Hi, and thanks for checking out my second Final Fantasy VIII FAQ! I just love
this masterpiece so much, I had to write one more FAQ for it. I got ultra-good
feedback from my older Xenogears Boss FAQ, so the layout for this FAQ is very
similar to that FAQ. I hope you enjoy this one as much as others enjoyed my
last one. See ya!
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III. Boss Walkthrough
----------------------
Here is the complete Boss Walkthrough for the whole game. I've finished all
four discs, so you can trust this guide.
---
- DISC 1 -
*****GUARDIAN FORCE ALERT!!!!!*****
Boss Fight #1
Name: Ifrit
HP: 1068
Location: Fire Cavern (Disc 1)
Elemental Weakness: Ice, Water
Elemental Strength: Fire
Elemental Immunity: None
AP Bonus: 20 AP
Items for Winning: G-Returner x1; Ifrit Card x1
Draw LV 1-19: Fire, Cure, Scan
Draw LV 20-29: N/A
Draw LV 30-100: N/A
Difficulty: 1
Ifrit, the Fire God, isn't tough at all; the only thing that makes it
nerveracking is the time limit (of which even 10 minutes is more than enough).
I always Junction Shiva to Squall, but whoever you have Shiva junctioned to,
summon her every turn and do as much Boosting as possible. With your other
character (Quistis), cast constant Blizzard or Blizzara Spells on Ifrit to
really lower his HP, and cast Cure or Cura when someone's HP gets low. You
should have no trouble with this battle. When you win, you will get Ifrit for a
new GF.
Boss Fight #2
Name: Biggs and Wedge
HP: 467-705; 416-640
Location: Dollet Communication Tower (Disc 1)
Elemental Weakness: Thunder; None
Elemental Strength: None; None
Elemental Immunity: None; Poison
AP Bonus: 4 AP; 4 AP
Items for Winning: None
Draw LV 1-19: Fire, Blizzard, Thunder, Scan; Fire, Blizzard, Thunder, Cure
Draw LV 20-29: N/A
Draw LV 30-100: N/A
Difficulty: 1
Biggs begins this fight alone, without Wedge. Start this battle off by casting
Thunder or Thundara repeatedly on Biggs. Biggs can't do too much damage, but it
can rack up, so cast Cure or Cura when you start feeling the damage. Very soon,
Wedge will apeear and now you'll have to contend with them both; but still, just
keep pounding away with Thunder on Biggs, and eventually they will both be
sucked up by the real Boss, Elovret.
*****GUARDIAN FORCE ALERT!!!!!*****
Boss Fight #3
Name: Elvoret
HP: 1563-3523
Location: Dollet Communication Tower (Disc 1)
Elemental Weakness: None
Elemental Strength: None
Elemental Immunity: Poison
AP Bonus: 10 AP
Items for Winning: Elixir x2; Cottage x2; G-Returner x3; Weapons Monthly March
x1
Draw LV 1-19: Thunder, Cure, Double, Siren (GF)
Draw LV 20-29: N/A
Draw LV 30-100: N/A
Difficulty: 2
Elvoret is the hardest enemy you've faced thus far, but he's not too bad. The
Thunder spell is particularly effective here, and so are physical attacks.
First off, make sure to Draw Siren, a new GF, from him, and also, stock up on
the Double Spell, because it's effective. If you want, you can Draw and Cast
Double on everyone, and then pummel him with Fire, Blizzard, and Thunder.
Elvoret also has Cure that you can Draw and Cast when your HP gets low (and it
probably will). Mainly, you want to focus on using your GFs; Shiva,
Quetzacoatl, and Ifrit are all effective against Elvoret. Keep the heat up and
he will fall sooner or later. Just make sure to keep your HP in check.
This is an extremely easy battle. First off, stock up on Protect and Shell,
which these enemies have. Then, summon Shiva, Quetzacoatl, and Ifrit. The
first or second summon will bring down Granaldo (and maybe the Raldos), and the
third one will finish the battle. If not, just summon again and you're through.
Unfortunately, you get nothing for winning this battle.
Once Headmaster Cid orders you to go to Timber, talk to him one more time and
you'll recieve the Magical Lamp. On the World Map, SAVE YOUR GAME, and then use
it. You will be taken to an alternate dimension where you will fight Diablos.
No matter what Level you fight Diablos at, he's tough - but he's easier at the
lower Levels. First, start the battle by drawing Demi from him with each of
your characters. Then, Draw and Cast Demi on Diablos to cut his HP by 1/4; but
this will also cause him to use Curaga on whoever cast it on him, for some weird
reason. So, virtually, as long as you keep casting Demi on Diablos, you will
stay healed. Obviously, Demi can't KILL Diablos, so you'll need to keep using
Scan to keep an eye on his HP, and then finish him off with your GFs or physical
attacks. Diablos has a few dangerous attacks he will use; Demi, obviously,
which will cut a character's HP by 1/4; a very strong physical attack; and
Gravija, a devastating attack that will cut all your members' HP by 3/4.
Whenever Diablos uses it, heal your characters immediately, or he will most
likely kill them off with his fast physical attacks. If you win, you will
receive one of the best GFs in the game, Diablos, and his great Card!
