Final Fantasy 7 (VII) Rebirth Brutal / Legendary VR Mission Guide (2024)

This Final Fantasy VII RebirthBrutal/ Legendary VR MissionGuide will help you to complete all 6 Brutal Challenges and 9 Legendary Bouts in Chadley’s Combat Simulator. Completing theseis required for the Virtually Renowned (complete all Combat Simulator Challenges)and7-Star Hotel (collect all Johnny Treasure Trove Items)trophies. In order to unlock these VR missions at Chadley, you must first beat Gilgamesh in the main game, which in itself will require you to complete all Protorelic Intel in every region, as well as unlock all Level 4 Summons.

Before you can actually do them all however, you will need to complete the main scenario (finish the game), transmute the Corsair’s Compass accessory (following the Pirate’s Treasure Map) and defeat all the mini-bosses at the Classified Intel locations in each region.

These VR Missionsare the most difficult part of the game. They are all locked to Hard difficulty. The 6 Brutal Challenges will be 3 character parties that you can change to your desire. The first 7 Legendary Bouts will be solo bouts with each of the 7 unique characters, while the last two will be duo bouts with Cloud and a special character for each. It is recommended you do the Brutal Challenges first, as the final one will unlock Gotterdammerung, an amazing accessory that will be immensely helpful for the Legendary Bouts.

One important note is that you can only use a Summon once across all rounds in VR Missions, so don’t waste your Summon the first opportunity you get them. Usually it is best held for one of the later rounds in a mission.

It is recommended that you do most other content before attempting these, as you will want everyone to be Level 70, have Party Level 10, have a lot of highly levelled materia, and as many manuscripts for the characters as you can for higher weapon levels and more upgrades on the Folio. Whether you do a Hard difficulty playthrough (via Chapter Select) before or after doing the Brutal Challenges is up to you, but I personally completed Hard before unlocking Gotterdammerung for the extra Manuscripts. Whichever way you choose to do it, one will benefit the other. Hard will be easier when you have Gotterdammerung, but the final Brutal Challenge that unlocks Gotterdammerung will be easier with the extra Manuscripts from Hard.

Before doing these, it is recommended that you finish the story, complete all side quests/mini-games and all objectives for world intel so that you can reach Party Level 10 to have full access to the Folio.

Useful Guides for all Item Locations:

Materia Locations
Weapon Locations
Accessory Locations
Armor Locations
Summon Locations
Manuscript Locations
Fastest AP Farming Method (Materia Leveling)
All Enemy Weaknesses

Brutal Challenges

Before you able to do all theBrutal Challenges, you will need to complete thestoryanddefeat the Classified Intel boss in each region.

There are 6 Brutal Challenges, the first 5 of which are 10-round fights pitting you against various monsters and mini-bosses, which can mostly be tackled with the same strategies and setups. The last Brutal Challenge however will be one of the hardest parts of the game, a 5-round battle against all 6 Summons (in pairs of two), Gilgamesh and then Virtual Sephiroth. Completing this will reward you with Gotterdammerung, an accessory that will help immensely with completing the Legendary Bouts.

All Brutal Challenges will be a party of three, and you’ll have full control of who you choose to use. Everyone is viable so feel free to use who you feel comfortable with, but I personally recommend using Cloud, Yuffie and Red XIII, as they have a large variety of useful abilities and they all have limit-increasing Synergy Abilities, allowing you to easily get level 3 limits with all 3 characters. As such, the guides for the Brutal Challenges will be written with this team in mind.

While not mandatory, it is recommended you have as many Manuscripts as possible to get as much Folio progress for each character. Completing chapters on Hard difficulty (via Chapter Select after the story) and doing side quests on Hard will get you the bulk of them.

Brutal Challenge 1:Army of the Damned

Recommended Party:Cloud, Yuffie, Red XIII

Cloud Gear Loadout:

Weapon:Umbral Blade
Armor:Cetran Bracer
Accessory:Ribbon

Cloud Materia Loadout:

Weapon:Elemental-Fire and Ice, Revival, HP Up, MP Up, Strength Up
Armor:Magnify-Healing, Vitality Up, First Strike, ATB Assist, Steadfast Block, Precision Defense Focus, Prayer
Summon:Gilgamesh
Weapon Skills:Max HP +200, Defense +50, Reprieve,Bloodsucker

Yuffie Gear Loadout:

Weapon:Fuma Shuriken
Armor:Valkyrian Bangle
Accessory:Fortitude Ring

Yuffie Materia Loadout:

Weapon:Magnify-Healing, Revival, Speed Up, HP Up, MP Up
Armor: Warding-Poison and Petrify, Skill Master, Steadfast Block, Precision Defense Focus, Prayer
Summon:Odin
Weapon Skills:ATB Charge Rate Up, Magic Attack Power +20, Attack Power +20,Attack Damage +5%

Red XIII Gear Loadout:

Weapon:Brisingamen
Armor:Cetran Armlet
Accessory:Enhanced Karmic Cowl

Red XIII Materia Loadout:

Weapon:Elemental-Lightning and Wind, Revival, Vitality Up, HP Up, MP Up
Armor:Warding-Petrify, Warding-Poison, First Strike, Steadfast Block, Precision Defense Focus, Prayer
Summon:Alexander
Weapon Skills:MP Recovery Rate Up, Attack Power +20, Vengeance Gauge Charge Rate Up x2

Round Breakdown:

Every round can be won pretty quickly by using two Triple Slashes with Cloud, followed up with a Stardust Ray on Red and using Art of War into Supreme Art of War with Yuffie. For most rounds this will kill just about everything, but on a few rounds you’ll need to continue fighting. Nothing here should pose much threat if have you the recommended loadout.

Round 1: Berserker Bee, Kyuvildin, Crawler, Insectoid Chimera, Nidhogg, Carnifex
Round 2: Grangalan, Chimera Mimic, Amalgam, Stinger, Bahba Velamyu, Flan
Round 3: Scrutineye, Daemonic Entity, Mu, Mi, Orc, Ignilisk, Lavalisk
Round 4: Sandhog Pie, Bandit, Elite Security Officer, Riot Trooper, Flametrooper
Round 5: Thugs, Bandits, Security Officer, Grenadier,Elite Grenadier
Round 6: Black Bat, Spearhawk, Saberhawk, Velociwing, Fleetwing
Round 7: Capparwire, Pyrowire, Daggerwing, Mandragora, Mandrake
Round 8: Slug-Ray, Type G Slug-Ray, Special Forces Operator, Stormwing
Round 9: Skeeskee, Grasslands Wolf, Nibel Wolf, Screamer
Round 10: Shrieker, Necrotic Entity, Drohdroh, Archdragon

Brutal Challenge 2:Requiem for the Scorned

Recommended Party:Cloud, Yuffie, Red XIII

Cloud Gear Loadout:

Weapon:Umbral Blade
Armor:Cetran Bracer
Accessory:Ribbon

Cloud Materia Loadout:

Yuffie Gear Loadout:

Weapon:Fuma Shuriken
Armor:Valkyrian Bangle
Accessory:Fortitude Ring

Yuffie Materia Loadout:

Weapon:Magnify-Healing, Revival,Speed Up, HP Up, MP Up
Armor:Warding-Poison and Petrify, Skill Master, Steadfast Block, Precision Defense Focus, Prayer
Summon:Odin
Weapon Skills:ATB Charge Rate Up, Magic Attack Power +20, Attack Power +20,Attack Damage +5%

Red XIII Gear Loadout:

Weapon:Brisingamen
Armor:Cetran Armlet
Accessory:Enhanced Karmic Cowl

Red XIII Materia Loadout:

Round Breakdown:

Every round can be won pretty quickly by using two Triple Slashes with Cloud, followed up with a Stardust Ray on Red and using Art of War into Supreme Art of War with Yuffie.Follow up with Synergy Abilities and heal with Curaga if you need to.Use Elemental Ninjutsus with Yuffie to exploit elemental weaknesses. Nothing here should pose much threat if have you the recommended loadout.

