Junctions Magic to Magic
Description
Mag-J is a junction ability in Final Fantasy VIII. When a party member junctions a Guardian Force that has Mag-J mastered, they can raise their Magic Power by equipping spells from their current Magic inventory to this stat in the junction menu. Magic Power determines damage/healing done with spells and other magical abilities, bar summons.
Obtained[]
The GFs Quezacotl, Siren, Diablos, Carbuncle, Leviathan, and Cerberus learn Mag-J natively for 50 AP. It can also be taught to any GF AP-free with the Mag-J Scroll item, easiest obtained by purchasing it from the Timber and Esthar City pet shops with the Familiar ability in effect from the GF Tonberry.
Mechanics[]
Mag-J allows the character equipping a GF who knows the ability to junction spells to their Magic stat; this value is where Magic+% abilities calculate their increase. Any spell can be junctioned to Mag-J, but different spells offer variable increases. The best spells for Mag-J are the ultimate tier offensive spells as well as Triple.
The following spell list is from worst to best for Mag-J; effect on Magic Power per single spell. The maximum is 100 spells to one stat, and each spell can be junctioned to one stat at a time (exception, see junction glitch); if the player wants to equip a spell to another stat, it will be unequipped from the current -J ability. When using a draw point, if the offered spell is currently being junctioned to an active party member's stat, it will show a symbol next to it when choosing the recipient upon using the draw point. Maximum Magic is 255.
| Spells | Effect |
|---|---|
| Cure | Mag +0.04 |
| Scan | Mag +0.05 |
| Cura / Float | Mag +0.08 |
| Fire / Blizzard / Thunder / Protect / Shell / Life | Mag +0.10 |
| Blind / Silence / Sleep / Esuna | Mag +0.12 |
| Berserk | Mag +0.14 |
| Fira / Blizzara / Thundara / Zombie | Mag +0.15 |
| Aero / Dispel | Mag +0.16 |
| Regen / Double / Water | Mag +0.18 |
| Curaga / Full-life / Haste / Slow / Drain / Meltdown / Reflect | Mag +0.20 |
| Bio / Aura | Mag +0.24 |
| Confuse | Mag +0.28 |
| Firaga / Blizzaga / Thundaga / Stop | Mag +0.30 |
| Break | Mag +0.34 |
| Demi | Mag +0.36 |
| Death | Mag +0.38 |
| Quake | Mag +0.40 |
| Tornado | Mag +0.42 |
| Flare | Mag +0.44 |
| Holy | Mag +0.45 |
| Meteor | Mag +0.52 |
| Pain | Mag +0.60 |
| Triple | Mag +0.70 |
| Apocalypse[note 1] | Mag +0.80 |
| Ultima | Mag +1.00 |
- ↑ Cannot be junctioned in a normal playthrough
Use[]
Mag-J is an important ability to have, as without it, the character is left with their base Mag that only grows slightly per level up and is unaffected by weapon upgrades. With Mag Bonus, the player can grind their character's Magic more when leveling up, but this is inferior to using Mag-J and Mag+% abilities. In the beginning of the game, Quezacotl can learn Mag-J, and the player can get two more from Diablos and Siren if recruiting them at the earliest opportunity from the boss at the top of Dollet tower and from getting the Magical Lamp from Headmaster Cid at the Timber mission briefing at the Balamb Garden gates.
Mag-J is especially good on characters whose Limit Breaks use Magic stat to calculate damage: Selphie, Quistis (bar Gatling Gun), and Rinoa's Wishing Star and Angel Wing. In the beginning of the game, the player should allocate Quezacotl to Quistis and Selphie to make the most of their Limit Breaks. Lategame, having good Magic junctions is especially beneficial for Quistis as her Shockwave Pulsar can do extreme damage that break the damage limit, and Rinoa for "Meteor Wing".
An easy way to raise Magic early is to teach Card Mod to Quezacotl and ST Mag-RF to Diablos, and play Triple Triad against NPCs and always pick Tri-Face cards when possible, turning them into Curse Spikes and then into Pain spells. Diablos's Time Mag-RF also makes Quakes from Dino Bones and Quezacotl's T Mag-RF makes Tornados from Windmills, though these are not quite as powerful as Pain when junctioned to Mag-J (the player may prefer Pains in ST-Atk-J or ST-Def-J over Mag-J).
The maximum damage done by any normal spell attack is 9999, and so if the player can reach it before 255 Magic, any further increase is "wasted". With Vit 0 the player can erode enemies' resistances to damage, but it is likely still worth prioritizing Magic junctions above most other stats, especially for the female party members. The player has access to many multi-hit spell attacks, where having high Magic stat helps increase every individual hit's damage, such as Selphie's multi-cast Slot, Rinoa's Wishing Star and "Meteor Wing", and triple-casting spells.