It is finally time for the long-awaited round two against Sephiroth in Final Fantasy 7 (FF7) Rebirth, and in true Square Enix fashion, this fight is long, hard, and has many phases that players must prepare for. Here’s how to beat Sephiroth in FF7 Rebirth.
Preparing for the Sephiroth Fight in FF7 Rebirth
The end of the game and the final battle lead to the City of Ancients, where Aerith has gone to pray alone, and Sephiroth has appeared. The emotional lead-up has been a roller coaster, and now, it’s time to see what the payoff will be. Sephiroth is, of course, not an easy fight and will take some time to get through. So, grab some snacks, take a bathroom break, and get ready for the end of FF7 Rebirth.
Before the final battle starts, players will be given the option to make sure every party member is completely up to speed in terms of abilities and to buy whatever items players will possibly need going into the fight. There will be a rest area to the left after players take the platform down to the area Aerith is.
Make sure everyone has as many abilities unlocked as possible. Prioritize the synergy abilities with as many party members as possible. Also, make sure that everyone has as many leveled-up Materia as possible. The fight will include every party member throughout its different phases. There are a few times when only Spells will be able to do damage, so don’t leave yourself high and dry because a few party members weren’t built to do magical damage.
Buy as many Potions, Ether, Elixir, and Phoenix Down as possible. Sephiroth has a few one-hit K.O. hits that will destroy the party if their health isn’t up. A lot of the fight will take spells, so make sure MP can be replenished.
Sephiroth Fight Phase 1
The first phase of the fight launches right after the infamous and now a bit confusing death of Aerith. Sephiroth sends out the Jenova Lifeclinger. Party members will consist of whatever party players had set up before going into the fight. It doesn’t specifically have any weaknesses. Below is a list of resistances and immunities for phases 1, 2, and 4.
| Resistance Levels | Resistances |
|---|---|
| Lesser Resistances | Ice & Wind Magic |
| Greater Resistances | Stop |
| Immunities | Proportional Damage; Slow; Poison; Stone |
The Jenova Lifeclinger will quickly put up a flesh-like barrier that prevents the party from dealing damage directly to the Jenova Lifeclinger. It is immune to physical damage, so start flinging magical attacks at it. It is particularly weak to fire, so one good hit from Firaga will do the trick. Watch out for light beams that the Jenova Lifeclinger sends out in the meantime. Once the barrier is down, deal as much damage as possible before the Jenova Lifeclinger moves and erects another barrier. Watch out for a red cloud is released because it will quickly deplete HP.
The Jeneova Lifeclinger will launch party members out of the fight, leaving Cloud to fight it alone. When this happens, the fight area will get smaller, making it much harder to dodge attacks. It will have the chance to grab Cloud and deplete his HP fast. When alone, stagger it by aiming for its back area. Once enough damage is dealt, the barrier cutting Cloud off from the rest of the group will go down.
The Jenova Lifeclinger is now much more mobile and will disappear and reappear in various locations. It will also release more light beams to dodge and ice magic that will deal a lot of damage. Keep moving around as much as possible and use synergy abilities and limits as much as possible.
Finally, the Jenova Lifeclinger splits the entire group up with everyone in pairs with their limit gauges full. Use everyone’s limits to attack the boss to deal the most damage quickly. The only ones who will not have their limit up are Cloud and Yuffie.
In the last part of the battle, players will have Cloud, Cait Sith, and Red XIII as their party. Watch out for lots of chaotic attacks and the Jenova Lifeclinger grabbing Cloud. Finish off the battle with some heavy-hitting magic attacks.
Sephiroth Fight Phase 2
And here is one of the best parts of the fight with Sephiroth in FF7 Rebirth. Cloud gets separated from the group, but he won’t have to fight alone. Zack joins the fight, and I have never been more excited to have someone make an appearance. Zack and Cloud face off against Sephiroth himself this time. He doesn’t have any specific weaknesses or resistances, but he is immune to just about every status ailment. Sephiroth is really fast and hits hard. Watch out for his “Octaslash.” He will do eight slashes that will deal a ton of damage and will chase after his target no matter how far they run.