Round 1: Noxicap, Heatseeker, Frightflower, Poison Cap, Thunderclaw
Round 2: Blight Frog, Amphidex, Pastel Amphidex, Crystalline Crab, Shoalopod, Shankhalopod
Round 3: Twin Brain, Experimental Varghidpolis, Cyclone Drake, Sandstorm Drake
If the ExperimentalVarghidpolis binds a character, it can perform a self destruct attack that will instakill the bound character.
Round 4: Toxirat, Venorat, Gagighandi, Fulvum Varanus
Round 5: Bloatfloat, Citripinefish, Citripine Schoolmaster, Dranabarga
Round 6: Brumeflower, Rictus, Crown Lance, Gorgon Mane, Bagnadrana
Round 7: Sea Terpsicolt, Heliopora Terpsicolt, Basilisk, Bashfulisk
Round 8: Two Face, Cthonilizard, Aggrevrikon
Round 9: Savage Grandhorn, Grandhorn Warden, Grandhorn
Focus on theSavage Grandhorn first as his Earthbound attack will bind a character until you stagger it. He can bind all three characters if you don’t stagger him, so make this your priority when someone gets bound.
Round 10: Tonberry, Sandspitter, Bladefin, Cactuar, Cactrot
Be careful of the Tonberry’s instakill attacks.

Brutal Challenge 3:Unending Nightmare

Recommended Party:Cloud, Yuffie, Red XIII

Cloud Gear Loadout:

Weapon:Umbral Blade
Armor:Cetran Bracer
Accessory:Ribbon

Cloud Materia Loadout:

Yuffie Gear Loadout:

Weapon:Fuma Shuriken
Armor:Valkyrian Bangle
Accessory:Fortitude Ring

Yuffie Materia Loadout:

Weapon:Magnify-Healing, Revival, Skill Master, HP Up, MP Up
Armor:Elemental-Fire, Warding-Poison and Petrify, Steadfast Block, Prayer
Summon:Odin
Weapon Skills:ATB Charge Rate Up, Magic Attack Power +20, Attack Power +20,Attack Damage +5%

Red XIII Gear Loadout:

Weapon:Brisingamen
Armor:Cetran Armlet
Accessory:Enhanced Karmic Cowl

Red XIII Materia Loadout:

Round Breakdown:

In every round, you will want to be using Synergy Abilities with each character to increase their limit levels to 3, as level 3 Limit Breaks will deal massive damage and stagger increase. Use Prayer for healing when you have ATB to spare, or Curaga when you’re in a rush for a heal. Use Supernal Fervor with Red whenever he has 2 ATB and Vengeance Gauge to Haste everyone with no MP cost. Use Yuffie’s Elemental Ninjutsus to exploit the elemental weaknesses.

Round 1: Elphadunk, Guard Bees, Queen Bee
Round 2: Kelzmelzer, Gi Lancer, Gi Archer, Gi Sorcerer
Make sure to kill the Gi Sorcerer first, otherwise it will revive the other Gi fighters.
Round 3: Zemzelett, Griffon
Attack the Zemzelett while it is doing the Wingbeat attack to pressure it, while the Griffon will pressure itself.
Round 4: Threadspinner Chimera, Pyretails
Round 5: Devil Rider, 2-C SOLDIER Operator
Round 6: Whymzelett, Shirdal
Attack the Whymzelett while it is doing Soothing Breeze to pressure it, while the Shirdal will pressure itself.
Round 7: Cavestalker, Valron, Desert Sahagin, Chimera
Attack the Valron during Graviton Charge, otherwise it will unleash Graviga putting you at 1 HP.
Round 8: Enmidunk, co*ckatrice, Death Claw
Dodge the Death Claw’s Reaper Claws to pressure it, and to avoid being put on 1 HP.
Round 9: Bomb, Ancient Dragon, Panthera Protector
When the Panthera Protector uses Lumen Surge, make sure to run around in a circle to avoid its heavy damage.
Round 10: Sahagin Warrior, Silver Chimera, Marquis Valron
Once again, attackthe Valron during Graviton Charge, otherwise it will unleash Gravigaputting you at 1 HP.

Brutal Challenge 4:Hellions’ Intonement

Recommended Party:Cloud, Yuffie, Red XIII

Cloud Gear Loadout:

Weapon:Umbral Blade
Armor:Cetran Bracer
Accessory:Ribbon

Cloud Materia Loadout:

Weapon: Elemental-Fire and Ice, Revival, HP Up, MP Up, Strength Up
Armor: Magnify-Healing, Vitality Up, First Strike, ATB Assist, Steadfast Block, Precision Defense Focus, Prayer
Summon:Gilgamesh
Weapon Skills:Max HP +200, Defense +50, Reprieve,Bloodsucker

Yuffie Gear Loadout:

Weapon:Fuma Shuriken
Armor:Valkyrian Bangle
Accessory:Fortitude Ring

Yuffie Materia Loadout:

Red XIII Gear Loadout:

Weapon:Brisingamen
Armor:Cetran Armlet
Accessory:Enhanced Karmic Cowl

Red XIII Materia Loadout:

Brutal Challenge 5:The Seventh Seal

Recommended Party:Cloud, Yuffie, Red XIII

Cloud Gear Loadout:

Weapon:Umbral Blade
Armor:Cetran Bracer
Accessory:Ribbon

Cloud Materia Loadout:

Weapon:Magnify-Healing, Revival, Strength Up,HP Up, MP Up
Armor:Elemental-Fire and Ice, Spirit Up, Vitality Up, First Strike, ATB Assist, Steadfast Block,Prayer
Summon:Gilgamesh
Weapon Skills:Max HP +200, Defense +50, Reprieve,Bloodsucker

Yuffie Gear Loadout:

Weapon:Fuma Shuriken
Armor:Valkyrian Bangle
Accessory:Fortitude Ring

Yuffie Materia Loadout:

Red XIII Gear Loadout:

Weapon:Brisingamen
Armor:Cetran Armlet
Accessory:Enhanced Karmic Cowl

Red XIII Materia Loadout:

Weapon:Magnify-Healing, Magic Efficiency-Revival,Steadfast Block, First Strike
Armor:Elemental-Lightning and Wind,Magic Focus-Barrier, HP Up, MP Up, Vitality Up,Prayer
Summon:Alexander
Weapon Skills:MP Recovery Rate Up, Attack Power +20, Vengeance Gauge Charge Rate Up x2

Round Breakdown:

Round 1: Barnaclaw and Elder Golem
Use Wind Ninjutsu as Yuffie for the Elder Golem and avoid the mines he places down. Nothing too special here.

Round 2: Burt and Kid G
Pressure Burt by dodging his named attacks, then quickly stagger him with Cloud’s Focused Thrusts. Finish him off, then swap to Kid G. Dodge his Goblin Beatdown and Sledgehammer to pressure him, and poison him with Yuffie. Play defensively as if you let him hit you too many times he will glow purple and start using Whammo, which does 9999 damage.

Round 3: Sea Devil and Dragon
Both are weak to Ice, so use Ice Ninjutsu with Yuffie. Focus on the Sea Devil first as their Infernal Bind attack can be very annoying if you’re focused on the Dragon. If someone gets grabbed by it, unleash all your ATB on the Sea Devil to make them drop your character before dealing too much damage. The Dragon’s fire attacks won’t be a threat to Cloud and Yuffie, so should be pretty easy to deal with.

