Tips for Top Secrets / Ultimate Weapon

[Benzychenz]

I've seen a lot of different strategies for this online and I wiped over and over again, so I thought I'd share my setup that got me the win quite easily.

 

I used Cloud, Tifa, Aerith. You want the entire party to have 6 materia slots on their weapon, and a 4 materia armor. You want the weapons mostly maxed out, with every +attack + magic attack +HP +MP, -20% magic costs etc. I went halfway through hardmode to get Aerith the manuscripts needed.

 

Every party member had 2x +HP, 2x +MP, steadfast block, healing, revival, and fire. For the last two slots, Cloud had elemental attached to fire on his armour for the absorption, and assess as I wanted to get Ifrit and Pride & Joy, but swap it to +magic or +luck, or even prayer, haste, or barrier if wanted. Tifa had HP absorption on fire and barrier, and Aerith had hp absorption on fire and magnify on healing.

 

Cloud had the +limit when using ATB accessory, Tifa had the +buff duration, and Aerith had +magic and MP. I was using everyones level 1 limits as the stronger ones took too long to charge.

 

Cloud should have 9999 HP, Tifa should be over 9000 or close to it, and Aerith should be over 8000.

 

Shiva

Lots of people recommend ice+elemental for this to trivialise the fight, which it does, but it also makes 2 materia slots useless for the other 4 battles, and I found it better to wipe on Shiva as she's the very first boss and you're not losing a lot of time.

The strategy here is basically for Aerith to use arcane ward and then to cycle through your three characters double casting Firaga. The impact stuns her and as she's weak to it it massively builds her stagger gauge. If she doesn't die before or immediately after she casts Diamond Dust she starts spamming powerful magic and you'll probably die, so nuke her ASAP.

 

Fat Chocobo

Very easy battle, use it as a breather to recharge MP. You can pretty much take it out just spamming focused thrust and focused strike from Cloud and Tifa, then building up it's stagger % with Tifa and Aerith and nuking. Make sure to kill adds quickly, they have very low HP so die quickly. If you attack the Tonberry from behind they die before they can even turn around.

 

Leviathan

Easy but annoying battle. He flies around the arena a lot making it hard to damage, but he doesn't actually cause much trouble other than that. Tidal Wave will hit for 6000+ but has a long cast, so just have Aerith cast an AoE heal before and after and it won't cause any major issues. About halfway he'll start flying around the stage for 5+ minutes, I found a trick for that though, use a summon and when it casts it's finisher it'll bring him back down for the cinematic attack and he'll stay there afterwards. You don't want to use too much magic for this fight, everyone should be over 50% so they're full for Bahamut.

 

Bahamut + Ifrit

This is the hard one, but I found a way to make it manageable. Bahamut will count down to megaflare, stunning him will reset the count, but you can kill him before then anyway. Use a similar strategy as Shiva, and nuke him with double Firaga casts which stuns him and interrupts his attacks and builds good stagger. I had Tifa cast manawall on Cloud and controlled him as much I could to lower the damage to the group as much as possible. At half HP he summons Ifrit, which actually makes the fight easier! Cloud having elemental on fire makes all of Ifrit's attacks heal him, so if you control Cloud and the enemies focus you, you don't actually take much damage at all. I was swapping to the girls to start Firaga casts from the arcane ward (make sure you have a clear shot though with Ifrit in the way), and then quickly swapping back to Cloud. Once Ifrit was on the field I wasn't using Firaga with Cloud and focused on keeping the enemies away from the girls and using focused thrust. Use limits when available as well and kill Bahamut quickly. From there it's very easy.

 

Pride & Joy Prototype

Not a difficult boss. Similar tells to other robot enemies in the game. Shoots a massive laser, just run around and be behind him when it goes off (be aware of other party members though so you're not aiming the laser at them), has an electric attack that stuns, a close range AoE fire (that will heal Cloud), and a grab attack. The grab will hold onto the character for about 30 seconds before instant killing them, you can attack the arm to release them but I actually found it not really needed, just cast Arise on them afterwards. Didn't do anything special, just focused thrust + strike. Didn't use much magic on Aerith as she only had half MP from the last battle, just let the AI use her and had her dish out heals as required.

