Eyes on Final Fantasy Forums > Final Fantasy: The Quickening > Final Fantasy VIII > Just fired up VIII again, some tips to keep in mind?

[Doomie]

Listen, you won't be able to beat X-ATM092 just anywhere. What you have to do is run away until you're on the bridge. It's the only place it can actually be killed, and only then can you kill it. I would suggest using Quezacotl, and Junctioning Thunder to Atk-Elem-J. Attack with the rest.

[Setharion]

My last main question guys...is the card aspect really that imporant? I mean if i dont do it this time through , will i be missing out on a ton or is it moreso just for the enjoyment of a mini game?

Im just lookin at card walkthrus and they are just so huge, a bit overwhelming.

[Doomie]

They are not necessary to the game. However, playing cards will make it much easier to get your High-Level Magics like Thundaga. It'll also net you some great abilities that I stated before, like Auto-Haste. Yes, it's fun. No, it's not necessary. I would still suggest doing it, though.

[Setharion]

Well i restarted my game and heres what ive done...i know alot are against leveling up but eh i dont mind a bit of a harder game but i leveled a bit to get the APs and get my GFs up a bit, am i on the right track so far with GF abilities?

After the fire cave i came out and worked on it a bit, i got the 3 GFs refine abilities, Card, Card Mod, Ifrits element attack j and str +20%, Shivas attack junction, and all of them have boost. I also did it too get tons of fish fins for refining water strength.

Plus picked up a few enemy cards here. Hows that lookin for a start?

Going to move on now though, but wanted to get some of these ones you guys suggested.

[Mirage]

Originally Posted by boys from the dwarf ^

please. no one argue or disagree with my point here because its entirely my opinion and i know it has its flaws.

i advise leveling up to level 100 because you will have around 4,000hp with no junctions which means, by junctioning and using HP+20%, 40% and 80% you can easily reach 9999HP.

focus on squalls strength more than anyone elses because of his trigger that makes his attacks more powerful than anyone elses.

also, always check what magic bosses has because they often have rare magic like full-life which is one of the best spells for junctioning on the game and also they have GFs sometimes.

The point is to not do this until you have stat bonus at levelup abilities.

[Setharion]

I know there are card FAQs and what not...but can someone give me a brief explaination of the card game, because its just confusing the crap out of me.

I play tons of cards in real life, so is there a game that this kind of follows after to make it easier to grasp?

[Mirage]

Uh.

These are the basic rules:
You place your cards on a 3x3 grid. The 4 numbers on your card correspond to the 4 sides of the card. If you place a card to the left of another card, and the right side of that card is stronger than the left side of the card you place it next to, you will flip over that card. The winner is the person who has flipped over the most cards when all 9 cards has been placed.

When you travel the world, you will bring with you rules from region to region. When you travel to Trabia, they will want to mix their rules with your Balamb rules, and eventually abolish one of their rules, or pick up one of the Balamb rules. It is good to avoid spreading a few rules, such as the Random rule, which prevents you from selecting the cards yourself at the beginning of the match.

Furthermore, there are some advanced rules.
Same: If you put down a card next to two other cards, and the numbers for both are the same, you'll flip both. For example, if you lay a card that has 8 on its left side next to a card that has 8 on its right side, and at the same time your bottom side is 6, and the card right under you has 6 on its upper side, the Same rule will make you flip both cards.

Plus:
This one works in the same was as Same, except it checks if the sum of your opponents side is the same for two different sides. For example, if your left side is 4 and your opponents right side is 6, at the same time as your right side is 6, and the opponents card on that side is 4, you will flip both cards, because the sum of both is 10.

Same Wall:
With this rule, the borders of the playing grid counts as A (ace), and works like the Same rule. Example: Your card has an A at the right side, and the right side is put near a wall. If your left side has an 8, and the opponents card on that side also is an 8, you will flip the card.

Combos: If you flip a card using one of these 3 rules, the game will treat the flipped cards as if they were just placed on the grid again, and flip all cards that it is stronger than.

Trade rules:
There are various card trading rules.
One: The winner gets to choose one card from the opponents playing deck.
All: The winner gets all the opponents 5 cards.
Difference: You get to choose a number of card equal to how much the winner won by. If the winner won by two points, he gets to choose two cards, etc.
Direct: You get the exact cards you flipped over, and the opponent gets the exact cards he/she flipped over. This one sucks, because even if you win by 8-2, you might be unlucky and lose one of your good cards, while you get 4 poor cards from the opponent.

Personally, I prefer the All rule, as I never lose, and if I do, I reset.

[Setharion]

Cool thanks...i actually had just figured out the card game earlier today before i read that heh, but thanks for replying.

My only issue now i believe is just getting some chars caught up in level...am i able at some point to pull squall from the lineup and let others fight instead of him so that he can take a rest a bit?

I been trying not to go too crazy, mainly was carding enemies to get AP...but hes about lvl 14 and the others are 11, 10 and 9.

I been plowing through it all so far though, but i just hate having a huge span between levels like that.