Round 4: Stone Golem and Tonadu
Both are weak to Wind, so use Wind Ninjustu with Yuffie. Stone Golem is effectively the same as the Elder Golem from Round 1, so deal with him the same way. When fighting Tonadu, keep an eye out for the Death from Above attack and be prepared to dodge it, as this will pressure him. Avoid using long attacks on Tonadu like Triple Slash, as this will trigger Death from Above and you won’t get an opportunity to dodge away from it.

Round 5: Suevite Disgorgon and Sanguine Scourge
Use Ice Ninjutsu and focus on the Disgorgon first. Cloud and Yuffie will be immune to its poison and petrify, so use them. When it uses Petrifying Mist, the Jaw will temporarily be targetable so use your powerful offensive abilities on the Jaw to destroy it and pressure the Disgorgon. Be careful of the Sanguine Scourge’s Rain of Ruin while fighting and make sure not to move into the purple swords or you’ll take heavy damage. Once the Disgorgon is dead, use Lightning Ninjutsu and attack the Sanguine Scourge. If it has a Shield up, use Yuffie’s ranged attacks or Lightning attacks with Red to damage it.

Round 6: Mystic Dragon and Irasceros
Use Wind Ninjutsu for the Mystic Dragon. Focus on the Mystic Dragon but be wary of the Irasceros’ charge attacks. The Mystic Dragon should go down pretty easily between the ATB and synergy abilities. Use Lightning Ninjutsu for the Irasceros, and if it uses Concentration to lower its stagger bar, hit it with multiple offensive abilities (or one limit break if you have it) to break the Concentration.

Round 7: Reapertail and Gigant Bomb
Use Ice Ninjutsu on the Reapertail until it pressures, then swap to Fire Ninjutsu to continuing pressuring it. Stagger it with Cloud’s Focused Thrust, and keep an eye out for its Pulverize ability as this is a long flurry of attacks that can deal heavy damage if you get caught in it. Gigant Bomb won’t really be able to deal damage to Cloud and Yuffie due to their Fire immunities, so use them to focus on it.

Round 8: Gigaworm and Dark Claw
This round can be really annoying due to the Gigaworm’s Swallow attack. When it initiates this attack, try to dodge towards the Gigaworm to avoid it, or if you have mastered Precision Defense Focus on that character, you can try to perfect block it. If someone does swallowed, focus all your attacks on the Gigaworm to try deal enough damage to make it spit them up before they get instakilled.

The Gigaworm can swallow two characters, so if this happens it can get a bit dire, especially with the Dark Claw’s Reaper Claws attack putting you at 1 HP if it hits. If you manage to deal enough damage to the Gigaworm to spit up the swallowed characters he will become pressured, otherwise be prepared to revive your fallen teammates. Be careful of the Gigaworm’s Earthquake attack as it does heavy AOE damage, so get away from it when it does this. Once you manage to beat the Gigaworm, the Dark Claw should be pretty easy pickings.

Round 9: Gigantuar and Gargantuar
Barriers with Red can help a lot in this round, as the Cactuars can deal massive physical damage with their 10,000 Needles and Needle Rain attacks. The difficulty from this round comes from the AI for your non-controlled party members always prioritising blocking over dodging. Because of this, if they get targeted by 10,000 Needles or Needle Rain, they will typically just block it and immediately die as a result. You will want to try and Barrier your party with Red, then control whichever party member is getting targeted so you can dodge away with them. The Cactuars will become temporarily pressured when they start Needle Rain, so try and get a Focused Thrust in before dodging away from the AOE attack.

Round 10: Diabolic Variant and Ember Zu
Both enemies are weak to Ice, so use Ice Ninjutsu with Yuffie. Ember Zu is normally very dangerous, but with the Elementals you should be immune to the fire attacks with Cloud and Yuffie, making it far less threatening. Even so, focus on the Ember Zu first. It should pressure easily with Yuffie. Once the Zu is dead, destroy the Variant’s Right Arm, and if it duplicates itself, destroy the duplicate.

Brutal Challenge 6: Rulers of the Outer Worlds

Below are two methods listed for dealing with this battle, a more standard one that uses the same team as the previous Brutal missions, and one that specialises in building limit breaks for Cloud with Limit Siphon.

Method 1 – Regular Method:

Recommended Party:Cloud, Yuffie, Red XIII

Cloud Gear Loadout:

Weapon:Umbral Blade
Armor:Cetran Bracer
Accessory:Genji Ring

Cloud Materia Loadout:

Weapon:Magnify-Healing, Revival, Strength Up,HP Up, MP Up
Armor:Elemental-Fire and Ice,First Strike, ATB Assist, Precision Defense Focus, Steadfast Block,Prayer, Subversion (or Assess if you want tocomplete all Enemy Intel)
Summon:Gilgamesh
Weapon Skills:Max HP +200, Defense +50, Reprieve, Limit Gauge Guard

Yuffie Gear Loadout:

Weapon:Fuma Shuriken
Armor:Valkyrian Bangle
Accessory:Fortitude Ring

Yuffie Materia Loadout:

Weapon:Magnify-Healing, Revival, Spirit Up, HP Up, MP Up
Armor:Elemental-Fire, Precision Defense Focus, Steadfast Block, Skill Master, Prayer
Summon:Odin
Weapon Skills:ATB Charge Rate Up, Magic Attack Power +20, Attack Power +20, MP Recovery Rate Up

Red XIII Gear Loadout:

Weapon:Brisingamen
Armor:Cetran Armlet
Accessory:Enhanced Karmic Cowl

Red XIII Materia Loadout:

Weapon:Magnify-Barrier, Revival, Speed Up,HP Up, MP Up
Armor:Elemental-Fire, Poison and Petrify,Spirit Up, ATB Stagger, Precision Defense Focus, Steadfast Block,Prayer
Summon:Alexander
Weapon Skills:MP Recovery Rate Up, Attack Power +20, Vengeance Gauge Charge Rate Up x2

Round Breakdown:

With Cloud, use double Triple Slash or Triple Slash > Aerial Onslaught (if you’re airborne) to activate ATB Assist and boost Yuffie’s and Red’s ATB bars. Use Infinity’s End during staggers to deal close to 9999 damage

With Yuffie, you will want to use Doppelganger and if the opponent has an elemental weakness, use the respective Ninjutsu to take advantage of it. Every 6 ATB you spend, make sure to use Banishment III with your Doppelganger up, as this can deal in excess of 12,000 damage if it’s an elemental weakness on a staggered enemy. After getting her to limit level 3, you can use Refocus synergy ability with Red to get 3 ATB and use her Storm’s Fury ability, which is another heavy damaging ability.

With Red XIII, you will want to use Supernal Fervor to cast Haste on the whole party, and use Watcher’s Respite when the Vengeance Gauge is full as his main source of healing, given he won’t have Healing materia. Retaliation is an amazing ability if you manage to counter an attack with it, as it deals heavy damage. His Magnify-Barrier can be used prior to ultimate attacks to mitigate the damage.

Round 1:Kujata and Phoenix
As Kujata is tethered to Phoenix, you will barely be able to hurt Phoenix until Kujata is dead, so focus on him. Use Yuffie’s elemental Ninjutsus for whichever element Kujata attunes to and upgrade your limit levels as soon as you get synergy abilities. If it looks like Kujata will get to use Tri-Disaster, cast Manaward with Red to mitigate the damage. After Kujata is dead, Phoenix will revive him with Rebirth Flame. He will no longer be tethered, so now switch your focus to Phoenix. As all of your party have Elemental-Fire in their armors, Phoenix should be easy to deal with. Once dead, beat Kujata again.

