, Shockwave Pulsar.   * 
* You have a choice with the rest of them, there're waaaaaaayyy too * 
* many options and believe me, they're all so awesome!              *
*                                                                   *
* 1x Dark Matter -> 100 Ultima (Bahamut: Forbid mag-RF)             *
* I believe that this is the one of the best way of gathering       *  
* Ultimas. However, you can draw up to 300 Ultimas from Ultima      * 
* Weapon later, plus any Ultimas you've drawn from the DP and count * 
* the 100 Ultima Stones (and the ones you have already) you get for * 
* beating Ultima Weapon, you should have 600 Ultimas easily without * 
* having to spend a Dark Matter, but it's good idea if you don't    * 
* feel like drawing from Ultima Weapon.                             *
*                                                                   *
* 1x Dark Matter -> Shaman Stone (Siren: Tool-RF)                   *
* Shaman Stones improves the Compatibility with Bahamut slightly,   * 
* but it's just a waste. However, you can refine Shaman Stones into * 
* a lot of things. Also note that you can refine 10 Shaman Stone    * 
* into a Hero-trail. If you wanna make Heroes manually, then this   * 
* is probably the best place for it, but it's much easier to do the * 
* card trick in disc 4.                                             *
*                                                                   *
* 1x Shaman Stone -> LuvLuvG (Siren: Tool-RF)                       *
* This is much better if you want Compatibility, but it's still a   * 
* waste IMO.                                                        *
*                                                                   *
* 1x Shaman Stone -> Rosetta Stone (Eden: GFAbl Med-RF)             *
* Now this is what you really wanna do. You should have a few GFs   *
* with the Abilityx4 skill (Bahamut and Rosetta Stones you've found * 
* earlier) and you can get another later in Ultimecia's Castle. You *
* will probably won't need to refine these if you've been lucky     *
* enough to collect enough of these. The reverse also holds with    *
* Siren's Tool-RF. Note you have not gotten GF Eden yet, so this is *
* not possible yet. However, don't rush to get Eden yet, since all  *
* fixed encounters will be gone after beating Ultima Weapon. So     *
* store everything as Dark Matters for now since it's the most      *
* versatile form.                                                   *
*                                                                   *
* 1x Dark Matter -> Luck-J Scroll (Eden: GF Abl Med-RF)             *
* Another great deal, since only ONE GF in the entire game starts   * 
* with Luck-J normally (Cactuar.) You can find 2 scrolls in the     * 
* game though, but that's barely enough. Luck is good for Selphie's * 
* Slots, and determines the frequency of Rinoa's Angelo Search      * 
* (I've seen it twice now, yay!) It also determines how often       * 
* Odin/Gilgamesh appears. Also, it affects critical hits, so that   * 
* makes Zell and Irvine's Limit Breaks extra effective with the     * 
* extra damage. Finally, Luck might have something to do with the   * 
* effects of Quistis' Blue Magic (such as the effects of Mighty     * 
* Guard.) So you'll need 2 of these for you perfectionists, but     * 
* it's still good to get everyone Luck-J. Also, note that you can   * 
* refine 2 Luck-J Scrolls into a Luck Source if you have any        * 
* spares, but it's again, quite a waste, but it's decent if you've  * 
* gotten everything above and have spent a VERY long time gathering * 
* Dark Matters.                                                     *
*********************************************************************

When you are satisfied with your load of Dark Matters (I usually get 
about 6 or so of them) and is hungry for the last GF, head down. The 
second floor has 3 more encounters with a Grendel and an Imp, 2 crap 
enemies. 

NOTE: Before you carry on, you might want to read the section after this 
for an alternate way of acquiring GF Eden.

On the third floor however, Behemoths resides. You can mug/win Barriers 
from them. Use one on Quistis immediately to get her to learn Mighty 
Guard, possibly her most useful Blue Magic. If you collect lots of them, 
you can turn 50 of them into an Aegis Armlet with Eden's GFAbl Med-RF, 
which is another cool item, but since you don't have Eden yet, you can 
only store them in their "raw" form. Be careful though, Behemoths uses 
some very nasty spells like Flare and Meteor, so make sure you beef up 
your Spr levels. They also tend to cast Flare before they die, but they 
_can_ be killed with Death in ST-Atk.

Ruby Dragons craws on the fourth floor. They're good for that it's a 
nice place to collect 600 Meteor, Flares and Reflects for all your 
characters. With Behemoths and Ruby Dragons, it strikes me instantly as 
a good Devour place. However, you don't have Eden yet, and all enemies 
will disappear once you do. The only option is to mod Pupu's card into a 
Hunger Cookpot and teach a GF the Devour command. However, consider that 
Pupu's card is the rarest and cannot be won back with the card trick in 
disc 4, it's going to be a painful thing to us perfectionists. It's 
still an idea though, if you wanna try it, this place makes it an 
EXCELLENT place to beef up your HP and especially Magic. Beware of their 
Breath attacks though, I remember getting a Game Over here. If needed, 
use Colin Pentney's trick by killing one of your characters.

On the fifth floor lies the Iron Giants. They have insane Vit so it's a 
good idea to summon Doomtrain. They don't serve much of a special 
purpose except for being there. They do have Reflects though. Oh yeah, 
they give you Star Fragments and Running Fires, the latter is good for 
refining into Demolition Ammo.

> Magic Check! There are various DPs spread among this place. On the 
third floor there's a DP for Triple, and just before exiting the fifth 
floor, there's a hidden DP for Ultima. They're both non-recoverable. :(

At the bottom, there's a large electronic terminal thing. There's a 
hidden SP to the left, save there, and prepare to fight Ultima Weapon. 
As for party members, try out Quistis/Squall/Zell if they're all at 
level 100. However, if Squall and Zell are of lower level, trade Zell's 
place for Selphie. Now yes, Selphie is much less powerful than Zell, 
_but_ Ultima Weapon seems to have an aversion to attacking her, very 
strange indeed. So having her in the party as the main healer is a great 
idea. (However, that's what happened in my game, but things could be 
different in yours.)

> Junction Check! I'm gonna go into a lot of details here. Junction your 
GFs to your characters carefully, make sure they're spread out and 
everyone has Spd-J and -J abilities to all their major stats. Don't 
worry about the Bonus abilities, since you won't get any EXP. Here's the 
commands I used:
   Quistis: Attack, Draw, Magic, GF
   Squall:  Attack, Draw, Magic, Item
   Selphie: Attack, Draw, Magic, Revive

The Draw command is there to take advantage of the unlimited supply of 
Ultimas. Everyone needs Magic or Items to Revive each other. Selphie 
will be the main healer, so give her Revive since she gets KO'd the 
least. Junction 100 Triples to everyone's Speed, this is one fight where 
Speed is the most important attribute, then equip Spd+40% and Auto-
Haste/Spd+20%. If you already have Auto-Haste, 100 Triples and Spd+40% 
are enough to raise the stats so high that doubling it with Auto-Haste 
will automatically hit 255 (the max) so equipping Spd+20% won't make any 
difference. As for other skills, equip any HP skills to get it to 9999 
if you want, or Auto-Protect if you have it. Then _either_ Mug or Rare 
Item (but not both.) You'll get different stuff: Mug will get you a 
Three Stars (Expendx3-1 skill or refined into 100 Triples) but defeating 
it will get you 100 Ultima Stones, so it's up to you. I'd take the 
Ultima Stones, since you can get a Three Stars by doing the Obel Lake 
quest. Rare Item is there because sometimes Ultima Weapon won't drop 
anything! (It didn't in my first game.) Because of this, turn any Ultima 
Stones you already have into spells. The one who has the GF command 
should have Doomtrain junctioned, or even Cerberus. Junction Quake to 
your Elem-Def. Oh yeah, make sure that you adjust the battle speed to 
the slowest possible.

Now examine the terminal. It'll take 10 blocks of steam pressures.

BOSS - Ultima Weapon ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Erh... I guess everyone's familiar with this boss. It does look a bit 
like the AtmaWeapon in FF6 and it has Cloud's Ultima Weapon from FF7. 

It has some deadly attacks. Light Pillar is the worst, as it'll do 9999 
damage to one character no matter what, killing them in one hit, and he 
repeatedly used them quite often, that's why you need to keep up with 
high Speed. Make sure you immediately revive anyone who gets KO'd with 
Light Pillar. It also uses Ultima and Quake occasionally, but that won't 
hurt you much. Then it has a regular sword attack, it'll do about 1000 
damage to one character, so that's pretty mild.

> GF Check! Do NOT forget to draw GF Eden!

You might want to cast Haste on you characters, but seeing how often you 
get killed, it might not be a good idea. Summon GF Cerberus as the first 
thing is a good idea, since at times Ultima Weapon can knock 2 
characters out before you can act, so having Double is quite useful. (It 
saved my butt in my game.) Then draw GF Eden.

If you're lucky, Ultima Weapon will waste many of its turns doing 
regular attacks. I found that if you don't attack him, he won't use 
Light Pillar as much and takes longer to act, which is good. So if you 
want to draw Ultima from it, do it now, until you get enough of them. 
Revive anyone who's been KO'd. 

You might be tempted to use Quistis' Mighty Guard, but I found that it 
will provoke Ultima Weapon to use Light Pillar more often if you do. 
Whenever you're ready, summon GF Doomtrain to give Ultima Weapon the Vit 
Zero status. If Doomtrain gets KO'd, switch to a Meltdown spell. Then if 
Squall's in critical, have him use his Renzokuken. If he has acquired 
Lion Heart, it can kill Ultima Weapon in one hit. If not, cast Aura on 
him, and Quistis too, if she's not in critical either, then just use her 
newly acquired Shockwave Pulsar for 20000+ damage! As for Selphie, I do 
not recommend that you spin away on her Slots, instead have her do all 
the reviving and casting Auras. If she's free, draw Ultima from the 
Weapon and cast it back on it for decent damage. If you bought along 
anyone else, have them do their best Limit Breaks too. Rinoa would be 
cool if you managed to get an Invincible Moon. With your speed, Ultima 
Weapon shouldn't be a problem.

