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Zell's_Duel_from_FINAL_FANTASY_VIII_Remastered

Zell's Duel from FINAL FANTASY VIII Remastered

Name

-Duel: Pummels an enemy.

Explanation

-During Duel, he can fight continuously until the time counter reads 0.
-A certain skill may blink to indicate that it's a finishing blow. When chosen, no matter how much time is left on the clock, the Limit Break ends.
-Learn the skills by reading Combat King.

Menu explanation

Duel (デュエル, Dyueru?) is Zell Dincht's Limit Break moveset in Final Fantasy VIII. It is called Fight in the PlayStation demo version.

Mechanics[]

When using Duel, groups of button sequences appear on the screen and the player must attempt to input as many as possible in the allotted time. The time given depends on the Crisis Level and varies between 4 and 12 seconds.

Zell has four finishing moves that can be input after a set combination of normal moves are used. Extra moves and finishers are learned by reading the Combat King magazines found in various places. The abilities can be used before being unlocked, but they will not appear as an option. Several of the moves are reminiscent of Tifa's Limit moves in Final Fantasy VII, such as Dolphin Blow, Punch Rush, Meteor Strike, and My Final Heaven. Executing a finishing move ends the Duel: these are best saved as the final input command before the time expires, or when the player is sure the enemy is dead and wants to end the chain/perform a move that also damages the enemy's companions.

Each attack, particularly the finishing moves, can deal heavy damage and are not stunted by elemental resistance as they are pure physical attacks. All moves register as one hit, and none can exceed the damage limit of 9,999, including finishers. Every hit has a chance to critical, but the target's Protect status halves the damage.

The amount of time Zell has in his Duel depends on his Crisis Level:

  • Crisis Level 1: 4.66 seconds (Always starts with Punch Rush)
  • Crisis Level 2: 6.66 seconds (Always starts with Punch Rush)
  • Crisis Level 3: 9.33 seconds (Always starts with Booya)
  • Crisis Level 4: 12 seconds (Always starts with Booya)

Duels[]

Name Atk Pwr Description Unlock Condition Button Sequence
Punch Rush 16 Zell unleashes a fierce four-hit series of punches. Inflicts physical damage on one opponent. None Circle X
Booya 18 Zell steadily stalls and wavers back, before performing a mighty knee strike. Inflicts physical damage on one opponent. More powerful than Punch Rush. None Right Left
Heel Drop 20 Zell steadily focuses on his opponent, before performing a dropping heel kick. Inflicts physical damage on one opponent. More powerful than Booya. None Up Down
Mach Kick 24 Zell focuses for a bit, before striking the opponent with a quick roundhouse kick. Inflicts physical damage on one opponent. More powerful than Heel Drop. None Left Left Circle
Dolphin Blow 28 Zell focuses for a bit, before unleashing a sudden marine-themed uppercut. Inflicts physical damage on one opponent. More powerful than Mach Kick. Combat King 001 (bottom floor of D-District Prison; pick up before rescuing Squall) L1 R1 L1 R1
Meteor Strike N/A Zell hoists and lifts the opponent over his head, before making a giant vertical leap to land a powerful piledriver. Inflicts damage equal to 25% of the target's current HP on one opponent. Physical attack that misses enemies immune to gravity. Capped at 9,999 damage. Combat King 002 (Fujin and Raijin at Balamb Hotel) Down Circle Up Circle
Burning Rave 48 Zell unleashes his energy in a mighty flaming aura, before punching the ground with his fist, creating an energy wave that tears the battlefield apart. Inflicts physical damage on all opponents. Finishing move. None Down Down Down Down Circle
Meteor Barret 52 Zell jumps into the air and charges his fists with energy, before throwing himself forward into a flying punch that engulfs the opponent in an explosion. Inflicts heavy physical damage on one opponent. Finishing move. Combat King 003 (Stay in Balamb Hotel with Zell in the party after liberating Balamb Town) Up X Down Triangle Circle
Different Beat 72 Zell speeds onto the target, before making a myriad series of flipkicks into the sky, and finishes off the opponent with a crushing flying energy kick. Inflicts heavy physical damage on one opponent. More powerful than Meteor Barret. Finishing move. Combat King 004 (lone Esthar soldier on a bridge near the Esthar Airstation while controlling Zell) Triangle Square X Circle Up
My Final Heaven 50 Consumed with fighting spirit, Zell calmly focuses, before concentrating his spirit into his fist, making a larger-than-life dash across the world and returning to the battlefield, unleashing an energy blast that consumes all opposition. Inflicts physical damage on all opponents. More powerful than Burning Rave. Finishing move. Combat King 005 (Lunatic Pandora path leading left from Elevator 03's basement if the player triggered the red detonator during Laguna's second dream sequence) Up Right Down Left Triangle

