Diablos (Final Fantasy VIII)

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Diablos
(ディアボロス, Diaborosu?)
Portrait(s)
Specifications
Element	Gravity
Summon abilities	Dark Messenger
Taught abilities	HP-J, Mag-J, Hit-J, Ability x3, Elem-Def-Jx2 Magic, GF, Draw, Item, Darkside HP+20%, HP+40%, HP+80%, Mag+20%, Mag+40%, Mug, Enc-Half, Enc-None, GFHP+10%, GFHP+20%, GFHP+30% Time Mag-RF, ST Mag-RF
Behind the scenes information
Designer(s)	Tetsuya Nomura
More information
Boss Recurring appearance

Who dares disturb my sleep?

Diablos

Diablos is an optional boss who becomes a Guardian Force upon defeat in Final Fantasy VIII. Diablos is the fifth available Guardian Force, but listed as the sixth GF in the menu. It is a demonic Gravity-based Guardian Force who deals fractional damage to opponents depending on its level.

Diablos learns HP-J, Mag-J and Hit-J junctions, being among the few GFs to learn the latter. It learns HP and Magic boosting support abilities and Mug, which lets one steal items from opponents with the Attack command. Its unique abilities reduce the frequency of random encounters and refine time/space and status magic from items. Because Diablos's attack power is determined differently from most GFs', it doesn't learn SumMag+ abilities or Boost.

Profile

Diablos is a red-and-black Guardian Force that resembles depictions of the devil. It has bat wings and a long devil's tail. It is muscular, and has horns and claws. It always hovers using its wings for flight.

Obtained

Cid gives the Magical Lamp.

Diablos resides within the Magical Lamp, an item received from Headmaster Cid when the party first sets upon their mission for Timber. Upon using the lamp in the menu the screen will dissolve and the player will fight Diablos. Should the player lose, the game ends in a Game Over; the item's description advises the player to save their game before using the lamp. It is advisable to defeat Diablos just after receiving the lamp. If careless, the player can lose the chance to obtain the Diablos GF by selling the Magical Lamp, or by missing the scene where Cid gives the Magical Lamp to Squall in the first place (possible if the player heads back to the Garden rather than toward the gate after the mission briefing without talking to Cid).

Obtaining Diablos in the Steam version earns the player the achievement Diablos.

Battle

Diablos "Dark Messenger" from FINAL FANTASY VIII Remastered

Diablos's summon attack is Dark Messenger that deals damage in relation to the enemies' maximum HP via a percentage equal to Diablos's level range {e.g. 10-19, 30-39} (with a set damage limit at 9,999).

$Damage = TargetMaxHP * Level / 100$

Diablos can kill the opponent in contrast with other Gravity-based attacks, meaning, at level 100, it will kill any foe with 9,999 HP or less. If Diablos is below level 10, its attack will deal 9% of enemies' maximum health in damage. Diablos is especially useful against enemies with high defense, such as Tonberries and Adamantoises.

Dark Messenger won't work on most bosses, as most are immune to Gravity. Because Diablos's damage is calculated differently from all other Guardian Forces' he cannot be boosted, and though he can learn SumMag+% abilities via items, they have no effect on his attack power.

Compatibility

The charge time for summoning depends on the compatibility between the character and the GF and the Battle Speed. The greater the compatibility, the less time it takes to summon. Compatibility can be boosted with compatibility boosting items, by casting magic that is the same element as the Guardian Force (or in Diablos's case, gravity and forbidden magic), and by summoning the GF during battle. Compatibility is reduced by using "opposing" magic to the GF's element and other summons. Diablos is unique in not having an "opposite" Guardian Force whose summoning would deplete its compatibility the most.

Compatibility Chart
Summon Effect	Diablos +20, Every other GF -1.6
Compatibility Items	Steel Orb +3.2, LuvLuv G +20.2
Casting Magic	Demi +2, Apocalypse +0.2, Flare +0.2, Meteor +0.2, Ultima +0.2, Esuna -0.2, Protect -0.2, Dispel -0.4, Shell -0.4, Reflect -0.6

The below values are the base compatibility values with all playable characters at the start of the game. Although Seifer cannot junction Diablos in a normal playthrough, a default compatibility value still exists for him.