 

Hopefully this helps some people get the platinum!

Edited April 18, 2020 by Benzychenz

[DemonicDraco]

I was kinda surprised how easy this was, first try without ever having a single panic moment.

[Lovenewton]

Very nice guide it’ll probably help people achieve it. I beat it with a different strategy (the more common one) but I struggled for hours and I think I largely beat it out of luck at the end. It was by the skin of my teeth.

 

The extra thing I’d like to say though is a lot of people downplay Pride and Joy because he’s significantly easier than Bahamut but if like me you scrape by beating Bahamut and you start the fight with very low MP and HP he is a very serious adversary mostly when he uses his lava attack that turns the entire area into a death zone. I actually beat Bahamut once thought I was homefree because all the guides I saw compared him to Malboro and died. That was painful.

[TwilightSpira]

I just finished my second attempt in 19 minutes and this fight is so much fun when you get the hang of it. 
 

I think the best strategy for it is indeed with Cloud, Tifa and Aerith. 
 

Cloud and Tifa with elemental ice for shiva. Time, barrier for all the fights and magnify curaga with Aerith. 
 

reprieve is also a plus for mega flare and Bahamut boss in general. 

 

I recorded my run in case anyone want to see, would love some feedback on how to improve too. 
 

 

[S-A-U-S-I]

I just beat this fight yesterday on my first try after fearing how difficult it was going to be, and it is actually quite easy if you follow your strategy or something similar.

Most of the strategies use Ice with elemental to beat shiva, but it's the first battle, and one of the easiest, so it ends up becoming a waste of resources to focus in it.

I ended up using a modified version of a guide I saw on youtube, using less materia because most of them are redundant. That way you can equip better 3 materia armor. The only non negotiable thing is to have fire + elemental on your armor for Tifa and Cloud (it trivializes the last fight, and greatly helps with Bahamut, since you can mostly ignore Ifrit) and to control your MP usage during the first three fights (you know how much MP you will regenerate after each fight after all)

 

Here is the guide I used, as a reference:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPySlTiAUxY&t=

 

[DemonicDraco]

Strategy? This fight isnt hard enough to need that, didn't need elemental on my armor either.

[breakXedge]

This is my winning strategy, did it at first try. I think the guide is wrong by putting elemental with ice... Sorry if the names don't match to the english version.

 

Cloud:

Weapon: Twin Stinger with Reprieve. Cure (max), Revive (basic), HP UP x2 (level 4), MP UP x2 (level 2)

Armor: Chain Bangle. Fire (max) + Elemental (level 2), First Strike (max), Guard (basic)

Accessory: Combat converter, the one that fills the limit gauge by using abilities.

 

Barret (yes, Barret):

Weapon: EKG Cannon with Reprieve. Cure (max), Guard (max), HP UP x2 (level 3), MP UP x2 (level 2)

Armor: Supreme Bracer. Fire (max) + Elemental (level 2), Revive (max)

Accesory: Champion Belt

 

Aerith:

Weapon: Silver Staff with Reprieve. Fire (max), Revive (basic), HP UP x2 (level 4 and level 2), MP UP x2 (level 2)

Armor: Rune Armlet. Cure (max) + Magnify (max), First Strike (max)

Accessory: Spectral Cogwheel, consuming MP fills the limit gauge.

Also, that Silver Staff has a 50% faster MP recovery during combat.

 

Having elemental not maxed, I was just inmune to Fire. At max level it will heal you, making Ifrit and Pride & Joy a walk in the park. 

I don't think there's a huge difference between Tifa and Barret, but you can be a bit screwed during Leviathan battle withouth a long range attack. Just IMO.

 

Shiva: Was the worst fight IMO but if you screw up, it's just the first fight. As the guide states, it's easy with Ice+Elemental, but that makes useless two materias on the later fights. My strategy, cast Arcane Ward and then double Firagas to Shiva if you have the chance. You'll regain MP on the next battles so don't worry. Swap to Barret everythime you can cast Overcharge and Cloud's Focused Thrust. Then, summon Ifrint when you have the chance and she'll be down pretty soon.