Round 2: Titan and Bahamut Arisen
Use Wind Ninjutsu on Yuffie to exploit Titan’s weakness. Titan will start with a defensive shield up, which he will also apply to Bahamut. Destroy the shield to pressure them both, then switch attention to Bahamut and try to stagger him. Whenever Bahamut uses Particle Charge, destroy the wings to pressure him again. Try to defeat Bahamut before he gets an opportunity to upgrade to Gigadrive Mode and use Gigaflare, then swap back to Titan to finish him off.

Round 3:Alexander and Odin
This fight can be very annoying as Odin will use Zantetsuken if you take too many hits and Alexander will constantly be annoying with ranged attacks while you’re trying to pressure Odin. Play defensively, punishing Odin with offensive abilities after he tries to attack you. Apply Poison to Odin with Red to help push him towards Sleipnir’s Furor. Deal enough damage to Odin and he will cast Vanish, allowing you to focus on Alexander for a while.

Use Lightning Ninjutsu with Yuffie to exploit Alexander’s weakness and try to destroy the arms as quickly as possible.Make sure to block Earth Tremor, dodge away fromTracking Beam and stay in between the light for the other attacks. After destroying the arms he will be pressured, so quickly try to stagger him with Cloud’s Focused Thrusts. If Alexander manages to raise your Karma to Level 3 (indicated by the red scale symbol above your HP), make sure to cast Manawall with Red if he prepares to cast Divine Judgment, as otherwise it will deal massive damage.

Odin will return to the battlefield immediately after Alexander comes out of stagger/uses Divine Judgment. If you had a good phase against Alexander he will be very close to death, in which case finish him off. If however you didn’t manage to deal most of Alexander’s HP before Odin’s return, focus on Odin again to try make him vanish before finishing Alexander. When it’s just Odin left, continue to punish him after dodging attacks, and reapply Poison to him. If he manages to Zantetsuken, it will deal a guaranteed 9999 to everyone, but hopefully Cloud will still have his Reprieve available and survive. If you see that Odin uses Gjallarhorn’s Warning, this means he is about to Zantetsuken, so use Cloud to build up 2 ATB before he uses it, then immediately revive both Red and Yuffie.

Round 4:Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh will be a long fight. Use Fire Ninjutsu with Yuffie to exploit him, and Poison with Red. If he uses Genji Shield he will get a bunch of buffs and remove Poison, but if you have Subversion on Cloud you can use Dispel to remove all these. Try to perfect block his blockable attacks to try and pressure him, but make sure to dodge away from his unblockable attacks (indicated by the red exclamation mark next to the attack name) as these can be very damaging.

He will start counting down from five, and when he reaches one he will use Ultimate Illusion. This is purely physical-based, so when he reaches two make sure you use Barrier on everyone with Red to mitigate the damage. Try to keep your health topped up, preferably with Prayer or Watcher’s Respite to avoid using MP. Save your MP for emergency heals when you can’t wait to get 2 ATB or are critically injured, or for revives/barriers/dispels.

Continue this cycle and he will introduce new weapons and attacks, so be careful of these. When his health gets low, he will constantly be counting down from five to do Ultimate Illusion over and over, so you will want to try finish him off as quickly as you can. Refresh Barrier with Red for these to limit their damage, but if you’re full HP you should be able to tank these ultimates without Barrier.

Round 5:Virtual Sephiroth
This version of Sephiroth will be unique with its own abilities. For the first half of the battle he will only use standard attacks, Skewer which you will want to dodge as it will put you at 1 HP, and two variants of a new attack called Shadowy Chains. He will have a physical variant where he dashes to you, or a magical variant where he throws a purple orb at you. If this hits you, that character will be bound for a long time, and if he binds all three he will use Octaslash into Octaslash Prime for some heavy damage. The melee variant of Shadowy Chains easily dodged, but the magic variant you will need to perfect block if you want to avoid it. Try to keep Red out of the binds, and if the other two get bound, cast Barrier to protect from the inevitable Octaslash.

This cycle will continue until half HP, where he will start invoking various elements, at which point he’ll have a temporary elemental weakness. Use this as a chance to use Banishment III with Yuffie for massive damage. If you are lucky he’ll invoke Fire, which everyone will be immune to, or Ice, which Cloud will be immune to. He’ll start using Octaslash occasionally when people aren’t bound at all, or only two are bound. If he does it with no one bound, run to the opposite side of the arena with whichever character he is targeting to avoid the other two getting hit. If he uses it with two of them bound, get away with the third to avoid the damage.

Continue dodging and unleashing abilities and synergies, using your limits when you get them and hopefully staggering him. Your MP will probably get dangerously low throughout this fight, but try to remain calm and you can whittle him down.

Method2 – Limit Siphon Method:

Recommended Party:Cloud, Barret, Red XIII

Cloud Gear Loadout:

Weapon:Sleek Saber
Armor:Cetran Bracer
Accessory:Enhanced Expeditionary Medal

Cloud Materia Loadout:

Weapon:Magnify-Healing, Revival, Strength Up,HP Up, MP Up
Armor:Elemental-Fire and Ice,First Strike, ATB Assist,ATB Boost, Vitality Up, Limit Siphon, Steadfast Block
Summon:Gilgamesh
Weapon Skills:ATB Charge Rate Up x2,Attack Power +20 x2

Barret Gear Loadout:

Weapon:Battle Cry
Armor:Valkyrian Bangle
Accessory:Limit Booster

Barret Materia Loadout:

Weapon:Magnify-Healing, Revival, Steadfast Block, HP Up, MP Up
Armor:Elemental-Fire, Luck Up, Precision Defense Focus, Cleansing, ATB Boost
Summon:Odin
Weapon Skills:Attack Power +20, Opening ATB Bonus, ATB Charge Rate Up, Limit Gauge Charge Rate Up +10%

Red XIII Gear Loadout:

Weapon:Brisingamen
Armor:Cetran Armlet
Accessory:Enhanced Karmic Cowl

Red XIII Materia Loadout:

Weapon: Magnify-Barrier, Revival, HP Up, MP Up, Vitality Up
Armor: Elemental-Fire, First Strike, Limit Support, Steadfast Block, Healing, Precision Defense Focus, Poison and Petrify
Summon:Alexander
Weapon Skills: Attack Power +20, Vengeance Gauge Charge Rate Up x2, Max MP +3

Round Breakdown:

With this build, your focus will be to utilise Limit Siphon as Cloud paired with his Enhanced Expeditionary Medal to repeatedly use his level 3 limit, Finishing Touch. Barret is good for this as he is tanky and has many weapon skills and folio upgrades that assist with building ATB/limit break, which will allow Cloud to siphon his limit more regularly. Red XIII having Limit Support will also fill Cloud/Barret’s limits instead of his own, allowing Cloud to get even more limit breaks.

Fight the bosses in much the same way you would in the other strategy, but instead of building up all 3 characters to level 3 limits and using them, keep transferring them to Cloud to let him use his over and over. This should allow you to get an early edge in the fights with faster and more frequent limit breaks.

Legendary Bouts

Before you able to do all the Legendary Bouts, you will need to complete the story and transmute the Corsair’s Compass accessory using the Pirate’s Treasure Map. It is also recommended that you complete all of the Brutal Challenges first, as the last one (Brutal Challenge: Rulers of the Outer Worlds) will reward you with the Gotterdammerung accessory. This will start you with a full Limit Break, and you will also generate your limit faster. This makes every round for all 9 Legendary Bouts notably easier.

