---------INTRO---------

Hello and welcome to my strategy guide for defeating one of the strongest enemies in the history of gaming (I think), 
Sephiroth! This guide is for Kingdom Hearts II by Square Enix. Please know that this is the first strategy guide I've 
ever written, so if it has some problems or the layout is screwed or something, let me know. You can also contact me 
if you want any extra help if I've made something unclear. I'll try hard to reply, but I'm sorry if it takes a while.
My e-mail address is: [email protected]

---------KHII SEPHIROTH STRATEGY---------

Sephiroth is an optional boss in Kingdom Hearts II. Most agree that he is the strongest opponent in the entire game, 
though he gives you no experience. This guide is to help you defeat him and earn the strongest keyblade in the game, 
Fenrir.
 
---------PREPARATION---------

You should be level 80+. It is possible to defeat him at a lower level, but the higher the level, the easier it is. 
I defeated Sephiroth at level 89 and it was easy. If you are a low level, here is a way to level up fast:

- You must have completed both episodes of the Pride Lands world for this to work.  Go to Peak at Pride Lands � to get
here, go to Pride Rock and through King�s Den. 

- There should be a swarm of Rapid Thrusters � these are the small, orange, flying Heartless that you fought in Land
of Dragons. 

- Keep spamming Magnega and the Rapid Thrusters will be drawn together. To speed up the process you can jump up and 
attack them too, but the spell itself should kill quite a few at a time. Your experience will fly up.

Now you�re at a suitable level, it�s time to prepare abilities, weapons, items and shortcuts.

---------ABILITIES---------

You should have the basic abilities:

Guard (to repel Sephy�s attacks)
Scan (so you can see his HP and therefore know what stage he�s going into)
 Aerial Recovery
Leaf Bracer
Defender
Etc.

You should also equip:

Once More and Second Chance � lots of Sephiroth�s attacks are fatal, so these are essential.

Explosion � this is the one where, at the end of a combo, lots of orbs surround you and explode. This causes a lot of
damage to Sephiroth. 
Some Combo and Air Combo Plus�s � just because you have so few chances to attack, you want your combos to last as long as 
possible.

Berserk Charge � this is my favourite. If you have this equipped, when your MP is recharging then your combo�s are super 
strong and go on endlessly. This means that if you�re in a critical condition but have no MP to cure, you can attack 
Sephiroth until it�s back. Therefore, he has no chance to attack you, plus you deal a LOT of damage.

Now there are the Growth abilities to deal with. These are special abilities you gain by levelling up your drive forms. 
There are really only 3 I recommend getting � High Jump, Aerial Dodge and Glide. None of these are essential, but they 
are helpful, so read on to find out how to get them.

High Jump � this is the easiest. In fact if you�re at the stage where you feel ready to fight Sephiroth, you should probably
already have it, because you get it by levelling up Valor. This is the first drive form you obtain. 
To level up Valor, you just need to deal a lot of hits to enemies. Therefore bosses are the best way to level up � 
more HP = more hits. Otherwise, just go into Valor and attack the strongest enemies you can find, like Berserkers, Living 
Bones and Devastators. 

Aerial Dodge � a bit harder. You get this by levelling up Master form, which you do by triggering it and collecting Drive 
gauge orbs. There are 2 worlds I suggest going to to do this � Land of Dragons, and Hollow Bastion/Radiant Garden. Go to 
the  Village in the LoD, then go up to the Ridge and trigger Master form. Defeat the enemies there and attack the dynamite
and carts, which also give off Drive gauge orbs. Alternatively, go to Merlin�s House, then go outside to the Borough, trigger 
the form and run around attacking the Heartless you find. Some, but not all, give off Drive gauge orbs. You can also go to
the Crystal Fissure and then run backwards into the Ravine Trail, as there are plenty of Morning Stars which also drop the
orbs. Anyway, collect these orbs in Master form until you level up and get Aerial Dodge.

Glide � hardest. You get it by levelling up Final Form, the last form you obtain, and the hardest to level up because 
you do so by defeating Nobodies. Either go to Yen Sid�s tower in Twilight Town and run up and down the stairwell, or go 
to The World That Never Was � both spawn Nobodies. 

There is a trick to keeping your Drive gauge up. If you leave a world while in a form, upon returning the gauge will be 
maxed out. This is why you should always go to places nearby save points to level up forms.

Okay, so now you have your basic abilities, your powerful abilities and your Growth abilities. With any leftover AP you 
can equip any extra abilities on offer that you like or think might prove useful. Onto the weapons!

