Doomtrain is a Guardian Force that first appeared in Final Fantasy VIII. It is a Poison-elemental optional summon that inflicts a myriad of status ailments on its opponents. It doesn't learn any stats junctions naturally, but learns comprehensive elemental and status attack and defense junctions, including the useful x4 variations. It is the only GF to learn Auto-Shell naturally and the first GF on the roster to learn +40% versions of SumMag+ and GFHP+ abilities. Its unique abilities let the player remodel weapons from the menu and create "forbidden medicine", such as Elixirs, Megalixirs, Hero-trials and stat-boosting items.
Profile[]
Doomtrain is a demonic train invoking the imagery of ghost trains of folklore. It has a skull-like face and white eyes with red pupils. The parts the train is built of appear organic, resembling bones and fangs. It has a bright light up front and flies through the air on tracks that appear out of nowhere. Doomtrain has an arm in his steam calculator nearby its smokebox. It has a stubby rat-like tail.
Doomtrain resembles, and may have been inspired by, the Phantom Train boss in Final Fantasy VI. Besides the obvious similarities in name and appearance, the two have the same power to inflict many status ailments on their enemies.
Obtained[]
Occult Fan mentions Doomtrain.
The player must have the Solomon Ring and at least 6 Steel Pipes, 6 Remedy+, and 6 Malboro Tentacles. The player can find hints on obtaining Doomtrain in a magazine called Occult Fan. Once all the items have been collected, Doomtrain will join when Solomon's Ring is used in the inventory. The clues to obtaining Doomtrain given in the Occult Fan magazines imply it not only appears at the presence of the items that summon him, but also that it attacks the people/monsters carrying them. However, Doomtrain does not appear as a boss, though another GF summoned from an item does: Diablos.
It is possible to obtain Doomtrain via the Chocobo World minigame, which is available as soon as the player can visit a chocobo forest after Balamb Garden becomes mobile. Solomon Rings, along with the other items required to activate the ring, are possible item drops from this minigame. If the player does not have access to Chocobo World, Doomtrain can be obtained after the party first leaves Esthar City fairly late into the game. Chocobo World is not available with Final Fantasy VIII Remastered.
Solomon's Ring picked up at Tears' Point.
- Solomon Ring is found in Tears' Point on the east of Esthar continent, near the foot of the giant statue. Tears' Point is accessed on foot/car when first leaving Esthar City. Tears' Point becomes inaccessible in the endgame in the original Japanese release, but in other releases remains accessible.
- Steel Pipes can be mugged from Wendigos (enemy fought in forests in Timber region) or refined from Elastoid cards.
- Remedy+ can be obtained by refining 10 Remedies with Alexander's Med LV Up ability (must learn Med Data first).
- Malboro Tentacles are obtained by defeating or mugging Malboros. One can also use Quezacotl's Card Mod to refine a Malboro Tentacle from four Malboro cards.
When the Solomon's Ring is selected in the inventory, Doomtrain will call out:
- You called upon me?
- I am... (at this point the player names the GF)
- I shall become your ally
Obtaining Doomtrain in the versions that support achievements earns the achievement/trophy Doomtrain.
Battle[]
Doomtrain "Runaway Train" FINAL FANTASY VIII Remastered
Doomtrain's attack, Runaway Train, is Poison-elemental and can inflict several abnormal statuses on the enemies: Sleep, Poison, Darkness, Silence, Slow, Stop, Berserk, Confuse, Doom, Petrifying, and Vit 0.
Doomtrain's summon time is 22.9s, which, according to the Final Fantasy VIII Ultimania, allows the player to boost its damage to around 240% of normal damage using a regular PlayStation controller.
Its damage is calculated as follows:[1]
Elemental Defense starts at 800 (0%), 900 nullifies damage and 1000 absorbs it. If an enemy is shown to be weak against an element, its Elemental Defense is below 800. If damage becomes negative (due to high Elemental Defense), the target is healed by that amount.
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 status spells in Doomtrain's case) and by summoning the GF during battle. Compatibility is reduced by using "opposing" magic to the GF's element and other summons. The GF who acts as Doomtrain's opposite and deducts the most points from its compatibility is Alexander.
| Compatibility Chart | ||
|---|---|---|
| Summon Effect | Doomtrain +20, Alexander -10, Every other GF -1.6 | |
| Compatibility Items | Poison Powder +1.6 (-0.8 for others), Venom Fang +3.2 (-1.6 for others), LuvLuv G +20.2 | |
| Casting Magic | Berserk +1, Blind +1, Bio +1, Break +1, Confuse +1, Death +1, Silence +1, Sleep +1, Slow +1, Stop +1, Zombie +1, Apocalypse +0.2, Ultima +0.2, Holy -2 | |
The below values are the base compatibility values with all playable characters at the start of the game. Although Seifer cannot junction Doomtrain in a normal playthrough, a default value still exists for his compatibility.