Finishing move prerequisites[]

For a finishing move to appear in the list of button sequences, one must complete a series of normal moves. Below is a list of some of the prerequisite moves needed for the finishing moves (shown in bold) to appear.

  • Punch Rush → Mach Kick → Punch Rush → Heel Drop → Burning Rave
  • Punch Rush → Mach Kick → Punch Rush → Meteor Strike → Burning Rave
  • Booya → Heel Drop → Meteor Strike → Booya → Burning Rave
  • Punch Rush → Dolphin Blow → Meteor Barret
  • Booya → Meteor Strike → Dolphin Blow → Mach Kick → Meteor Barret
  • Booya → Heel Drop → Mach Kick → Heel Drop → Booya → Punch Rush → Mach Kick → Meteor Barret
  • Punch Rush → Booya → Meteor Strike → Booya → Different Beat
  • Punch Rush → Booya → Heel Drop → Mach Kick → Heel Drop → Booya → Different Beat
  • Punch Rush → Booya → Heel Drop → Meteor Strike → My Final Heaven
  • Punch Rush → Booya → Heel Drop → Mach Kick → Punch Rush → My Final Heaven

Because of the complexity of Duel, it is best explained and summarized by viewing the following Google docs flowchart.

Strategy[]

The most effective way to use Zell's Duel is to do a technique dubbed "Armageddon Fist" by fans, whereupon the player constantly inputs two of Zell's moves in rapid succession (Punch Rush ↔ Booya or Booya ↔ Heel Drop). It only takes fractions of seconds to input each command, and, with the proper stats, each move does around 5000 HP damage, critical hits reaching the 9,999 damage cap. With great concentration, the player should be able to input these commands at or around 0.10 seconds (on the game timer).

With Duel lasting a minimum of four seconds and a maximum of twelve seconds, the damage potential surpasses any other attack or combo. If, during a twelve-second round, the player were to input every command at or around 0.10 seconds, and Zell were to average a critical hit once every 5 attacks, under ideal conditions (Zell's Strength at 255 and the enemy's Defense at 0 from Vit 0) this strategy could yield roughly 720,000 points of damage, enough to kill any enemy save for Omega Weapon in one round. With enough luck to land critical hits more frequently, even Omega Weapon can be killed in one round by this strategy.

Being hard to pull off and dependent on Vit 0 makes it less effective during normal encounters and in the early stages of the game. Punch Rush, Booya, and Heel Drop are weak and do less than half the damage of a Renzokuken hit and roughly 1/10 the damage of Renzokuken's Lion Heart finisher if damage cap is not an issue. The player will find that, under most conditions, even with Vit 0, this will usually be weaker than Lion Heart but stronger than Renzokuken due to Lion Heart's randomness.

Other appearances[]

Final Fantasy VIII demo[]

Zell's Limit Break command is called Fight and does not involve player input. It only includes Meteor Barret, although the animation is slightly different than in the final game. In the demo the chance to use Limit Breaks sometimes appears even when Zell is not on low health, although the chance is small.

Dissidia Final Fantasy Opera Omnia[]

Zell uses a large array of his Duel skills as command abilities. He also gains a temporary buff called Duel when using most skills. With passives equipped through his 15 CP and 35 CP weapons as well as Crystal Strength 70, Zell also gains access to the secret Armageddon Fist sequence.

Relm-ffvi-snes-battleThis gallery is incomplete and requires Mach Kick and My Final Heaven added. You can help the Final Fantasy Wiki by uploading images.

Pictlogica Final Fantasy[]

PFF Burning Rave
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Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade[]

Some of Zell's Duel moves appear in Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade.

Ability Cards
Legend Cards

Final Fantasy Record Keeper[]

Zell uses his Duels in Final Fantasy Record Keeper.

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Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade[]

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Final Fantasy Brave Exvius[]

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Gallery[]

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