Final Fantasy VIII Abilities


Command Abilities

Cerberus

Basically, Command Abilities are the options available to you in battle, such as Magic, G.F. and Item. You can only equip 4 commands to each character throughout the entire game, so the best possible setup is essential. There are, however, more commands available other than the usual ones, with some proving quite beneficial during big battles.


Command: | Magic | G.F. | Draw | Item | Card | Death Sentence | Rush | Chiryou |
| Defend | Ankoku | Full Recovery | Absorb | Sosei | Self Explosion |
| Level Down | Level Up | Eat |


Magic Command
G.F's All.
Description Allows the equipped character to cast spells stored in his or her's inventory. Disabled when character is Silenced.
Requirements: N/A
AP: N/A
Use Certainly one of the most useful, and indeed essential, commands, Magic not only lets you reek havoc on the enemy with offensive spells, but you can also restore lost HP and cure status ailments. Make sure you use Cerberus in big battles so you can cast up to 3 spells in one turn (Triple)! To have a good stock of magic, remember to Draw from enemies and Magic Stones as much as possible.


G.F. Command
G.F's All.
Description Allows the equipped character to summon a any Guardian Force that is assigned to them. When summoned, the GF will replace the character in all aspects (HP bar etc) and will be prone to attack. The command is disabled when character is Silenced and you cannot summon a GF when all its HP is lost.
Requirements: N/A
AP: N/A
Use Definitely an essential command to have equipped (unless your suicidal!). Very useful early on in the game especially, but sometimes you can rely too much on them...

Unlike in previous Final Fantasies, summoning a creature to come to your aid takes a variable length of time (depending on character and GF Stats, level etc). When the blue ATB bar has gone, the GF will be summoned.



Draw Command
G.F's All.
Description Allows the equipped character to draw a choice of spells from the enemy and either immediately cast the chosen magic or store it in their inventory for later use. You can draw up to 9 spells of a particular magic (such as 9 Fire 2's). Not only can you draw spells, but in special battles you can draw Guardian Forces, such as Siren from Eviole. Disabled when character is Silenced.
Requirements: N/A
AP: N/A
Use Again, a pretty much essential command to have equipped to at least one character in your party if you want to have a wider collection of magic and Guardian Force's. You can only draw one type of spell per go, but if your character's magic strength is high, you can gain up to 9 spells of that magic. Once you have 100 of a particular magic in the character's inventory, you can no longer draw it.


Item Command
G.F's All.
Description Allows the equipped character to utilise items stored in his or her's item inventory, such as Phoenix Downs, Hi-Potion's etc). Also can be used to summon Phoenix.
Requirements: N/A
AP: N/A
Use Only really useful early on in the game when you need to cure status ailments such as Silence, or restore some HP with a potion. It can be useful for the odd use of a Elixer when you're in trouble with a big boss fight.


Card Command
G.F's Quetzalcoatl.
Description Allows the equipped character to gain a card from the enemy. It has a very low success rate, and only successful if the enemy is low on HP so timing is important. You cannot receive a card from all foe; Fuijin, for example, won't give you a card if you tried all day!
Requirements: N/A
AP: 40
Use Very useful if you're running low on a particular monster card. The best way for a high success-rate is to cast 'Demi' which will reduce the enemy's HP a lot but never kill them. Then try the card command. It takes a lot of attempts before you can gain anything from high level monsters, and you won't gain anything from some. Still available when character is silenced.


Death Sentence Command
G.F's Shiva.
Description Allows the equipped character to cause the 'Instant Death' status; a creature from the underworld appears from the ground and starts the timer at 24 seconds. The enemy's spirit will leave its body when the countdown is complete, and die. Available when character is Silenced.
Requirements: N/A
AP: 60
Use A great command to have when you fight higher HP enemies, but useless against bosses, so equip wisely. While the counter is ticking away, cast 'Blind' so they can't attack. All you have to do is sit and wait!


Rush Command
G.F's Ifrit, Eden.
Description Causes all your characters to automatically go into Haste and Beserk with Sheild and Barrier cast. You are unable to control any of your characters the duration this is in effect.
Requirements: N/A
AP: 60
Use Quite useful when the enemy is low on HP and all your characters are maxed up. Using 'Rush' is better when finishing of high HP enemies, but it can be dangerous if used at the wrong time as you cannot heal your characters because you have no control.


Chiryou Command
G.F's Siren.
Description Allows you to rid a character of all negative status ailments (such as 'Silent').
Requirements: N/A
AP: 100
Use Works in the same way as the item 'Remedy'. It can only remove negative status ailments, but it is still usable when the character is silenced. 'Chiryou' is unavailable when the equipped character is under these status ailments: Beserk, Sleepel, Stop, Petrify and Confu.


Defend Command
G.F's Brothers, Sabotendar.
Description Allows the equipped character to defend from attacks better than he or she would do normally, thus reducing damage.
Requirements: N/A
AP: 100
Use Only really successful against physical attacking enemies, working like the spell 'Barrier'. Personally, I rarely use this command.


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