This battle, is, for the most part, a joke. The Fake President only casts some
low-level Spells on you; just hammer him with physical attacks and he'll go down
quickly. But once he morphs into Gergero, the real, but still easy, fight
begins. First, try to stock up on 100 Esunas with each character; it Junctions
extremely well. Then, stock some Doubles, and then, Draw and Cast Double on
everyone. Gerogero will most likely cause negative Status Ailments on your
characters while you Draw from him; to counter this, immediately Draw and Cast
Esuna on the afflicted character. After you've cast Double on everyone, blast
him with Doubled Fires and Doubled Firas, and use Ifrit. Fire causes high
damage to Gerogero, and he will go down EXTREMELY quickly. You will sometimes
recieve Zombie Powder for winning.
For an instant and easy win, use an X-Potion or Phoenix Down on the undead
Gergero.
Boss Fight #7 (Optional)
Name: Sacred
HP: 855-36375
Location: Tomb of the Unknown King (Any Disc)
Elemental Weakness: Wind, Poison
Elemental Strength: None
Elemental Immunity: Earth
AP Bonus: 20 AP
Items for Winning: G-Hi-Potion (Random)
Draw LV 1-19: Shell, Protect, Berserk, Life
Draw LV 20-29: Shell, Protect, Berserk, Life
Draw LV 30-100: Shell, Protect, Berserk, Life
Difficulty: 1
Sacred isn't too tough - just make sure you have some Float Spells. His
powerful physical attacks will rack up the damage quickly, though, so the first
thing to do is to Draw and Cast Protect on your whole party. Next, take this
opportunity to stock up on Life, as it Junctions very well. Next, you will want
to cast Float on Sacred. Since he is Earth-Elemental, the Earth allows him to
recover HP on a regular basis. Lifting him up off the ground will prevent this.
Then, you can either hammer him with physical attacks or use Aero or use all
your GFs on him. He'll go down quickly either way.
This battle is only a little harder than the last one with Sacred alone. First
off, cast Float on ALL of your characters; this will nullify their strong Earth
attack, Mad Cow Special. Next, Draw and Cast Protect on all your characters.
Next, cast Float on Sacred and Minotaur, and they can't regenerate HP. And
then, pummel away with Shiva, Quetzacoatl, Ifrit, and Siren. They'll go down
very quickly. When you win, you get the Brothers GF, and both the Sacred Card
and Minotaur Card, and 40 AP!
This battle is only slightly hard because you only get to use Squall and Irvine
(who's not very strong anyway). Start this battle off by Drawing the GF
Carbuncle from either one of the Iguions. It'll come in handy VERY soon, plus
it has great Abilities. Then, start damaging the monsters by summoning the
Brothers; their Earth attack will work wonders on both of them. Meanwhile, you
can use physical attacks to wail on one at a time. Just be careful; the Iguions
can Petrify you, and if they Petrify both Squall and Irvine, it's game over.
But as long as you finish them quickly, you'll have no problem.
Boss Fight #10
Name: Seifer
HP: 176-1150
Location: Edea's Parade (Disc 1)
Elemental Weakness: Poison
Elemental Strength: None
Elemental Immunity: None
AP Bonus: None
Items for Winning: None
Draw LV 1-19: Fire, Cure, Life
Draw LV 20-29: Fira, Cura, Life
Draw LV 30-100: N/A
Difficulty: 1
Squall fights his rival, Seifer, alone in this climatic battle at Edea's Parade.
Unfortunately, this won't be any close or heart-pounding match; Seifer's a
pushover, especially if you have Fire, Fira, or Firaga Junctioned to Squall's
Elemental Defense. Seifer's strongest means of attack is a Fira Spell, which
will do almost nothing if Squall is protected against Fire. If he isn't, it
still doesn't do much of anything. Seifer, for the most part, rushes Squall and
attacks physically, for low damage. He rarely uses his Gunblade properly; when
he does, you can expect the damage to be a little higher. Don't bother with GFs
here; just hack away at Seifer with physical attacks and he'll go down VERY
quickly.
This priceless battle with Galbadia's evil ruler, Sorceress Edea, is only a
little harder than the one against Seifer. Rinoa and Irvine join Squall for
this battle, so things will be much easier. Start this fight off by summoning
the GF Carbuncle, who casts Reflect on all your characters. Edea uses very
strong Magic; Firaga, Blizzaga, Thundaga, and more, but Carbuncle can and will
Reflect those Spells. To counter this, Edea will always cast Dispel on your
characters to rid them of their reflecting properties; however, she can only
Dispel one character at a time, so as long as you keep summoning Carbuncle,
she'll keep Dispelling you, and will never attack you. So just wail on her with
Shiva, Quetzacoatl, Ifrit, Siren, Brothers, and physical attacks and she should
go down pretty quickly. Oh, and enjoy the beautiful music that plays during
this battle; it's some of the best in the game.
Note that you can lose this battle against Edea and still progress through the
game, but you will miss out on 20 AP.
The two Galbadian flunkies are back, and as easy as ever. Start the battle by
Drawing and Casting Protect (from Wedge) on all of your characters. Next, take
out Wedge (and ONLY Wedge; he's the one in blue). Once Wedge is out of the
picture, start Drawing Regen from Biggs like mad. Once you have 100 Regen
Stocked with each character, finish off Biggs. Regen is simply the best Spell,
besides Ultima, to Junction to HP.
