Training: Weapon Upgrades

I was just thinking since I posted game-related info about Angelo and Rinoa's limit break, why not post about her weapons and how to upgrade them too? One of THE most IRRITATING parts of FF8 was trying to get the items needed to upgrade all the weapons before going through Time Compression, and I figured for anybody still struggling I'd go ahead and give advice (however sucky it might be coming from me.. ¬¬) I'm also assuming that anybody here knows the system in which weapons are upgraded.. In order to upgrade you read Weapons Monthly magazines; get the required items; and upgrade the weapon at Junk Shops across the world. Comprende? ^_^;; I hope so.

Anyways, I have all of Rinoa's upgrades below; plus what magazine you have to read to make the upgrade option available and where to get that magazine from; what parts to use, and where to get them from; etc. etc. The only ones I really had trouble with were the last two, and more detail about getting the required items for those can be found here. The others are pretty easy to upgrade, so I didn't really dwell on them. ^^

In-Game Description: "Weapons that can be used from a distance have many advantages. The Pinwheel is one of the more basic projectile weapons."
Comments: There were actually a LOT more monsters you could get M-Stone Pieces from; but chances are you'll probably have more M-Stone Pieces than you know what to do with already because monsters drop them so often ^_^

Valkyrie
Cost: 200 gil
Attack: 14
Hit Percentage: 101
Magazine: Weapons Monthly May Issue - Located in the sewers of Deling City. (Let's hope the sanitation department has been doing it's job :P) When Rinoa or Squall and Irvine are behind the Presidential Residence during the assasination attempt on Disc 1, there's a visible manhole on the right of the screen. Climb down into the sewers, and take the only available path. You might also be able to get it somehow while escaping Caraway's mansion with Quistis; but I forget :/ You can also buy it in Esthar.

Rising Sun
Cost: 400 gil
Attack: 18
Hit Percentage: 102
Magazine: Weapons Monthly July Issue - You can find it yourself in the Balamb Garden Training Center, or buy it from the book store in Esthar.

In-Game Description: "The Rising Sun is similar to a circular saw. It is made by upgrading the pinwheel. It is capable of slicing into enemies like a spinning saw and dealing a devastating blow." I just love how these people articulate. >_<
Comments: None.

Cardinal
Cost: 800 gil
Attack: 24
Hit Percentage: 104
Magazine: Weapons Monthly August Issue - Found at the front gate in Trabia Garden on Disc 2, five steps south of the Gargoyle statue. You can also buy it from [guess where!] the book store in Esthar.

In-Game Description: "The Cardinal is the latest line of projecile wepaons. The wide fins provide more stability and accuracy compared to the Valkyrie. It's greater accuracy causes more damage."
Comments: While trying to get the parts for the Cardinal, you'll notice that this is the one that begins to get nasty. Or at least, one item in particular >_< Sharp Spikes were really hard to find, at least in my case >_< You should probably head to the Centra Ruins and look for Grand Mantis there, and mug them for it; or go outside the ruins and look for Death Claws to defeat. It sounds easy but encountering them once you get there is the hard part.

Shooting Star
Cost: 1000 gil
Attack: 28
Hit Percentage: 107
Magazine: Weapons Monthly 1st Issue - Found during Squall's last dream about Laguna, on the floor of the Lunatic Pandora lab. The first time you walk through, listen to the conversation psycho Dr. Odin is having with his assistant, and then leave the room and come back in. You'll see the magazine lying on the floor, at the bottom of the screen.
Or, if you missed it then, Weapons Monthly 1st Issue CAN be bought in that same old book shop in Esthar - but you have to have GF Tonberry, and he has to know the familiar ability.

In-Game Description: "Next, we show you the finest projectile weapon, the Shooting Star. Don't let the angel wing motif fool you. It's a deadly weapon."
Comments: The worst one of all.. Anyways, here goes *sucks in large breath* The best place to get Windmills are from Thrustaevis.. Just head to outside Deling City and look for them to kill or mug. Regen Rings are dropped often (and can also be mugged for) by Torama, so head to outside Esthar and look for them (they have a better chance of appearing farther from the city, by the way). As for Force Armlets.. You should've gotten one after the second fight with Edea, but if you were very unlucky and didn't get one, or you USED it, then head to Centra Ruins or Grandidi Forest (that's the island full of trees.. You can only get there with the Ragnarok) and look for Forbidden. I guess you could try fighting Ochu, but you know.. Good luck. :P
And now we come to Energy Crystals. I had an incredible amount of trouble getting these. Tell me an easier way than I have here, if you know it.
There's several ways to go about getting your Energy Crystals. If you've already gone through Time Compression, a visit to the Island Closest to Hell (location) is a good idea. Red Dragons show up pretty often here, and after fighting a few you may have some Energy Crystals to show for it. You could try to find an Elnoyle, but after about an hour walking around in Esthar and then in Ultimecia's Castle looking for them I'd give up :P There's really not a high encounter rate for them, and there are things you could do that seem more productive. The next approach would be to do the sidequest at the Deep Sea Research Center.. I don't want to explain it, go buy the book .__. After going down levels after levels after levels in the place, you'll start seeing lots of Red Dragons and Behemoths, so try getting some from there (to make life easier you might want to junction your character's St-Atk with Death, Blind, Sleep, or Silence, or use GF Doomtrain at the beginning of a battle, because some of the monsters there get nasty). Now the last approach. This can only be done before Time Compression, when you're in Lunatic Pandora. In the main hall with the three elevators, you have a really good chance of seeing Behemoths - but they're only about level two, so you have to beef them up to level thirty or so using Tonberry's LV Up before they'll even drop an Energy Crystal (use Scan to find out what level they are). At that point, kill the stupid thing and hope you get an Energy Crystal.
I realize there's probably a MUCH easier way to do this, but these are the only ways that I could think of at the moment ><;; And if you're planning to upgrade her weapon right before you fight Ultimecia, from fighting you might even just have the stuff already.. But I upgraded everyone's before going through Time Compression and it was much harder that way.