Luck-J (Final Fantasy VIII)

Junctions Magic to Luck

Description

Luck-J is a junction ability in Final Fantasy VIII. When a party member junctions a Guardian Force that has Luck-J mastered, they can raise their evasion rate, hit rate, and critical hit rate by equipping spells from their current Magic inventory to their Luck stat in the junction menu. As Squall's hit rate is already perfect and his critical hits are determined manually, Luck-J is less relevant to him.

Obtained[]

The GF Cactuar learns Luck-J for 200 AP. Cactuar is recruited by defeating Jumbo Cactuar on the Cactuar Island. Luck-J can also be taught to any GF AP-free with the Luck-J Scroll item, easiest obtained by mugging Odin, and as a reward from Obel Lake quest (found on an island south of Esthar on the world map).

Mechanics[]

Luck-J allows the character equipping a GF who knows the ability to junction spells to their Luck stat, which affects a character's hit accuracy (unless they already have a 255% hit rate), evasion, and critical hit ratio. Because Squall (and Seifer) already have perfect accuracy and trigger their critical hits manually, they mainly benefit from the increased evasion. Luck stat does not affect Odin's/Phoenix's chance to appear, chance for Squall top trigger Lion Heart, or item drop rates. Any spell can be junctioned to Luck-J, but different spells offer variable increases. The best spell for Luck-J is Ultima.

Whether a physical attack hits is determined by the attacker's Hit Rate and Luck, and the target's Evasion stat and Luck, using the following formula:

${\displaystyle Hit\%=(AttackerLuck/2+AttackerHit-TargetLuck-TargetLuck)}$^[1]

Units with Stop have their Evasion fall to 0%.

The formula for a (non-manual) critical hit is as follows:

${\displaystyle Critical~Hit~Rate = [[Luck+1]/256] \times 100}$^[1]

A critical hit determined by above formula deals double damage.

The following spell list is from worst to best for Luck-J; effect on Luck per single spell. The maximum is 100 spells to one stat, and each spell can be junctioned to one stat at a time (exception, see junction glitch); 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. The maximum Luck stat is 255, though the player cannot reach it even with the best Luck-J junctions and Luck+50% (they would need to farm Luck Ups).

Use[]

Luck-J is a boon to have but not crucial. It helps avoid damage and be more accurate and do more critical hits. Luck-J is a late game ability, first learned by Cactuar. The player will likely get it earliest from Odin's Luck-J Scroll.

Luck-J is especially good for Zell and Irvine so their Limit Breaks can score more critical hits, especially Irvine's Quick Shot. Though Squall benefits from Luck-J less, it would be good for getting more critical hits with his Lion Heart finisher, whose critical hits are not manually triggered unlike with his normal attacks and Renzokuken sequence. As spells do not do critical hits, Luck-J is less relevant for Selphie, Quistis, and Rinoa as all their best Limit Breaks are magical in nature.

Ultima is the best spell to junction to most stats, and also is the best for Luck. If the player rates the ability to score critical hits highly, they may prefer to use Ultima to Luck-J over other stats, especially since other stats can be raised with Bonus abilities and Devour. In the absence of Ultima, Pain and Death are good spells for Luck-J. The player can easily draw the latter from Tonberries and make Deaths from their knives. Pain is drawn from Tri-Faces and Ochu, commonly encountered in Island Closest to Heaven, and are made from Curse Spikes, obtained from Tri-Faces and their cards.

Kamikaze can do critical damage, and so if the player is using it, it would be beneficial to junction for high HP and Luck.

Citations[]