Junctions Magic to ST-Atk
Description
ST-Atk-J (status attack junction) is a junction ability in Final Fantasy VIII. When a party member junctions a Guardian Force that has ST-Atk-J mastered, they can inflict enemies with ailments via their physical attacks by equipping spells from their current Magic inventory to their Status Attack (
twice in the Junction menu). ST-Atk-J lets the player exploit enemies' status weaknesses with normal attacks and is the counterpart to ST-Def-J. It is an excellent enhancement to physical attacks, though bosses tend to be immune to statuses.
Obtained[]
The GFs Siren, Carbuncle, Cerberus, and Doomtrain learn ST-Atk-J for 160 AP. Cerberus needs to master Mag-J first. ST-Atk-J can also be taught to any GF AP-free with the Status Atk item, easiest obtained by modding Siren's card and as a drop from Catoblepas.
Mechanics[]
ST-Atk-J allows the character equipping a GF who knows the ability to junction spells to their status attack, which will inflict the status at fixed percentages to targets who are vulnerable (1% for every stock of the spell junctioned). Pain is the only spell to inflict multiple statuses. ST-Atk-J affects Attack, Mug, and Darkside, but not Limit Breaks or Kamikaze. Only certain spells are compatible to being junctioned to ST-Atk-J, namely, the ones with status properties.
- If (StatusDefense >= 200) Target does not get the status[1]
- else: Infliction% = Attacker's Strength / 4 - Target's Vitality / 4
- Infliction% = Infliction% - StatusDefense + StatusAttack
- StatusDefense and StatusAttack start at 100 (0%).
Each spell gives +1% chance to inflict the status to a target who is vulnerable. The maximum is 100 spells for 100% status infliction, and the spell junctioned to ST-Atk-J cannot be junctioned to any other stat at the same time; 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. Pain gives three statuses to ST-Atk and Drain makes the attacker gain health from attacking enemies vulnerable to Drain (A berserked character who has Drains junctioned to ST-Atk-J only drains the amount of HP from enemies per strike as their normal attack would have done without the +50% bonus from Berserk.)
| Spell | Status | Value (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Confuse | Confuse | 1.00 |
| Silence | Silence | 1.00 |
| Stop | Stop | 1.00 |
| Sleep | Sleep | 1.00 |
| Slow | Slow | 1.00 |
| Zombie | Zombie | 1.00 |
| Death | Sudden Death | 1.00 |
| Drain | Drain | 1.00 |
| Berserk | Berserk | 1.00 |
| Bio | Poison | 1.00 |
| Blind | Darkness | 1.00 |
| Break | Petrify | 1.00 |
| Pain | Poison, Darkness, Silence | 1.00 |
It is not possible to inflict Vit 0 via ST-Atk-J.
Use[]
ST-Atk-J is a boon to everyone, worth learning on the GFs that have it even for the steep AP cost. ST-Atk-J is good even on characters whose physical attacks are not that strong to still give them a reason for using Attack. Using ST-Atk-J is much more convenient than casting status spells. The benefit of spellcasting is that spells do not miss, but if given to Squall, he never misses anyway.
Distributing GFs that learn ST-Atk-J so multiple party members have it is a good idea, with possibly different statuses for each party member as to cover for as many weaknesses as possible. Though bosses are usually immune to most status abnormalities beyond Vit 0 (which is not possible to use via ST-Atk-J), ST-Atk-J is great for tough normal enemies; good use cases include against T-Rexaur, Ruby Dragon, Propagators, and Iron Giants. All statuses are useful to inflict most of the time, but Pain is especially good for including all three statuses, and Death and Break can defeat enemies instantly (petrified enemies do not yield EXP, however).
Drain in ST-Atk-J is a good junction against everything but undead enemies whereas most ST-Atk-J junctions do not do much for bosses.
Citations[]
- ↑ ForteGSOmega (2010, February 2). Final Fantasy VIII – Battle Mechanics FAQ. GameFAQs. Archived from the original on 5 March 2024.