| Party member | Compatibility |
|---|---|
| Squall | 540 |
| Quistis | 520 |
| Zell | 520 |
| Selphie | 580 |
| Rinoa | 600 |
| Irvine | 510 |
| Seifer | 260 |
| Edea | 720 |
Stats[]
The Final Fantasy VIII Ultimania incorrectly shows Bahamut's Attack Power as Doomtrain's and vice versa. The following table represents the correct figures:
| Level | HP | Attack Power |
|---|---|---|
| 28 | 2,521 | 961 |
| 30 | 2,686 | 1,288 |
| 40 | 3,514 | 1,614 |
| 50 | 4,350 | 1,940 |
| 60 | 5,194 | 2,266 |
| 70 | 6,046 | 2,593 |
| 80 | 6,906 | 2,919 |
| 90 | 7,774 | 3,245 |
| 100 | 8,650 | 3,571 |
Abilities[]
Abilities learned naturally by Doomtrain are listed below:
| Ability | AP | Prerequisite |
|---|---|---|
 Elem-Atk-J
|
(Already learned) | |
| ST-Atk-J
|
(Already learned) | |
| Elem-Def-Jx4
|
180 | None |
| ST-Def-Jx4
|
180 | None |
 Magic
|
(Already learned) | |
| GF
|
(Already learned) | |
| Draw
|
(Already learned) | |
| Item
|
(Already learned) | |
| Darkside
|
100 | None |
| Absorb
|
80 | None |
 Auto-Shell
|
250 | None |
| Ability | AP | Prerequisite |
|---|---|---|
 SumMag+10%
|
40 | None |
| SumMag+20%
|
70 | SumMag+10% |
| SumMag+30%
|
140 | SumMag+20% |
| SumMag+40%
|
200 | SumMag+30% |
| GFHP+10%
|
40 | None |
| GFHP+20%
|
70 | GFHP+10% |
| GFHP+30%
|
140 | GFHP+20% |
| GFHP+40%
|
200 | GFHP+30% |
| Boost
|
10 | None |
 Junk Shop
|
(Already learned) | |
| Forbid Med-RF
|
200 | None |
Triple Triad[]
Doomtrain is a poison-elemental Level 9 GF Card in Triple Triad used for playing the minigame and for turning into 3 Status Guards with Quezacotl's Card Mod. It has one of the best value placements in the game with two As in a corner formation. Doomtrain is part of the Queen of Cards sidequest and is won from pub owner in Timber after losing the Alexander card to her and talking to her in Dollet so Doomtrain card can appear in Timber. Doomtrain card is one of the more arduous cards to obtain, and is also used to progress the Queen of Cards sidequest to its final step.
Other apperances[]
Final Fantasy Record Keeper[]
The GF Doomtrain appears as part of Quistis Trepe's "Doomtrain" Overstrike Soul Break, which is learned from the Malboro Tentacle. It deals poison and non-elemental damage equal to 39.6 times the base magic damage, and, being an Overstrike Soul Breaks, is capable of breaking the damage limit. Additionally it has a 15% chance each of causing Poison, Silence, Confuse, and Blind.
Behind the scenes[]
The requirements for obtaining Doomtrain, having 6 Malboro Tentacles, 6 Steel Pipes, and 6 Remedy+ are a reference to the number of the beast, a number in Christian theology associated with the end times.
Doomtrain's ability to cause a myriad of status ailments and its demonic portrayal may stem from late 19th century superstitions about locomotives within Victorian Era Great Britain and Japan, in where riding or being closely around running trains by the tracks could cause anguish known as locomotive derangement, and to where machines were sometimes viewed with ominous airs or tools of demonic origin.
Gallery[]
Etymology[]
Doomtrain's Japanese name is Glasya-Labolas. In demonology, Glasya-Labolas is derived from one of Goetia's demons, the mighty President of Hell who commands thirty-six legions of demons. He is depicted as a dog with the wings of a griffin. He is mentioned in the 17th century Grimoire, The Lesser Key of Solomon.
Doomtrain is obtained from Solomon's Ring. In Medieval Jewish, Christian and Islamic legends, the Seal of Solomon was a magical signet ring said to have been possessed by King Solomon, which variously gave him the power to command demons, genies, or to speak with animals.
Doomtrain is called Helltrain in French and Spanish and Kharonte in Italian.
In the debug menu, accessible only via a cheat device, a menu refers to Doomtrain as "Death Express". This may have been Doomtrain's intended name, but it was over the character limit—likewise, Pandemona is referred to as "Pandemonium". In the French language localisation, its attack is called "Death Express".
In the Japanese version of the Debug Room, Doomtrain's name is Devil Thomas (デビルトーマス, Debiru Tōmasu?). This is a reference to the fictional steam locomotive Thomas the Tank Engine.