The first 7 Legendary Bouts will be 5-round solo fights with each of the individual characters. You will need to utilize all their abilities and strengths to beat these. The last 2 Legendary Bouts are 10-round duo fights with Cloud and either Zack or Sephiroth. The Sephiroth bout is pretty manageable, but the Zack bout will be the hardest of all 9 Legendary Bouts. In both of these you will face all 6 Summons, as well as 4 mini-boss enemies.

While not necessary to complete them, it is recommended you have as many Manuscripts as possible to get as much Folio progress for each character. Completing Hard and doing side quests on Hard will get you the bulk of them.

Legendary Bout 1: Cloud vs. the Warriors

Gear Loadout:

Weapon: Umbral Blade
Armor: Cetran Bracer
Accessory: Gotterdammerung

Materia Loadout:

Weapon: Elemental-Lightning and Wind, Barrier, Healing, HP Up, MP Up
Armor: Elemental-Fire and Ice, Time, Subversion, Precision Defense Focus, Steadfast Block, Skill Master, Chakra
Summon: Gilgamesh
Weapon Skills: Max HP +200, Defense +50, Reprieve, Limit Gauge Guard

Round Breakdown:

Multiple enemies will be weak to Lightning, while also only using Firaga as elemental attacks, so you will be able to both exploit their weaknesses and completely null (or absorb) their fire attacks. Breach will be very helpful for dispelling shields.

Round 1: Bandits
Immediately limit break to kill the bandits.

Round 2: White Terror
Use Haste, then hold your limit break for when it uses Earsplitting Howl. This will avoid the attack and pressure White Terror. Focus on blocking or parrying attacks, and when it goes to use Earsplitting Howl again, use Manawall to reduce damage and block all the attacks. Summon Gilgamesh when you can, then repeat either using Manawall or your limit break during Earsplitting Howl. When you stagger it, use Infinity’s End.

Round 3: Irasceros
Use Breach whenever it casts Shield/Reflect on itself. Save your limit for when it casts Concentration, as this will immediately break it out. Haste yourself and try to increase Stagger with Focused Thrust whenever it pressures between attacks. Block/parry attacks to build up your limit faster rather than dodging. As it is weak to lightning you will be constantly exploiting its weakness, and the Firaga will either be completely nullified or even heal you if your Elemental is maxed.

Round 4: Sanguine Scourge
Much easier than the previous two rounds, weak to lightning so you can constantly exploit it. Stay out of melee range when it uses Rain of Ruin around it, or dodge to the side if it launches it in front. When it gets to low HP, it will start casting Mana Shield so immediately remove it with Breach. Use your limit whenever you have it, or during the stagger.

Round 5: Ironclad
Another enemy weak to lightning who uses Firaga, so both Elementals will be beneficial here. Try to block/parry the regular attacks and dodge all the named attacks, especially Thanatosian Blade as this will hit for 9999. Use Haste, and whenever it uses Sharpen it will become pressured for an extended period of time, so repeatedly use Focused Thrust in between attacks to stagger it. Use your limit whenever you have it, or during the stagger. You can occasionally use Manawall to weaken regular attacks, as well as Graviga which would otherwise put you at 1 HP (without activating Reprieve).

Legendary Bout 2: Barret vs. the Colossi

Gear Loadout:

Weapon:Battle Cry
Armor:Cetran Bracer
Accessory:Gotterdammerung

Materia Loadout:

Weapon:Elemental-Fire and Ice, Strength Up, Speed Up, HP Up, MP Up
Armor:Barrier, Time, First Strike, Precision Defense Focus, Steadfast Block, Skill Master, Chakra, ATB Boost
Summon: Phoenix
Weapon Skills:ATB Charge Rate Up, Opening ATB Bonus, Limit Gauge Charge Rate +10%, Weapon Ability ATB Recovery

Round Breakdown:

Start your rounds with a limit break, use Overcharge to reach 2 ATB and cast Haste. Use ATB Boost with + , then Turbulent Spirit for a temporary boost to ATB rate. With both of these active, get as many attacks out with the rapid ATB rate before Turbulent Spirit expires. Steelskin and Lifesaver will increase your defense and max HP, so can be useful for survivability.

Round 1: Thugs
Use you limit break to injure them all, then use Maximum Fury to finish them. Be careful of them rushing in to melee you as they can stunlock you.

Round 2: Modded Sweeper
Focus on destroying the arms with your limit break and Point Blank, but be aware of its movement when you try use Point Blank as it can slide around or jump backwards which will make it miss. Alternatively you can use Maximum Fury if you want to ensure you hit. When it gets low HP it will start a Defense Mechanism where it launches out a bunch of missiles before it blows up, so get away from it and block the incoming missiles to minimize damage.

Round 3: Gigant Bomb
When Gigant Bomb uses Inflame, it will release fire around it that does constant damage when you’re close, so you will want to stay back for this fight. If you want you can quickly run in and use Point Blank on it for bigger damage, at the cost of some HP. When it uses Fireball, be sure to block it as it can deal heavy damage if it hits you. Manaward will help minimize damage throughout this fight. At low HP it will prepare to explode, so run away from it to avoid the heavy damage.

Round 4: Moss-Grown Adamantoise
This is the hardest round out of all of the solo legendary bouts, due to the Adamantoise’s constant spam of attacks turning it into a bit of a damage check fight. Immediately use Overcharge to reach 2 ATB, then Haste > ATB Boost > Turbulent Spirit > Fira. This will pressure it which temporarily stops the assault of fireballs. Whilst you have the rapid ATB rate, attack it to generate 2 ATB and use Focused Shot, then again to stagger it. Now you can use your limit break, then Overcharge for ATB and cast Manawall as the stagger ends to lessen the onslaught of damage.

Once the Summon bar is full, call in Phoenix and use Reraise with it to save you in the event you die. Continue the Fira > Focused Shot cycle to stagger it, limit breaking when it’s staggered and Hasting yourself whenever it expires.

Round 5: Hell Rider II
Hell Rider II is quite tanky and you will likely have very low MP after beating Adamantoise, but fortunately he doesn’t constantly assault you with ranged attacks so you can keep your distance and play the long game. Save what little MP you have left for Haste and Barrier, relying on Chakra for healing. It will alternate between Polarity Shifts, where it will either pull you in towards or it push you away from it. Either way try to keep your distance, and be sure to block if it charges you.

Legendary Bout 3: Tifa vs. the Martialists

Gear Loadout:

Weapon: Jarngreipr
Armor: Cetran Bracer
Accessory: Gotterdammerung

Materia Loadout:

Weapon: Elemental-Fire and Ice, Healing, Time, HP Up, MP, Up
Armor: Warding-Poison and Petrify, Barrier, First Strike, Precision Defense Focus, Steadfast Block, Skill Master, Chakra
Summon: Bahamut Arisen
Weapon Skills: Critical Hit Rate +5%, Critical Hit Damage +10%, ATB Charge Rate Up, Utterly Unbridled Strength

Round Breakdown:

For all rounds, open with Haste and use your limit break, then cast Barrier and increase your Unbridled Strength to level 3. During Staggers, unload your attacks and use True Strike to maximise the Stagger Damage %.

Round 1: Type-G Slug Rays
Let the enemies start their Lacerate attack to get close to you, then limit break them all and use Starshower to finish them off.

Round 2: Dark Claw
Bait out Reaper Claws and dodge it to pressure the Death Claw, then use Focused Strike to stagger it. Reaper Claws will bring you to 1 HP if it connects, so you have to be very careful when it uses it.

Round 3: Kid G
Dodge his Goblin Beatdown and Sledgehammer, dashing in to attack immediately after dodging to pressure him and use Focused Strike each time. Poison him for some added damage, and don’t be too aggressive as he can counter you. If he hits and counters you too much, he will glow purple and start using Whammo which deals 9,999 damage, so you will want to focus on dodging and punishing him, rather than rushing him constantly.

