Tips for Hard Mode? (chapter 8)

[SakisasVM]

Well, I'm in serious need of some help.

I started my first playthrough on Hard Mode, and had no issues so far - until Sephiroth.

Managed the first phase well enough, but the second one is simply impossible, thanks to that stupid time limit. I manage to get him to about half life before he pushes me off the ledge.

I'm Level 37 and have about 39% mission completion, so I don't have materia like Hell Firaga, Tri-Thundaga etc. My strongest ones are currently Firaga, Death Blade and Vital Slash, all fully maxed.

Am I missing something or am I screwed?

 

Edit: I watched a few YT videos of other people fighting him and doing like 4-5k of damage per hit - HOW?

Edited December 29, 2022 by SakisasVM

[oYazmat]

How is your materia fusion? You should put more vit/atk/hp, if you have access to some missions with Movers go and farm some SP. I think you can also steal a Punch materia from the Ogre monsters in some mission and make a Costly Punch.

 

Quick question: are you playing hard for the trophy or the challenge? (For trophy you only need to beat the last boss in hard mode not the entire game, you can change modes any time from the settings)

[SakisasVM]

2 minutes ago, oYazmat said:

How is your materia fusion? You should put more vit/atk/hp, if you have access to some missions with Movers go and farm some SP. I think you can also steal a Punch materia from the Ogre monsters in some mission and make a Costly Punch.

 

Quick question: are you playing hard for the trophy or the challenge? (For trophy you only need to beat the last boss in hard mode not the entire game, you can change modes any time from the settings)

 

Genuine question, how would I add more HP etc. to a fusion? If I try to fuse, for example, my max Couraga with a "HP Up+" materia, the result doesn't really show any added effects? I only added Mako stones so far, to max the other values, e.g. my Couraga is SPR +9 now.

 

I actually did it for the trophy, but I heard the hack to get it by only beating the last boss on Hard might be patched out? I was worried I would lose out on it then...

[oYazmat]

13 minutes ago, SakisasVM said:

 

Genuine question, how would I add more HP etc. to a fusion? If I try to fuse, for example, my max Couraga with a "HP Up+" materia, the result doesn't really show any added effects? I only added Mako stones so far, to max the other values, e.g. my Couraga is SPR +9 now.

 

I actually did it for the trophy, but I heard the hack to get it by only beating the last boss on Hard might be patched out? I was worried I would lose out on it then...

It's a feature not a hack and these kind of things don't get patched out, you can switch to normal and beat the game then switch again in the save before the boss and beat it in hard (Be sure to not save you game clear over the save before the last boss)

 

But you did a great job reaching chapter 8 in hard! Congratz!

 

Any way, for fusing, the easiest is HP, you can select an item in the third slot during fusion, if you use a special item it will switch your SPR to HP (or something else) when selected like Fat Chocobo Feathers.

 

For exemple you can fuse Curaga mastered with a Cura level 1 and add 1 Fat Chocobo feather to turn it into HP+% then do another fusion and dump 98~ Fat chocobo feathers or Phoenix downs or Elixirs to get +999% HP (do you have break hp limit?)

 

There is also a trick to make +99 ATK/MAG/SPR/VIT like this, since HP boosting items are move available than the rest, you can switch a materia to HP bonus, fuse it to get 990% (not 999%) then switch it to ATK or VIT or MAG or SPR (or mp/ap but those are useless in endgame) by fusing just 1 of the corresponding item.

 

Just a side note: becareful, the more bonus a meteria has the more SP you will need to fuse (I think you need like 400k SP to max a materia)

Edited December 29, 2022 by oYazmat

[SakisasVM]

7 minutes ago, oYazmat said:

It's a feature not a hack and these kind of things don't get patched out, you can switch to normal and beat the game then switch again in the save before the boss and beat it in hard (Be sure to not save you game clear over the save before the last boss)

 

But you did a great job reaching chapter 8 in hard! Congratz!

 

Any way, for fusing, the easiest is HP, you can select an item in the third slot during fusion, if you use a special item it will switch your SPR to HP (or something else) when selected like Fat Chocobo Feathers.

 

For exemple you can fuse Curaga mastered with a Cura level 1 and add 1 Fat Chocobo feather to turn it into HP+% then do another fusion and dump 98~ Fat chocobo feathers or Phoenix downs or Elixirs to get +999% HP (do you have break hp limit?)