 

Fat Chocobo: Easy. I controlled Barret almos all the fight with long range attacks. Everythime you see a Bom or a Tonberri, unleash Maximum Fury to kill them ASAP. Use Cloud and Aerith to fill the stagger bar  and try to save MP. It's a really easy battle.

 

Leviathan: This time I used Cloud with close range attacks. When it starts to fly, swap to Barret and keep attacking. Have Aerith ready to cure anytime. It's a pretty eassy battle too.

 

Bahamut + Ifrit: This is the real battle here. Just go with everything you have. I didn't stagger him and killed my 3 characters, that's where Reprieve is useful. Save your limit breaks, and when Bahamut is staggered, unleash them. I used Cloud's and Barret's limit breaks when staggered and lowered his HP a lot. Use Aerith limit break everythime you can to be inmune to phisical damage. When he summons Ifrit the battle goes easier. With maxed elemental he will heal you with every attack, so focus on Bahamut. When Bahamut is down, Ifrit won't last.

 

Pride & Joy: Another easy battle. He has fire attacks too, so again, you'll heal by having fire+elemental on your armor. Just heel attackin with Cloud and, if he uses the catch attack, swap to barret and unleash everything to the right hand. Aerith just supporting the battle.

Edited May 19, 2020 by breakXedge

[Khain24]

I used this glass-cannon guide:

 

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/168653-final-fantasy-vii-remake/78686645

 

I won't post full details (you can check the very thorough guide for that) but the gist is create Cloud/Aerith for magic damage and Tifa for physical. 

 

Generally Cloud/Aerith will be casting Firaga/Thundaga to stun lock enemies while Tifa uses attacks and focused strike to build stagger gauge during pressure. Each fight varies slightly but the gist is the same. Idea is to down Bahamut before he even summons Ifrit. Stun lock via Firaga then use Blizzara/Focused strike to build stagger during pressure...pause before 50% and then stagger after Megaflare countdown starts.

 

My runs didn't go as smoothly as the OPs as I couldn't seem to get the pressure/stagger timing down. I got a bit lucky as I was able to down Bahamut after summoning Ifrit (both Tifa/Cloud were down) and Ifrit just kinda stood there while I wailed away on him from a distance (bug maybe? unless Ifrit just chills once Bahamut goes down).

 

I had very low MP left with Aerith after that fight but cleared Pride and Joy with ease seeing that Tifa/Cloud only had about half health and Cloud/Aerith had half mp going into the fight...which should go to show how easy the final fight is in comparison.

[Excesseus]

I don’t want to sound like an ass, but I didn’t even know this was worthy of topics like this. It’s incredibly easy and I’ve heard people call it a superboss, when it’s a fraction of the difficulty of previous super bosses. Even the Bahamut/Ifrit stage is rather easy, and can easily be negated by an elemental-fire

combo and to immediately use Clouds limit on Ifrit. 

[You]

I am surprised at everyone suggesting Tifa over Barret. Barret basically has teleport attacks, when he fires he does damage instantly no matter where he is stood and no matter how far the enemy is away, basically he has homing bullets.

 

I spent my time changing between Aerith and Barret and keeping both of them at the opposite sides of the arena only switching to the other character when the boss focuses on me. Cloud AI would end up just being able to attack the bosses in the center of the arena without much trouble since the AI is focusing on the other characters.

 

I felt having Cloud and Tifa, it makes them crowd together and they end up both getting hit with the same enemy attacks. Well I guess it is just preference but when Lavathian is flying around all the place. Both Barret and Aerith can still hit the bosses flying around in the air, in that moment you can just be Cloud, he can't hit the boss well anyway but you can at least run around so the bosses aim for you giving the 2 AI characters all the opportunity in the world to attack without too much damage.

 

I guess, each to their own methods. Whatever works for you.

[nrs1nrs1]

I just got to Pride and Joy and my hands are shaking, I've also been using the glass cannon build.

 

 

Edited August 6, 2020 by nrs1nrs1
beat Pride and Joy! Holy crap

[Tyxoune]

I just managed to beat this challenge on my first try ! I was actually very scared of the difficulty after all I've read on these forums so I studied a few videos and strategies but in the end I went with my guts and it worked ! I've detailed below my loadout ! 