Mug him if you want the Three Stars. You'll win Eden's card after this 
fight. Yay, one more card to go!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GF PROFILE - EDEN ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eden is the final GF in the game, as well as having the most powerful 
single hit attack in the whole game. "What is that thing?" is the words 
in everyone's lips when we see it for the first time. Someone mentioned 
that it's the "Garden of Eden", a futuristic Garden like Balamb Garden. 
I guess it does make some sense. Other guesses includes Zodiac of FFT 
and another one of Bahamut's friends (like Neo Bahamut etc.) as its 
portrait does look kinda like a dragon. Anyway, its summon sequence 
takes over a minute, which would be a killer in the old days but in 
FFVIII, enjoy an easy 250 tapping with Boost. :) It has really low 
Compatibility with all characters though, and summoning it doesn't 
increase it by very much. So the best way to increase Compatibility with 
it is through lotsa LuvLuvGs. Its attack Eternal Breath is very powerful 
though, as it can easily do over 35000 damage! Of course, it also has 
great value in its skills, such as the Devour command, another decent 
way of gaining stats. GFAbl Med-RF is about the only way to get some of 
the best skills for your GFs, don't overlook it. Expendx3-1 is great 
support skill for magic and Triple, and Eden is the only GF that uses 
the true potential of all the SumMag+??% skill.
Best skills: Devour, GFAbl Med-RF, Expendx3-1, Spd-J, Eva-J

NEW!!! <yang1@altavista.net> has e-mailed me about what Eden might be. 
It sounds pretty logical, here's what he has to say.

"While reading through the FFVIII script, I noticed the story one guy in 
Balamb was telling to a girl about Hyne and how she split up her body, 
gave half to humans, and ran away with the other half, never to be seen 
again. Then an idea struck me: could Eden be the part of Hyne's body 
hidden from the world? It would explain why Eden was buried deep, Hyne 
most likely wanted to keep away from humans, and would make Eden's power 
and partial control over time (read below); such powers belonging to the 
first sorceress and creator of humans would not be surprising. Hyne 
might have created Ultima Weapon to guard her body from people seeking 
its power. It also gives an explanation for why Eden's compatibility is 
so low with everyone; having lost a war to humans, Hyne most certainly 
would not like having her powers controlled by one and have contempt for 
its master. 

"Of course, this is just my interpretation. Its not by any means right, 
and was a product of some boredom on the mind. Hyne theory in mind, this 
is my interpretation of Eden's (massive) attack sequence: 

"Summoned by humans, Eden traverses the space-time continuum, reaching 
the site of the battlefield. It then takes the enemies into the 
continuum again, gathering its power up and its foes with it. Eden uses 
its power to collect Earth's energy throughout time, from the creation 
of the world to the distant futher. Collecting the power, it shapes it 
into a beam and uses it to send its unlucky foes into a distant galaxy, 
which causes it to explode in a massive supernovae of many stars in its 
core, which destroys the galaxy itself. The power generated from the 
explosion hurls the enemies back to its own time, causing it to crash 
and take spectacular damage."

Pretty convincing huh?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

> GF Check! Eden should start with Boost, then GFAbl Med-RF and 
Expendx3-1. After that, not many of its skills has great appeal so start 
with Eden's SumMag+??% skills for a real killer, getting all 4 of them 
means an extra 100% of damage, wow!

The good news is that you've gotten the last GF, gotten lotsa Dark 
Matters and lotsa other bonuses. But the bad news is that all the fixed 
encounter have disappeared, meaning no more goodies. :(

Bonus tip - You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone ===========
|This is the trick on getting Dark Matters/Rosetta Stones after the | 
|Eden event. Thanks to Duncan Day-Myron <wombat_84@hotmail.com> for | 
|this trick.                                                        |
|                                                                   |
|1) Acquire GF Siren. (easiest step)                                |
|2) Learn Tool-RF (Ok, this is pretty easy too)                     |
|3) Acquire GF Eden (not hard, not easy)                            |
|4) Learn GFAbl Med-RF (kinda easy)                                 |
|5) Let Rinoa get the Esthar region possesed by devils (from the    |
|   landing of Adel)                                                |
|6) Run around until you fight the enemy "Imp"                      |
|7) DO NOT MUG THEM but kill them brutally or card them or whatever |
|   so that they are no longer there but you receive items after the| 
|   battle                                                          |
|8) You will usually receive "Curse Spikes" (about 6)               |
|9) Collect 100xCursed Spikes (*gasp*)                              |
|10) Get GF Siren up to Level 100!!                                 |
|11) Use GF Siren's ability Tool-RF to turn 100xCursed Spikes into  |
|   1xDark Matter (only works if GF Siren is at Lvl 100)            |
|                                                                   |
|Not bad huh? Of course, it's not as good as the one in Deep Sea    | 
|Research Centre but hey, we've got no choice.                      |
|                                                                   |
|This method works, but not that well. However, another sorta okay  |
|way of collecting Curse Spikes is to equip Rare Item and Mug, then | 
|go to the Island Closest to HEAVEN (not Hell)! You can encounter   | 
|Tri-Faces there, but the encounter rate is so low that it alone    | 
|will make this trick collapse under its own weight. Although       | 
|Malboros are quite common on that island, they will also give you  | 
|Curse Spikes. Do NOT mug it when you encounter one, instead defeat | 
|it (use Quistis' Degenerator for the best effect) and you'll       | 
|occasionally receiver 10 Curse Spikes, with about a 10% chance.    | 
|Most of then time you'll just get crap like Malboro Tenticles but  | 
|with Rare Item equipped, the chance of receiving Curse Spikes jumps| 
|to about 50% or 60%, so you can try gathering Curse Spikes there.  | 
|If you do encounter Tri-Faces, mug it then card it for an extra    | 
|one. (We're Curse Spike-pinching here!)                            |
=====================================================================


---Acquiring Eden - Alternative!---
Thanks to <yang1@altavista.net> and Ankhorial.

Eden is the most powerful GF in the game with massive number of awesome 
abilities. However, it's a double edged knife one acquiring it. Because 
you'll loose the fixed encounters in the Deep Sea Research Centre, where 
you can all sorts of rare and cool bonuses. Now there's a solution! 
*GASP*

Forget about drawing Eden from Ultima Weapon. Wait 'til disc 4 and get 
Eden from Tiamat in Ultimecia's Castle. You'll acquire the GF a bit 
later, but there are 3 HUGE advantages you get to keep:
1) The fixed Tri-Face encounters can be used with the trick above to 
refine Darkmatters, Rosetta Stones and other rare stuff easily.
2) The fixed Ruby Dragon and Behemoth encounters makes a fine "all you 
can eat" buffet, perfect for boosting Magic and HP with Devour. This is 
VERY valuable, because Behemoths are probably the rarest enemy in 
FFVIII.
3) While you're devouring Behemoths, you can mug Barriers from them 
which are the ingredients for Aegis Amulets (learns Eva-J.) These are 
also very rare!!! Although it's a pain having to collect 50 of those for 
one Aegis Amulet, there's no other way.

You'll also be given a few minor disadvantages. 
1) Acquiring Eden late in the game, where all towns are sealed. Make 
sure you get everything you need and complete all mini-quests before you 
do that.
2) Not fighting Ultima Weapon will reduce your Ultima supply by 300. 
Although this can be remedied. Darkmatter itself will refine into 100 
Ultimas. Else you may want to draw them from ICTH..... or, from Omega 
Weapon. (YIKES!!! I know, don't do it...)
3) Miss out on a Three Stars or 100 Ultima Stones. The latter can be 
remedied and the former isn't very useful anyway.

Final word: Perfectionists - go for it!!! The advantages are well worth 
it!!! Try if you can max your stats this way. :)


---Whoa, careful with that... what do you call that thing anyway?---
A few people have requested that I should cover sections on every 
character's best weapons and the locations of their ingredients. I 
personally have thought about covering these in some detail since some 
of the are pretty hard to find. Anyway, the best time to gather these 
items is IMO, while you're powering up! Many of these ingredients are 
carried by the enemies on the Island Closest to Hell, so here we go!

BTW, remember how I've said that you DON'T need to have read the 
magazine to remodel your weapons, all you need is all the ingredients 
then then option to remodel you weapon into that will become available.

Squall - Lion Heart
Requirements: 1x  Adamantine
              4x  Dragon Fang
              12x Pulse Ammo

The Adamantine is easy. You can steal one from fighting BGH251F2 boss 
the second time. The you can win them from Adamantoise near Dollet. 
Dragon Fangs are also pretty easy. Just beat the Blue Dragons or steal 
from them. Pulse Ammo is probably the hardest to get. If you did that 
quest with Irvine in disc 2, you'll have 5 of them. You can refine them 
from an Energy Crystal dropped rarely by Ruby Dragons, they refine into 
10 each. Elnoyles drops them at a steady rate, but they're hard to find 
until after the Lunar Gate event. You can get as many as you want from 
the Elnoyle trick in Esthar, but they MUST be at a high level (else 
you'll get Wizard Stones) which makes it a pain when you're at a low 
level, since LV Up doesn't work on it. So power up a bit before going to 
Esthar. Else you can try collecting Elnoyle cards, if you can modify the 
trade rule to All or Diff.

Zell - Ehrgeiz
Requirements: 1x  Adamantine
              4x  Dragon Skins
              1x  Fury Fragment

The Dragon Skins caused me the most problems. They're occasionally 
dropped/can be stolen from Blue Dragons, or Anacondours. You should get 
some of them if you fight on Island Closets to Hell for a while, if not, 
you'll have to max out someone's level and equip Rare Item, and mug an 
Anacondour in the forests near Timber. Fury Fragments are not all that 
hard to get, Blue Dragons and Ruby Dragons will drop them occasionally. 
If not, refine Blue Dragon's cards. 

Quistis - Save The Queen
Requirements: 2x  Malboro Tenticles
              4x  Sharp Spikes
              4x  Energy Crystals

Malboro Tenticles are pretty easy, you should have some left-overs after 
acquiring GF Doomtrain, if not, just defeat Malboros. Sharp Spikes can 
be refined with Grand Mantis cards, or can be stolen from them. Energy 
Crystals however, are the hardest, especially when she need FOUR of 
them! Sorta not worth it since this weapon don't increase Str/Hit by a 
lot like Squall/Selphie's, but considering how useful Quistis is... 

Rinoa - Shooting Star
Requirements: 2x  Windmill
              1x  Regen Ring
              1x  Force Armlet
              2x  Energy Crystal

Windmills can be stolen from Abyss Worms in the desert, or refined from 
its card. Regen Rings can be stolen from Toramas around Esthar, and you 
should have one by mugging Biggs in disc 2. Force Armlets can be bought 
in Esthar, and some monsters drop them but I forgot which one, you 
probably have one already.