 

There is also a trick to make +99 ATK/MAG/SPR/VIT like this, since HP boosting items are move available than the rest, you can switch a materia to HP bonus, fuse it to get 990% (not 999%) then switch it to ATK or VIT or MAG or SPR (or mp/ap but those are useless in endgame) by fusing just 1 of the corresponding item.

 

Just a side note: becareful, the more bonus a meteria has the more SP you will need to fuse (I think you need like 400k SP to max a materia)

 

That's some really amazing tips, thank you so much!

 

I actually went ahead to get more HP and other stats on my Materia, I'll restart the Sephiroth fight afterward - even if it's not technically necessary, i kinda wanna finish my hard run now, haha.

 

So far though, I only have a limited amount of Phoenis Downs, Elixirs and Chocobo stones, do I need to unlock certain shops to get more? I also don't have the break HP limit ability (?) yet.

[oYazmat]

12 minutes ago, SakisasVM said:

 

That's some really amazing tips, thank you so much!

 

I actually went ahead to get more HP and other stats on my Materia, I'll restart the Sephiroth fight afterward - even if it's not technically necessary, i kinda wanna finish my hard run now, haha.

 

So far though, I only have a limited amount of Phoenis Downs, Elixirs and Chocobo stones, do I need to unlock certain shops to get more? I also don't have the break HP limit ability (?) yet.

 

Unfortunately they are not sold in shops, however you can steal them from some enemies in some missions, but some accessories that do the same things and are sold in shops (however they cost a lot of gil and by the time you unlock the shop you might already be OP). Look through the items you have that you can use in fusion you might be able to add more stats using some useless accessories or lower grade items.

 

Just so you know, later you will start getting materias from missions with +60ATK, +80MAG ... etc which are more than enough to make your perfect build without grinding items (you will need to SP though)

 

For now, try to get the Adaman Bangle (Break HP limit) and Brutal (Break Damage limit) and make a Costly Punch (one of the best materias for Damage), you can also use Darkness for multiple mobs, both of these use only HP and ignore any defenses, so abuse potions (they cost 50gil).

[Hitman_Spinksy1]

I ran into the same problem and went straight for hard and then Sephiroth was impossible no matter what I did without such materia like costly punch and high stats/hp. In the end I gave up and deemed it impossible and not worth the hassle as the game had already grinded out my soul by then

[SakisasVM]

5 hours ago, oYazmat said:

For now, try to get the Adaman Bangle (Break HP limit) and Brutal (Break Damage limit) and make a Costly Punch (one of the best materias for Damage), you can also use Darkness for multiple mobs, both of these use only HP and ignore any defenses, so abuse potions (they cost 50gil).

  

Reloaded an older save and got those accessories now along with 9 more Level Ups, working on getting Costly Punch next. Gotta admit, doing all the Missions on hard is a challenge, but so far it seems to work out - also found out I can use X Potions to add more % to the HP upgrade (5 potions for 10%), which seems to be a good substitute until I can farm Phoenix Downs or Chocobo Feathers.

Thanks for all the help!

[VaNiDgE]

Oh man any of you guys got tips on some of the level 9 Wutai soldiers, I'm trying to get to parts where i can start farming Adamantites, Dark Matters and trying to get the Zeidrich.

 

I can only get so far as I only have enough materials to fuse so far my HP is like over 12,000 and I'm doing really good damage, man these Level 9 mission have soldiers all throwing like Tri-Firaga with death and if they hit you with other moves like a gun or spear, instant death. Like I'm dodging using Electrocute, Flare, or Energy, Drain jump, Costly punch. It's crazy hard.

 

If I go down the phoenix down route I'm just burning a ton, and i only have 12 so I don't wanna burn them just for these fights, as it seems like a waste as every time I pop off a Phoenix Down, I get killed with only enough time to pop off another to get killed again.

 

Man i was able to beat the last bosses on Hard and I was half the power half the power level i am now. Man id hate to know what the level10 missions are like, yikes, to make matters worse I'm playing on normal and struggling mightily . Ugh.

[SakisasVM]

3 hours ago, VaNiDgE said:

Oh man any of you guys got tips on some of the level 9 Wutai soldiers, I'm trying to get to parts where i can start farming Adamantites, Dark Matters and trying to get the Zeidrich.

 

I can only get so far as I only have enough materials to fuse so far my HP is like over 12,000 and I'm doing really good damage, man these Level 9 mission have soldiers all throwing like Tri-Firaga with death and if they hit you with other moves like a gun or spear, instant death. Like I'm dodging using Electrocute, Flare, or Energy, Drain jump, Costly punch. It's crazy hard.