 

First of all I played the game on Hard up to chapter 17 while doing all the side missions to get as many manuscripts as possible and I ended with 336 SP.

 

Cloud : HP (9158), MP (196)

 

Weapon: Twin Stinger - I decided to reset my upgrades and activate Reprieve; then I simply used Auto 2: Prioritize Attack to get it fully upgraded.

Materia: Healing (MAX), ATB Boost (MAX), HP UP (MAX), HP UP (4/5), MP UP (4/5), MP UP (4/5), Levianthan (MAX)

 

Armor: Chain Bangle

Materia: Fire (MAX) linked to Elemental (MAX), Revival (MAX), MP UP (3/5)

 

Accessory: Headband

 

------------------------------------

 

Barret : HP (9451), MP (89)

 

Weapon: EKG Cannon - As I did for Cloud, I decided to reset my upgrades and activate Reprieve; then I simply used Auto 2: Prioritize Attack to get it fully upgraded.

Materia: Time (MAX), Barrier (MAX), HP UP (MAX), HP UP (1/5), Revival (1/2), ATB Stagger (MAX), Bahamut (MAX)

 

Armor: Supreme Bracer

Materia: Fire (1/3) linked to Elemental (2/3), MP UP (3/5)

 

Accessory: Survival Vest

 

-------------------------------------

 

Aerith : HP (7114), MP (187)

 

Weapon: Reinforced Staff - As I did for Cloud & Barret, I decided to reset my upgrades and activate Reprieve; then I simply used Auto 2: Prioritize Attack to get it fully upgraded.

Materia: MP UP (4/5), MP UP (4/5), HP UP (4/5), HP UP (4/5), Magic UP (4/5), Magic UP (4/5), Shiva (MAX)

 

Armor: Supreme Bracer

Materia: Magnify (MAX) linked to Healing (MAX), Fire (MAX)

 

Accessory: Circlet

 

-------------------------------------

 

The only real piece of strategy that I used was to cast an Arcane Ward against Shiva and spam her with Firaga (doubled) and attack with Cloud when she was staggered. She did cast her Ultimate against me and the party survived with 1 HP each (Reprieve) then Magnify Healing with Aerith.

 

Fat Chocobo is straight forward just a bit long.

 

Against Leviathan I used Barrett to cast Manawall on Aerith before the Tidal Wave, then Aerith to Magnify Healing on everyone.

 

Against Bahamut I used both Aerith and Barrett one after the other to mess up with the AI, switching to Cloud from time to time to ramp up the damage. Bahamut did cast Megaflare once, all my party got to 1 HP thanks to Reprieve and then Magnify Healing with Aerith and all back to full health ! When Bahamut invokes Ifrit, just play with Cloud and attack Bahamut while Ifrit is busy healing you. When Bahamut is dead just dispose of Ifrit.

 

For Pride and Joy I mostly used Cloud to deal damage, Barrett with Maximum Fury, Aerith with Heals and Ray of Judgement.

 

Hope this helps

 

-------------------------------------

 

This trophy is also my milestone for Level 400 !!!

Edited January 9, 2021 by Tyxoune

[Lanky-Lemon]

On 09/01/2021 at 11:24 PM, Tyxoune said:

I just managed to beat this challenge on my first try ! I was actually very scared of the difficulty after all I've read on these forums so I studied a few videos and strategies but in the end I went with my guts and it worked ! I've detailed below my loadout ! 

 

First of all I played the game on Hard up to chapter 17 while doing all the side missions to get as many manuscripts as possible and I ended with 336 SP.

 

Cloud : HP (9158), MP (196)

 

Weapon: Twin Stinger - I decided to reset my upgrades and activate Reprieve; then I simply used Auto 2: Prioritize Attack to get it fully upgraded.

Materia: Healing (MAX), ATB Boost (MAX), HP UP (MAX), HP UP (4/5), MP UP (4/5), MP UP (4/5), Levianthan (MAX)

 

Armor: Chain Bangle

Materia: Fire (MAX) linked to Elemental (MAX), Revival (MAX), MP UP (3/5)

 

Accessory: Headband

 

------------------------------------

 

Barret : HP (9451), MP (89)

 

Weapon: EKG Cannon - As I did for Cloud, I decided to reset my upgrades and activate Reprieve; then I simply used Auto 2: Prioritize Attack to get it fully upgraded.