Selphie - Strange Vision
Requirements: 1x  Adamantine
              2x  Curse Spikes
              3x  Star Fragments

Curse Spikes are easy, you should know where to get them by now right? 
;) Tri-Face cards can also be refined. Star Fragments ain't all that 
hard either, you can mug Iron Giants for them. Few other enemies also 
drop them, like Ruby Dragons and Blue Dragons. It's the easiest out of 
all these weapons.

Irvine - Exeter
Requirements: 2x  Dino Bone
              1x  Moon Stone
              2x  Star Fragment
              18x Screw

Dino Bones are easy, defeating T-Rexaurs. Moon Stones can be gotten by 
stealing from Elnoyles, and maybe defeating Imps occasionally too. Screw 
are by far the most common weapon upgrade ingredients. Geezards drop 
them, and you can refine their cards too.


---Abra Kadabra---
This is the section on magic and what you should keep and what goes in 
the trash. Each characters has 8x4=32 slots to keep up to 100 of each 
spell. Better keep an eye on what goes in and what goes out the window, 
because the last thing you want is to try to draw truck loads of a good 
spell from the boss but realizing that the slot is occupied with Fira or 
some junk like that. 

So, these spells are what you should keep for everyone in your team. 
Make sure everyone in your team has 100 of them, as they're mostly for 
junctioning to your vital stats. Of course, getting 300 of each of the 
best spells ain't that hard, but try to get 600 as you'll need everyone 
in your party active at the end of the game. Of course, it can be a pain 
gathering them all but there shouldn't be much of a problem for us 
experts right?

Spells that definitely should be kept. Note I've sort them in a certain 
order but it's not necessarily the "official" order.
--------------------------------------------------------------
| Ultima       | Quake        | Life         | Reflect       |
| Meteor       | Tornado      | Full-Life    | Double        |
| Flare        | Curaga       | Protect      | Triple        |
| Holy         | Esuna        | Shell        | Aura          |
--------------------------------------------------------------
| Sleep        | Death        |
| Silence      | Pain         |
| Confuse      | Drain        |
| Berserk      | Meltdown     |
-------------------------------

* Note: If you like Rinoa's Angel Wing, then you might consider taking 
away the status spells (except for Meltdown.) Then the only spells 
she'll use are the powerful ones. Give her some elemental magic in place 
of the status spells if so.

That leaves each characters with 8 slots for other spells. Anyway, 
Ultima and Meteor are both great junction spells, Flare is good for 
Elem-Def, Holy is just another one of those fixer-upper spells in the 
series that no one has the guts to dump. :) Quake is there as a back-up 
junction spell but Tornado is great in Eva-J. Curaga is simply there for 
your use and the same goes with Esuna, although it has some ok effects 
with ST-Def. Life are there for your own use too but Full-Life is a good 
junctioner. Protect and Shell are both just "there" but you never know 
when you'll need it (and has some decent effects with Elem-Def.) Reflect 
is super lousy regularly but it's excellent for Spr. Double is just 
"there" but Triple is great for Speed. Aura is good for your own use as 
well as Hit-J. Panel #5 are mainly for ST-Def (or Atk), can't live 
without them. Death too, but it's also good with ST-Atk. Pain is good 
for a lot of juctions and the same goes to Meltdown while Drain is an 
okay spell in ST-Atk.

Here's the list of spells that at least one or two team member should 
have, but keep everyone's collection varied to some degree. 
---------------------------------------------------
| Blind        | Demi         | Haste             |
| Break        | Dispel       | <elemental magic> |
| Stop         | Scan         | Float             |
| Slow         | Regen        |                   |
---------------------------------------------------

The first panel are status spells that are not all that great for 
junctions, but keep some of them around. Demi is very good though, so 
keep more of those. Dispel is basically uselss, but do keep just a bit 
of them just in case, and make sure you keep them away from Rinoa! Scan 
is also a good spell, so having some of them around is handy, the "Rinoa 
exception" still applies. Regen is good for casting occasionally, the 
same goes to Haste, but they're not worth giving everyone. As for a 
<elemental spell>, I give everyone a different one, like Firaga, 
Thundaga, Blizzaga, Bio and Water. They're quite weak so that's why I'm 
only keeping 100 of them. Float can be useful, but rarely. 

The weaker spells like Fira or Aero ain't worth keepin', and the useless 
ones like Zombie ain't either. If you have spare slots, play around with 
them and see what's useful. 

Now lets find a way to get all the best spells, I'll include them in 
this section. Note only the rare and best spells are listed here, as 
some spells like Sleep are simple to get. These should be enough to get 
you 600 of them. 

  - Ultima: Draw from Ultima Weapon to get 300
            Draw from the DP in Shumi Village for about 100+
            Win 100 Ultima Stones by defeating Ultima Weapon
            Draw from various other DPs for about 50
            Refine Dark Matters/Energy Crystals to fill the rest

  - Meteor: Draw from Ruby Dragons for an easy 300 each time
            Draw from various DPs

  - Flare: Draw from Ruby Dragons/Tri-Faces/Bahamut etc.

  - Holy: Draw from high level Elnoyles, easy.
          Refine Krysla cards into Holy Stones with Tool-RF

  - Quake: Draw from high level T-Rexaurs/Cerberus etc.
           Refine from Dino Bones

  - Tornado: Draw from Abyss Worms/Jumbo Cactuar
             Refine from Windmills
             Upgrade Aeros with HighLV Mag-RF

  - Full-Life: Drawn from Bahamut for 300
               Drawn from Fujin later (save room if you want.)
               Refine from Regen Rings, stolen from Toramas
               Drawn from various DPs for about 50

  - Triple: Drawn from Odin to get 300
            Refine from Three Stars (bad choice!)
            Drawn/refine Double and refine from HighLV Mag-RF

  - Aura: Draw 300 from Seifer at end of this disc (save some room!)
          Drawn from overworld DPs (not very effective)
          Refine Hypno Crowns (bought) into Aura Stones with Tool-RF

  - Pain: Drawn from high level Tri-Faces
          Refined from Curse Spikes

  - Meltdown: Drawn from high level Gaylas/Bombs/Jumbo Cactuar
              Refined from Mystery Fluids

Basic Junctions
This section below is all about what and how spells should be junctioned 
to maximize their effects. This one below is the basic structure on how 
your junctions should look like. 

HP   Full-Life
Str  Ultima/Meteor/Holy         Spd  Triple/Haste
Vit  Meltdown                   Eva  Tornado
Mag  Ultima/Meteor/Holy         Hit  Aura
Spr  Reflect                    Luck Pain/Death

Anyway, let me explain. Ultima should go in the slot that's best suited 
for the character, whether they're fighing or magic based. For example, 
Zell should have Ultima in his Str and Selphie should have it in Mag. 
Meteor is a good alternative. Ultima, however, is great for EVERYTHING, 
so if you do want to remove it somehow, Holy and Meteor makes a fine 
replacement. Also, there are times when your stats are so high that a 
lesser spell will be enough to make it hit the maximum point, so don't 
waste a good spell when your stats are high enough. (For example, simply 
by power-levelling-up Rinoa, her Str will hit 255 with only 100 Meteors, 
so if you junction 100 Ultimas instead, it'll still be at 255 so they're 
wasted.) 

Some people likes to place Triple in Mag though, but I think it's MUCH 
more useful is it's in Spd. If you do take Triple off Spd some how, 
Haste is a decent replacement.

Pain is a very good spell for Luck, but it also has nifty effects in Mag 
and works wonders in ST-Def/Atk (since it's basically a 3 in 1 spell) 
which makes Death a good replacement. If you need to remove either, 
Float may become an option. 

Another note is that, if you did not use the "Customized character" 
powering up method, 100 Full-Life will NOT bring your max HP up to 9999 
without a support Character Ability. (Unless you've refined a lot of HP-
Ups or Devoured Ruby Dragons.) At least an HP+20% is needed. If you do 
not have enough slots, most character's HP can be maxed if you take 
Ultima off Str/Mag and place it in HP.

Elemental Junctions
Of course, there are no fixed best spells in this category as it's based 
a lot on the situation, so expect to alter these junctions when the 
situation changes. However, this is the all-round Elem-J I use.

Elem-Atk  <None>
Elem-Def  Flare
Elem-Def  Shell
Elem-Def  Life
Elem-Def  Protect

Elem-Atk is basically useless and making it non-elemental is actually 
the best option, however, you can toy around with it if you want to do 
extra damage but be careful, the wrong spell can mean disaster. You 
might also want to try Holy in Elem-Atk, since there are no normal 
enemies who are strong against Holy attacks and it's usually a good 
element to deal extra damage. However, remove it when you're fighting 
Omega Weapon or you'll regret it.

The 4 Elem-Def spells listed above will provide 100% absorption for 
Fire/Ice/Thunder based attacks and half damage for all other elements. 
The best thing about this is that those 4 spells don't really collide 
with your regular and status junctions.

Happy Matt recommends junctioning Ultima (!!) to Elem-Def, which coupled 
with Flare/Life/Shell will absorb everything. This is not a bad junction 
but I think Ultima is much better when used in other attributes. 
However, when your stats are so high that Ultima is no longer needed, 
you might feel free to do so. :)

Whenever you're facing a boss that uses a particular elemental attack, 
remove Protect and junction any elemental spells you wish to me 
protected against. The best are the -ga spells, Bio if you want 
protection against Poison, Tornado for Wind, Quake for Earth, Holy for 
Holy etc. The fancy ones like Meteor ain't worth the trouble.

Status Junctions
Like elemental junctions, this will also depend on the situation, at 
least in the beginning of the game where only 1 member is protected 
against 1 or 2 status. However, later in the game it becomes more or 
less irrelavent if all 3 members has ST-Defx4 and junction all the worst 
status spells there, so the only status you'll be affected are the mild 
one. This is what I use for all-round ST-J though.

ST-Atk  Sleep/Death
ST-Def  Confuse
ST-Def  Berserk
ST-Def  Silence/Pain
ST-Def  <any>

Anyway, junction your favourite form of status in ST-Atk, I've listed 
the decent ones in the tips section. Sleep, Death and Drain are all good 
ones.

Confuse and Berserk should ALWAYS stay in your ST-Def slots IMO, since 
they are among the worst status there are. 

