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u l t i m a t e w e a p o n s
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Truly the best in offensive weaponry, the Ultimate Weapons can make
mincemeat out of even the strongest opponent (like there are any :)).
How do you know if you got an Ultimate Weapon? Well:
* The weapon will have eight connected Materia holders.
* Materia attached to the weapon don't gain AP (the holders are
black).
* The weapon will power-up and do more damage after certain
conditions are met.
* The weapon (usually) has a higher Attack Power and Hit Rate than
any other weapon.
* The weapon's power won't decrease if you're using the Morph
(Henka) materia. With other weapons, Attack Power is reduced by
about 2/3rds when using this materia against an enemy.
The sole exception to this is Aeris--her Ultimate Weapon has only
seven slots, and you _can_ earn AP for Materia equipped to them.
Also, another one of her weapons (the Umbrella), has a higher Attack
Power than her Ultimate Weapon (the Princess Guard).
Where you can find each weapon, and what you have to do to make it
power-up, is listed below:
CLOUD: ULTIMA WEAPON
Location: Kill the Ultima Weapon (the big dragon) flying around in Disc
2/3. It will take a few tries as he will escape from battle
several times before finally facing you.
Condition: The more current HP you have, the more damage this weapon
inflicts. (i.e. the closer your score is to the maximum
amount, the higher the damage, regardless of defenses).
Barret: MISSING SCORE
Location: Look on the landing near the Sister Ray during the raid on
Midgar City in Disc 2 (if Vincent's not in your party, he'll
be on the landing near the chest with the Ultimate Weapon in
it).
Condition: Equip materia on this weapon. The more AP a materia has,
the higher the damage (so if you're wearing 8 mastered
materia, Barret will do _lots_ of damage).
TIFA: PREMIUM HEART
Location: Return to Midgar City in Disc 2 or 3 and examine the computer
in the Wall Market. It's in a room marked 'ITEM'.
Condition: When Tifa performs her Limit Break, but gets a 'MISS' for
one or more of the spinning wheels, her weapon powers-up.
Aeris: PRINCESS GUARD
Location: You can get it in the Temple, during the talking clock mini-
game. This only has seven materia holders instead of eight,
but it's still considered an Ultimate Weapon. Since Aeris
has no Limit Breaks that inflict damage, I wonder if this
weapon has any effect when you use a Limit Break (see below
for details).
Condition: 'This weapon (should) power-up when protecting an ally.'
The English translation of this weapon's description, more
or less. I guess this means that this weapon is stronger
when Aeris is healing injured companions, or that it works
only when she's defending with a Kabau (Protect) materia?
RED 13: LIMITED MOON
Location: Buugen Haagen will give this to Red 13 when he dies at Cosmo
Canyon after the monster attacks Midgar City in Disc 2
(although you can get it in Disc 3, as well).
Condition: The more current MP you have remaining (the closer you are
to you maximum amount of MP), the stronger this weapon is.
YUFFIE: Conformer
Loaction: Look in the Wrecked Plane in Disc 2 or 3.
Condition: If an enemy's experience level is higher than Yuffie's,
this weapon will power-up and do added damage.
CAIT SITH: HP Shout
Loaction: Search the lockers on the 64th floor of the Shinra HQ during
your raid on Midgar City during Disc 2. You can get to the
HQ by heading north along the underground rail passage.
Condition: The more current MP you have remaining (the closer you are
to you maximum amount of MP), the stronger this weapon is.
VINCENT: DEATH PENALTY
Location: You get this when you get his limit break manual (see above).
Condition: The more enemies that Vincent kills (as in, he finishes them
off, at least), the stronger this weapon becomes. This
counts for all the enemies he's killed since he joined you,
not the enemies he's defeated since getting this weapon
(just like the way the computer determines damage for the
Chocobockle Enemy Skill).
CID: VENUS GOSPEL
Location: Talk to the old man standing outside the house that's just
left of the rocket launch pad (the same one who gave Cloud
a sword in Disc 1). You can only do this after completing
the 'Huge Materia' rocket sub-quest in Disc 2 or 3 (which
means the rocket has been destroyed). After talking to the
geezer three times in a row, he'll give Cid his Ultimate
Weapon.
Condition: The more current MP you have remaining (the closer you are
to you maximum amount of MP), the stronger this weapon is.
Finding these weapons can be hard or difficult; Cloud's weapon can be
easily won from the Ultima Weapon monster, but Barret's weapon won't
appear if he's not in your party, so it's easy to miss. I myself
haven't been able to verify it, but it's been said that the power of
your character's Limit Breaks are _greatly_ increased when he/she is
wielding their 'Ultimate Weapon'.