 

If I go down the phoenix down route I'm just burning a ton, and i only have 12 so I don't wanna burn them just for these fights, as it seems like a waste as every time I pop off a Phoenix Down, I get killed with only enough time to pop off another to get killed again.

 

Man i was able to beat the last bosses on Hard and I was half the power half the power level i am now. Man id hate to know what the level10 missions are like, yikes, to make matters worse I'm playing on normal and struggling mightily . Ugh.

 

I'm currently in a similar position, but doing all missions on Hard. There are quite a few fights where I need to reload and/or adjust my equipment, but it's definitely doable!

 

First off, always have Wall equipped and use it at the start of harder battles, it can make a huge difference.

I'd recommend getting over 20,000 HP at least (that's what I have), you can max out the HP augment using X Potions to up to 400%.

The other materia depends, I still mange to one- or three-shot nearly every smaller enemy using Electrocute and Costly Punch. Got Hell Firaga as well, just in case, and Curaga of course.

 

There are tons of enemies who can use "Death" on you, so I'd highly recommend equipping "Safety Bit" for those fights, which makes you immune.

 

So far I also managed to safe nearly all of my phoenix downs, mind you, the Phoenix DMW gives you one for free if activated!

 

Also, don't know if it matters, but I'm Level 60 now while doing these missions!

[oYazmat]

4 hours ago, VaNiDgE said:

Oh man any of you guys got tips on some of the level 9 Wutai soldiers, I'm trying to get to parts where i can start farming Adamantites, Dark Matters and trying to get the Zeidrich.

 

I can only get so far as I only have enough materials to fuse so far my HP is like over 12,000 and I'm doing really good damage, man these Level 9 mission have soldiers all throwing like Tri-Firaga with death and if they hit you with other moves like a gun or spear, instant death. Like I'm dodging using Electrocute, Flare, or Energy, Drain jump, Costly punch. It's crazy hard.

 

If I go down the phoenix down route I'm just burning a ton, and i only have 12 so I don't wanna burn them just for these fights, as it seems like a waste as every time I pop off a Phoenix Down, I get killed with only enough time to pop off another to get killed again.

 

Man i was able to beat the last bosses on Hard and I was half the power half the power level i am now. Man id hate to know what the level10 missions are like, yikes, to make matters worse I'm playing on normal and struggling mightily . Ugh.

You will need safety bit all time to protect against instant death from now on. Until you get Gengi Shield (you should already be able to get it since it's in a level 8 mission) it will make you immune to all status and absorb all elements.   As for now you can just equip absorb fire against tri-firaga.  

 

Try to get vit atk & hp fused first into your materia (farm some movers if you nee hp) . Don't waste your phoenix downs.

[VaNiDgE]

4 hours ago, SakisasVM said:

 

I'm currently in a similar position, but doing all missions on Hard. There are quite a few fights where I need to reload and/or adjust my equipment, but it's definitely doable!

 

First off, always have Wall equipped and use it at the start of harder battles, it can make a huge difference.

I'd recommend getting over 20,000 HP at least (that's what I have), you can max out the HP augment using X Potions to up to 400%.

The other materia depends, I still mange to one- or three-shot nearly every smaller enemy using Electrocute and Costly Punch. Got Hell Firaga as well, just in case, and Curaga of course.

 

There are tons of enemies who can use "Death" on you, so I'd highly recommend equipping "Safety Bit" for those fights, which makes you immune.

 

So far I also managed to safe nearly all of my phoenix downs, mind you, the Phoenix DMW gives you one for free if activated!

 

Also, don't know if it matters, but I'm Level 60 now while doing these missions!

 

Ah gotcha, use the Safety Bit to nullify insta death. I actually did not know the Phoenix DMW gave you a free revive.  

 

3 hours ago, oYazmat said:

You will need safety bit all time to protect against instant death from now on. Until you get Gengi Shield (you should already be able to get it since it's in a level 8 mission) it will make you immune to all status and absorb all elements.   As for now you can just equip absorb fire against tri-firaga.  

 

Try to get vit atk & hp fused first into your materia (farm some movers if you nee hp) . Don't waste your phoenix downs.

 

Right! Genji Shield Level 8 mission, I think with these tips I will be able to have a better time. 

 

These tips really make me feel better, i feel some light at the end of the tunnel, thank you guys!