Ultimecia ( final boss ) The final form of Ultimecia is the final boss of " Final Fantasy VIII " . After her Guardian Force , Griever , is destroyed , Ultimecia emerges from the void in her most powerful form , ready to complete time compression . Ultimecia is in the process of absorbing all time , space , and existence and stars and planets from across the space / time continuum are being sucked into her body . The theme of the battle is " The Extreme . " Battle . Ultimecia can cast Flare , Holy , Meteor , and Ultima , Dispel any positive statuses the party cast upon themselves , instantly kill Guardian Forces , remove an entire spellstock from a character ' s inventory ( even if it is junctioned to a stat ) , and reduce the entire team ' s HP to 1 with her Hell ' s Judgement spell . Once she reveals her lower half , Ultimecia draws Apocalypse from it and begins to cast it upon the party . Apocalypse is a spell even more powerful than Ultima , and it can cause damage in the range of 8 , 000 HP or higher if the party is not protected by Shell or invincibility . When Ultimecia ' s lower half is revealed , she will only use Hell ' s Judgement , Destroy Stocked Magic , Absorbed Into Time , Draw Apocalypse , and Apocalypse . She will often cast Draw Apocalypse after using Hell ' s Judgement . After Ultimecia uses her first Apocalypse spell , the party can attempt to stop Ultimecia from using it by destroying Ultimecia ' s lower half . If her lower half is destroyed Ultimecia will begin to cast powerful Ultima and Meteor spells and might cast Ultima or Meteor right after using Hell ' s Judgement . When Ultimecia begins speaking she has run out of HP but the party must attack her to make her say her next line . She can still attack the party at this point . Upon her defeat , Ultimecia will fall , exploding in a massive sequence of colorful light . Strategy . After Ultimecia reveals her lower half , healing the party or using a Holy War is crucial , because she may cast Apocalypse instantly after drawing it . A good strategy to defeat Ultimecia ' s lower half is to have Irvine on Aura , and pound away with Armor Shot . To defeat Ultimecia , the party best stick with Limit Breaks for everybody except perhaps Selphie . It is wise to have Selphie as the healer , and she can also Triple - cast Ultima until Ultimecia reveals her lower half . Once Ultimecia ' s lower half is a target , Selphie can draw Apocalypse from it and then Triple - cast it back on Ultimecia . If her lower half is destroyed , the player should heal everybody to avoid being killed by Meteor or Ultima on her next turn . A quick way is to have all three of the party members stand by until she uses Hell ' s Judgement . With everybody ' s HP at one , two characters can use Limit Breaks while the last heals either by Triple - Casting Curaga , or using a Megalixir ( or via White Wind , if the third party member is Quistis ) . There is little risk in this strategy before Ultimecia reveals her lower - half because her only other attacks are single - targeting . It is unnecessary to use Hell ' s Judgment to gain Limit Breaks as long as the player can keep the party in Aura status , but Ultimecia might destroy all of the Aura magic in the party ' s inventory . If Quistis is in the party when Hell ' s Judgement is cast , a good idea is to have her cast Mighty Guard which — with all party members at 1 HP — will likely cast Haste , Regen , Float and Aura in addition to Shell and Protect . When Ultimecia begins her final speech , only regular attacks are needed to make her say her next line , but she can still attack the party at this point .