Heel Drop (Final Fantasy VIII)

Heel Drop is a basic Duel technique for Zell in Final Fantasy VIII. It deals physical damage to an enemy depending on his Strength stat, being more powerful than Punch Rush and Booya. It is unveiled in the command window since the beginning of the game. When Duel initiates, the player has a variable amount of time to perform Duel moves on their chosen target.
Because Heel Drop is common and performed quickly with a simple input, it is one of the best ways to build a long chain of moves, which is where Zell's damage potential lies and makes him potentially the strongest party member. The time allotted for performing moves depends on Zell's Crisis Level, a hidden calculation in the game. Duel is randomly available when Zell is on low health or under Aura.
Heel Drop is a dropping heel kick.
==Mechanics==
Heel Drop is performed either automatically when the player sets their Duel to "Auto" in the Status menu, or by chaining from another move by inputting when it appears in the command window.
Heel Drop deals non-elemental physical damage to an opponent calculated as per the following formula:
:Critical Determination
:Critical\% = (Luck + 1) / 256 \times 100
Where "Luck" is Zell's Luck stat. If the hit criticals, it will deal double damage.
:Base Damage Calculation
:Damage = Strength^2 / 16 + Strength
:Damage = Damage \times (265 - Target's~Vitality) / 256
:Damage = Damage \times 20 / 16
Where "Strength" is Zell's Strength stat and "Vitality" is the target's Vitality stat. For comparison, the Power value of a normal attack is also 20, meaning one hit from Heel Drop is the same than using his Attack command; the damage potential comes from being able to attack consecutively and the guarantee that the Duel will not miss.
All damage is randomized slightly:
:Damage = Damage \times ([0..32] + 240) / 256
The time Zell has for Duel depends on his Crisis Level in the following manner:
* Crisis Level 1: 4.66 seconds (starts with Punch Rush)
* Crisis Level 2: 6.66 seconds (starts with Punch Rush)
* Crisis Level 3: 9.33 seconds (starts with Booya)
* Crisis Level 4: 12 seconds (starts with Booya)
Crisis Level is a hidden stat calculated based on how low Zell's current HP is compared to his maximum, the number of dead allies, and the number of ailments he is afflicted with. The worse off he is, the longer Duel times the player can expect. Crisis Level is also raised with the Aura status.
Heel Drop chains from Booya at the start of a chain, and then either back into Booya, or into Mach Kick or Meteor Strike (which is hidden until its Combat King issue is read). It can also chain from Punch Rush, Dolphin Blow, and Meteor Strike further along the chain. The only finishing move Heel Drop can chain into is Burning Rave. The player can build a repeating chain with Punch Rush → Dolphin Blow → Heel Drop → Mach Kick → repeat from Dolphin Blow.
Because of the complexity of Duel, it is best explained and summarized by viewing the following Google docs flowchart.
If the target has Protect, damage is halved. Limit Breaks never miss and are unaffected by Elem-Atk junctions.
==Use==
Heel Drop is one of Zell's default Duel techniques alongside Punch Rush, Booya, Mach Kick, and Burning Rave. As the Combat King magazines mainly add new finishing moves, Zell's Duel is already at its best potential since the start of the game and does not need enhancement and investment outside of stat-maxing the same way the other permanent characters do (besides Selphie, though she still gets better spells to her Slot when on a higher level).
Despite being the third weakest Duel technique, Heel Drop remains one of the best moves throughout the game for its simplicity and fast input speed, which allows easy chaining to his other moves; it all stacks up the longer the Duel time is. Because the damage of each hit caps at 9999, and especially with critical hits from having high Luck, Heel Drop's fast input speed and chainability offset its lower attack power. If the player additionally inflicts Vit 0 onto the enemy, Heel Drop can be even more powerful. For the best chance of getting the maximum timer, the player can have Zell in critical HP and have him under Aura status. (However, Aura spells and stones are rare.)
Zell should be junctioned toward high Strength to make the most of his Limit Break. The Guardian Forces that have Str-J natively are Shiva, Ifrit, Brothers, Pandemona, and Cerberus. It is also worthwhile to give Zell any Str+% abilities. Because each hit has a chance of being a critical hit, Zell is also an excellent choice for Luck-J and Luck+50%; the only GF that has Luck-J natively is Cactuar, but Luck-J Scroll is available from some sidequests to give to the GFs Zell is junctioning.
Zell's Limit Break is always good, but especially so against bosses when he gets the long timer. It would be especially good against Adel (without finishing moves), Ultima Weapon, Omega Weapon, and the final bosses.
The most effective way to use Zell's Duel is to do a technique dubbed "Armageddon Fist" by fans, whereupon the player constantly inputs two of Zell's moves in rapid succession (Punch Rush ↔ Booya or Booya ↔ Heel Drop). It only takes fractions of seconds to input each command, and, with the proper stats, each move does around 5000 HP damage, critical hits reaching the 9,999 damage cap. With this technique, Zell with high Strength and Luck (and the enemy with Vit 0), will outdamage even Squall with Lion Heart.
==Citations==
Category:Duels in Final Fantasy VIII