Having previously appeared in Final Fantasy Remake, the fabulous Roche returns with a desire to dazzle, and yet again, he wants to turn Cloud into a spectacle. Here’s how to beat Roche at Junon in FF7 Rebirth.
FF7 Rebirth Roche Fight Preparation
To beat Roche in FF7 Rebirth, you’ll need to target his weakness to fire and make full use of Punisher Mode’s counterstance. Roche can feel intimidating as he zooms around the arena, whipping projectile slashes at you, but he’s actually a bit of a chump, especially when compared to his prowess in FF7 Remake. Roche is easily pressured in Rebirth, and his stagger bar builds quickly. You’ll make short work of him in no time if you use the right build.
Before you begin your fight with Roche, you’ll want to make sure you’re properly set up. Roche has a weakness to fire, and we can take advantage of this by equipping Cloud with the Sleek Saber (which has the Firebolt Blade ability), the Wildfire Synergy Skill, and the Ifrit summon Materia. In addition, we’ll want to buff Cloud’s Punisher Mode as best as possible with the appropriate Synergy Skills and support Materia. Here’s what the build should look like:
| Weapon | Sleek Saber |
| Synergy Skills | Wildfire, Powerful Punisher, Formiddable Counter, Enhanced Attack, Weapon Ability Damage Up, Max HP |
| Materia | Fire, Precision Defense Focus, Steadfast Block, Item Economizer, Ifrit |
| Weapon Skill | ATB Charge Rate Up |
| Armor | Queensguard Bangle |
| Accessory | Power Wristguards |
Roche Boss Fight Strategy in FF7 Rebirth
The strategy for beating Roche in FF7 Rebirth is pretty simple: immediately lock on, switch to Punisher Mode, and block his attacks. When timed right, you can send Roche’s projectiles back at him, and any sword swipes from him can be blocked and punished to great effect, stumbling him and giving you a moment to hit him with the Firebolt Blade ability or several sword swipes of your own. The Precision Defense Focus Materia should help to cancel out Roche’s attacks by extending the input timing required for a Perfect Block, and Steadfast Block will help reduce any chip damage you take if your block isn’t quite perfect.
If you use the Fire Alpha spell gained from the Wildfire Synergy Skill, it’ll not only hurl a ball of fire at him but also temporarily imbue Cloud’s sword with fire elemental damage, allowing you to strike at Roche’s weakness and further pressure him as you counter.
Occasionally, Roche will start circling Cloud while riding on the walls. As this is happening, he’ll try to strike at you from a distance with lightning or voltage before jumping at you with his Crash And Burn or High-Voltage Ride attack. You won’t be able to block lightning, so I highly recommend you focus on dodging and avoiding during this assault. But if you throw a fire spell at Roche while he’s riding the walls, you can end the assault early, forcing him to immediately counter with his jump attack. I don’t necessarily recommend attempting this as it can be hard to block while dodging all the lightning, but if you time it right, this maneuver can work to your advantage.
Once Roche is staggered, unleash on him with your strongest attacks. Firebolt Blade will do a great amount of damage, and if you have a second ATB charge at the ready, you can follow it up with Braver for another quick heavy-hitting attack. If you manage to fully charge your Limit Break during the fight, use it as soon as Roche is within range. Cross-Slash is strong enough that it will likely end the boss fight then and there. You can also summon Ifrit when given the opportunity to help keep the pressure up on Roche. Ifrit’s final attack can come in clutch should the battle last long enough.
And that’s about all there is to beat Roche in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. It shouldn’t be too difficult a fight if you stay on the defensive. Once you’ve grounded this showman, you’ll be able to move on to the next chapter. But before that, you may want to brush up on your Queen’s Blood skills.
