Below, we’ve ranked every Final Fantasy 7 Remake boss from easiest to the most difficult.
Roche
Both battles with Roche are fairly easy. The first one, which occurs right at the end of the biking minigame in Chapter 4 is quite annoying. However, so long as you keep an eye out for the prompts and queues when to dodge, as well as when to attack, chipping away at Roche’s health shouldn’t pose that much of an issue. The same goes for when you’re dueling later on, as he’s fairly weak to Fire and Ifrit. So long as you make use of the Punisher stance of Cloud during the duel, Roche should go down quite easily.
Scorpion Sentinel
The first boss of Final Fantasy 7 Remake is naturally easy to take down. Much of the difficulty here usually comes from player inexperience. However, the boss does a great job of handholding players and explaining what to do to take the boss down.
Brain Pod
The Brain Pod boss fight in Chapter 17 is one of the boss fights that are more of a nuisance than anything else. Even without the Lighting and Elemental Materia combo equipped on Cloud’s weapon of choice, the boss should go down without much trouble. At this point in the game, both Cloud and Barret should have access to the highest level of the Thunder elemental spell, Thundaga.
Enigmatic Spectre
Taking down the Enigmatic Spectre in Chapter IV is either easy or easier, it all depends on who you utilize. If you’ve figured out how combat in Final Fantasy 7 Remake works already, you’ll know that this boss is the easiest to take down with Tifa. All you have to do is to have Tifa go to town on the Enigmatic Spectre, leave it in a Staggered state constantly, and that’s it. Alternatively, you can also use Cloud or take out the other Spectres first, although that would only add unnecessary difficulty to an easier boss fight.
Specimen H0512
Make no mistake. The Specimen H0512 is not, by any means, a walk in the park. It’s a fairly tough boss with a lot of health. The only problem is that, at this point in the game (Chapter 16), the boss doesn’t really pose that much of a problem anymore.
Reno
If you know how to use the Punisher stance, Reno should go down quite easily. You’ll just have to make sure to block and counter until you Stagger Reno. After this, just throw a Triple Splash, and that’s it.
Shiva
Fighting against a summon like Shiva might feel like one of the more difficult things to do in Final Fantasy 7 Remake, but it’s not. With Cloud wailing on Shiva with a weapon equipped with a Fire Materia connected to an Elemental Materia (conversely, you can use armor with Ice Materia connected to Elemental Materia), you should be able to summon Ifrit fairly quickly and from then on, Shiva will just melt (pun intended). Just be careful about Shiva’s Limit Break, Diamond Dust. If you see the ability name pop up over Shiva’s head, you’ll want to heal up immediately.
Fat Chocobo
One could argue that the Fat Chocobo summon is easier to take down than Shiva. The reason being that it’s so much easier to Stagger the Fat Chocobo. Not to mention, the boss has the longest Stagger period of any enemy you’ll encounter in Final Fantasy 7 Remake. We recommend building the Stagger bar of the Fat Chocobo as fast as possible using Tifa with her triangle abilities so you can increase the percentage to at least 300% to make it easier to take the Fat Chocobo down.
Abzu
By Chapter 10, you should have figured out that Fire Materia is one of the most useful Materia in Final Fantasy 7 Remake.Aerith casting Fira or Firaga, in particular, will deal a ton of damage to Abzu, especially to his horns. Fair warning though. Even if Abzu is not a difficult boss fight, you shouldn’t underestimate it. The water attacks can deal a lot of damage if you’re not careful.
Crab Warden
The Crab Warden is arguably the first time in Final Fantasy 7 Remake that you’ll have to make sure that you focus on the appendages first and that you have Lighting Materia equipped on your characters. Otherwise, you’ll have a lot of issues taking the Crab Warden down.
Leviathan
Final Fantasy 7 Remake is full of annoying bosses. The Leviathan is one of them. This VR Summon boss tends to fly around. During that time, you won’t be able to deal damage to it using melee attacks. This is why it’s recommended that you use a party with both Barret and Aerith when fighting against the Leviathan in Final Fantasy 7 Remake. As long as both said characters are in your party with Elemental Materia + Lightering Materia linked together equipped, the fight against Leviathan shouldn’t take too long.
Motor Ball
Think of the Motor Ball boss fight in Chapter 18 as a more annoying version of the earlier bike minigame battle against Roche. However, it also comes with its fair share of difficulty. Case in point, the Motor Ball will throw fireballs and requires a bit more to take out. But, so long as you can keep your distance when necessary and close in to deal damage to leave the Motor Ball in a Staggered state and so on, then the Motor Ball battle will be over soon enough.