Zack and Cloud have a Synergy Ability called SOLDIER’S Honor, which is the MVP of this fight. Cloud will be ready to go, but players will need to control Zack to activate his abilities to work towards the Synergy Ability. The Synergy Ability will make it easy to Stagger Sephiroth after using it. Hit him with Cloud and Zack’s limits to finish him off.
Related: All Region Maps in Final Fantasy 7 (FF7) Rebirth
Sephiroth Fight Phase 3
Sephiroth separates Cloud and Zack before turning into a giant Sephiroth Reborn. This is the longest phase of the Sephiroth boss fight saga. The fight will switch points of view between the original party members, Cloud and Zack. Cloud will be on his own in some in-between dimension, Zack will be at the church from his world, and the party members will be in the city of ancients. All groups will be fighting Sephiroth Reborn in their spaces.
It starts with Cloud versus Sephiroth Reborn. There will be an initial strike from a giant wing that players will not be able to avoid. Make sure to come out of the previous fight with enough health to withstand a hit. Then, there will be a bunch of black tornados moving around. The goal is to just dodge them until they go away.
Get Cloud as close to the lower body as fast as possible and start attacking it. It’s fairly weak, so this part of the will go by fast. Cloud will then have to climb up the body after a cut scene. Climb up fast, or the black whisper will hit Cloud, but players can’t use items or spells. Cloud will attack the main head once up, which will lead to having to fight the upper half of Sephiroth Reborth. Bring down its health while dodging all its long-range attacks to trigger the cut scene, changing the point of view to the other party members.
The party set up will be Tifa, Barret, and Cait Sith. Here, players will need to fight Bahamut Arisen Whisper and take out Sephiroth’s wings at the same time. It will be chaotic, with Bahamut releasing powerful ranged attacks and quickly moving about. Sephiroth will heal Bahamut when its HP hits zero, so take out the wings as fast as possible to stop it from healing all the way. Taking out both wings while it heals Bahamu will lead to the next part of the fight.
The next part shows Zack going to the church, where he will make a stand. Aerith will send a bit of a gift from the other side by providing a magic circle. Stand in that circle for it to charge and create a floating sphere. Hit that sphere to deal some damage and do its own version of staggering Sephiroth. Zack and Cloud will still be able to do their Synergy Ability, so do some of Zack’s abilities to strike with the Synergy Ability while Sephiroth is down.
The scene will change back to the party members, where, this time, players will have Yuffie, Barret, and Red XIII as the playable characters. Players will need to take out the wings with Spells to take down the golden barrier protecting Sephiroth’s core. Take advantage of Yuffie’s ninjutsu, as physical attacks will not do any damage to the wings. The wings will change color to indicate what element of magic is about to be used. When both wings hover over the battlefield, make sure to dodge whatever attack is coming. Once the wings are gone, quickly take out the core.
Sephiroth Fight Phase 4
After beating Sephiroth Reborn, players will face off against Sephiroth one last time. Aerith joins the final fight to help Cloud face off against Sephiroth and stop him. Including all of his attacks from the first and second phases, Sephiroth will shoot out Whispers to either hold Cloud in place or deal massive amounts of damage with the “Whisper Cannon.” Make sure to dodge the Whispers and take advantage of attacking Sephiroth’s wing. And when Sephiroth uses “Whisper Whirlwind,” go after Masamune, which is planted in the ground, to cancel out the attack.
Sephiroth will use “Heartless Angel” to deplete Cloud and Aerith down to one HP, so make sure you still have plenty of Potions and healing spells and use Aerith’s limit break when you need it. Sephiroth will use a move that shoots out a stream of Whispers from both arms. Attack him during this time, as he will be unable to react while completing the move.
And that’s how to beat Sephiroth in FF7 Rebirth.
For more Final Fantasy 7 (FF7) Rebirth tips, check out how to find Mythril.