Materia: Time (MAX), Barrier (MAX), HP UP (MAX), HP UP (1/5), Revival (1/2), ATB Stagger (MAX), Bahamut (MAX)

 

Armor: Supreme Bracer

Materia: Fire (1/3) linked to Elemental (2/3), MP UP (3/5)

 

Accessory: Survival Vest

 

-------------------------------------

 

Aerith : HP (7114), MP (187)

 

Weapon: Reinforced Staff - As I did for Cloud & Barret, I decided to reset my upgrades and activate Reprieve; then I simply used Auto 2: Prioritize Attack to get it fully upgraded.

Materia: MP UP (4/5), MP UP (4/5), HP UP (4/5), HP UP (4/5), Magic UP (4/5), Magic UP (4/5), Shiva (MAX)

 

Armor: Supreme Bracer

Materia: Magnify (MAX) linked to Healing (MAX), Fire (MAX)

 

Accessory: Circlet

 

-------------------------------------

 

The only real piece of strategy that I used was to cast an Arcane Ward against Shiva and spam her with Firaga (doubled) and attack with Cloud when she was staggered. She did cast her Ultimate against me and the party survived with 1 HP each (Reprieve) then Magnify Healing with Aerith.

 

Fat Chocobo is straight forward just a bit long.

 

Against Leviathan I used Barrett to cast Manawall on Aerith before the Tidal Wave, then Aerith to Magnify Healing on everyone.

 

Against Bahamut I used both Aerith and Barrett one after the other to mess up with the AI, switching to Cloud from time to time to ramp up the damage. Bahamut did cast Megaflare once, all my party got to 1 HP thanks to Reprieve and then Magnify Healing with Aerith and all back to full health ! When Bahamut invokes Ifrit, just play with Cloud and attack Bahamut while Ifrit is busy healing you. When Bahamut is dead just dispose of Ifrit.

 

For Pride and Joy I mostly used Cloud to deal damage, Barrett with Maximum Fury, Aerith with Heals and Ray of Judgement.

 

Hope this helps

 

-------------------------------------

 

This trophy is also my milestone for Level 400 !!!

 

Just completed this challenge using a build similar to this after 10+ attempts with a glass cannon build. Only change I made was putting Elemental-Ice on Barrett's armour to make Shiva easier in her dumb invincible mode. Thanks for the tips and clear layout friend ⚔️

[ThunderSaucepan]

You sorta left out how Shiva uses Frost Familiars to make herself impervious to fire damage after a certain point. Specifically after about 25% or so of her health is depleted. 

Edited April 4, 2021 by ThunderSaucepan

[Silocia]

I cant beat this challenge at all. I cant get past Bahamut. I can get through the others just fine, I can get Bahamut down to half health and as soon as Ifrit joins its game over. I cant focus everyone on him cos Bahamut just comes along and wipes us. Everyone keeps saying to use Limit as soon as Ifrit spawns .... I've never had a limit even close to being ready by that time.

 

The only positive I have in this fight is that I can get to him, get him to half health and die within 13 minutes which compared to others seems to be pretty quick. 

[NoosaHeadz]

Not a great guide

 

4 of the 5 you can stagger straight away and finish them off in seconds with Tifa stagger bonus

 

Bahamut you have to pressure him for a minute let him do his countdown then stagger and KO him before he summons ifrit .

 

Its a long winded way to do it

[Fr_0zt]

18 hours ago, Silocia said:

I cant beat this challenge at all. I cant get past Bahamut. I can get through the others just fine, I can get Bahamut down to half health and as soon as Ifrit joins its game over. I cant focus everyone on him cos Bahamut just comes along and wipes us. Everyone keeps saying to use Limit as soon as Ifrit spawns .... I've never had a limit even close to being ready by that time.

 

The only positive I have in this fight is that I can get to him, get him to half health and die within 13 minutes which compared to others seems to be pretty quick. 