---------WEAPONS---------

I don�t use Drive forms while fighting Sephiroth, so I only ever worry about my normal keyblade. Obviously, the recommended 
keyblade is Ultima Weapon, the only keyblade you ever need to synthesise. You can obtain the Ultima Recipe at The Haunted 
Mansion at Twilight Town � it is in a chest in room where Donald and Goofy slept in pods, Basement Corridor. This is the 
recipe: 

7 ORICHALCUM+
1 ORICHALCUM
1 MYTRIL CRYSTAL 
1 DENSE CRYSTAL 
1 TWILIGHT CRYSTAL
7 SERENITY CRYSTAL
1 ENERGY CRYSTAL

You need the energy crystal to halve the amount if Orichalcum+ needed, since there are only 7 in the game. Look up 
�KH2 Ultima Weapon� on the Internet for more information on how to obtain it.

If you don�t have the Ultima, just use the next strongest weapon you do have. Other powerful keyblades include Oblivion, 
Oathkeeper, Decisive Pumpkin and Bond of Flame, all of which you get by default, so no problems there. If you plan to use 
a Drive form, consider that while setting weapons, but you really don�t need to. 

---------ITEMS---------

In this category I�m including accessories and armour as well as recovery items.

The best thing to have in this fight is Elixirs. Lots and lots of them. Of course, these are hard to come by, so if you 
don�t have many then you can also use Hi-Potions and Hi-Ethers. As for armour and accessories � I didn�t worry about them, 
but the best things to use are ones that give you lots of Dark resistance, Defence and Strength. I used some Petit Ribbons,
Cosmic Belt, Cosmic Arts and a Cosmic ring. To be honest I didn�t actually bother changing them specifically for the fight,
but they can be useful. Don�t worry if you don�t have many good ones, you can buy them and synthesise them, find them in
chests or just use the best ones you have and don�t worry about it. The only ones you shouldn�t waste slots with are ones
like Draw Rings and Lucky Rings, because Sephiroth doesn�t drop items.

---------SHORTCUTS---------

This is how I had my shortcut menu set out for the battle:

O BUTTON � HI-POTION
TRIANGLE BUTTON � ELIXIR
SQUARE BUTTON � REFLEGA
X BUTTON � CURAGA

Hi-Potions, Elixirs and Curaga are at easy access for obvious reasons, and Reflega is there because there are some attacks
that 
you can�t repel with guard. For instance, Sephiroth�s Shadow Flare attack, during which he surrounds you with orbs of 
darkness and sends them shooting straight at you from all angles. The reason there are no offensive magic spells on the 
list is that magic does nothing to Sephiroth. Don�t use it on him.

This is the end of the PREPARATION section of my guide. Now it�s time for the real thing.

---------WHERE TO FIND SEPHIROTH---------

Sephiroth can only be fought after the Battle of a Thousand Heartless and can be found in The Dark Depths, Hollow Bastion. 
To get there, go to Crystal Fissure, and go through The Great Maw. The Dark Depths is a wide open area and Sephiroth stands
at the edge of it with his back to Sora. To engage in battle, go to him and trigger the Reaction Command, Approach. 

THE BATTLE

It is generally agreed that the fight is split into 3 stages. I will let you know when Sephiroth is about to go into the 
next stage.
 After a short cutscene, the battle begins. During the first stage, Sephiroth isn�t too daunting � he attacks quickly, but 
while he�s not attacking he�s either wandering around very slowly or just standing there. 
Sephiroth will ALWAYS start with his Flash attack. The screen darkens and he says �That�s enough.� before dashing at you. 
The only way to avoid a flurry of devastating blows is you use the Reaction Command, so have your thumb at the ready above 
triangle at the beginning. He will also use this attack several other times during the fight, always with the same cue; bear 
in mind that you can�t trigger the Reaction Command in mid-air. 
 After blocking this attack, lock on immediately and go for Sephiroth. Deal a combo, after which he will teleport away, so
lock on again because you really don�t want to lose him. Run after him but keep a little distance otherwise he�ll attack 
too quickly and you 
won�t be able to block. When you see him move, press square IMMEDIATELY and keep pressing it, because one guard won�t
deflect all of the coming blows. This attack is called Octaslash. 
 For most of the first stage, Sephiroth�s attacks are either Octashlash or Teleport Slash. This is when he teleports
behind you and knocks you into the air. Then, he will jump up and deal several Aerial Combos. The attack is hard to avoid,
but once you are in the air it is possible to deal your own Aerial Combos instead. Retaliating Slash is useful here � 
when you�re knocked upwards, press square to deal a blow back, leaving him open for attack.