This is a potentially dangerous battle. Your first priority is to take out the
Elite Soldier, so do that first with physical attacks. It should take only a
turn or two. Then, blast the GIM52As hard with Quetzalcoatl and Thunder,
Thundara, or Thundaga. Brothers also works well. Either way, it shouldn't take
TOO long - just be ready to heal your party should they use one of their strong
attacks.
Boss Fight #14
Name: BGH251F2
HP: 4200-8400
Location: Galbadia Missile Base (Disc 2)
Elemental Weakness: Thunder, Earth, Water
Elemental Strength: None
Elemental Immunity: Poison
AP Bonus: 20 AP
Items for Winning: None
Draw LV 1-19: Shell, Protect, Stop
Draw LV 20-29: Shell, Protect, Stop
Draw LV 30-100: N/A
Difficulty: 3
This is probably the hardest battle you've fought so far, and that's largely due
to the time limit. First, Draw and Cast Protect on all of your characters, and
do it quickly. Then, blast away with Quetzalcoatl, Thunder, Thundara, Thundaga,
and physical attacks. BGH251F2 is also weak against Brothers, but their
animation is too long. Its HP is relatively low, so it shouldn't take long for
the huge machine to blow up, and reveal... three Galbadian Soldiers! No problem
- just take 'em out with physical attacks. Do note, though, that BGH251F2 has
pretty powerful attacks, and you may need to heal once or twice.
The only thing difficult about this fight is the high damage caused by the
Oilboyles' attacks. You may have to heal once or twice during the fight. Also,
the Oilboyles can cause Status Ailments on your characters; immediately Draw and
Cast Esuna when this happens to counter this. Otherwise, hammer away with
Ifrit, Fire, Fira, and Firaga, because the Oilboyles are extremely weak to Fire-
Elemental attacks (well, they ARE made of oil). Once you do this enough,
they'll go down. Not too tough. Just remember to heal when you need to; don't
underestimate them.
*****GUARDIAN FORCE ALERT!!!!!*****
Boss Fight #16
Name: NORG
HP: 4400-12200
Location: Balamb Garden MD Level (Disc 2)
Elemental Weakness: Wind
Elemental Strength: None
Elemental Immunity: Poison
AP Bonus: 20 AP
Items for Winning: Wizard Stone (Random)
Draw LV 1-19: Shell, Protect, Esuna, Leviathan
Draw LV 20-29: Shell, Protect, Esuna, Leviathan
Draw LV 30-100: N/A
Difficulty: 2
You'll start this battle fighting NORG protected by his Norg Pod. But since
it's not that special, all you need to do is take one character and pound away
at it with physical attacks while you have the other two characters hit the Left
and Right Orbs with physical attacks. Yes, the Orbs - the two Orbs cast strong
Spells on the party when they turn red, but hitting them forces them to remain
blue, so that they can do nothing. As long as you dedicate two characters to
the Orbs, you can have the remaining character (most likely Squall) wail on the
Norg Pod, and, later, NORG. Once Norg loses his Pod, IMMEDIATELY Draw the GF
Leviathan from him. Then, Draw and Cast Protect on everyone; finally, resume
your normal pattern of wailing on NORG with physical attacks and GFs. He'll go
down soon, no problem. If you find yourself hurting after a few physical
attacks from NORG, heal. Just remember to keep those Orbs blue!
Boss Fight #17
Name: BGH251F2
HP: 5100-7800
Location: Fisherman's Horizon (Disc 2)
Elemental Weakness: Thunder, Earth, Water
Elemental Strength: None
Elemental Immunity: Poison
AP Bonus: 20 AP
Items for Winning: Running Fire (Random); Missile (Random)
Draw LV 1-19: Shell, Protect, Stop
Draw LV 20-29: Shell, Protect, Stop
Draw LV 30-100: N/A
Difficulty: 2
Well, the terror from the Galbadian Missile Base returns for Round 2, this time
in the peaceful Fisherman's Horizon. Make this round be its last. Start off by
Drawing and Casting Protect on each party member to guard against BGH251F2's
surprisingly strong physical attacks, and then wail on it with Quetzalcoatl,
Brothers, and Leviathan - he will blow up in no time flat. Simple!
Boss Fight #18
Name: Raijin
HP: 400-11600
Location: Balamb (Disc 2)
Elemental Weakness: Poison
Elemental Strength: Thunder
Elemental Immunity: None
AP Bonus: 10 AP
Items for Winning: Str Up (Random)
Draw LV 1-19: Thunder, Thundara, Shell, Protect
Draw LV 20-29: Thunder, Thundara, Shell, Protect
Draw LV 30-100: N/A
Difficulty: 2
Hey, Raijin's pretty strong, so you'd better be careful, ya know? It may be 3
on 1, but Raijin's fast and powerful. Start off as usual by Drawing and Casting
Protect on everyone to guard against Raijin's very strong physical attacks.
Raijin can also cast some Thunder and Thundara Spells, but they're no big deal,
and you can even nullify or absorb them with Thunder, Thundara, or Thundaga
Junctioned to your Elemental Defense. Make EXTREMELY sure not to use any
Thunder Spells or Quetzalcoatl; doing so will heal Raijin, and you don't want
that. Take him out quickly, as you need all the remaining strength you can
muster for the immediately next battle.