Airbuster
The Airbuster boss is one of the missed chances of Final Fantasy 7 Remake to give gamers an epic showdown. After building up to it, the Airbuster feels disappointing, to say the least. This isn’t to say that it’s not an easy boss. Rather, it just feels like the Airbuster should be far more powerful, especially the way that the game seems to describe it. In any case, as long as you have Lighting Materia on any or all of your party members for this fight, the fight against Airbuster shouldn’t be difficult.
Failed Experiment
The Failed Experiment is fairly easy to take down with very little prep. If you have the highest level of Ice-element spell to cast (Blizzaga) on at least one of your party members, then the fight becomes more or less trivial.
Reno & Rude
Reno’s damage is negligible, especially with an armor equipped with the Lighting + Elemental Materia combo. Then, once Rude joins in, you’ll either almost have finished taking out Reno already or you already know what to do. If you’d like to make both Reno & Rude go down faster, you’ll want to equip Poison Materia beforehand as they’re both vulnerable to Poison.
Darkstar & Rufus
Taking out Darkstar & Rufus using only Cloud can feel intimidating. The truth though is that this boss fight is far from difficult. It’s more or less a battle of attrition and patience. All you really have to do is to wait for Reload, use Braver, and then switch to Punisher Mode once you Stagger both of them until they’re both dead. That’s it.
Rude
Fighting against Rude is a lot more difficult because of two things: cheesing Rude just by blocking and countering just doesn’t work and he’ll knock you out before you know it if you’re not careful, especially if you think you can block and counter his moves. Unlike previous and succeeding duels, you’re better off just avoiding Rude’s attacks down right and just hitting him when you have a chance. If you have Wind Materia equipped on either Cloud or Aerith, make sure to cast it often. It’ll be better if you have a Wind Materia linked with the Elemental Materia on Cloud’s weapon.
Abzu & Shoats
The Shoats are arguably what makes this fight against Abzu so much more difficult. If not for them, this fight would’ve gone down differently. But, as it is, the Shoats are there. You’ll just have to make do with avoiding the Shoats by moving around the battlefield. Occassionally, you can take out a couple of Shoats just to keep its numbers low but not completely zero. Just keep on casting Fira or Firaga against Abzu and dodge his water attacks when he casts it. This is a fairly stressful battle because of all the dodging, but it’s manageable.
Ghoul
If the Ghoul is in its ghostly form, you should just throw as many Fire-elemental spells at it as possible. Then, once the Ghoul has switched to its physical form, have your melee attackers deal as much physical damage to it as possible, preferably with one weapon equipped with a Fire Materia and Elemental Materia combo. Just repeat this cycle and keep the distance between the Ghoul and your party members manageable to make this fight less stressful than it should be.
Swordipede
The Swordipede is not just unique in its looks. The Swordipede is also the only Final Fantasy 7 Remake boss that jumps between parties. This adds a layer of difficulty in this boss fight. We recommend having Aerith and Tifa wearing armors with the Elemental Materia and Lighting Materia combo to keep the damage to them at a minimum. Keep your distance away from the spikes and let your ranged attackers do the majority of the damage. If you do have to land melee attacks, make sure that you focus them on the head of the Swordipede.
Valkyrie
For this boss battle, you’ll want to make sure that Cloud has a Lighting Materia and Elemental Material combo in his weapon with either Barret or Tifa (both if possible) also equipped with a Wind Materia and Elemental Materia combo weapon. We recommend throwing as many Wind-element attacks on the Valkyrie once it flies up into the air. Then, when it’s on the ground, have Cloud and/or Tifa move in to deal damage or Stagger it with their respective abilities. Just make sure that you pay attention to when it does its Drill Drive attack as it can do some serious damage. Once you reach the final phase of the boss fight against the Valkyrie, try to lure the boss into the blue laser to take care of the shield before you throw as many spells and abilities as possible once it is Staggered.
Jenova Dreamweaver
Jenova Dreamweaver is arguably the most annoying boss in Final Fantasy 7 Remake. She’ll attack with a tentacle whip every time you attack it with a physical attack and it will also summon groups of tentacles that you’ll have to take out first before you can do any damage against the actual boss itself. However, there is a trick to all of this. By using Aerith to deal damage from afar, you avoid having to deal with the counterattacks of the Jenova Dreamweaver. Then, once the boss summons tentacles, just use Cloud and his ability, Triple Slash, to deal with them so you can go back to wailing at the Jenova Dreamweaver using Aerith.
