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Final Fantasy VIII

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Ultimecia's Castle - Krysta

By
Nathan Garvin

Okay, time for some party-switching shenanigans. Exit the prison cell (using the Prison Key in the process) then when you’re back in the dungeon, exit by heading up the stairs to the left. Stand in the green circle, switch to the other party, then exit the castle by heading down. Save your game if you wish, then return inside the castle as Squall and company.

(1 of 3) Take your secondary party and depress a lever in the lower chandelier room

In the main hall, use the green party switch circle again to switch to the secondary party, make sure they’re junctioned up (or at least that they have Enc-None to avoid trouble) then go through the door beyond where you fought Sphinxaur/Sphinxara. Run on the chandelier and it’ll kindly deposit you in the room below. Run right to find another green party switch circle, and more importantly, a lever on the wall. Interact with the lever to depress it (aww, cheer up buddy - you’re gonna be complicit in a murder!) then switch back to your primary party when prompted.

Exchange junctions back to the main party, heal up, then go through the door beyond where Sphinxaur/Sphinxara once lurked. Cross the chandelier - now that your secondary party is below, holding the lever, it’ll stay in place - and go through a door beyond to find Krysta on a balcony. Before you join battle, make sure ice magics aren’t equipped to Elemental Attack, as Krysta is immune. If you have Auto-Shell, it’s worth equipping. Otherwise, there’s not much you can do to prepare.

Krysta
Lv: 1-55
HP: (Lv10) 7,000
HP: (Lv20) 9,000
HP: (Lv30) 11,000
HP: (Lv56) 16,000
Weaknesses:
Resistances: Ice (immune)
Status Resistances: Immune to most status effects; Haste 0% – Slow 70% – The End 0%
EXP:
AP: 30
Draw: Holy, Carbuncle*
Mug:
Drop: Elem Guard

(1 of 3) Krysta has high defenses

Krysta is a fairly passive boss, only using melee attacks and a Charge attack unless provoked… and any offensive action you take provokes it to counterattack. It’s counterattack is moderately powerful, but it should be dangerous enough to cause serious concern, especially since you can just… you know, stop attacking and heal? Auto-Protect will reduce damage from most of Krysta’s attacks, so be sure to cast it. That said, Krysta’s most dangerous attack is magical.

Krysta has an absurdly high Magic stat. At around level ten (likely the lowest you’ll be when you fight Krysta) it’ll have a Magic stat of well over 100, and by level 30 Krysta’s Magic stat will max out (255). When defeated, Krysta will unleash an Ultima spell, which can be quite painful if your HP aren’t maxed and you don’t have Shell or Auto-Shell, so make sure to cast it, if necessary.

Given Krysta’s attack power, it’s amusing that Krysta has relatively low HP, possessing around 7,000 HP at level 10 while maxing out at 16,000 HP at level 100. You might say Krysta is a… glass cannon? Surprisingly, we don’t get paid for humor, that all comes free. That said, Krysta’s Vitality score is rather high, starting out at just over 200 and growing slowly to around 230 by level 100. The solution, of course, is Meltdown, which will allow you to do significant damage to Krysta and kill it in fewer hits, thus prompting fewer counterattacks. A single Aura-powered limit break should be sufficient to put Krysta away.

(1 of 2) Defeat Krysta

Defeat Krysta (left), and be ready for its final Ultima attack. (right)

So, protect yourself with Shell, hit Krysta with Meltdown, finish off Krysta quickly, then with any luck (luck here is a synonym for high HP and Shell) you’ll survive Krysta’s Ultima finisher. Be sure to draw Carbuncle from Krysta if you didn’t acquire this GF from the Iguions at the end of disc 1. This is your last chance to acquire this GF. When the fight is over, you’ll gain the customary 30 AP as well as an Elem Guard, which you can use to teach a GF the Elem-Def-Jx4 ability.

Unseal the “Item” or “Command Ability” power, whichever you didn’t get previously. Aside from the ability to revive fallen companions you should now have almost every battle power available to you, which is frankly enough to challenge Ultimecia… but why stop short when there are more monsters to kill? Your next target - Gargantua - beckons.

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Guide Information
  • Publisher
    Square Enix
  • Platforms,
    PC, PS1, PS4, Switch, XB One
  • Genre
    RPG
  • Guide Release
    15 March 2019
  • Last Updated
    4 June 2022
    Version History
  • Guide Author

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Follow the exploits of Squall, a resident of Balamb Garden and SeeD aspirant whose first contract as a professional mercenary expands into a fight to save the world from an evil sorceress.

This guide will cover the main quest-line chronologically, giving advice on leveling (and how to avoid it), where to find the best spells, how to acquire all GFs and defeat all bosses. In addition the guide will cover all side quests and will also include in-depth mini-guides for Chocobo World and Triple Triad. By following this guide you can aspire to the following:

  • Complete walkthrough of the main questline.
  • All side quests and optional content.
  • How to defeat both of the game’s superbosses.
  • Information on how to acquire each GF and a discussion of their abilities, including where to assign them.
  • Information on Triple Triad, including the location of every card in the game and how to best use them.
  • Low-level run information.
  • Information on min-maxing stats.
  • A mini-guide for Chocobo World.
  • Information on all characters, including stats and how to acquire all their weapons and limits.
  • Triple Triad guide.

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