This is most definitely the hardest battle you've fought so far, and if you're
not prepared, can give you a run for your money. You need as much HP remaining
from the Raijin fight as possible, because now Raijin is back (and stronger),
plus he has Fujin with him who can cast Aero and Tornado, both of which can do
moderate to high Wind-Elemental damage to your characters. The best course of
action is this - first, Draw the Wind GF, Pandemonium, from Fujin. This not
only nets you your next GF, but it prevents her from casting Aero and Tornado.
Then, Draw and Cast Protect (from Raijin) on all of your characters. And then,
pound away with Shiva, Ifrit, Brothers, and any of your other good GFs. Do NOT
use Quetzalcoatl, as Raijin will be healed. Raijin, as usual, has strong
physical attacks, and now a new attack, called the Raijin Special, which can do
close to 1000 damage to one character. Having Protect halves this damage.
Fujin, after she has her Wind Spells stripped from her, can use Zan, which does
very little damage to one character, and Sai (very rarely), which knocks a
character down to 1 HP. If she does this attack, heal immediately. Otherwise,
as long as you Draw Pandemonium and get Protect on your characters quickly, you
shouldn't have too much trouble.
You will find Cerberus in the main lobby of Galbadia Garden in Disc 2. He's
just sitting there, waiting for you. You don't have to fight him, but you
should, since he's one of the most helpful GFs in the game. If you do choose to
fight him, be warned - he's pretty tough. I was pretty cocky because my
characters (Squall, Zell, Rinoa) were kicking ass, but then I just about had my
head handed to me by Cerberus. First off, try to have Earth Juntioned to your
Elemental Defense because Cerberus likes to cast Quake on your party two or
three times in a row, which can easily lay you flat. Also, this isn't a good
time to use either Quetzalcoatl or Pandemonium, because Cerberus absorbs the
former and blocks the latter. First, Draw and Cast Double or Triple (if he's
high-leveled enough) on all your characters so you can heal your characters all
at once. Then, pound away with Shiva, Ifrit, Brothers, Leviathan, and strong
physical attacks. Cerberus doesn't have that much HP, but he hits hard whether
he has 1 HP or 1000 HP, so deplete him quickly. Overall, if you make fast work
of him, you should be all right.
Seifer's been training since the last time you faced him. He's more of a match
for you now, althought it's still 3 versus 1, so you can take him out quickly.
First, it can't hurt to Draw and Cast Haste on all of your characters, so do
that. Next, summon Cerberus. Then, pummel Seifer with strong physical attacks;
GFs aren't really needed here unless your characters are extremely weak
physically (which they definitely should not be). Seifer has a new special
attack called Demon Slice which can do up to 1500 damage, so use Cure, Cura, or
Curaga if you need to. Overall, Seifer will fall quickly to your superior
power.
This guy refuses to go down. Determined to live up to his name as the
Sorceress' Knight, he gets back up and takes you on again. His HP is lower from
his defeat, but his Attack Power is higher. Take him out quickly, because
you'll need all the HP you can muster for the next battle. Just wail on him
with physical attacks - that should be all you need. Cast your Doubled or
Tripled Cura or Curaga if you start feeling the pain. But the most important
thing here is to take him out quickly so he doesn't end up wearing you out.
*****GUARDIAN FORCE ALERT!!!!!*****
Boss Fight #23
Name: Sorceress Edea
HP: 500-16000
Location: Galbadia Garden (Disc 2)
Elemental Weakness: None
Elemental Strength: None
Elemental Immunity: None
AP Bonus: 50 AP
Items for Winning: Force Armlet (Random)
Draw LV 1-19: Bliizard, Demi, Esuna, Alexander
Draw LV 20-29: Blizzara, Demi, Esuna, Alexander
Draw LV 30-100: Blizzaga, Demi, Esuna, Alexnader
Difficulty: 4
I hope Seifer didn't wear you out, because you now have to face Sorceress Edea,
and this time around, she's tough. Your Carbuncle trick won't work this time;
she uses very few Spells that can be reflected, so she won't bother to cast
Dispel. The main Spell she uses is a new one called Maelstrom, which, according
to your characters' Level and HP, blasts each of your characters for about 2/3
or a little more of their Max HP, and she likes to use it often, so two of these
in a row and you're done. You should dedicate your weakest character to healing
everyone after Maelstrom. First, re-cast Cerberus if you need to. Then, Draw
the Holy GF, Alexander, from Edea. Then, start with Shiva, Quetzalcoatl, Ifrit,
Leviathan, Brothers, and mainly physical attacks. The GFs should be used
primiarily for absorbing damage - your physical attacks should be more than
making up for the GF damage by this point. But, like I said before, it's very
important that you have one character standing by for a Tripled Cura or Curaga
for when Sorceress Edea uses Maelstrom. Edea also has a lofty number of HP this
time around, so you'll have to keep at it for awhile. As long as you're alert
and heal when you should, you will probably make it out of this fight the
winner. Oh yes - and try to keep everyone alive, as there's a whopping 50 AP
bonus for defeating Edea. BTW, the kick-ass Sorceress battle music is back. :)
- DISC 3 -
Boss Fight #24
Name: Abadon
HP: 510-17010
Location: Great Salt Lake (Disc 3)
Elemental Weakness: Fire, Holy
Elemental Strength: None
Elemental Immunity: None
AP Bonus: 40 AP
Items for Winning: Flare Stone (Random)
Draw LV 1-19: Cure, Esuna, Dispel
Draw LV 20-29: Cura, Esuna, Dispel
Draw LV 30-100: Curaga, Esuna, Dispel, Flare
Difficulty: 2
Abadon is a strange undead monster that jumps your party in the Great Salt Lake.
