Current Events > Someone remind me how FF8's junction system worked

(+) Yeah! (+)

Downloading it again on my PS3 in preparation of the re-release on something modern

I'm pretty sure I have repressed memories of playing it because 15 year old me was pissed at how it played

And didn't enemies level up with you? Fuck me maybe I was right to repress it
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So basically, you draw magic from monsters or cards or social locations. GFs had stats you could then assign magic in to. Threye stack size and type of magic (usually with regard to the stat it's being assigned to) would then boost that stat. So like, for vitality (HP), healing spells like curaga and regen would give a huge boost to your HP stat, especially if you had a stack of 99. Then ones like ultima, those gave a huge boost even in a small stack. However, since the size of your stack decreases if you use a spell in combat, you'll either want to not use magic, or if you do it's only spells like meltdown where you used it once in a boss battle to debuff the boss and that's it, and you'd junction it to a stat that won't make a huge difference if you lost a point or two from using the spell mid fight.

Enemies level with you and even change the spawn tables as you go. For instance, only above a certain level range can you hope to encounter a specific enemy with one of Questis' blue magic spells. Due to this, it actually makes it so that you would ideally not level up your characters at all, or at least not unless you messed up and gave the GF with the no encounters skill to a party member who is about to be removed from the group for a bit. The hardest enemy in the game is slightly more manageable if you don't level up.

I forget the exact equation but it basically averaged your 3 highest leveled party members.
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ff8 junction

whats your function
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It didn't work.

At all.

It was bad.
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Draw as much magic as you want out of someone.

Each type of magic increases your stats when you junction them to a stack. That increase depends on the amount of casts you have for that magic, what the magic is, and if it is good for that stat.

Fire, Fira, Firaga work better to raise the Magic stat than would something like Shell, for example.
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Equip spells to stats. That's all there is to junction. Magic determines how many spells you can draw, so keep something good junctioned there. After getting to the world map, head to the beach. You can draw sleep from the monsters there and 100 sleep gives +12 to magic. After that you should get 9 of every time you draw for a while at least.

Yes enemies level with you, but you can avoid gaining unwanted exp by learning the card ability. Enemies defeated with card still give AP but no EXP.

Oh God

I forgot about the card game

Didn't that game affect your stats too

What the fuck were they thinking

That's like playing Witcher 3 and being forced to learn Gwent
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You don't have to play the card game. It just lets you get high level magic early and break the game.