For the other 2 slots, junction any statuses that you don't like. I 
usually use Silence since many bosses use that spell on you and it's 
usually a very restrictive status. However, if you're not using Pain in 
any other junctions, choose that one instead since it protects against 3 
statuses (Poison, Silence and Blind.) 

Oh yeah, ALWAYS have at least one member with 100 Death junctioned to 
their ST-Def. Death is a VERY nasty spell, and unlike in the previous 
FFs, it will ALWAYS work on a character without protection. This is 
especially important when fighting Omega because of its LV5 Death 
attack, and the maximum level is 100, making impossible for your 
characters to escape without it. (I remember getting Game Overs when the 
Toramas decided to use LV5 Death...)


---The limiting factor---
With weapons and spells outta the way, it's time to obtain all the Limit 
Breaks for your characters. You might have already gotten them, if so 
just ignore this.

Squall
Did you get a Lion Heart? That weapon says it all as it contains his 
best finisher and his other not-as-good finishers. There's not much you 
can do when the lesser finishers appears since you cannot unlearn it 
without sacrifising Lion Heart. So if you wanna see Lion Heart more 
often, make Squall critical and cast Aura on him. (I wish there was an 
"Auto-Aura" skill in the game... *sign*)

Zell
All 6 magazines should be available in Esthar bookshop right now if you 
haven't gotten them yet. Remember, you must "read" them (ie, use them in 
the Item menu.) Since you don't necessarily have to use a certain learnt 
Duel move, it doesn't matter if you learn them all. (Unlike Squall and 
Rinoa, who have no control on what attacks they'll execute.)

Quistis
Gathering all 16 Blue Magic isn't an easy job, but a page with all the 
blank spaces being filled looks a lot nicer. Remember, MANY of the items 
used for the earlier Blue Magic can be refined from Cards. The hardest 
one to learn is Ray-Bomb so make sure you get the free Power Generator. 
(If you missed it as Zell, you still have another chance as Squall, but 
only if you triggered the traps in Laguna's sceanrio.) Shockwave Pulsar 
shouldn't be a problem with the Dark Matter trick. The only thing I 
might have left out is White Wind, which is learnt with a Whisper, 
stolen from Adamantoise. If Quistis hasn't got Homing Laser yet, you can 
get another one soon. Make sure you've gotten White Wind, Mighty Guard 
and Shockwave Pulsar, her top 3 Blue spells.

Rinoa
Like Zell, if you've missed the first 2 edition of the magazines, you 
can buy them from Esthar bookshop. Issues 3-6 can be bought too. 
However, like Squall's finishers, you might want to skip a couple of the 
moves. One definate crap is Angelo Strike, which is when weaker than 
Angelo Cannon right now. Not learning it would increase the chances for 
both Wishing Star and Invincible Moon appearing. 

Note Wishing Star takes a VERY long time to learn, and I ran out of 
patience so if you can't seem to make her learn it, try this trick. 
Equip the Enc-None skill and put Rinoa in your team (select Wishing Star 
in her status) then take the Ragnarock to the deserts in the Galbadia 
region. Make sure you're away from Deling City (somewhere around the 
Missile Base should be fine.) Now grab a rubber band and wrap it around 
the left stick and the left edge of the controller, this will make 
Squall run in anti-clockwise circles. Leave it on for 10-20 minutes and 
go make yourself some coffee or bacon and eggs. When you get back, 
voila! She should have learnt it. Note however, this will lower your 
SeeD rank by 1 or 2, but it didn't matter too much to me since you can 
get as much gil as you want with the infinite credit trick. 

NOTE!!!!! To get Rinoa to learn Wishing Star and Invincible Moon REALLY 
quickly, jump onto a Chocobo and take it for a spin. Since Chocobos are 
much faster than humans, you virtually double your learning speed! This 
is also a good way of gaining Gil. Thanks to Mega Moth for this tip.

As for her non-command Angelo moves, Angelo Recover was the one I didn't 
wish to learn because it kept ruining my attempt of easy Limit Break 
trick with critical characters, however now Aura has become available, 
you might want to learn that move. 

If you're keen with her Angel Wing, make sure she has 255 Mag and 
(preferably) a high Spd with Auto-Haste. Then trade as many status 
spells to someone else so she won't use them as much, and if you want, 
remove any damage dealing spells that you don't want her to cast. 
Definitely get rid of all her Dispel and Scan magic. This will make her 
spells extremely powerful, and she won't have to waste her time on 
status spells. The reason with the high Speed is to make up her damage 
dealing potentials. Since Rinoa is "Berserk", her command will be set 
the instant her ATB is full. Since it's set by the computer, you won't 
waste any time having to tap for your Limit Breaks and even if you don't 
tap, inputting command manually will waste minute amounts of time. At 
this rate, she may even be able to take on Squall!

Selphie
Well, not much to say as her Slots ain't as pratical as all other 
member's Limits in the heat of battle, however, it does not mean it's 
useless. You must _cast_ her unique Slots spells to make them appear in 
her status screen, simply getting them to appear but not casting them 
won't do a thing. To make them useful, get all of them to appear in her 
status screen, that way, the chance of her unique spells appearing will 
be increased by a LOT! Oh yeah, make sure Selphie gets a high Luck 
rating, this way, getting the best spells will ba a LOT easier!!! The 
saddest thing about Selphie's Slots is that 2 of the spells didn't make 
it into the final game. Those 2 empty slots at the bottom of her list 
are really annoying.

If you have problem getting The End, try this. Properly junction 
everyone and make sure you give the best spell (preferably Ultima) to 
Selphie's Luck attribute and equip the Luck+50% skill. Lower her HP by a 
LOT (to 3 digits or less), use Demi if you can't seem to hit her. Go to 
the Trabia region and encounter a Gayla. Try your hands at her Slots. 
The Gayla can't even hurt you!!! Be careful though, as I missed The End 
THREE times when it came on her Slots, so the less responsive players 
are at a disadvantage. Slow down if you're having trouble, since you 
have all the time in the world. You can try make her Blind, maybe even 
Zombie, Vit Zero and Silence. Casting Aura should make it easier, but it 
just don't last as long to be useful. The "soft-freeze" trick can also 
be used for this. 

Irvine
Most of his ammunition can be gotten easily. Refining ammo from items or 
cards will give you the best deals, but if you want, you can also buy 
all the ammo except for Pulse and AP from Esthar's shop (with the 
Familiar skill.) As for the last 2, you should have some ingredients for 
AP. I'm sure you still have a lot of Chef's Knives after acquiring 
Tonberry, so turn them into AP Ammo. As for Pulse Ammo, the items needed 
are very rare, that's why you should take advantage of the fixed Elnoyle 
encounter in Esthar, getting 100 Pulse Ammo is pretty easy that way. 
Talking about Energy Crystals, you may want to keep a lot of them in 
your inventory as spares, since you will not be able to enter Esthar (or 
any towns for that matter) in disc 4.

=====================================================================
                     The end of Power Up Extra
Well, that's probably all of them. At the end of your powering up, you 
should have all cards (except for Squall's, since it's not available 
yet) and GFs, the best stats, magic and weapons and all your character's 
Limit Breaks. If I missed anything or anyone wants to cover more about a 
certain aspects of the game, just drop me a line. Enjoy the final bits 
of the game!
=====================================================================


---Say you'll be there---
Make it back to Edea's orphanage and go out to the garden. A scene will 
occur where the third member will say something and leaves the love 
birds alone. (It's completely different depending on whoever is your 
third character, I like Selphie's.) Then another scene will take place 
between the 2, kinda uninspiring for a moment of intimacy. Then Zell 
comes along saying that Kiros (!!) from Esthar has a mission for Squall 
and team. Leave the place and Edea will make her speech.


---Mission impossible---
Take the Ragnarock back to Esthar and make your way back to the 
Presidentical Palace. Now the guards to the left screen will let you in. 
Inside you'll see even MORE familiar faces, Kiros, Ward and Laguna. Gee, 
since when did he become the president. You might want to catch on with 
what he's been doin' over the past 17 years. And when you choose to hear 
you mission, Dr. Odine will come over and explain the current situation 
and the mission briefing. To rescue Ellone, let Ultimecia possess Rinoa 
and let Ellone send Rinoa back in time to complete her Time Compression. 

> Card Check! Before you go anyway, play a game with Laguna and scab 
Squall's card off him. Ironically, it's exactly the same as Seifer's 
except the placement of the values are all inverted. It's also the last 
card you need to complete your collection, Check your menu now, you 
should see a * next to the Card option.

When you decide to take accept the mission, Laguna and team will "move 
in" with you to the Ragnarock. 


---Sacrifice---
Whenever you're ready (remember, do ALL the mini-quests before this, as 
you won't get a chance to complete most of them later), take the 
Ragnarock and fly it towards the Lunatic Pandora, Selphie will make the 
ship crash into the box to get inside it. It's a very cool FMV, enjoy 
the Dual Shocks! :) 

> Jucntion Check! Junction whatever. Everyone of you should be a walking 
demi-god right now so it doesn't matter what you do. Equip Enc-None 
though, as you don't wanna be bothered with the lousy random encounters. 
Don't equip Mug.

> Magic Check! Well, I did say you can draw Full-Life from Fujin didn't 
I? So if you don't have 600 Full-Lifes yet, don't panic. (You should 
already have 300+ after Bahamut right?) Just trade as much Full-Lifes as 
you can to the non-active member.

Whoever you choose doesn't really matter right now. If you want to 
leave, just talk to whoever is at the pilot seat and choose to take off. 
Walk forward and you'll meet up with your friends, Fujin and Raijin! 

BOSS - Fujin, Raijin ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Damn, don't you love these guys? They look so damn awesome and gives you 
free goodies each time. I wished they're playable characters.

Anyway, Fujin is MUCH stronger this time, but Raijin is still so so. 
Fujin can cast some very nasty spells, including Pain on you and Regen 
on themselves. She don't act all that often though. If you drag this 
battle on for a while, she will say something then release Meteor. Fujin 
also has a VERY dangerous attack, Sai, that will lower one member's HP 
to 1!!! Raijin on the other hand will just stand around most of the 
time, occassionally striking you with a physical attack. Sometimes he 
casts Aura on himself and attacks with his "Limit Break" Raijin Special. 
Strangly enough, neither of them will cast their native elemental 
spells.