If, by any chance, you have Alexander's Revive Ability, equip it and use it -
since Abadon is undead, that means 100% instant death for him. If you don't,
use Leviathan's Recover Ability (which you should definitely have) - it'll do
9999 damage to him per use. Not quite as good as Revive, but good nonetheless.
^_^ If you're neglecting your GF Abilities and don't have either of them, then
Abadon's still easy, though he can cause several Status Ailments - if this
happens, Draw and Cast Esuna on the affected character immediately. Drawing and
Casting Flare if he's high-leveled enough helps, as does the Alexander summon.
Physical attacks also work well. Also, Phoenix Downs work as instant deaths
though they're not very accurate. Overall, heal if you need to, but this fight
should be no problem.
They're back! ... and this time, they're much easier, because you don't have a
battle before them. Your main worry this time is Raijin - Fujin can cast Aero
sometimes, but she doesn't ususally - all she does mainly is use Zan, that weak
attack from before and Sai, which reduces a character's HP to 1, but can easily
be countered by Recover. Raijin, on the other hand, is stronger, has a lot of
HP, and still uses Raijin Special. Counter this by first Drawing and Casting
Protect on everyone, and then use your strongest GFs - Shiva, Bahamut, Cactuar,
and Eden. Don't use Quetzalcoatl or Pandemonium, as Fujin and Raijin absorb
Wind and Thunder. Anyway, if you heal when you need too, this battle should be
no problem.
Boss Fight #26
Name: Mobile Type 8
HP: 5100-9100
Location: Lunatic Pandora (Disc 3)
Elemental Weakness: Thunder
Elemental Strength: None
Elemental Immunity: None
AP Bonus: 20 AP
Items for Winning: Laser Cannon (Random)
Draw LV 1-19: Fire, Thunder, Blizzard, Flare
Draw LV 20-29: Fira, Thundara, Blizzara, Flare
Draw LV 30-100: Firaga, Thundaga, Blizzaga, Flare
Difficulty: 3
This boss could make short work of you if you don't know what it can do. First,
you'll want to summon Cerberus. Mobile Type 8 has two different forms - the
first form counterattacks you with an attack called Twin Homing Laser that
causes around 600 damage when you attack the main body. No problem. The second
form, however, uses an attack called Corona, which reduces all your characters
to 1 HP. At this time, cease ALL attacks and use Recover and Curaga to heal
your characters, as it follows up with an attack called Medigo Flame that causes
around 2000 damage to everyone. As long as you heal immediately after Corona is
used, you should have no problem taking Mobile Type 8 out, as it has very low HP
(for this stage in the game, anyway).
He's BACK. But don't worry - this is Seifer's last fight against you. First
off, you'll want to have Leviathan's Recover Ability equipped on someone. Why?
Because Seifer has the ultimate Spell in his drawable inventory, Aura, that you
should definitely stock 100 of with everyone. Not only does it Junction very
well, but it enables Limit Breaks no matter what the user's HP! So, just let
Seifer taunt and attack you while you strip him of his Aura - don't worry, your
time will come. When it finally does, let loose on him with physical attacks.
With your three strong characters, he'll fall quickly. By the way, if you have
the semi-GF Odin, he will be killed by Seifer during this battle. But don't
fret - Odin will return as Gilgamesh later in the battle and blow Seifer to hell
and back. Automatic win. ^_^
I know many people will disagree with me on this, but Adel really isn't all that
tough. She's generally tougher than most other Bosses, but nothing special.
The only part that really makes it dangerous to your party is that Adel has
Junctioned Rinoa to herself and absorbs HP from her periodically - and if Rinoa
is depleted of all her HP, it's game over. Rinoa has between 6021-9036 HP.
Start this battle by Drawing Regen from Rinoa and casting it on her, so the
damage done to Rinoa is limited. Also, make sure you have the Recover Ability
equipped on someone. Then, use ONLY physical attacks or SINGLE TARGET Spells on
Adel. Using all-hitter Spells, Summons, or Limit Breaks will most likely kill
off Rinoa. When Adel absorbs HP from Rinoa, cast Recover on Rinoa so you don't
forget later. Adel can use the Spell Ultima on you, but don't worry about it -
it doesn't really hurt that much, and you can just use Curaga or Recover after
it. Anyway, as long as you keep Rinoa alive, you should have no problem
sustaining Adel's attacks and doing double damage to her in return. Just
remember, if Rinoa dies, it's over!
- DISC 4 -
NOTE: The next Boss fights until the Final Boss fights are all optional - you
can challenge Sorceress Ultimecia at any time. However, it is HIGHLY
recommended that you unlock at LEAST the Magic, Item, GF, Limit Break, and Save
Abilities before you do so - but really, you should unlock all of them. But,
it's your choice. Also, it is HIGHLY HIGHLY recommened that you have the
Bahamut Card in your inventory....
NOTE: If you missed any GFs throughout the game, you can Draw them from the
various Bosses in Ultimecia's Castle if you want to.
