No Mercy (Final Fantasy VIII)

No Mercy is a Limit Break for Seifer in Final Fantasy VIII that the player can use when Seifer is a guest party member during the Siege of Dollet. It deals physical damage to one enemy depending on his Strength stat. No Mercy is the only one of Seifer's Limit Breaks the player can use; his other Fire Cross moves are used against the player in boss battles.

Limit Breaks for most playable characters are randomly available when on low health or under Aura, but Seifer is unique: his Fire Cross can trigger at much higher HP thresholds. The system that governs Limit Breaks is a hidden stat known as Crisis Level.

When he uses No Mercy, Seifer casts a fire spell onto all enemies, spins his gunblade around and starts focusing energy into it. In an upward slash-motion, he launches circular blades of energy that fly through the enemies.

Mechanics[]

No Mercy deals non-elemental physical damage to all enemies as per the following formula:^[1]

Critical Determination

${\displaystyle Critical\% = (Luck + 1) / 256 \times 100}$

Where "Luck" is Seifer's Luck stat. If the attack criticals, it will deal double damage.

Base Damage Calculation

${\displaystyle Damage = Strength^2 / 16 + Strength}$

${\displaystyle Damage = Damage \times (265 - Target's~Vitality) / 256}$

${\displaystyle Damage = Damage \times 80 / 16}$

Where "Strength" is Seifer's Strength stat and "Vitality" is the target's Vitality stat. For comparison, the Power value of a normal attack is 20 against No Mercy's 80.

If the target has Protect, damage is halved.

Limit Breaks never miss and are unaffected by Elem-Atk junctions.

Use[]

No Mercy is Seifer's Limit Break when he is controllable. It is strong and best used against groups of enemies. As a physical ability, No Mercy can be a critical hit.

Seifer would benefit from a high Strength stat, but seeing that he will not be present for any boss battles, and Selphie will inherit his magic stocks, Seifer is likely the player's last priority for junctions. The player will have two Guardian Forces with Str-J, Shiva and Ifrit, and they will likely want to assign them to Squall and Zell.

All battles with Seifer should be easily won without special attacks, but No Mercy makes defeating enemies faster for its strength and ability to take all enemies out at once.

Citations[]