Once about 5 of Sephiroth�s HP bars are depleted, he will say �Know your place�, signalling he is about to go into his
second stage. This means that not only do the above attacks get quicker and harder to avoid, but he also begins using
his more powerful attacks: Shadow Flare (mentioned in �shortcuts�; either 3 or 7-8 dark orbs surround you and follow
you before shooting towards you, dealing damage), Heartless Angel (his signature attack, and very scary) and Stigma
(several pillars of fire appear around him, and you are drawn towards them). Sephiroth is noticeable more aggressive 
in this phase, so take care. 

When Shadow Flare is used, you have 3 options: use Reflega to deflect the orbs, sending them back at Sephiroth; hit 
them back at him using Attack, or simply let them hit you and cure afterwards. The first is the most effective, but 
sometimes it doesn�t work. It is fairly easy to hit the orbs back, but also very easy to miss some. The third strategy
is obviously the easiest, but most dangerous. 
This attack is quite hard to avoid, as you never know when the orbs will be sent at you, so it takes a well-timed Reflega 
to be successful.

Heartless Angel is where most gamers are KO�d. It is also where Aerial Dodge and High Jump are most needed. When you
hear �Descend�Heartless�Angel� you need to snap to attention. While saying this, Sephiroth will rise into the air, out 
of reach if you don�t have the above Growth abilities. Unless you quickly jump up to Sephiroth�s level and attack him, 
a halo will appear above your head, and Sephiroth will drain your health and magic, leaving you with no MP and 1 HP. If
you don�t attack him in time, IMMEDIATELY use an Elixir. Sometimes, Sephiroth will use Shadow Flare and then Heartless 
Angel. If so, ignore the orbs and Aerial Dodge up to him - the orbs are just a distraction.

Stigma is where Glide is useful. Sephiroth will summon multiple flame pillars around him, drawing you towards them 
like a magnet. They deal heavy damage if you�re caught up in them. When the attack begins, run, jump and glide away
from him to avoid this. If you don�t have glide, Aerial Dodge gets you a little further away than normal; also, if you 
have Quick Run (Wisdom form�s Growth ability), that can help. However if you�re far away when the attack begins, 
simply running will stop you from getting hurt. Reflega can also help. 

 After losing 9-10 HP bars, a dark aura surrounds Sephiroth and the third phase begins. He retains all previous attacks
but now uses them in rapid succession, teleporting often so that it is hard to deal blows. Guard and Reflega are helpful
here, and make sure you are locked onto Sephiroth at all times so that you can keep track of the attacks he is using.
Other than this, you pretty much have to stick to the strategies I�ve already mentioned � just faster. Guarding is
still possible for his Octaslash attack, though counterattacks are difficult to land. As well as this, there is a new 
attack called Meteor. This attack is often fatal; Sephiroth summons many meteors and sends them flying at Sora. They 
can be avoided through running, Quick Run (if you have it), Aerial Dodge, jumping and/or Reflega, but if you are hit 
then it�s hard to avoid the rest and you may well meet your downfall. They hit many, many times and deal a lot of damage. 
 Also note that during this stage, Shadow Flare tends to summon 7-8 orbs rather than 3. Another thing � please bear in 
mind that Flash (screen goes dark and you must use Reaction Command) will be utilized during the second and third phases,
not only at the beginning, and that sometimes it will happen straight after another attack which makes it hard to
press triangle in time. 
Remember to keep your HP high at all times, stay locked on, and stay alert during this battle.  I hope you succeed
and that my guide was helpful.
If you�re still struggling, there are many more hints and cheats online, as well as videos on YouTube and a strategy 
on the Sephiroth (Boss) page on Kingdom Hearts Wiki.

---------AFTER THE BATTLE---------

This is what to do in order to collect your prize, the Fenrir keyblade.
After defeating Sephiroth, there will be a short cutscene in which he tells you to let Cloud know where he is. Go back 
to the Marketplace � where there is a square surrounded by shops � and find Cloud. Speak to him and you will be given 
the option to tell him about Sephiroth; select �Of course!� and he will walk off to �settle things�. 
 Next, return to the Dark Depths. Sephiroth will have moved position. Approach him for a long cutscene, during which
Cloud and Tifa appear and Sephiroth taunts Cloud, saying that he will never let go of the darkness. At the end of
the cutscene, Cloud and his counterpart disappear to battle and Tifa gives you the Fenrir keychain.

 Fenrir is the strongest keyblade in the game, strength wise, but has very low magic and decreases the length of
maximum ground and air combos by one stroke.

---------DULL STUFF---------

All credit for Kingdom Hearts II goes to Square Enix; I do not in any way own anything mentioned in this walkthrough.