This first Boss in Ultimecia's Castle should most definitely be your first
target. He's incredibly easy, and with a low 10000 HP, he can EASILY be
defeated with weak physical attacks. Sphinxaur's attacks are very weak (your
whole party should have near a 9999 max HP, or even have it by now), whereas
yours are very strong and will dispose of him quickly. Sphinxaur likes to use
Ice-Elemental Magic, so if you think you need it, Junctions Blizzaga to your
Elemental Defense. Otherwise, kill him and get it over with. I recommend you
unlock the GF Ability.
Tri-Point can be impossible or it can be easier than Sphinxaur. To make it the
latter, Junction 100 Thundagas to everyone's Elemental Defense. Every time you
attack Tri-Point, it will counterattack with a Spell called Mega Spark, that
does high Lightning-Elemental damage to all your characters - but if you're set
to absorb Lightning damage, he can't do much of anything to you! So just beat
Tri-Point down with physical attacks and let him heal you. You'll come out with
no HP lost and an Ability gained (I highly recommend you choose Magic).
Yet another easy Boss. Aren't you lucky? ^_^ But the only way this fight will
be easy if you followed my advice and unlocked either the Magic or GF Ability,
preferably GF, by this point. Krysta has EXTREMELY high defense against
physical attacks, and every time you attack it, it will counterattack for around
3000 damage. Yuck. But Krysta can't counterattack GFs, so just let loose with
any GF but Shiva - Diablos and Cactuar work especially well. Doing this, the
fight will be over in a matter of rounds - Krysta will do nothing to you.
However, as its going away present, it will cast Ultima on you, so know that.
Unlock the Command Abilities.
Boss Fight #32 (Optional)
Name: Trauma
HP: 5555-34114
Location: Ultimecia's Castle, Art Gallery (Disc 4)
Elemental Weakness: Wind
Elemental Strength: None
Elemental Immunity: None
AP Bonus: 30 AP
Items for Winning: Elem Atk (Random)
Draw LV 1-19: Meltdown
Draw LV 20-29: Meltdown
Draw LV 30-100: Meltdown
Difficulty: 2
Sorry, but there's no easy trick for this Boss. ^_~ Fortunately, Trauma isn't
so hard anyway. There are two mini-Traumas, called Dromas, fighting with
Trauma. To take care of them, summon the GF Doomtrain - that will most likely
eliminate the Dromas and weaken Trauma's defenses. Then, really hurt Trauma by
summoning Cactuar and Pandemonium - this will bring him closer to the brink.
Trauma has one notable attack, the Mega Pulse Cannon, that will hit your
characters for around 2000-3000 damage each - just heal after it and it should
be no problem. Finish Trauma off with physical attacks. Unlock the Item
Ability. (Trust me - UNLOCK IT.)
Boss Fight #33 (Optional)
Name: Red Giant
HP: 30000
Location: Ultimecia's Castle, Prison Cell (Disc 4)
Elemental Weakness: None
Elemental Strength: None
Elemental Immunity: None
AP Bonus: 30 AP
Items for Winning: Diamond Armor (Random)
Draw LV 1-19: Demi
Draw LV 20-29: Demi
Draw LV 30-100: Demi
Difficulty: 2
Again, there is no easy trick for defeating Red Giant, but he's pretty easy
anyway. First off, summon Doomtrain - this will blind Red Giant and weaken his
defenses. Normally, Red Giant is nearly invulnerable against physical attacks,
but with his defenses broken, physical attacks will prove to be the best thing
against him. Red Giant has frighteningly strong physical attacks, but with him
blinded, he'll have a really tough time hitting your party. To make him bleed,
pound on him with physical attacks, and, if you'd like, strong GFs like Cactuar,
Shiva, and Bahamut. Red Giant has realtively low HP, so he should go down
quickly. Unlock the Limit Breaks.
All right, good news - there is an easy trick to defeating Gargantua, but it
isn't fool-proof. All right - first, make sure you have the Magic or GF
Abilities unlocked, preferably GF. You'll start this fight battling an ordinary
Vysage monster; just whack all three parts with physical attacks until they die.
Then, Gargantua appears. Here is where you want to start pounding away with
strong GFs like Shiva, Cactuar, and Bahamut - if you use physical attacks,
Gargantua will counterattack with its Counter Twist, which causes around 2000
damage. But, like Krysta, it can't counter GFs. However, Gargantua is smarter
than Krysta, in that it can still use Quake on you (heal after it) and cast
Berserk on individual members, which will MAKE them attack him physically,
leaving him no other choice but to use Counter Twist. Gargantua would actually
be quite hard, except that he has relatively low HP, so he'll die quickly. Just
blast away with those GFs and cast Esuna on anyone Berserked immediately!
Unlock the Draw Ability.