Round 4: Elder Golem
Elder Golem is weak to wind, so use Starshower into Reverse Gale to deal heavy damage. Most of its attacks focus on petrification, which with a mastered Warding you will be completely immune to, so this shouldn’t be a concern. Most of its attacks will leave explosives on the ground that will eventually trigger, so stay away from these when they appear.

Round 5: Jabberwock
Jabberwock is weak to Fire, so your Elemental-Fire will be put to work here. Even though it’s not fire-based, Reverse Gale is very good against its Gorgon Shield, as using physical attacks will knock you back. Instead of the standard Unbridled Strength, use Unfettered Fury to have magic-based attacks for Gorgon Shield, and swap back to Unbridled Strength just before it staggers, as these increase Stagger Damage more. Dodge away from Seismic Wave and Cataclysm as these are high-damaging AOE attacks, so make sure you get far enough away.

Legendary Bout 4: Aerith vs. the Magi

Gear Loadout:

Weapon:Gambanteinn
Armor:Cetran Bracer
Accessory:Gotterdammerung

Materia Loadout:

Weapon:Warding-Poison and Petrify, Healing, Magic Up, HP Up, MP Up
Armor:Elemental-Lightning and Wind, Fire and Ice, Time, Skill Master, First Strike, Steadfast Block, ATB Boost
Summon:Any
Weapon Skills:Magic Attack Power +20, Max MP +3, Reprieve, ATB Charge Rate Up

Round Breakdown:

Always open each round with ATB Boost, then either Arcane Ward followed by an Elemental spell, or Haste and Radiant Ward. Keep Transcendence active whenever you can as it takes time to charge up to Transcendence II, which deals heavy damage. Exploiting elemental weaknesses will deal massive damage. Save your limit break as an emergency heal when you have no ATB. If you ever need MP, use Soul Drain on staggered enemies.

Round 1: Slug Rays and Security Officers
Open with ATB Boost, then Arcane Ward and Thundara to deal with the two Slug Rays. Use either Radiant Ward or Fira to deal with the Security Officers

Round 2: Yin & Yang
Open with ATB Boost, then Arcane Ward and Fira to deal heavy damage while Yin is active. Once it swaps to Yang, you can generate ATB a lot easier and dodge Blizzard attacks while nullifying or absorbing the Thunder attacks. Use this as a chance to Haste yourself, cast Radiant Ward and Transcendence. Generate ATB for when it transitions back to Yin, then immediately use a Firaga while in the Arcane Ward to finish it off.

Round 3: White Mousses
Open with ATB Boost as previously, but this time use Haste and Radiant Ward. Use Arcane Ward and Transcendence when you can and dodge whenever they use Crush as it can deal heavy damage. Transcendence II will wipe out half the HP for a Mousse so use it once it’s charged.

Round 4: Hecteyes
Hecteyes will be immune to your attacks while it has Reflect up, but it will eventually remove the Reflect which will be your opportunity to defeat it. While waiting for this, use Haste, Radiant Ward and Transcendence, and keep your ATB up. Heal up as needed, then when it uses Dispel Reflection, immediately use Transcendence II and follow up attacks to stagger it and finish it off. If you want you could substitute some materia for Subversion to use Breach on it, but it’s not really necessary.

Round 5: Quetzalcoatl
As Quetzalcoatl is lightning-based, you will either nullify or absorb most of its attacks depending on the level of your Elemental. The melee attacks are still very deadly so be wary of Vortex Sweep and Headlong Charge, making sure to block or dodge these. Use the usual combination of Radiant Ward, Arcane Ward, Transcendence and Blizzard spells to pressure and stagger it. Blizzard spells are best used to pressure it, while Transcendence is best used during the stagger. If you need MP, use Soul Drain while it is staggered.

Legendary Bout 5: Red XIII vs. the Beasts

Gear Loadout:

Weapon: Brisingamen
Armor: Cetran Armlet
Accessory: Gotterdammerung

Materia Loadout:

Weapon: Elemental-Fire and Ice, Cleansing, Time, HP Up, MP Up
Armor: Swiftcast-Healing, Barrier, First Strike, Precision Defense Focus, Steadfast Block, Skill Master, Chakra
Summon: Alexander
Weapon Skills:MP Recovery Rate Up, Attack Power +20, Vengeance Gauge Charge Rate Up x2

Round Breakdown:

For all rounds, open with Haste, then use your limit break, cast Barrier/Manawall, then start building Vengeance Mode/ATB to use Retaliation. This requires 2 ATB and being in Vengeance Mode, and can deal massive damage when countering attacks. Do note that Red’s limit break will also restore HP and MP. All enemies are weak to Ice so Elemental-Ice will help with damage output and pressuring.

Round 1: Amphidexes
Use your limit break or use Stardust Ray to kill the Amphidexes.

Round 2: Mastodon
Block or parry its attacks when it rages and charges, then use Retaliation any time you have charge in your Vengeance Mode meter and 2 ATB. Use Stardust Ray when it rests or is staggered, and use your limit break whenever you get it.

Round 3: Gigantoad
Gigantoad can be a little bit more annoying due to the Capture attack which can’t be blocked. Use the same opening as previously and use Retaliation when it attacks normally, but when it dangles its tongue out for an extended period of time, use Stardust Ray and wail on him to pressure him. Be very careful of its Flatten attack as this will deal heavy damage if it hits, so either block or dodge away.

Round 4: Levidron
Several of the attacks here can stun you, so be wary of that. When it uses Amp Up, it will become pressured but will start dodging your attacks and counter, so rather than attack it directly, counter its attacks to stagger it.

Round 5: Great Malboro
Make sure you have Resist active whenever it casts Rancid/Putrid/Bad Breath, as this will make you immune to all its detrimental status effects. Attack the mouth during this to pressure it. When it casts Fetid Haze you will take constant damage when close to the Malboro, so make sure to stay healed up. Use Retaliation if you can, but some of its attacks won’t trigger it so you may be better using regular abilities or Stardust Ray.

Legendary Bout 6: Yuffie vs. the Wronged

Gear Loadout:

Weapon: Fuma Shuriken
Armor: Cetran Bracer
Accessory: Gotterdammerung

Materia Loadout:

Weapon: Warding-Subversion, Barrier, Healing, HP Up, MP Up
Armor: Elemental-Fire and Ice, Time, First Strike, Precision Defense Focus, Steadfast Block, Skill Master, Chakra
Summon: Odin
Weapon Skills:ATB Charge Rate Up, Magic Attack Power +20, Attack Power +20, Attack Damage +5%

Round Breakdown:

For all rounds, open with Haste, then use your limit break, the relevant elemental Ninjutsu and Doppelganger.

Round 1: Grasslands Wolves
Use your limit break then use Ice Ninjutsu, dodge or block their attacks to pressure them.

Round 2: Joker
Use Wind Ninjustu and dodge his Soul Sucker attack to pressure it. If it uses Spades, it will use a fire attack which will either do no damage or heal you. Diamonds will give it barrier/manaward, use Breach to remove these. Clubs will do an AOE attack beneath you, so dodge away. Hearts will heal him. Joker will put you at 1 HP if it hits, try to use Brumal Form to dodge it, otherwise just use a Curaga when it hits.

Round 3: Diabolic Variant
Use Ice Ninjutsu and focus on destroying the Right Arm before it uses Enshadow and spawns a duplicate. While these duplicates are up, they may sacrifice them with Execution, which would normally inflict Instant Death on you, but if your Warding is mastered then it won’t have any effect. Continue to destroy the arm when they regenerate, and you may need to kill multiple duplicates before they are all dead.

