Guide to defeating Sphinxaur and Sphinxara in Ultimecia's Castle in Final Fantasy VIII Remastered. Learn their weaknesses, strategies, and rewards.
Alright, so you've made it to Ultimecia's Castle, and the first thing you'll run into is a pretty colorful quadruped called Sphinxaur. Don't let its appearance fool you; it's actually a pretty straightforward fight, designed to let you unlock a new power. Before you jump in, take a moment to check your junctions. You'll want to be immune or at least heavily resistant to Blizzard, Fire, and Thunder. Also, make sure your Status Defenses are set up to protect you from Sleep, Slow, and Zombie.
This critter can range from level 1 to 50, but its HP stays at a solid 10,000. Its main attacks are elemental spells, which you should be able to absorb easily if you've prepped your junctions. As you level up, the spells it casts will get stronger, but honestly, they won't become a real threat. Since you probably can't draw spells effectively yet and can't use Mug, your best bet is just to attack. With a decent party level, this fight should be over pretty quickly.
If you want to speed things up, you can junction Holy magic to your Elemental Attack, but it's not strictly necessary. Just keep wailing on it, and you'll take it down in no time.
| Sphinxaur | |
| Lv: | 1-50 |
| HP: | 10,000 |
| Weaknesses: | Holy (200% damage) |
| Resistances: | – |
| Status Resistances: | Immune to most status effects; Regen 30% – Slow 30% – The End 0% |
| EXP: | – |
| AP: | – |
| Draw (Lv1-19): | Blizzard, Fire, Thunder, Cure |
| Draw (Lv20-29): | Blizzara, Fira, Thundara, Cura |
| Draw (Lv30+): | Blizzaga, Firaga, Thundaga, Curaga |
| Mug: | Elixir |
| Drop: | – |
Once Sphinxaur is down, you'll face Sphinxara. This one's a bit different and prefers using debuffs, especially Doom. It also has a neat trick:
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