Malboro (Final Fantasy VIII)

Malboro is a monster in Final Fantasy VIII.

More often than not the Malboro will begin the fight with Bad Breath, which can hinder the party greatly if they have no effective status defenses. Other attacks include Eerie Sound Wave, which affects all party members, and Dissolving Acid, which will cause 37.5% of current HP loss to a party member.

The key item gained from the Malboro are its Tentacles, which are used not only to teach Quistis the Bad Breath skill, but also to acquire the Doomtrain GF and for several weapon upgrades.

Among the best defenses against a Malboro, when a character has equipped a GF with the StatDefx4 ability, is junctioning Pain, Confuse, Berserk, and Sleep. Using these will negate nearly all the Malboro's status abnormalities, leaving only Slow and Slow Petrify.

Strategy

 * Equipping a character with Initiative will ensure that character has a turn before the Malboro can use it's Bad Breath. Having Quistis in critical status and ready with Degenerator, will instantly defeat any Malboro. Malboros never appear in a group, only alone. Alternatively, have all characters with Initiative and use Meltdown followed by Squall's Renzokuken. If the party is at a low level, the player may wish to use the Tonberry GF's Level Up ability to ensure a better chance of Malboro Tentacle drops. The earliest it is possible to encounter a Malboro is in Esthar's Grandidi Forest area, which may be reached via Chocobo.