Summons play a massive role in Final Fantasy 8. In this game, they are called Guardian Forces (or GFs) and are extremely important to the plot. You'll start the game with Shiva and newcomer Quetzacotl, and you'll accrue many more as the game progresses.
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Quite a few GFs, on the other hand, are optional and can be quite a pain to get. Doomtrain is one of these — it's a poison-elemental GF that can inflict a ton of status ailments when used in a battle. Doomtrain is a valuable GF to have as it can learn Auto-Shell and allow you to refine items into the most powerful healing items, such as Elixirs.
How To Get Doomtrain
The process to acquire Doomtrain is rather similar to getting Diablos — you have to use an item from your inventory menu. The item in question is the Solomon Ring. To get the Solomon Ring, you must pick it up at Tears' Point, which is located to the east of Esthar. When at Tears' Point, head to the statue in the center of the structure and examine its foot to get the Solomon Ring.
However, acquiring Doomtrain is not as simple as that. In order to use the Solomon Ring, you must have six of three different items: six Steel Pipes, six Malboro Tentacles, and six Remedy+s.
Once you have all of those items, use the Solomon Ring and you'll get Doomtrain.
Steel Pipe Locations
Steel Pipes can be obtained with three methods: fighting GIM47Ns, fighting Wendigos, or from refining Elastoid cards.
- GIM47Ns are fought in the D-District Prison and in Fisherman's Horizon, so it's a time-limited enemy. They can drop Steel Pipes after a battle, but only up until level 29. At level 30 they no longer drop Steel Pipes.
- Wendigos are fought on the world map around Galbadia, with many being available to fight around Deling City. While they have a chance to drop Steel Pipes, they can also be Mugged for them — in fact, Mugging a level 30+ Wendigo will net you four Steel Pipes at a time. Mug can be acquired from Diablos.
- Elastoids can be found at the Centra Excavation Site and at the Lunatic Pandora, two locations that cannot be visited after completion. Elastoids have a very high chance of being turned into Elastoid Cards using Card, which can then be turned into Steel Pipes using Card Mod, an ability learned from Quetzacotl.
Note that Steel Pipes are also used to create a variety of weapons, or be refined into Aura Stones or Berserk spells.
Malboro Tentacle Locations
Predictably, you obtain Malboro Tentacles from Malboros. These are dangerous high-level monsters that can be found on the world map near Esthar. They can also be found on the dangerous Islands Closest to Heaven and Hell.
While Malboros will drop Malboro Tentacles anyway, you can also Mug them to acquire even more. In addition, any Malboro Cards that you acquire can be refined into Malboro Tentacles using Card Mod.
Note that you need two Malboro Tentacles to make the Save the Queen, Quistis's ultimate weapon. In addition, Malboros can drop Curse Spikes which are used in the creation of the rare and valuable Dark Matter.
Remedy+ Locations
There is only one way to acquire a Remedy+, and that is through refining. You will need the Med LV Up ability, which is learned from Alexander, a GF that is drawn from Edea during her boss fight at Galbadia Garden.
You will need ten Remedies to make one Remedy+, as a result, you will need sixty Remedies for the purposes of acquiring Doomtrain.
To get Remedies quickly, you can refine various items into them. Two great options for this are Malboro Tentacles and Curse Spikes, both items that drop from Malboros. As a result, Malboros are very convenient hunting targets.
If you want an easier target, however, Funguars can be hunted and Mugged for lots of Sleep Powders. These items can also be refined into Remedies with ST Med-RF which is learned from Siren.
NEXT: Every Final Fantasy Malboro, Ranked