Remember how you can steal Str-Ups from Raijin? Don't do it this time, 
as you'll get a Hyper Wrist instead. :( Instead, winning will score you 
3 of them. Fujin will give you a Megalixir as usual.

If you were prepared to draw Full-Life, get them off Fujin. Fujin has 
Curaga if you want healing. They won't do much damage unless you piss 
off Fujin and gets hit by her Sai. 

When you're satisfied with your load of Full-Life, also any attacks will 
do. The easiest way is probably summoning Doomtrain which will deal 9999 
damage to them both, summon it twice should knock them out. If not, just 
use normal attacks.

NOTE! Katman told me that if you summon Carbuncle, it'll scare the **** 
outta Fujin and she'll only use her weak Zan projectile. Never tries it 
myself though.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Walk along and you'll meet up with another pair of your old friends, 
Biigs and Wedge! No fight this time though. You know this place right? 
Just make it all the way to the place where Zell's team got kicked out, 
but do save at the SP before it. All the old DPs are still here if you 
wanna be bothered with it.

> Junction Check! Pack Mug this time, and remove any spells junctioned 
to Str for the character who has Mug.

In the next screen, you'll see Fujin and Raijin who sends a robot to get 
you.

BOSS - Mobile Type 8 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm still a bit puzzled with the this boss' attacks. Anyway, it attacks 
in whole when you first meet it. Just hit it a few times and it will 
split into the body and 2 probes. During the period where it's a whole, 
it'll counter attack with Twin Homing Laser, which is REALLY weak 
compared to Quistis' version, about 300 damage.

When it splits, mug 2 Str-Ups from the Left Probe and 2 Vit-Ups from the 
right one. They have low HP so that's why you need to remove your Str, 
as you might accidentally end up killing it. You can mug a Laser Cannon 
from the main body though, useful if you haven't gotten Quistis' Homing 
Laser yet.

It'll still counter with laser though, but it doesn't matter. At 
sometime during the fight, the boss will unleash Corona, making your HP 
down to 1. I think it only uses it upon its defeat. It's an easy boss 
anyway, normal attacks will do.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now your characters will have their HP dropped to 1, so get back to the 
SP and use a Tent. Save. 

> Magic Check! Remember how I told you to save some room for Aura? If 
you have, trade all your member's Aura to the non-active members. Make 
sure your character has an empty slot in their magic list. 

Now enter the room beyond the place where you fought Mobile Type 8. 
You'll see Seifer, he orders Fujin and Raijin to take care of you. They 
refused and... well, I guess they're just not happy with the way that 
Seifer had become. (Note not Fujin is actually speaking normally in this 
scene? So she's been fakin' it all along. I wonder if that eye patch is 
fake.) They released Ellone and walked away. It's time to fight Seifer 
yet once more.

BOSS - Seifer ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The first thing that will happen is Odin will enter the screen, trying 
to Zantetsuken Seifer. But no, Seifer learnt to not only avoid Odin's 
sword, but countering him and slicing him in half. (*Gasp* Dj vu!!!) A 
strange scene then takes place where Odin's sword flies into the air and 
gets caught by someone.

Seifer is REALLY weak. All he does is normal attacks. Just draw 300 
Auras from him and then switch to normal attacks. Summon Doomtrain if 
you want, it should do 9999 damage to Seifer.

You can Mug a Hero from Seifer, but you can also get it by defeating 
him. He'll occasionally drop a Holy War instead though.

This is a really easy fight. When you've done enough damage, the one who 
caught Odin's sword will descend from the heavens and uses the sword to 
"kill" Seifer. He is indeed Gilgamesh! (DarkHoly17@aol.com commented 
that Gilgamesh looked a LOT like Gogo from FF6, and you know what? He 
has a point there. :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When the fight ends. Another scene will take place where Seifer rushes 
to Rinoa and kidnapped her. (Hope he didn't molest her in the precess. 
:) All of a sudden, the screen goes blank and... Yup, end of disc 3. 

GF PROFILE  GILGAMESH* ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gilgamesh returns from FFV to take Odin's place, except he's MUCH more 
versatile than Odin. Like Odin, he cannot be junctioned nor summoned, 
but comes randomly. However unlike Odin, he may appear _anytime_ in 
combat, like Angelo Search. His "summoning" sequence is really cool. 
Four swords will drop from the sky and Gilgamesh will rise from the 
ground, chooses a sword and swings it at the enemy. The 4 attack 
includes Excalibur, Excalipoor (Excalipur), Masamune and Zantetsuken. 
This also means that he will attempt to instantly kill boss characters 
will Zantetsuken, which will have no effect at all. (Don't expect it to 
be like Selphie's The End. :) The other attacks will be damage based, 
Excalipoor (worst translation since "Blow Fish" in FF3US) will do 1 
point of damage to all enemies though, just an inside joke and reference 
from FFV; Excalibur will deal decent damage to all foes (around about 
5000) and Masamune will deal heavier damage (maybe 7000 or 8000). One 
thing distinguishes between Gilgamesh and Odin is that Gilgamesh appear 
a LOT less often than Odin.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

========================== End of Disc 3 ============================

============================= Disc 4 ================================
The final disc of this game concludes the plot, not a very good one if 
you ask me, but that's another matter. It's short, it's not all that 
exciting and it's restrictive since you cannot enter any towns. 
Hopefully, you won't be disappointed with the ending.


---Which is the witchiest?---
You'll have to select another member to accomedate the loss of Rinoa, 
I'd choose Squall, Zell and Quistis has my team. 

> Junction Check! While Rinoa is taken hostage, exchange her junctions 
with another member. Just junction whatever, but equip Mug.

Head back to the screen where you fought Mobile Type 8, you'll see that 
there's a ledge leading to the "thing" to the right (what is it anyway?) 
Climb that and climb the first set of stairs.

> Magic Check! If you climb another set of stairs you can reach a Slow 
DP. Claimb back down afterwards.

Follow another platform to the left, you can reach the outer ledge, then 
just make it all the way to the right. It'll lead to a shrine-like 
structure. Inside, you'll see Seifer holding Rinoa in front of Adel, as 
if she was to be sacrificed. He releases Adel who somehow grabs a hold 
onto Rinoa. (Gee, look at the details in the FMV, you can see the 
texture of Rinoa's clothing! And they call that seamless? Ok bad 
joke...) 

BOSS - Adel, Rinoa ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is strange. Rinoa is hanging from Adel's chest (who is twice as 
tall and... hey, you sure she's a woman?) Rinoa is actually being 
junctioned by Adel! (Try Scanning her.)

You don't want to hurt Rinoa in this fight, because if her HP goes to 
zero, the game is over.

Whenever Adel's turn comes up, she'll cast a powerful spell (Meteor, 
Flare) and uses Drain on Rinoa for about 700HP. You can actually draw 
from Rinoa (!!) so drawn Regen and cast it on her to counter Adel's 
Drain.

This fight is pretty easy if you get it under control. Because Rinoa is 
on the other side of the battlefield, you shouldn't use any all target 
attacks. Try out a Meltdown on Adel to lower her defense. Then you may 
want to cast Aura on your characters and use their Limit Breaks. Zell's 
Duel works the best, but stay away from the multi-target finishers. If 
you have Quistis, try out her Homing Laser. Squall shouldn't use his 
Renzokuken because of Fated Circle and Blasting Zone. However, I found 
that regular attack works just as well.

Mug from Adel for a Samantha Soul, a pretty classy item. Try out Rinoa 
will net you 8 Megalixirs, no kidding! (You may wanna use teh "steal and 
not mug" trick so you won't accidentally kill her.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When you defeat Adel, Rinoa will inherit her powers and Ultimecia will 
possess Rinoa. Ellone steps in and shows that she's on top of the "food 
chain" and sends them all back in time.

Time Compression has begun. You'll see a very cool sequence where your 
members fall through everything. Wow. After that, you'll end up in 
Edea's room in Deling City (you know, in disc 1.) Save at the SP.

When you approach "Edea", she turns into a witch and attacks.

BOSS - Sorceress x5, x6, x1 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You'll have to fight a buncha witches. The first type of sorceress are 
"thin" and they're really weak. Try mugging them though, they'll die in 
one hit but you may end up nabbing yourself an Ultima Stone or 
something. There are 5 of them, and the background will morph with each 
Sorceress killed. 

The second type are "fat" and comes in 2's (I think.) They're equaly as 
easy but you can still steal goodies from them.

When you've beaten all 6 of the second kind, the boss witch will appear 
to avenge the death of the other sorceressed, and she is the "fatest". 

Anyway, there's not much to it. Just use your regular attacks, don't 
even have to waste your time summoning Doomtrain for this. Eventually, 
it'll start a countdown from 5, then it'll cast Ultima, which should 
only hit for about 400 or so to each member. Just kick her butt.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eventually, you'll reach Edea's orphanage... in the past! Enter the door 
to the right and get outside to the beach. It'll shift to the present 
but keep moving and it'll morph into the future! You'll see corpse of 
white SeeDs lying on the ground.

Get behind the the rock and you'll enter the next screen with even more 
dead bodies! 

> Magic Check! There's a DP for Triple near the entrance.

Keep going and you'll walk along huge chains connecting Edea's house to 
Ultimecia's Castle.

> Magic Check! There's a DP for Flare to the right of the castle's 
entrance, it's hidden.

Your other members will come to aid you when you decide to enter the 
castle. Save at the SP though.

<I don't think I will write the walkthrough for Ultimecia's Castle, 
because for one, I really HATE that place. It's got some of the most 
annoying puzzles and it's just so damn boring! I absolutely hate it! 
However, I'll carry on with some other tricks to do in disc 4>

I will give you some tips though. I recommend that you find and fight 
all 8 of the optional bosses. Not only will they unseal your powers, 
they'll also give you really awesome GF ability items like Status Guard 
and Rocket Engine.

