Protect is a status in Final Fantasy VIII. Targets under this effect have physical type damage inflicted upon them halved. The effect lasts approximately 32 seconds without Haste/Slow/Stop. Upon wearing off, a message will be displayed at the top of the screen. When the target is struck by a Physical attack, a steep concave blue light shield manifests. Protect stacks with Zombie's halving of physical damage, taking quarter damage under both effects.
Abilities[]
| Ability | Auto-Protect, Mad Rush |
|---|---|
| Item | Protect Stone |
| Limit Break | Mighty Guard (Blue Magic), Wall (Slot) |
| Spell | Protect (Magic, Slot) |
Enemy abilities[]
| Ability | Description | Enemy |
|---|---|---|
| Mighty Guard | Grants Protect and Shell to user (all allies when used by Behemoth). Used when HP is below 50%. Can be learned as a Blue Magic. | Behemoth, Iron Giant |
| Protect | Grants Protect to one target. | Abyss Worm, Adamantoise, Base Leader, Edea (1st), Elastoid, Elite Soldier, Gesper, NORG, Vysage |
Removal[]
Protect is removed with Dispel. Protect from Auto-Protect cannot be removed. Protect is also lost if the target is petrified or KO'd. Protect cannot be applied if the target has Invincible.
Use[]
Protect halves physical damage received, and stacks with the halving effect from Zombie as well. It is overall useful, and best used with Auto-Protect, though Auto-Shell may be more useful as the toughest enemies' strongest attacks tend to be magical, such as in superboss battles and in the final battles.
Instead of using Protect, the player can nullify physical damage with Defend, but they cannot then act on that character or the effect will wear off. Protect is good against enemies that use mainly strong physical attacks, like T-Rexaur.