FFVIII – Part 49: Finals Week (7-10)

Summary: The next four tests. I get excited about scaling.


Let’s do some more SeeD tests.

Test #6

…Wow. That was unexpected. Got 100% on this test the first try. First time I’ve done that. Woohoo! There just weren’t any especially tough questions.

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Test #7

#1) “Evade indicates how well you can evade physical attacks. Higher Eva stat reduces hits from physical attacks.” Another questions that I think is badly worded. Evade reduces the number of hits from physics attacks but doesn’t reduce the effectiveness of the hits that land. I’ll hope they’re talking about the first meaning and go with “yes.” – “YES.” Tried changing the answer to no and went down.

#7) “Spirit only relates to using Confuse. Higher Spr stat increases the likelihood of success when using Confuse.” Before seeing this question, I would’ve been 100% certain that Magic was the only stat that governed a spell’s effectiveness, including Confuse.

I still think that’s the case but will check this if I get the test wrong. – “NO.” Tried changing the answer to yes and went down.

#8) “A Geezard drops many screws.” No clue. Yes? – “YES.”

#9) “Enemies level up as you do.” You know, I was wondering about this as I went through the Training Center most recently. The Grats were hitting much harder than I remember at level 1. And my lowbie Squall survived a few T-Rex hits before dying, but the T-Rex did huge damage when I went there during the Master/Cid skirmish.

Could this be? Could FFVIII use scaling enemies? Oh my God, this would be the best thing. I’m an MMO fan, and scaling enemies is my holy grail. It opens up so much content to staying fresh and not feeling like a massacre or a slog. Rift did sort of okayish, and I keep hoping WoW will implement it. (They are in the next expansion, but I want it retroactively.)

If FFVIII does this, then I give a standing ovation. I also hope it carries over to future games.

Long story short, I’ll say “yes” for this question and desperately hope I’m right. --- “YES!” YES YES YES YES YES YES YES.

#10) “You encounter fewer enemies on the world map if you walk instead of run.” I really, really hope the answer is “no.” What a goofy thing to incentivize if the answer is yes. – “NO.” Phew.

-8/10. Two questions wrong.

#3) “Squall’s finishing blow is different depending on the type of gunblade he uses.” I initially was certain it was “no,” that he always got Renzokuken, but apparently it’s yes. Now I’m really excited to upgrade him from the starting weapon… oh, wait! This probably means “Rough Divide.” I’ll bet if I upgrade his weapon, Renzokuken stays but “Rough Divide” gets replaced.

#5) “Only one rare card exists in the entire world.” I put no because I have to imagine stuff like Quistis and MiniMog all count as rare. – “YES.” How is this possible? I have multiple rare cards. Or does the game mean that there’s only one OF EACH rare card in the world?

Question #5 was the last hurdle. 10/10.

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Test #8

#1) “Galbadian Soldiers don’t use magic.” Saying yes because I could swear I remember seeing them use magic before. Or maybe that was their officers? -- “YES.” They can use magic.

#4) “Casting Slow over Haste will cancel Haste and return the target’s status to normal.” I doubt it. I think it’d change the status from hasted to slowed, not cancel it out, but not sure. – “NO.” I was right.

#10) “Junk shops sell weapons.” Sort of? I think they sell weapon upgrades, but not the weapons themselves. They’re more upgrade/repair places than vendors. – “NO.” I was right on this too.

-9/10 on the first try. Nice!

-Tried changing all three of those answers, but nothing. There’s one more question though that I was sure of and am now rethinking:

#5) “You encounter more enemies in the forest than the plains on the world map.” I was sure it was “no,” but maybe I’m wrong. That’d be a bit weird… -- …but true! “YES” was the answer, and it pushed me to 10/10.

Good to know. If I ever want to get into a lot of fights, head to a forest. And a shortcut through the forest on the world map may not actually be a shortcut.

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Test #9

#3) “Magic listed in Selphie’s limit break is magic she owns.” Putting this down as uncertain because I just haven’t used her limit break that often, but I think the answer is no. – “NO.”

#4) “If a GF is hardly used, or has low compatibility with party members, it may leave your party.” LOLOLOL THAT WOULD SUCK SO MUCH. I have to say “no,” as long as I don’t get Shadow from FFVI as a GF. – “NO.” Compatibility just impacts cast time.

#6) “GF left KO’d too long perish and cannot be revived.” Damn, game. What’s with all the doom and gloom around GF permadeath on this test? Saying no again, and praying I’m right. – “NO.” Phew. Right again.

#7) “1 Sharp Spike refines into 5 AP Ammo.” No clue. Pure guessing. I’ll start with “yes.” – “NO.” Changed the answer and went up. Ok.

-7/10 to start with.

[Non-rhetorical question for y’all: While scrolling through the tutorial info, I found a piece of info in the cards that I don’t quite get:

What does the “Monster: T-Rexaur, Grat” mean at the bottom of this card? Does that mean that if I “Card” those monsters, I would get a “Shumi Tribe” card instead of a T-Rexaur/Grat card?]

#1) “You can cast the GF you drew instead of stock.” I misread this question at first, thinking it was just talking about magic. The answer must be no, since I didn’t have the option to “cast” Leviathan from NORG instead of stocking him.

Another one I assumed and may be wrong about:

#9) “Enemies change attack patterns as you level up.” I assumed the answer was no, and would be over the moon to have been wrong… YES!!

Changing that answer pushed me to 10/10. You have no idea how happy I am about that. It’s a small change, but it’s something that keeps thing fresher. A corollary to my delight in enemies leveling with you.

-SeeD rank is now 12. Let’s try one more test this session.

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Test #10

#2) “A potion restores 100 HP.” I think it’s 200 HP, but may be wrong. Check if I don’t pass the test. – “NO.” Correct.

#5) “You are more susceptible to fire under Zombie.” It’s not in the entry, but my experience a few tests ago learning that Zombies are vulnerable to Holy makes me think more broadly. Zombies are undead, undead are weak to fire, so I’ll say “yes.” – “NO.” Turns out I was wrong, and it’s just holy.

This begs the question – are undead actually more susceptible to fire in this game, or was that a false assumption?

#6) “You can refine 1 Tent from 1 Healing Water by using the Menu Ability Tool-RF.” Not sure, but probably. I mostly included this question because the image of being able to convert healing water into a tent made me smile. – “NO.” 1 Healing Water converts to 2 Tents, not 1. I was always bad at chemistry.

Btw, some of the questions on this test are… strange.

Go home, Test #10. You’re drunk.

#10) “Nothing removes Sleep.” I’ll say no, since I’ll bet using a physical attack on a sleeping target removes it. – “NO.” Correct. On this note, A nice change in the FF series is about Stop. I seem to remember in prior games that Stop was like this, where death was the only thing that removed it. Even in FFVIII that’s no longer the case though, and even Stop can be removed by things like Esuna or Treatment or just the passage of time.

-8/10 to start with. After the corrections noted with different questions about, went to 10/10. Woohoo!

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Next time: One final group of tests, then moving on.