 

I was stuck on him too and made Tifa immune to fire to buy some time

 

Here is my W run:

 

[Silocia]

29 minutes ago, Fr_0zt said:

 

I was stuck on him too and made Tifa immune to fire to buy some time

 

Here is my W run:

 

elemental fire amour does seem to be the play for Ifrit and Pride and Joy.

 

Looks like I'll have to jiggle some things around and grind for more hours to level up those materia. They could have done something to make grinding a little less tedious. chapter select and even with skipping cutscenes gets a tad tiresome. I miss the days of wondering around for random encounters haha.

[Fr_0zt]

56 minutes ago, Silocia said:

elemental fire amour does seem to be the play for Ifrit and Pride and Joy.

 

Looks like I'll have to jiggle some things around and grind for more hours to level up those materia. They could have done something to make grinding a little less tedious. chapter select and even with skipping cutscenes gets a tad tiresome. I miss the days of wondering around for random encounters haha.

 

Go to the colosseum and put it into auto play (forgot the name) and don't worry, the ai is quite decent.  It's gonna be a solid 5 or so hours of grind but it's absolutely necessary. 

[Silocia]

On 26/04/2021 at 6:09 PM, Fr_0zt said:

 

Go to the colosseum and put it into auto play (forgot the name) and don't worry, the ai is quite decent.  It's gonna be a solid 5 or so hours of grind but it's absolutely necessary. 

 

Just wanna thank you. I've finally done it. I honestly think I would have given up if you hadn't posted your video. The rest of the videos are very disheartening due to them being specific builds that aren't my play style and as such would have taken me absolutely hours to grind the materia and then take me however long to get used to playing as it.

[Fr_0zt]

31 minutes ago, Silocia said:

 

Just wanna thank you. I've finally done it. I honestly think I would have given up if you hadn't posted your video. The rest of the videos are very disheartening due to them being specific builds that aren't my play style and as such would have taken me absolutely hours to grind the materia and then take me however long to get used to playing as it.

 

Good, now go and get me that platinum! ??

[DaveMcDamage]

I finally nailed this and was stunned more than overjoyed at the time lol. Only thing I didn't check was the time I done it in, but I'd be surprised it if it lasted 25 minutes. 

 

My setup and this is for allowing Ifrit to be summoned as I cannot do the glass cannon method. 

 

Cloud: Twin blade - Force bracelet - champion belt

HPu x 2 - MPu x 2 - Magic Up - Steadfast Block / Revive - Heal - Elemental tied with Fire

 

Tifa: Metal Knuckles - Chain bracelet - Fury ring

HPu - MPu x 2 - Revive - ATB Assist - Steadfast Block / Elemental tied with Ice - Subversion - Lightning 

 

Aerith: Reinforced staff - Force bracelet - Circlet

HPu x 2 - MPu x2 - Magic Up - Revive / Prayer - Lightning - Barrier tied with Magnify

 

Shiva

Just attack with Tifa using unbride strength and the rest takes care of itself. Triggering the ATB assist with Tifa will then eventually allow you to use Aerith's prayer on the team should the other two be losing health. It could also be worth using barrier with Aerith and then when you get Shiva staggered after her main attack, use Aerith's sould drain to reclaim any lost MP but you won't use a lot and will get it back at the next round. 

 

Fat Chocobo

Stick with Tifa but also take control of Cloud. Because of the fury ring on Tifa she will be taking a lot more damage so have Aerith build up 2 x ATB and use the prayer materia when you can. When taking control back of Tifa it might be worth you going after any Tonberry's as her subversion will stop her getting insta killed from them. From there its just a case of hammering on Fatso and you may have to revive now and then like I did. Not as quick to beat him as it was Shiva, but still easy enough. 

 

Leviathan

At the start you may get Tifa's arse kicked now and then so be on standby with cure or revive for her. Try to lock the target to its dorsal fin otherwise you jump up to punch its head and it does next to nothing but slow you down. Switch to Cloud now and then and when you get an ATB with Aerith make sure to use the magic ward and then have Tifa and her Cast some Thundaras on him. Try to avoid Thundaga's with Tifa as she will have the least amount of MP even with 2 MP ups. When you hit it with enough Thunder it will eventually fall and stagger and thats when you want to nail it with as many of Tifa's true strikes as you can, also use R2 to select Cloud rather than manual switching and use his high attack abilities. Leviathan will most lilkely survive the stagger and will then cast Tornados so careful with your dodges and make sure to make the most of Aerith's long range attacks as well as casting another ward and using Thundaras. Eeventually it will leave the air and go low to the ground, this is when you can take control of Cloud and Tifa and get in some proper ability attacks and it should finish it off. 