Whisper Bahamut
The only reason why we don’t refer to the Jenova Dreamweaver as THE most annoying boss to fight against in Final Fantasy 7 Remake is because of the Whisper Bahamut. Unlike the Jenova Dreamweaver, the fight against the Whisper Bahamut drags on for multiple phases, and each one forces you to adjust your strategy. Luckily, Square Enix didn’t get too wild with the Whisper Bahamut and the boss doesn’t really have too many devastating attacks. So long as you dodge all the attacks that the Whisper Bahamut throw at you and attack back in earnest, the Whispers will combine to form the last phase of the fight, Whisper Bahamut, which is actually the easiest of them all.
Eligor
Eligor is a powerful boss, no doubt. However, what makes this encounter particularly frustrating and hard is that Eligor does a fair bit of physical damage and can cast Sleep, as well as Silence. This means that you’ll want to come in with your characters equipped with Headbands. Speaking of the equipment, we recommend having Shiva equipped. This way, you can take advantage of Eligor’s weakness against Ice-element attacks. All in all, there are no cheap tricks for fighting against Eligor in Final Fantasy 7 Remake. You’re simply better off preparing yourself for one hell of a time. And, oh, try to keep Eligor grounded or Staggered as often as possible. This way, Eligor can’t fly off and become invulnerable to most damage, which is when the fight really gets on your nerves.
Malboro
For a boss fight that’s at the end of the VR Challenge and available only in Hard mode, Malboro is actually quite easy. Still, because you’ll be playing without the use of items, we definitely recommend having the right party composition. In particular, we recommend that you have Aerith for healing, Tifa for building Stagger, and of course, Cloud, because, well, he’s the protagonist and the most powerful character in Final Fantasy 7 Remake. With a composition like that, the way that the fight against Malboro in Final Fantasy 7 Remake goes is that you attack it from opposite sides as if locking the boss in a pincer. Although Malboro will attempt to turn around to hit the attacking character with Breath, Acid, and Test Bite, all you need to do is to keep wailing at the boss with Tifa to build its Stagger with Cloud chiming in with Focused Strike whenever he can. After a while, you’ll zero Malboro’s 58950 HP and earn yourself a Refocus Materia as a reward.
Sephiroth
Sephiroth is a fitting final boss in Final Fantasy 7 Remake. Is he the most difficult? Not really. It’s just that he has a lot of presence and if you’re not careful, Sephiroth will really slice your entire party to bits with no issue. When fighting against Sephiroth, we recommend giving Cloud an armor with the Ice Materia and Elemental Materia combo. The fight will start as a 1v1, so just switch into the Punisher stance and counter when needed. After a while, another party will join in until you’re all complete. However, we still recommend switching to the Punisher stance to use Counterstance whenever you see Sephiroth use Telluric Fury. Don’t be afraid to throw everything you can against Sephiroth being that he is the game’s final boss, especially when he starts counting down from ten. Otherwise, this tough but engaging battle will become arguably the most difficult in the game.
Bahamut
In terms of overall difficulty, Bahamut and the bosses onwards are all just as difficult as the others, especially at their respective points in the game. The only reason why we ranked Bahamut this “low” is because you can prepare better for him seeing as you’ll only get to encounter the Bahamut in VR much later on in the game. With that said, even with the right preparation, taking out the most powerful summon in Final Fantasy 7 Remake so you can make him yours is rightfully challenging. This is one of the bosses in Final Fantasy 7 Remake we recommend reading our guide (coming soon).
Hell House
The Hell House in Final Fantasy 7 Remake is probably the first boss that will make players rage quit in the game. It’s a boss fight split into multiple phases and unless you know what you’re doing, you’ll just end up dying without really any idea what just happened and why. Be sure to check out our boss guide for Hell House to know how to take out this house from hell.
The Arsenal
The Arsenal nearly tops our ranking as the most difficult boss of Final Fantasy 7 Remake by sheer virtue of how long it takes to beat him and how many big attacks you need to avoid to get there. In fact, The Arsenal has one particular attack that will kill off all of your party members unless you equip them with a pair of Revival Earrings. Luckily, The Arsenal boss fight is relatively straightforward. It’s just that it’s very stressful and requires intense concentration.
Pride and Joy Prototype
If we’re being honest, the Pride and Joy Prototype feels flat as a boss fight. The boss is supposed to be the last encounter of the summon gauntlet, but the Pride and Joy Prototype isn’t as challenging as you’d expect. The only reason why we ranked the Pride and Joy Prototype as the most difficult boss fight in Final Fantasy 7 Remake is due to the sheer difficulty of getting to it.
