White Wind (Final Fantasy VIII)

White Wind is a curative Limit Break for Quistis in Final Fantasy VIII. It is one of her two supportive Blue Magic spells, alongside Mighty Guard. It is a mid-game Limit Break learned from a Whisper. Limit Breaks are randomly available when Quistis is on low health or under Aura.
Adamantoises heal themselves with White Wind when fought as enemies.
==Obtained==
Quistis learns White Wind when a Whisper is used in the inventory. Whispers are obtained from Adamantoises; they are a LV30+ drop or any-level Mug item. Adamantoises are fought on Long Horn Island beaches on the world map north from Dollet, reached after the player has a means to freely traverse the world map after the events in Fishermans Horizon. It is worth making a detour there to get the Whisper item at the earliest.
==Mechanics==
White Wind restores HP to the party equal to Quistis's max HP minus her current HP and does not change depending on Crisis Level. It is at its most potent when used when Quistis is on low health, but this is when Limit Breaks activate without Aura regardless. As the healed amount is fixed, it is equally powerful even if the party has Shell.
White Wind will damage the party if they are afflicted with Zombie. If Quistis uses White Wind when she has Zombie, she will be KO'd.
==Use==
White Wind is a good way to bring the party back from the brink of defeat. Its power does not depend on Crisis Level or Quistis's stats, only how much HP she has lost. For the most powerful version, the player can junction Quistis for high HP with HP-J and HP+% abilities.
Selphie's Full Cure is superior to Quistis's White Wind in that it is available since the beginning of the game, also heals status, and does not rely on her HP. However, her Slot is the most unpredictable Limit in the game and the player is likely better off not relying on it. One surefire way to have party-wide full heal always available is to Card Mod Bahamut's card for 100 Megalixirs, which is sure to last until the end of the game (and Bahamut's card can even be re-acquired if the player completed the Card Club quest before the point of no return), but this method is only available late into the game, whereas Quistis can get White Wind as soon as the player can freely traverse the world map in the mid-game.
White Wind remains a good situational healing ability throughout the game. A good time to use it is after Limit Breaks activate after the whole party is brought to low health by an enemy's strong attack, such as Omega Weapon's Medigo Flame, or the final bosses' Shockwave Pulsar, Great Attractor, Hell's Judgement, or Apocalypse. A good set-up is to have a party of Squall, Zell/Irvine/Rinoa, and Quistis, and when the party is brought to a brink of defeat, Squall can use Renzokuken, the other party member can do their best Limit Break, and Quistis can heal everyone back to full health with White Wind. As Limit Breaks jump the action queue, the player can pull them off back to back without the enemy getting a turn. (Tapping when the character is on low health lets the player repeatedly try for a Limit Break.)
White Wind is incompatible with strategies where the player is using Zombie status to halve damage from enemies' physical attacks.
Category:Blue Magic in Final Fantasy VIII