Final trick - Mad about the Rosetta Stones ==========================
|This is what? The fifth tip on Rosetta Stones? Anyway, thanks to   | 
|Zachary Lim <bio_freak90@hotmail.com> for this awesome trick.      |
|                                                                   |
|"In disc 4 at ultimecia castle, get the flood gate key in the      | 
|library room. After that, go to the flood gate room and examine the| 
|red lever... use the Floodgate Key on it and pull the lever, all   | 
|the water should stop flowing. Now go to the chapel and play the   | 
|piano by holding all the buttons. After that, go to the passageway | 
|to the right of the fountain. The fence should be gone now, if not | 
|then play the piano again. Go inside and you should find the       | 
|Rosetta Stone. Go through the other way to find your way back to   | 
|the prison room."                                                  |
|                                                                   |
|Mmmmmmm, Rosetta Stones, can't get enough of them. If you have     | 
|enough of them already, you can always change it into a Shaman     | 
|Stone and a whole lotta other stuff. Have fun! :)                  |
=====================================================================


---Other optional stuff---
First you'll need to get outta Ultimecia's Castle. It took me a long 
time to figure out how to get out. You need to walk along the chains and 
you'll see 3 portals to the left. Approach it and your characters will 
hop over and you can enter it. All 3 portals will lead to a different 
place on the world map.

Take the middle portal, which will lead you somewhere in the Centra 
region. Find a Chocobo forest in that region and try to find your way to 
the Ragnarock, which ended up in the desert somehow. Sorry, I can't 
offer you much of a guidance on which direction to go since I'm pretty 
much confused about the topography in the Centra region myself, so just 
wander around with a Chocobo and listen to the WORST remix of the 
Chocobo theme ever! 

When you do finally get back to the Ragnarock, hop onboard and you'll 
see Xu! (BTW, this will only happen if you've completed the CC quest in 
disc 2 or 3.) She said that the CC members are all here (!!) and they 
want to play cards with Squall! Excellent!

The CC members will use any rare cards that you don't have, meaning it's 
sorta a "last resort" on getting the cards since you cannot enter the 
towns anymore. However, this will also lead to a nifty card trick.

You can mod most rare cards into nifty items then play a hand with any 
CC member, they'll use it and you can mod them again and again!!! This 
is the best when done with the CC Spade, since he uses friendly rules 
(Esthar rules) and there's a SP in the same room!

However, this does not work with some cards, and those are the Queen of 
Cards quest cards (wow, what a tongue twister!) Irvine, Kiros, Chubby 
Chocobo, Doomtrain and Phoenix simply didn't even exist originally, and 
was painted by the father of the Queen of Cards, which is why you cannot 
win them back. Which is sad, since those cards are the ones that gives 
you the best items. :( The other card you cannot win back is Pupu, 
because Pupu does not technically count as a rare card, since it's only 
a LV5 card.

The Queen of Cards will still available to challenge though. She's 
somewhere on the world map, south of the Esthar region and Tear's Point. 
(It's _near_ the southern coast and to the east.) She seems to ONLY use 
the Queen of Cards quest cards though, so you can get them back from her 
if not the CC members. However, she only seems to use them once, and 
just play with crap cards afterwards. Also, make sure you're prepared 
for Same/Same Wall/Plus/Random and Sudden Death WITHOUT Open!!! You 
know, sometimes I doubt the fairness of a card game without the Open 
rule, as it seems the CPU gets to peek at your cards even though they're 
denying it. Can't trust computers! >:(

Oh yeah, if you wanna play cards, DON'T screw around with all the 
members since each one of them uses the rules of a specific region. So 
to keep the rules from spreading, keep answering "No" when they offer to 
combine rules. It is because of this that makes certain CC members 
extremely annoying to play with, namely Joker and Diamond. You can also 
abolish the rules just like the normal game. 

NOTE!!! You CAN win back QoC cards back, it goes something like this:
(Sorry, I cannot remember who submitted this trick...)
1)	Mod the 5 cards all at the same time or seperately, you choose
2)	Challenge the QoC and win them back
3) Mod them again
4) You can now win them back from Diamond (or maybe other CC members.)
Make sure you abolish the crappy rules from Diamond or else, ready lots 
of Asprin and prepare for a cheap fight.


---GF customization---
Whoohoo, I bet you have a LOT of GF ability items in your inventory 
after the trip through Ultimecia's Castle and card mod trick. Now it's 
time to customise the GFs for your characters. Also, I recommend that 
you split your 16 GFs 6 ways, so each character will get 3 or 2 GFs. You 
should keep them in their possession for the rest of the game (not that 
there's much left anyway) but it's nice to let your characters get used 
to them. Also, tailor the GFs to suit your character's style. For 
example, don't give any GF that has the Hit-J ability to Squall or 
Selphie since they can hit with 255% accuracy already.

Also, try to minimize and maximize the GF's abilities, forget the extra 
and repeated abilities to create room to learn new ones. For example, 
don't give a character 2 GFs that both has the Spr-J ability, try to 
mending the weaknesses of one GF with another. For example, GFs Shiva 
and Diablos is a good combination to give to your characters, since 
Shiva offers Str-J, Vit-J and Spr-J while Diablos has HP-J, Mag-J and 
Hit-J, voila! All your basic attributes are covered! No repeats meaning 
no skills getting wasted. Spend sometime trying to find the perfect GF 
combination for all your characters, and take into account what stats 
benefit which character the most.

It is because of this, it is a very good idea to save all your -J Scroll 
items in your inventory to allow maximum "min-maxing". (The scrolls for 
rarer stats like Speed are VERY hard to find.)

Then buy truckloads of Amnesia Greens from the shop and start 
brainwashing your GFs. Forget the basic commands on the 1 or 2 GFs since 
only 1 GF is needed to use those skills. 

You may also want to upgrade certain abilities, just as fogetting 
Siren's ST-Def and ST-Defx2 but use a Status Guard on her to learn ST-
Defx4. Also, try to get Abilityx4 on everyone, then forget the Abilityx3 
skills. That way, you should have more than enough slots for all your 
favourite skills.

Elem-Atks are aplenty, so delete any repeats. You may also want to teach 
some of your GFs certain commands, like if you found Leviathan's Recover 
command useful, get a Doc's Code (easily gotten) and teach it to another 
GF.

It may take hours, but you'll eventually come out with a _perfect_ set 
of GF and skill combinations that'll make you a winner. Also, decide who 
you want to use against Omega Weapon and try to give those characters 
the best GFs (ie, Doomtrain) and skills (ie, Auto Haste.) 

I have spent hours and hours devising the perfect combination of GFs for 
the characters and came up with this:
   Squall:  Quezacotl, Pandemona, Bahamut
   Quistis: Shiva, Diablos, Doomtrain
   Zell:    Ifrit, Leviathan, Eden
   Rinoa:   Cactuar, Cerberus
   Irvine:  Carbuncle, Tonberry, Alexander
   Selphie: Siren, Brothers

Note that my best team was Squall, Zell and Quistis, so all the best GFs 
goes with them (ie, Eden, Doomtrain, Bahamut etc.) Rinoa however, has 2 
really useful GFs too, so she's another really good character to put in 
your team. If you like other members, you can exchange Zell's/Quistis' 
with Irvine or Rinoa. Selphie is more of a pain, since she has that 255% 
hit thing, so the best thing is probably exchange her junctions with 
Irvine. 

Of course, I was at a disadvantage since I've used many of the rare GF 
items (like Aegis Amulet etc) on the GFs at an early stage, which made 
it hard to find the perfect combination. However, if you didn't use a 
Rosetta Stone on Shiva, here's a waaaaaaay better solution:
   Squall:  Quezacotl, Pandemona, Doomtrain
   Quistis: Shiva, Diablos, Bahamut

This is because Quezacotl already has Mag+40% and Pandemona already has 
Str+40%, so junctioning Bahamut to Squall (with Str/Mag+60%) would 
simply put them to waste, so the latter combination is better, although 
my first strategy still works, as there weren't any repeated key 
abilities and no pointless abilities given to the wrong character (such 
as Hit-J with Squall.) Selphie needs to really beef up both Brothers and 
Siren though, as they don't come with all that many abilities. 

You should have 6 characters with -J abilities to all their basic 
attributes. Spd-J Scrolls are hard to come by, the same goes to Eva-J 
Scrolls, so use them wisely. Luck-J Scrolls shouldn't be a problem if 
you've gotten lotsa Drak Matters. If certain characters don't have the 
necessary xxx+??% skills, buy the items required to learn them from the 
pet shops.

Hope all goes well, and good luck with Omega. And I hope you all had as 
much fun reading this as I've had typing it, and yes, my guide is 
"officially" complete. There will be updates if the situation calls for 
it and if more readers send in helpful tips. Have a fresh start with the 
new millennium, I've personally made my resolution. :)