Round 4: Dragon
Use Ice Ninjutsu and be careful of melee attacks. All the magic attacks will be nullified or heal you, so use Barrier to protect against the melee. As long as you stay out of melee distance, this fight should be easy.

Round 5: King Zu
Another easy fight thanks to the Elemental-Fire in the armor, especially if it mastered so that fire heals you. Use Lightning Ninjutsu and destroy the wings when it uses Swan Song to pressure it. If it uses Zephyr Prison, you can stand in the fire to heal you repeatedly, while attacking it from range.

Legendary Bout 7: Cait Sith vs. the Abominable

Gear Loadout:

Weapon:Golden Microphone
Armor:Cetran Bracer
Accessory:Gotterdammerung

Materia Loadout:

Weapon:Elemental-Fire and Ice, Healing, Barrier, HP Up, MP Up
Armor:Warding-Poison and Petrify, Time, First Strike, Precision Defense Focus, Steadfast Block, Skill Master, Chakra
Summon:Kujata
Weapon Skills:ATB Charge Rate Up, Weapon Ability Damage +5%, Attack Power +20 x2

Round Breakdown:

Open every round with your limit break, which if you’re lucky you’ll get to use twice. There is a 50/50 chance when using Cait Sith’s limit that it won’t empty the limit bar, so some of these rounds may be easier if you get the double limit. When enemies are staggered, use Moogle Knuckle to massively increase the Stagger Damage %. Stay off Moogle for the most part when he is spawned in, as he can act as a distraction while you attack from behind or from range.

Round 1: Grangalans
Use your limit break to immediately kill them all.

Round 2: Gi Lancer and Gi Archer
If your limit break doubles, you will kill both immediately. If it doesn’t, finish off the weakened one then use your standard abilities to finish off the second one.

Round 3: Reapertail
Your first limit break will pressure it and fill the pressure bar about 60%. If it doubles, wait for it to be unpressured before using it again to stagger it. Be careful of its Pulverize ability as this is a long flurry of attacks which can easily kill you if you get caught in it.

Round 4: Suevite Disgorgon
This will be hard to pressure, as it can only be pressured by destroying its Jaw during Petrifying Mist, and any singular ability of Cait’s won’t destroy it in time. Let Moogle take aggro and attack it from range or behind, using abilities like Moogle Mine or Moogle Magic when available.

Round 5: Mindflayer
Mindflayer will take a while as you won’t be able to pressure it without someone to synergise with. Use your limit break immediately, and if it doubles, wait until after he teleports to use Astral Apprehension before using the second one. Summon Moogle as soon as possible, then let Moogle draw the attention of the Mindflayer for the majority of the fight. Chip away at it from range, or utilize hit and run tactics by getting in close for a few seconds before retreating. Use Moogle Mine to increase its stagger.

When it teleports and creates a double before using a special attack, make sure to be constantly dodging as if any of these attacks hit it will massive damage, particularly Accursed Orb and Eldritch Horror. When it uses Telekinesis, block to avoid the damage if you’re targeted, then hide behind the rocks to avoid all damage from Psychotic Break.

Legendary Bout 8: Bonds of Friendship

Gear Loadout:

Weapon:Umbral Blade
Armor:Cetran Bracer
Accessory:Gotterdammerung

Materia Loadout:

Weapon:Magnify-Time, Magic Efficiency-Reraise, Revival, Skill Master
Armor:Magnify-Healing, Elemental-Fire and Ice, HP Up, MP Up, First Strike, ATB Assist
Summon:Phoenix
Weapon Skills:Max HP +200, Defense +50, Reprieve, Limit Gauge Guard

Round Breakdown:

This will be the hardest of the legendary bouts. Your partner will be Zack, who lacks a lot of the strengths that Sephiroth has. It’s recommended that you do Legendary Bout: To Be a Hero with Sephiroth first, not only to learn how to deal with the Summon rounds, but also to get that extra manuscript to max out Cloud’s weapon level for extra stats (assuming you’ve done Hard before doing this, otherwise you won’t have all of Cloud’s manuscripts).

Start every round by usingMagnify-Haste with Cloudand use offensive abilitiesto get 3 synergy charges (Triple Slash > Aerial Onslaught is a good combo with Cloud), then use SOLDIER’s Honor. Try to save your initial Limit Break with Cloud for after SOLDIER’s Honorso it is upgraded to level 2, then if you get another wait until it’s level 3. While Zack has temporarily unlimited MP, heal up with Curaga if needed and use Manawall on both characters individually. Unfortunately Zack doesn’t have Reraise at all, so you won’t be able to get that safety net for free every round.Every time you use a synergy ability, reapply Manawall on both characters.

As Cloud has Reraise equipped, you can use this on the harder rounds like 9 and 10, however it is quite costly so try not to use it too much as you don’t want Cloud’s MP to be tapped out in later rounds. You can only use your Summon once across the 10 rounds, so it is best saved for either Round 9 or 10. As you have Phoenix, this can be particularly useful if you are low on MP for Cloud upon reaching these rounds, as you will be able to cast Reraise with Phoenix for 2 ATB instead of expending MP.

Round 1: Titan
Titan will have an Earthen Aegis shield up whenever he’s not pressured or staggered, which blocks all damage. Chip away at this with offensive abilities until you can use your synergy ability, then cast everything with Zack. Once you destroy the shield it will be pressured, so use Focused Thrust with Cloud to stagger. While Staggered, use Infinity’s End as Cloud and Aeroga as Zack to deal massive damage. Be careful never to step in the glowing spots in the area as doing so will eventually incase you in rocks which deals 9999 damage. This battle will be quite the slog as you will likely need to go through three Earthen Aegis shields to defeat him.

Round 2: Hueyacoatl
Charge up your attacks as Zack while waiting for it to use Supercharged, which will pressure it for an extended period. Use leveled-up Meteor Shots alongside Cloud’s Focused Thrusts to stagger it. Be careful of the lightning attacks as these can stun you for a rather long time, making you very vulnerable. Use Aeroga as Zack to deal heavy damage.

Round 3: Phoenix
Generate ATB on Phoenix while it summons extra enemies, then kill them as they spawn in. After killing all three it will be pressured, by which point you should be able to use SOLDIER’s Honor. After staggering it, it will spawn more enemies in so defeat them and repeat the cycle. When it unleashes flame attack on large sections of the arena, make sure to stand in the safe spots as Zack to prevent dying. Use Blizzaga during pressures and staggers for heavy damage.

Round 4: Brineborn Demon
Brineborn will become pressured when it uses Counterstance, at which point it will start countering frontal attacks. Use this as an opportunity to attack him from behind to quickly stagger him. One of the easier non-Summon battles.

Round 5: Kujata
When Kujata takes on an elemental type, use the opposing magic with Zack to deal heavy damage. Make sure to keep up Manawall in the event it does Tri-Disaster, otherwise this will kill Zack. Cloud will be fine due to Elemental in his armor, but it may be worth casting a Reraise on Zack. Dodge away whenever he does Ferocious Lion or Thunderous Stomp. Should be easier than the previous Summon battles.

Round6: Ironclad
This will be similar to the Ironclad you fought in Cloud’s solo legendary bout, except now it should be easier with Zack to help out.Try to block/parry the regular attacks and dodge all the named attacks, especially Thanatosian Blade as this will hit for 9999. Whenever it uses Sharpen it will become pressured for an extended period of time, so repeatedly use Focused Thrust and Meteor Shots in between attacks to stagger it.Try to keep Manawall up with Zack to protect against Thantosian Blade and Graviga.