Party member	Compatibility
Squall	660
Quistis	600
Zell	580
Selphie	610
Rinoa	620
Irvine	610
Seifer	380
Edea	690

Stats

The following table represents the base stats:

Level	HP	Attack Power
9	730	9% of targets' max HP.
10	784	10% of targets' max HP.
20	1,326	20% of targets' max HP.
30	1,876	30% of targets' max HP.
40	2,434	40% of targets' max HP.
50	3,000	50% of targets' max HP.
60	3,574	60% of targets' max HP.
70	4,156	70% of targets' max HP.
80	4,746	80% of targets' max HP.
90	5,334	90% of targets' max HP.
100	5,950	100% of target's max HP.

Abilities

Abilities learned naturally by Diablos are listed below:

Ability	AP	Prerequisite
HP-J	50	None
Mag-J	(Already learned)
Hit-J	120	None
Ability x3	(Already learned)
Magic	(Already learned)
GF	(Already learned)
Draw	(Already learned)
Item	(Already learned)
Darkside	100	None

Ability	AP	Prerequisite
Mag+20%	60	None
Mag+40%	120	Mag+20%
Mug	200	None
Enc-Half	30	None
Enc-None	100	Enc-Half
GFHP+10%	40	None
GFHP+20%	70	GF HP+10%
GFHP+30%	140	GF HP+20%
HP+20%	60	HP-J
HP+40%	120	HP+20%
HP+80%	240	HP+40%
ST Mag-RF	30	None
Time Mag-RF	30	None

Diablos's ST Mag-RF skill is an integral part of the more casual of low level challenges, as it is the earliest possible source of the Break magic that allows GFs to gain AP while keeping characters low level.

Boss

Diablos in battle.

Main article: Diablos (Final Fantasy VIII boss)

Diablos is an optional boss summoned into battle by using the Magical Lamp. Upon using the lamp in the inventory, the current party is transported to an alternate dimension where Diablos is fought. Diablos can be fought with either Squall's or Laguna's party, as the Magical Lamp may be used at any point in the game. Though Diablos is a Gravity-based enemy, he himself is vulnerable to Gravity. It mainly attacks with Gravity-based attacks, and while they do a high damage, they cannot kill the party. If the party fights Diablos when it is LV30+, they can draw good magic from it.

Triple Triad

Main article: Diablos (Final Fantasy VIII card)

Diablos is a Level 9 GF Card in Triple Triad card used for playing the minigame and for turning into 100 Black Holes. It drops from Diablos when it is fought as a boss inside the magic lamp.

Gallery

Artwork by Tetsuya Nomura.

Diablos.

Dark Messenger.

Dark Messenger.

Dark Messenger.

Various symbols used during Diablos's summon animation.

Transcendent Artists Collection: Final Fantasy VIII statue.

Statue by Kotobukiya.

Etymology

[view · edit · purge]Diabolos is the Greek word for "devil". It has entered many languages to mean devil, such as Diabolus (Latin), Diavolo (Italian), Diablo (Spanish), Diable (French), and Diabo (Portuguese). Diabolos actually means "accuser" or "slanderer" and could also be connected to the Greek word diabolous, which means "divider" (which befits Diabolos's affinity with the gravity element in the Final Fantasy series), but eventually the general word Diabolos became the specific name of the entity. In the original Greek rendering, it was used to refer to the Christian Devil (The New Testament was written in Greek). Devil is the English translation of Diabolos and in Christian belief, this being is the embodiment of evil.

The concept of the Devil is believed to originate in Zoroastrianism with Angra Mainyu (also known as Ahriman) as well as from the Judaic Satan in the Book of Job in the Old Testament. Their Satan was merely the "devil's advocate", an angel who acted as a skeptic and whom God allowed to afflict Job with suffering. Satan is Hebrew for "prosecutor/accuser" or "adversary".

The concept of the summon Diabolos in Final Fantasy may be connected to the Jinn in Islamic mythology, similar to Ifrit. The djinn were the origins of genie myths and were spirits or ghosts made of fire or smoke. They were said to grant wishes.