****** Combo cheap trick - Beat Omega Weapon in under 5 rounds ******
* This is a cheap trick that combines most of the tips I've taught  * 
* you in my guide and take on Omega to show him who's boss. I have  * 
* tested this trick and it really works, although it does backfire  * 
* occasionally due to the random nature of many of the gameplay     * 
* aspects. So whatta you waiting for? Lets get ready to kick some   * 
* butts, and for the players who have failed to beat Omega in FFV,  * 
* it's time to get our sweet revenge. :)                            *
*                                                                   *
* First of all, you need to choose the team members to use for this * 
* mission, and it's quite flexible on who you can use this time     * 
* around. Quistis is a mandatory member for this trick and she will * 
* act as the support member who's going to be the backbone of this  * 
* trick. Other than that, you can choose 2 characters out of Zell,  * 
* Squall, Rinoa or Irvine who will be the main offensive units. (We * 
* can leave Selphie outta this but look below for a mission built   * 
* especially for her.) Anyway, it is indeed possible to dump Squall * 
* in favour of another character, thanks to the Dual Team Division  * 
* system used in Ultimecia's Castle (although you might not want    * 
* to, since Lion Heart is especially powerful.)                     *
*                                                                   *
* Of course, how well this trick works will be dependant on who you * 
* chose as the offensive units. This is the basic requirement for   * 
* each character, ranked in order of decreasing strength:           *
*                                                                   *
* Zell - None, but mastering Armageddon Fist or Grand-Calamity      * 
*        Symphony will be helpful                                   *
*   Yes Zell is actually more powerful than Squall because he will  *
*   be able to execute more hits than Squall's Lion Heart with a 12 *
*   second Duel and that he can make full use of critical hits.     *
*                                                                   *
* Squall - Lion Heart learned, need Lion Heart gunblade model       *
*   Another very powerful character, the only weakness is that the  *
*   Aura + critical status trick don't work as well for Squall as   *
*   it does for other characters.                                   *
*                                                                   *
* Irvine - 100 Fast Ammo stocked                                    *
*          100 Normal Ammo OR ~50 AP/Pulse Ammo                     *
*   Irvine is actually not a bad character in terms of power, and   *
*   like Zell, he can make full use of critical hits. The only      *
*   really disappointing thing about Irvine is that he can only     * 
*   hold up to 100 of each type of ammunition in your inventory,    *
*   seriously hindering Irvine's usefulness, since many of his      *
*   bullets are next to worthless.                                  *
*                                                                   *
* Rinoa - Wishing Stars learned                                     *
*         Do NOT learn Angelo Strike (recommended)                  *
*         Do NOT learn Angelo Recover (recommneded)                 *
*   Rinoa's Wishing Stars really packs a punch, although it doesn't *
*   inflicts nearly as much damage as the other boys. It does hit   *
*   all enemies on screen though, but she cannot take the advantage *
*   of that in this fight.                                          *
*                                                                   * 
* Quistis - Mighty Guard learned                                    *
*           Shockwave Pulsar learned                                *
*   Not much to say about her damage potential, as it stinks. On    *
*   the other hand, Mighty Guard will come in really handy. Like    *
*   Squall, the Aura + critical trick don't work as well either.    *
*   See below for precautions.                                      *
*                                                                   *
* After you choose your team, you need to prepare. Take your team   * 
* to fight some weak enemies (the random ones inside Ultimecia's    * 
* Castle are ok.) And you need to low all of your HP to at least    * 
* the 3 digit mark, although it will be ideal if you can lower them * 
* to somewhere around 100HP. I know it's hard work, you can try     * 
* Demi if their HP is high, or poison them with Bio. The latter is  * 
* easier, as it removes abour 800HP everytime they take an action.  * 
* Then use your regular attacks to do small amounts of damage,      * 
* remove the Poison if needed. Then finally cast Blind on all 3     * 
* characters and Silence on Quistis.                                *
*                                                                   *
* The you need to junction your characters, here's the requirements * 
* for the 2 attackers:                                              *
* - 9999 HP maximum                                                 *
* - 255 Strength, 200+ Vitality and Spirit                          *
* - 100x Triple junctioned to Speed                                 *
* - 100x Tornado (or better) junctioned to Evade                    *
* - 100x Pain (or better) to Luck (for Zell and Irvine)             *
* - 100x Death junctioned to ST-Def                                 * 
* - Abilityx4                                                       *
* - Commands Attack, Magic, Item and something else would be ideal  *
* - Equip Spd+40% Character Ability                                 *
* - Abilities to fulfill above requirements if needed (eg, Vit+40%) *
* - Luck+50% for Zell and Irvine                                    *
* - Evade+30% recommended                                           *
* - One character has Initiative                                    *
*                                                                   *
* For Quistis, her requirements are slightly different:             *
* - 9999 HP maximum                                                 *
* - 255 Strength and 255 Magic recommended                          *
* - 200+ Vitality and Spirit                                        *
* - 100x Triples junctioned to Speed                                *
* - 100x Tornado (or better) junctioned to Evade                    *
* - 100x Death junctioned to ST-Def                                 *
* - Commands Attack, Item and 2 other (note that she's Silenced)    *
* - Equip Spd+40% Character Ability                                 *
* - Abilities to fulfill above requirements if needed (eg, Vit+40%) *
* - Evade+30% recommended                                           *
*                                                                   *
* When you're ready, save outside Ultimecia's Castle. Switch the    * 
* batle speed to its slowest and use Wait. You'll have to divide    * 
* into 2 teams, the one who fights Omega will be Team A while the   * 
* other one will be Team B. Junction Diablos to Team A and place    * 
* one of your abilities with Enc-None temporarily. You need to get  * 
* to the screen with a fountain (outside the Chapel) and remove     * 
* Diablos and replace Enc-None. Switch to Team B with the Switch    * 
* Point.                                                            *
*                                                                   *
* As Team B, junction Diablos and the Enc-None ability. Take the    * 
* door to the right and you'll see a large bell hanging from the    * 
* ceiling. Now you need to pull the rope (to take the steps down    * 
* and it's located to the left corner. When you do a message will   * 
* pop up saying you can hear a monster roaring from afar. You have  * 
* a minute to get to Omega. Now switch back to Team A with the      *  
* Switch Point in the room. You don't really have to re-junction    * 
* Team A if the absence of Diablos don't make much difference. (It  * 
* shouldn't.)                                                       *
*                                                                   *
* As Team A, head for the Chapel gates and Omega will be there.     * 
* Note it is possible that you may run into a random encounter on   * 
* the way to Omega, although it might not be probable since random  * 
* encounter rates in Ultimecia's Castle are quite low.              *
*                                                                   * 
* BOSS - Omega Weapon ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ *
* Omega Weapon will always use a certain attack pattern, it's       * 
* important to learn the first few:                                 *
* (0) - Physical attack                                             *
*  1  - LV5 Death                                                   *
*  2  - Meteor                                                      *
*  3  - Megido Flame (the rest don't matter)                        *
* There are 2 things to note here, Omega only seems to use action   * 
* zero (physical attack) sometimes. Megido Flame will inflict 9998  *
* points of damage to all 3 members, so if you haven't beaten Omega *     
* by then, you'll probably gonna be all wiped out, so be speedy.    * 
*                                                                   *
* If it execute its physical attack, chances are, he'll miss due to *  
* your Eva-J. This is the most obvious hole in my strategy as Omega * 
* will hit once in a while, but I've never seen how much damage it  * 
* does, but since your HP are so low, you'll probably get KO'd. If  * 
* you've powered up your character a lot and that Ultima is no      * 
* longer needed in other stats, junction it to Eva and equip        * 
* Eva+30% to prevent this. Otherwise, let's pretend that he misses. * 
* :) I'll divide the rest into simple steps.                        *
*                                                                   *
* 1 - Character 1 (with Initiative) cast Aura on Quistis            *
* 2 - Quistis use Mighty Guard                                      *
*     Note: Tricky here. If the > has already appeared before       *
*     Quistis was affected by Aura, it don't seem to register. So   *
*     if that happens, you need to re-tap the O button to get the > *
*     to show up again. With low HP + Darkness + Silence, it        * 
*     _should_ give all your characters Aura on topa all the other  * 
*     positive statuses. You may also want to execute action #3     *
*     first instead.                                                *
* 3 - Character 2 cast Meltdown on Omega (Doomtrain takes too long) *
* 4 - OPTIONAL Someone use a Holy War                               *
*     Note: It's tricky to say if you should or shouldn't execute   *
*     this action. This is recommended if Omega did not try to hit  * 
*     you with a physical attack (action zero) or if you're using   * 
*     Rinoa and/or Irvine. Basically, use this if you don't think   * 
*     you can kill Omega before he uses Megido Flame. (It takes     * 
*     longer than 5 rounds if you're using Rinoa/Irvine.) Also note * 
*     that the Holy War will negate all the negative statuses       * 
*     aiding the better Limit Breaks.                               *
* 5 - Beat on him with your best Limit Breaks. It should achieve    * 
*     the best effects (except for Squall, but his 7 or 8 initial   *
*     Renzokuken hits should make up for it.)                       *
*                                                                   *
* Notes:                                                            *
* - Omega's action #1 (LV5 Death) will not harm your characters,    *
*   therefore, it buys you sometime for the preparations.           *
* - The reason why you need to lower your HP so much is because     *
*   Mighty Guard also gives you Regen. With Zell and Squall, you    *
*   can finish Omega in just under 5 rounds, HP at about 2000. With *
*   Irvine and Rinoa however, it takes about 7 rounds, HP at about  *
*   3100. Note your condition is still considered to be critical if *
*   your HP is less than 32% of maximum, so the Aura trick still    *
*   works.                                                          *
* - Omega's action #2 will not harm you because of your high Spr,   *
*   Shell (Mighty Guard) and Regen. Buying your even more time.     *
* - Omega's behavior pattern changes from game to game. Sometimes   *
*   it's really slow, just sit there and let your whip his a$$, but *
*   sometimes it goes all berserk. If it does the latter, it maybe  *
*   wise to use a Holy War.                                         *
* - Oh, don't save your game after beating it, because if you do,   *
*   you have to complete another game just to fight it again. You   *
*   might want to use a different team or whatever. I always keep   *
*   an "Omega file" on my memory card just for this purpose. With   *
*   all the preparations (low HP) and junctions done so I can have  * 
*   some fun with Omega once in a while.                            *
* - The reason not to learn Angelo Recover is that dog may come and *
*   heals you, ruins the Aura + critical combo.                     *
* - Here's a Jap/NA difference for ya. Happy Matt told me that Hero *
*   and Holy War will NEVER work on Rinoa. (Best guess is that      *
*   they're SeeD items.) However, it works fine in the NA version.  *
* - He also said that Aura + critical doesn't work as well in the   *
*   Japanese version of the game, meaning our version has been      *
*   toned down AGAIN!!                                              *
*                                                                   *
* Now comes the fun part, calculations!                             *
* Zell - 12 second Duel + Armageddon Fist/Grand-Calamity Symphony   *
*   An expert will probably be able to execute about 4 (or more)    *
*   moves per second, both Punch Rush and Booya will do about 4500  * 
*   damage, and with high Luck, half of them will be criticals!     *
* => (4 x 12)/2 x 4500 + (4 x 12)/2 x 9000 = ~324,000 (or more!!)   *
* => Add a few thousand for Grand-Calamity Symphony                 *
*                                                                   *
* Squall - 7 or 8 hit Renzokuken + finisher                         *
*   I don't know why, Squall executes mostly 7 hit combos. Also,    *
*   Aura + critical will not always work (mumble mumble Blasting    * 
*   Zone mumble.) I only got to see Lion Heart just over 50% of the * 
*   time.                                                           *
* => (7 x 9000) + (9999 x 17) = ~233,000                            *
*                                                                   *
* Irvine - Shot with Fast Ammo and others                           * 
*   Fast Ammo works really well, but only lasts 2 rounds. :( Try to * 
*   shoot 50 of them per round (a turbo controller might work.)     * 
*   They'll do 2000 damage per hit and half of them are criticals.  *
*   Afterwards, you may think of resort to Pulse or AP Ammo, but    *
*   Normal Ammo actually works a bit better, since it has decent    * 
*   speed and can take advantage of critical hits. The damage of    *
*   Normal Ammo is identical to Zell's Duel moves, and can be shot  *                 
*   17 times. You can only shoot 8 AP or Pulse bullets. Ironic huh? *
* => Fast Ammo: (50/2 x 2000) + (50/2 x 4000) = ~150,000            *
*    Normal Ammo: (8 x 4500) + (9 x 9000) = ~117,000                *
*    AP/Pulse: 8 x 9999 = 79,992 :(                                 *
*                                                                   *
* Rinoa - Wishing Stars                                             *
*   Not all that powerful, as it only does 8 hits, but it sometimes *
*   deals more damage than Squall should his Lion Heart fail.       *
* => 8 x 9999 = 79,992                                              *
*                                                                   *
* Quistis - Shockwave Pulsar                                        *
*   Better than nothing I guess...                                  *
* => 31,000~35,000                                                  *
*                                                                   *
* Other notes and extras:                                           *
* If you really want Squall to do Lion Heart, try Silencing him as  *
* well, it doesn't guarantee a Lion Heart but it may help. (Note    *
* the Holy War will cancel it, but you probably won't need it if    *
* you see Lion Heart.) You also need to adjust his strategies a     *
* bit since he's Silenced. Instead of casting Aura on Quistis, use  *
* an Aura Stone with the Item command instead. Note Darkness and    *
* Silence are the only ones that you can use, since you don't want  *
* to spend time Petrifying and Doom your characters while in battle * 
* (actually, you can't.)                                            *
*                                                                   *
******* Super Douper Mega Cheap Trick - As Cheap As It Gets *********
*            "Selphie is the most powerful after all!"              *
*                                                                   *
* Simple, just do the same to Selphie as for the other characters   *
* above (low HP + status) and junction 100x Ultima to her Luck.     *
*                                                                   *
* Get into battle, cast Aura on Selphie and open the lid of the     *
* PlayStation. The game will "freeze" when Omega tries to cast LV5  *
* Death. Do the tap tap easy Slot trick until The End comes up      *
* (should be quite common, I once got 3 The Ends in 10 "Do overs"!) *
* Boom, bang, whoohoo, over! Easy but cheap as hell...              *
*********************************************************************