Round7: Alexander
Destroy the Arms to pressure it, and use Focused Thrust as Cloud to stagger it. Destroy the Light Pillars when they appear to avoid increasing your Karma Level to 3. If this happens, make sure to have Manawall up when he uses Divine Judgment, and if you’re good on MP with Cloud then a Reraise on Zack will help if he dies to it.Make sure to block Earth Tremor, dodge away fromTracking Beam and stay in between the light for the other attacks.

Round8: Mindflayer
When it teleports and creates a double before using a special attack, make sure to be constantly dodging as if any of these attacks hit it will massive damage, particularly Accursed Orb and Eldritch Horror. When it uses Telekinesis, block to avoid the damage if you’re targeted, then hide behind the rocks to avoid all damage from Psychotic Break. While hiding behind the rocks, it is a good opportunity to charge Zack’s abilities by holding to increase the level.

Round9: Bahamut Arisen
Whenever Bahamut tries to do Particle Charge, use Chain Slash and Triple Slash on the wings to destroy them and pressure him. Avoid stepping on the particles around the field as these will deal extra damage to you. Dodge away from Umbral Bombardment and Luminous Dive, and try to block most of the Slash attacks. In the event he reached Gigadrive Mode and unleashes Gigaflare, make sure to have Reraise and Manawall up to survive it. If you get an opportunity to summon Phoenix, this is a good round to use it on for the free-cost Reraise.

Round10: Odin
Play a bit defensively against Odin, as if you take too many hits he’ll use Gjallarhorn’s Warning which means he is about to use Zantetsuken, which will hit 9999 damage through Manawall. Dodge his regular attacks and punish him with attacks afterwards. Immediately use Cloud’s limit break to pressure Odin, then slash away to fill the bar. Using offensive abilities during Sleipnir’s Furor will usually result in you being countered. If you have enough MP, try to use Reraise with Cloud on both characters in the even he manages to get a Zantetsuken off.If you get an opportunity to summon Phoenix, this is a good round to use it on for the free-cost Reraise.

If he uses Spatial Distortion, make sure to run to the side of the arena that’s not being affected, as if you get caught in the distorted side you will be stuck there for a good minute or so with Slow on you. As the fight goes on he’ll start using attacks like Allfather’s Fury or Wolf Hunter which are long combos, and Ring of Helheim which is a large AOE attack, so make sure to dodge away from these and wait until the combos are done before attacking.

Legendary Bout 9: To Be a Hero

Gear Loadout:

Weapon:Umbral Blade
Armor:Cetran Bracer
Accessory:Gotterdammerung

Materia Loadout:

Weapon:Magnify-Healing, Revival, Strength Up, HP Up, MP Up
Armor:Elemental-Fire and Ice, Skill Master, ATB Assist, First Strike, Steadfast Block, Precision Defense Focus, Prayer (Can replace Prayer and Precision Defense Focus for Magnify-Time if you prefer to have Haste)
Summon: Gilgamesh
Weapon Skills:Max HP +200, Defense +50, Reprieve, Limit Gauge Guard

Round Breakdown:

Your partner for this bout will be Sephiroth, who is much better than Zack so this will be much easier than the previous one. Start every round by using abilities to get 3 synergy charges (Triple Slash > Aerial Onslaught is a good combo with Cloud), then use Double Helix. Try to save your initial Limit Break with Cloud for after Double Helix so it is upgraded to level 2, then if you get another wait until it’s level 3.

While Sephiroth has temporarily unlimited MP, use Magnify-Manawall, then Reraise on both characters. This will act as a safety net in the event either character dies at all. Use Magnify-Curaga with him if hurt, otherwise use any of the 2 ATB elemental spells (like Firaga) for the remaining unlimited MP time. Every time you use a synergy ability, reapply Manawall, and if you’ve died, reapply Reraise. If you want you can put Magnify-Haste on Cloud to have them both Hasted constantly in every battle, as Sephiroth doesn’t have it at all. You can only use your Summon once across the 10 rounds, so it is best saved for either Round 9 or 10.

Round 1: Titan
Titan will have an Earthen Aegis shield up whenever he’s not pressured or staggered, which blocks all damage. Chip away at this with offensive abilities until you can use your synergy ability, then cast everything with Sephiroth. Once you destroy the shield it will be pressured, so use Focused Thrust with Cloud to stagger. While Staggered, use Infinity’s End as Cloud and Aeroga as Sephiroth to deal massive damage. Be careful never to step in the glowing spots in the area as doing so will eventually incase you in rocks which deals 9999 damage.

Round 2: Ogre Raider
This fight will be pretty easy, use Blizzaga to pressure it and deal heavy damage. Make sure to block during Frenzy and Furious Blows.

Round 3: Phoenix
Generate ATB on Phoenix while it summons extra enemies, then kill them as they spawn in. After killing all three it will be pressured, by which point you should be able to use Double Helix. After staggering it, it will spawn more enemies in so defeat them and repeat the cycle. When it unleashes flame attack on large sections of the arena, make sure to stand in the safe spots as Sephiroth to prevent dying. Use Blizzaga during pressures and staggers for heavy damage.

Round 4: Sea Dragon
It’s unlikely that you’ll pressure or stagger the Sea Dragon, as only lightning-based attacks will increase the stagger bar. Use Firebolt Blade as Cloud and Thundaga as Sephiroth to deal heavy damage. If you happen to have Poison on Cloud, you can poison it to pressure it and quell its flames.

Round 5: Kujata
When Kujata takes on an elemental type, use the opposing magic with Sephiroth to deal heavy damage. Make sure to keep up Manawall in the event it does Tri-Disaster, but if not Reraise should save you. Dodge away whenever he does Ferocious Lion or Thunderous Stomp. Should be easier than the previous Summon battles.

Round6: Jabberwock
Be vary careful of the Lithic Curse attack, as this can petrify you. If you have Cleansing on you, you can clear this with Esuna, otherwise just make sure to dodge whenever this attack starts. Use Firaga and Firebolt Blade/Blade Beam when it has Gorgon Shield up, as physical-based attacks will be blocked.Dodge away from Seismic Wave and Cataclysm as these are high-damaging AOE attacks, so make sure you get far enough away.

Round7: Alexander
Destroy the Arms to pressure it, and use Focused Thrust as Cloud to stagger it. Thundaga as Sephiroth will deal heavy damage. Destroy the Light Pillars when they appear to avoid increasing your Karma Level to 3, but if this does happen just make sure to have Reraise and Manawall up if Alexander uses Divine Judgment. Make sure to block Earth Tremor, dodge away fromTracking Beam and stay in between the light for the other attacks.

Round8: King Zu
Destroy the wings whenever it uses Swan Song to pressure it and use Aeroga as Sephiroth for massive damage. Cloud will be immune to his fire attacks so this should be pretty easy.

Round9: Bahamut Arisen
Whenever Bahamut tries to do Particle Charge, use Zanshin and Triple Slash on the wings to destroy them and pressure him. Avoid stepping on the particles around the field as these will deal extra damage to you. Dodge away from Umbral Bombardment and Luminous Dive, and try to block most of the Slash attacks. In the event he reached Gigadrive Mode and unleashes Gigaflare, make sure to have Reraise and Manawall up to survive it.

Round10: Odin
Play a bit defensively against Odin, as if you take too many hits he’ll use Gjallarhorn’s Warning which means he is about to use Zantetsuken, which will hit 9999 damage through Manawall. Dodge his regular attacks and punish him with attacks afterwards. Immediately use Cloud’s limit break to pressure Odin, then slash away to fill the bar. Using offensive abilities during Sleipnir’s Furor will usually result in you being countered. Try to use Double Helix as soon as possible so you can get Reraise up on both characters in the even he manages to get a Zantetsuken off.

For more guides check outFinal Fantasy VII Rebirth Wiki.

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