 

Bahar-stad

No matter how well you try to get away at the start, you're going to get hit and if Tifa is your starting member then she's gonna take a beating. It might be worth having Cloud as your stating member as he has the most health to take that first attack. From here the vid guides are sound to follow. Cast ward with Aerith and try and get as many spells cast by the team in the ward area as you can. Stay on top of health, attack to build ATB even though its red aura thing miight damage you and eventually he will cast Ifrit.  When he cast Ifrit take control of Cloud and attack Ifrit like a mad man. You don't need him to stick around and due to damage taken over the fight, you may have built a couple of limit breaks. Cast Ice on Ifrit (in the ward area if you can) and take him down. If you have the limit breaks, now is the time to use them, especially Tifa's and Clouds. Make sure when one is doing the limit break you switch to the other character to attack and build up ATB. have Aerith cast a spell of two if need be. This should be enough and it will probably be the easiest time you've had with this son of a monkeys ball bag if you've been struggling with other builds and attempts. 

 

Top Secret

Like every suggestion and vid has made available for this fight Take the fight to its back. Cast a few thundagas with Aerith and Tifa to the point where you damage him enough that he falls to his knees. From there cast a ward with Aerith and use her and Tifa to Thundaga the crap out of him. You may run out of MP with Aerith but Tifa should have saved a tonne. Cloud will also have a lot but not sure how well Firaga works against this guy. The trouble when not controlling one of the team is that they are the ones likely to get grabbed by him. If that happens cast some serious fire power to his right arm as well as any heavy ability attacks. Cloud will get health from the fire attacks and the fire on the floor, so take control of Tifa, unbride her strength and go to town at his back. This should get you through with plenty of health as well as having the team still standing at the end. 

 

So glad this is over though lol. Gonna Gotternburg the shit out of every enemy for the remaining chapters lol. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Rated-G]

I’m just very tired. I’ve spent a lot of time prepping for hard mode, and doing this and getting Götterdämmerung is the last step before I can finally finish and move on to PS5 and Intergrade.

 

I’ve had countless attempts over the last few weeks, but I can’t get past the Bahamut fight. Honestly I’m barely making it through the Leviathan fight, and I’m inconsistent with Shiva and Fat Chocobo. I don’t know what keeps one shot wiping my team during Fat Chocobo, and with Shiva, sometimes I just can’t take her out fast enough and she gets into a loop spamming Frost Familiars and healing herself faster than I can do damage.

I have all of my materia maxed, everyone is level 50, weapon level 6. But I’m neither skilled enough with the combat in this game, nor fast enough with my fingers to play well and survive. I just hate that I’ve put so much time into this file building AP and maxing out materia, banging my head against this one challenge for it to be what stops me from finishing this close to the end.

 

If there’s some sort of cheese method for this I’ll take it as well. Really, any help would be incredibly appreciated!!

Edited May 7, 2022 by Stevieboy

[jossmilan7412]

Use this guide, my dude. 

 

This is the easiest way to complete top secrets, i got it on my 2nd try, really easy to follow, you can do it on your own. 

Edited May 7, 2022 by jossmilan7412

[Rated-G]

That’s the method I switched to for the past few days worth of attempts, but despite having the same build and following the steps, but I’m just not able to get all the attacks in fast enough to stagger Shiva at all. She ends up getting her Frost Familiars going before I can get her staggered and then inevitably one of the magic users gets knocked unconscious within the first 40-50 seconds of the fight.

 

EDIT: NEVERMIND, thank you! This is incredibly similar to the video I was using before, the same builds, but the in fight tactics are actually working for the first two fights for me. I can’t keep Tifa alive during the Leviathan fight though, or get it pressured.

Edited May 7, 2022 by Rated-G