MISCELLANEOUS
=============
This section just includes all the weird and interesting stuff on this 
game.

* Is Doomtrain REALLY the train boss from FF6? Well, I asked Happy Matt 
and he checked the monster compendium in the Japanese version of FF6 and 
he said that the boss' name could be directly translated into "Magic 
Train" or "Phantom Train" or something along the lines of it. The 
Japanese name of Doomtrain is "Grasharaboras" so there is NO evidence 
that Doomtrain is exactly the Phantom Train in FF6. However, it's 
possible that they're related.

* Like FFT, FFVIII contains lotsa references from the previous fantasies 
(and I don't just mean the FF motifs like Chocobos, Moogles, Shiva, 
Behemoth etc), these are the ones I've found:

-FFIV-
None yet.

-FFV-
-> Gilgamesh, who was Ex-Death's servant in FFV, a comical villain. 
Likewise, 2 of his sword attacks are also from FFV.
  => Excalibur: The sword he wanted so much but..
  => Excalipur (Excalipoor is just a poor translation) was the one he 
got. A joke item in FFV as it can only ever do 1 point of damage.

-> Boco (again, Boko is another bad translation): Butz's Chocobo is now 
the default Chicobo name.

-> Omega: I hated this bonus boss as it's next to impossible to beat! 

-> Brothers: Flanker358@aol.com said that Sacred and Minotaur were 
bosses in FFV. I think I remember seeing something like it so I assume 
that he's right.

-> Siren: Siren was a boss in FFV too, although she didn't act anything 
like her 8th self. She's the boss in the Ships Graveyard but I'm not 
sure what she's called in the official translation. Actually I'm not 
even sure that she's Siren, oh well...

-FFVI-
-> Doomtrain (see above)

-> Odin's fate: Remember what happened to Odin in FFVI? That's right, he 
got slaughtered by an inverted version of his sword attack, which is 
used by Seifer in FFVIII.

-> AtmaWeapon (Ultima Weapon): see below

-> Vicks and Wedge: Vicks is originally named Biggs in the Japanese 
version. These 2 are the imperial soldiers that accompanied Terra at the 
beginning of the game. (Note that they fixed Vicks back to Biggs in the 
Playstation Anthology version of FF6.)

-> Merton: Merton was renamed Meltdown in the NA version of FFVIII. 
However, the original Merton in FFIII (Snes version) has been changed to 
Melton in the FFA (FFV and FFVI) rerelease. Why? Probably trying to 
accomedate the changes in FFVIII and "Meltdown" won't fit. 

-FFVII-
-> Cloud: He owns a shop in Esthar where he sells some useless stuff.

-> Ultima Weapon: Another bonus boss that appeared in FFVI, VII and VII. 

-> Ultima Weapon: And the Ultima Weapon is holding Cloud's Ultima 
Weapon. It's not as strong as it was in FFVII though.

-> Biggs and Wedge: Two Avalanche members make a triumphant return in 
FFVIII with another identity. (Thanks to Ed Asano for reminding me.) Oh 
yeah, he also mentioned that Biggs and Wedge are from the original Star 
Wars, so is it possible that the crew at Square are huge Star Wars fans?

-FFT-
-> Olan/Orlan (I'm not sure which is the bad translation) is the person 
who invented Triple Triad. And he IS Olan from FFT since there's a 
picture of him in the card tutorial. You can also see a Black Mage in 
the background drawn in FFT style.

-> Diablos: Have you ever wondered how much Diablos resembles that of 
the Lich (the summon) in FFT? They look identical and works the same 
way, so I guess they're the same thing.

-> Eden: Is Eden Zodiac? They look kinda similar and share few features, 
that they're both the most powerful summons and that it's next to 
impossible to tell what they're supposed to be. (IMO, Zodiac looks like 
a fairy and Eden looks like a giant mushroom.)

-> Save the Queen: Quistis' best weapon is of the same name is 
Meliadoul's (and other Divine Knight's) sword.

-> Blind: Ok, this is a bit off the topic but the Blind spell in FFVIII 
looks suspiciously similar to the one in FFT.

-Other-
-> Ehrgeiz: The fighting game, but the timer runs out way too fast for 
my liking!

-> Vicks and Wedge: Can't believe I forgot this. Viki reminded me that 
Vicks (Biggs) and Wedge also appeared as puppets in Chrono Trigger. 
Also, she said that the other puppet Piette (or something) bears a 
resemblance towards Piet, the guy in the space station. 

* In Laguna's scenario where he asked the receptionist about Julia's 
room, the receptionist called her "Ms Julia". Actually, it does not mean 
that she's married like in my last version. Qualera e-mailed me saying 
that "Ms" is like "Mr" in that it does not contain any information on a 
person's martial status. But then again, why could they have just used 
"Miss Julia". (The difference is 10 years..)

* Did you notice who was playing the role of the sorceress in Laguna's 
fourth scenario? That's right, the Queen of Cards!

* What's the third FFVIII theme song? Selphie's one of course! Here are 
the lyrics.. Anyone wanna write the music to it?

        Train, Train, Take Us Away
        Take Us Away, Far Away
        To The Future, We Will Go
        Where It Leads No One Knows :)

* Is it just me or does anyone else think that Irvine looks like Michael 
Jackson? (I mean, he even has THE hat!!)

* Does anyone thinks that Zell's opening stance when he bends over and 
stretches looks a lot like Fei's in Xenogears? Likewise, Zell's in 
battle standby animation is also very similar to Fei's.

* Sorry to have to say this but being a male myself, I can't help but 
noticing that none of the females in the game has exceptionally large 
chests. Anyway, my point was not to be rude but FFVIII is a good proof 
that silicone polygons are not the only thing that sells games these 
days.

* Have you noticed that ALL GFs always starts off with the highest 
compatibility with Rinoa and Selphie? Likewise, Leviathan's 
compatibility with Rinoa is the highest. Hmm, I wonder if this has any 
connection with the demo.

* Who thinks Quistis looks like Aya Brea? Actually, it's almost 
impossible to have not noticed that. :)

* Ok so this is not FFVIII related but I discovered this last week and I 
just want everybody to know. It's about Xenogears and FF6, but since I 
won't write an FAQ for either game, this guide is the closest thing that 
I can put this tidbit on.

Anyway, do you recall the middle names of the Figaro brothers? (It was 
never mentioned in the game but it's in the manual, I think.) Edgar's 
middle name was "Roni" while Sabin's "Rene". Now head all the way back 
in time to the first generation of the Fatima family in Xenogears, 
Bart's great ancestor was named "Roni Fatima" and in one of the cut 
scenes, a guy called Rene was present (along with Roni, Lacan and 
Krelian.) Who was "Rene" anyway? Could he have been Roni's brother? In 
that case, would the Fatima and Figaro family be somehow related? Oooh, 
the plot thinkens.

* Something bothers me about the way that Laguna speaks. Is it because 
he's a big Seinfeld fan? :) Actually, Laguna's stardards are so bad it's 
probably on par with Spin City.

* I don't know if this will happen to you but when I fought the enemies 
in Dollet with Seifer to max out my GF's level, the first time I got 
paid, I went up *FIVE* SeeD ranks!!!!! How is this possible?!

* Ok, it's about time everyone should know about this. I have the exact 
birthday as Squall Leonhart (no kidding!) I'm 17, and the jerk is 17... 
Talk about getting your identity stolen by a looser.

* Ok this tidbit is not about FFVIII but you can get Zantetsuken in 
Kartia! Go to create a weapon and choose Swords, then choose the Kanji 
"Cut", "Steel" and "Sword" which are the exact Kanji for Odin's sword 
attack, but it's been translated into something very different. (And a 
lot weaker. :) Good only for Odin fanatics. 

There's more but my head's only so big so I cannot remember it now.





This FAQ is intended to be used for non commercial purposes and there 
shouldn't be any money involved. It is free to everyone who is 
interested and you can print it if you like (although with my type of 
format, it's not very print friendly.) Please do not rip me off by 
claiming that it's your own work or rip any others off by selling them a 
free FAQ. As I've learnt from my "debut" walkthrough, that writing a 
walkthrough is really not an easy task at all but I've really worked 
hard on it. So enjoy this "free" guide!

Copyright 1999 by me. E-mail me at i_love_aya@hotmail.com
              Visit my homepage at http://www6.50megs.com/vanceayahan/

Final Fantasy VIII (c) 1999 Squaresoft