Boss Fight #35 (Optional)
Name: Catoblepas
HP: 10500-60000
Location: Ultimecia's Castle, Treasure Vault (Disc 4)
Elemental Weakness: Earth, Water
Elemental Strength: Thunder
Elemental Immunity: None
AP Bonus: 30 AP
Items for Winning: Status Atk (Random)
Draw LV 1-19: Meteor
Draw LV 20-29: Meteor
Draw LV 30-100: Meteor
Difficulty: 2
Catoblepas isn't difficult, but if you're not prepared, he could be the end of
you. First, Junction 100 Thundagas to everyone's Elemental Defense to protect
from his constant Thundaga Spells. To really cause some damage, you could also
Junction 100 Quakes or 100 Waters to your Elemental Attack, but it's not
necessary. Anyway, start off this fight by summoning Doomtrain to blind and
slow Catoblepas, as well as shatter his defenses. The rest of the fight should
be easy - all you need to do is physically attack him relentlessly and summon
Brothers, Leviathan, Cactuar, and Bahamut if you want to. Catoblepas does have
a lot of HP, so don't expect him to fall quickly. Be warned - this Boss loves
to cast Meteor frequently and that can really hurt your part if you let it.
Just heal after every couple Meteors and you should be fine. Oh, and Catoblepas
casts Meteor one more time as a going-away present. When you win, unlock the
Resurrection Ability.
Boss Fight #36 (Optional)
Name: Tiamat
HP: 21200-89600
Location: Ultimecia's Castle, Clock Tower (Disc 4)
Elemental Weakness: None
Elemental Strength: Fire, Thunder
Elemental Immunity: Wind
AP Bonus: 30 AP
Items for Winning: Status Guard (Random)
Draw LV 1-19: Flare
Draw LV 20-29: Flare
Draw LV 30-100: Flare
Difficulty: 2
Speed is THE most important factor in this battle. Tiamat is a GF turned evil,
due to Ultimecia's influences. It looks and acts a lot like Bahamut, but our
friend Bahamut is much stronger. Anyway, THE first thing to do here is summon
Doomtrain to slow Tiamat (very important here) and weaken its defenses.
Tiamat's ultimate attack, Dark Flare (which can and probably will bring all
party members to their knees) takes a hell of a long time to charge, and slowing
Tiamat will make it take even longer. You need to destroy Tiamat before he can
use Dark Flare. So, to do this, summon Cactuar, Bahamut, and ESPECIALLY Eden -
he can be a life-saver here. But the most important offense here are quick,
strong physical attacks. If you can produce physial attacks of up to 3000
damage or more (I was doing around 6000-7000 by Disc 3), Tiamat will fall before
he can use Dark Flare. But be warned - he does have the most HP of any Boss in
Ultimecia's Castle (sans the final boss). So just hit fast and hard and you
should have no trouble - Tiamat's physical attacks are incredibly weak. Unlock
the final Ability, Save, and Save right outside of the door to Ultimecia. The
final battle awaits!
NOTE: Finally. It's time to confront Ultimecia, face to face. You can do this
the hard way or the easy way. I recommend the easy way. All you need to do to
really prepare for this battle is refine 100 Megalixirs from the Bahamut Card.
Then, MAKE SURE you have the following Abilities on EACH party member - Attack,
Magic, Item, and Draw if you'd like. Make sure your characters' Strength
(especially Squall) is at max (255), or at least very near it. Make sure your
characters' max HP is 9999 or at least near it. Put the 100 Megalixirs at the
front of your inventory for easy access. Have at least 4-5 Meltdown Spells with
each character for easy casting. Have at least 10-20 Aura Spells with each
character. And, it really helps to have Squall's ultimate weapon, the Lion
Heart, so that you can possibly do the Lion Heart Limit Break. It also helps to
have 100 Holy Spells Junctioned to everyone's Elemental Defense. You will not
need GFs in these battles.
I used Squall, Zell, and Rinoa for the Final Boss, but you should use your three
strongest characters, whoever they are.
Here she is - Sorceress Ultimecia. The Edea battle music is back for now, so
enjoy it. Take a deep breath. Relax. And... WHAT?! Why do I have these 3
characters?! Yes - Ultimecia chooses 3 characters out of Squall, Rinoa, Zell,
Quistis, Selphie, and Irvine to battle randomly. You obviously have 3 ultimate
characters and 3 weakling characters, so to remedy this, kill off any weak
characters that enter battle immediately - they will soon be replaced by another
character. Do this until you have your 3 ultimate characters, then begin battle
with Ultimecia. Ultimecia just loves to use Maelstrom, which will do about 6000
damage to everyone - use a Megalixir after each one. She also likes to cast Bio
and Holy, but they're no big deal. Start off by casting Meltdown on Ultimecia -
then, cast Aura on Squall... and, that's it. Watch Squall tear up Ultimecia
with Renzokuken each turn (and if you're lucky, Lion Heart), which should, by
this point in the game, should be doing about 6000-8000 damage with each hit of
Renzokuken, especially with Meltdown. Also, cast Aura on your next strongest
character (probably Zell) - he does wonders with his Duel Limit Break, and can,
with a good round of moves, do more damage than Renzokuken. Always keep your
physically weakest character as your healer - to use a Megalixir after every
strong attack. Also, do NOT hesitate to use a Megalixir with the two Aura-ed
characters - if you need it, you need it. Do not procrastinate in these
battles. Just use a Megalixir after each Maelstrom and tear Ultimecia up with
Limit Breaks, and you will move on to the next battle...
What is this? Griever? Yes. Labeled by Ultimecia as the Ultimate GF, you have
to fight Griever, the spirit inside Squall's ring. He may look ominous, but
with your supply of 100 Megalixirs, he's easy. First, use another Megalixir to
fully heal if you need to. Then, re-cast Meltdown on Griever and use Aura on
your two strongest characters. Then, like with Ultimecia, tear into Griever
with Renzokuken and whatever your other Limit Break is. Griever has mucho
grande HP... but it's nothing compared to the next battle. Scared yet? :)
Anyway, Griever's regular, physical attacks are fairly weak, and he likes to
cast Holy, like Ultimecia. They're nothing to worry about. However, Griever
has one ultimate Spell - Shockwave Pulsar, which does 6000-7000 damage to each
character. Use a Megalixir IMMEDIATELY after he uses it! Griever also likes to
cast Gravija and Doom - again, a Megalixir after these will remedy them.
Overall, Griever isn't TOO tough - just use those Megalixirs. By the way,
Griever has the uncanny ability to blow away a set of 100 Spells that any one
character has; if this set of Spells is one that is Junctioned, there's nothing
you can do about it - just try to cope. Hopefully, he doesn't blow away the
Spell Junctioned to HP or Strength...
And you thought Ultimecia was ugly before. ^_^ Now, Ultimecia has Juntioned
herself with Griever to create an immensely nasty-looking combination - however,
all this is, really, is Griever with refilled and more HP. Ultimecia-Griever
has stronger physical attacks (and still casts Holy), but they're still nothing
to worry about. She does, however, like to cast Tornado and Meteor too this
time, so be wary. The one main Spell to worry about is Ultimecia-Griever's
ultimate Spell, Great Attractor. This hilariously ridiculous (but cool-looking)
Spell looks a lot like Sephiroth's Super Nova Spell from FFVII, but much more
powerful - it does 7000-8000 damage to each character. Use a Megalixir
immediately after it. As always, recast Meltdown and Aura and then slice and
dice Ultimecia-Griever up with Limit Breaks. And yes, Ultimecia-Griever can and
will blow away Spells. It will take awhile and a few Great Attractors, but this
Sorceress-GF will go down. And the world is saved... or is it...?
This is it. The final battle. You now face the truly hideous form of
Ultimecia, and it is one hell of a beast to contend with. The upper part of
Ultimecia is the main part, with 250000+ HP to spare. The lower part, which
appears later in the battle, has less HP, but the most ultimate Spell in the
game: Apocalypse. As always, you want to recast Meltdown (it works even on
Final Ultimecia!), and Aura on your characters, and then start beating her down
with Renzokuken, and, if you're lucky, Lion Heart. But in this battle, you have
to be especially alert and ready with the Megalixirs, because her main Spell -
Hell's Judgement - brings every character down to 1 HP, and she uses it every 3
or 4 turns. :) If you don't cease all attacks IMMEDIATELY and use a Megalixir,
she might follow up with Ultima, and that will be the end. So, use those
Megalixirs. ^_^ Otherwise, Final Ultimecia likes to cast Holy and Flare, which
shouldn't be too threatening - unfortunately, she can still blow away your
Spells, so be careful! Once you've made a good dent in Final Ultimecia's HP
(it'll take awhile), her lower half will appear and become a target. The upper,
main part will then start to Draw and Cast the Ultimate Spell, Apocalypse, from
the lower half, on you, which will result in around 7000-8500 HP of hurt coming
your way. Use a Megalixir after each one. You can use one Renzokuken to take
out the lower half and eliminate Apocalypse, but I never found it necessary
since I had my Megalixirs. Do note that YOUR characters can Draw Apocalypse
from the lower half of the beast and cast it on the upper half for big damage -
however, it's really nothing compared to Renzokuken, so I never bothered.
Anyway, just keep up the pattern of Limit, Megalixir, etc. and you should be all
right. Do know that you'll probably have to recast Aura a few times in this
battle after it wears off. Finally, once Ultimecia starts speaking, she is on
her last leg. You can start using strong physical attacks at this point - each
hit will result in another line of conversation. She will start off with
"Reflect on your... childhood..." and end with "Time will not wait... no matter
how hard you hold on... And..." But remember - just because she's almost done
doesn't mean she'll give up - she tends to cast Hell's Judgement relentlessly
during her final moments in a desparate attempt to finish you off. Keep up with
the Megalixirs. Finally, when she says "And..." deliver the final blow. Watch
Final Ultimecia be destroyed in glorious rays of light and huge explosions. You
have finally defeated her. The world is safe - until Final Fantasy IX...
Congratulations for beating Final Fantasy VIII! Now, enjoy the truly perfect
and enormously amazing ending - split up into in-game graphics and a 15-minute
FMV, along with credits and another short movie, accompanied by a massive
musical score by the genius Nobuo Uematsu - one of the best of any music
composer out there! The ending is truly touching, so don't feel stupid if you
find yourself getting a little misty-eyed. ^_^ I won't spoil it here - you
have to see it for yourself. Thank you for reading this FAQ - I hope it helped
you! Look for more FAQs in the future! See ya!
I'd like to thank the following people and sources for making this FAQ possible:
- BradyGAMES' Official Final Fantasy VIII Strategy Guide for all the Bosses'
Vital Stats
- Cephiroth's Final Fantasy VIII Boss FAQ for Ultimecia, Griever, Griever-
Ultimecia, and Final Ultimecia's HP and Vital Stats
- CJayC, the maintainer of GameFAQs, for creating this epic site
- Square Soft, for making this truly perfect experience. You guys are the best.
^_^
