CID-ONLY CHALLENGE FAQ ---------------------- By Ben Heins a.k.a. HurrikaneX Started: June 24, 2006 Finished: August 4, 2006 Version History: - 1.0 (08/04/06): Original, submitted version of "Cid-Only Challenge FAQ." - 1.1 (08/09/06): Minor touch-ups; added info on Venus Gospel weapon. ******************************************************************************* Cid-Only Challenge FAQ � 2006, Ben Heins. Final Fantasy VII American Version � 1997, Squaresoft. Any duplication of this FAQ without my permission is strictly forbidden, unless it is printed out in its entirety and used only for personal means (no profit whatsoever). If you would like permission to put this on a website other than those listed below, please e-mail me at [email protected]. I also retain the right to deny any requests. Sites that have my permission to post this FAQ: www.gamefaqs.com www.neoseeker.com ******************************************************************************* I. Introduction II. Rules III. Tips IV. Weapons V. Limit Breaks VI. Disk One (after getting Cid) a. Getting Started b. Wutai c. Searching for the Keystone d. Temple of the Ancients BOSS: Red Dragon BOSS: Demon�s Gate e. Sleeping Forest f. Forgotten City BOSS: Jenova-LIFE VII. Disk Two a. Corral Valley b. Icicle Inn c. Great Glacier d. Gaea Cliffs BOSS: Schizo e. Crater BOSS: Jenova-DEATH f. Junon g. Mideel h. Huge Materia: Corel Reactor i. Huge Materia: Fort Condor j. Mideel BOSS: Ultima WEAPON k. Gold Saucer: Speed Square l. Huge Materia: Underwater Reactor BOSS: Carry Armor m. Sunken Gelnika BOSS: Reno & Rude n. Huge Materia: Rocket Town BOSS: Rude & Attack Squad o. Another Key BOSS: Diamond WEAPON p. Raid on Midgar BOSS: Reno, Rude & Elena BOSS: Proud Clod BOSS: Hojo VIII. Disk Three a. Northern Cave BOSS: Jenova-SYNTHESIS BOSS: Bizarro-Sephiroth BOSS: Safer-Sephiroth IX. Optional Side-Quests a. Chocobo Breeding b. Gold Saucer: Battle Square c. Ultima WEAPON d. Ruby WEAPON e. Emerald WEAPON X. Credits ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. INTRODUCTION For this challenge, I will assume you already know the ins and outs of FFVII (the best RPG ever) and are just looking for something interesting to try on your 10th+ time through the game. The purpose of this challenge is to give Cid the glory he always deserved by using him and only him from the time you get him until the end of the game. Any comments or suggestions are always welcome. Please, please, please no hate mail or flames. This is the first guide I have ever written. Be nice. :) By the way, here is your one and only *SPOILER WARNING*. That was for anyone who is trying the game for the first time and (for some reason) chose this guide. *Smack!* :) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- II. RULES - Before you get Cid, there are no rules. - Once you get Cid, you must use him for the rest of the game and kill off the remaining two party members in battle. - Escape from all battles when playing as Barret and Cait Sith in Junon on Disk Two. - Do not get Yuffie or Vincent to join your team. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- III. TIPS - Before you get Cid you can make the solo character challenge as easy or as hard as you like. For this FAQ, I will be going on the premise that you only went out of your way to collect Enemy Skills, you fought every single random battle, and that you tried getting as much AP as possible for materia. As a sidenote, when I got Cid he was at Level 25. - Do not bother buying weapons or armors before Cid joins the team. This will save money for a few HP Plus materia in Cosmo Canyon. Also, you will not need more than one of any materia except HP Plus. - Learn the Big Guard Enemy Skill after acquiring the Buggy in the desert. This is a HUGE defense spell that is essential for almost every Boss fight. You can get it by manipulating a monster named Beach Plug on the beaches near the Gold Saucer. - Learn the Trine Enemy Skill from the Materia Keeper in the Nibel Mountains before getting Cid. This spell helps a great deal when getting started. - Chocobo breeding is optional. Personally, I hate this more than leveling up, but because you can get some very powerful materia that is essential for killing some major optional Bosses (I�m looking at you, Emerald), I have included a BRIEF breeding guide. :) - Save all your Sources and give them all to Cid. - MOST IMPORTANTLY, this is a �loose� guide. I will not be covering every little detail of the game. Also, I am only strongly suggesting these methods, so if you have a better way of doing things, by all means use it. If I do not mention a change in equipment or materia, it is because the current set-up I have suggested is sufficient at that point in time. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- IV. WEAPONS Cid has a wide variety of weapons to choose from, but the only ones you will need are the Spear, Dragoon Lance, Partisan, Flayer, Venus Gospel, and Scimitar. All weapons are listed below in the order you will find them throughout the game. - SPEAR ATK: 44 / ATK%: 97 SLOTS: 2 linked / 2 unlinked GROWTH: Normal NOTE: Initial equip - SLASH LANCE ATK: 56 / ATK%: 98 SLOTS: 4 linked / 1 unlinked GROWTH: Normal NOTE: Bought at Wutai (6500 gil) - DRAGOON LANCE ATK: 66 / ATK%: 100 SLOTS: 0 linked / 8 unlinked GROWTH: Normal NOTE: Found in Da-Chao Cave, Wutai Mountains - MOP ATK: 68 / ATK%: 118 SLOTS: 0 linked / 0 unlinked GROWTH: None NOTE: Dug up at Bone Village as "Good Treasure" - TRIDENT ATK: 60 / ATK%: 105 SLOTS: 0 linked / 6 unlinked GROWTH: Normal NOTE: Found in Temple of the Ancients - VIPER HALBERD ATK: 58 / ATK%: 102 SLOTS: 0 linked / 4 unlinked GROWTH: Double NOTE: Found in Corral Valley - MAST AX ATK: 64 / ATK%: 99 SLOTS: 4 linked / 2 unlinked GROWTH: Normal NOTE: Bought at Icicle Inn (13,000 gil) - JAVELIN ATK: 62 / ATK%: 104 SLOTS: 4 linked / 1 unlinked GROWTH: Double NOTE: Found in Gaea�s Cliff - FLAYER ATK: 100 / ATK%: 100 SLOTS: 0 linked / 6 unlinked GROWTH: Normal NOTE: Won at Speed Square in Gold Saucer on Disk 2 and onward (5000 Points) - PARTISAN ATK: 78 / ATK%: 100 SLOTS: 6 linked / 0 unlinked GROWTH: Normal NOTE: Bought at Mideel (19,000 gil) - SCIMITAR ATK: 86 / ATK%: 102 SLOTS: 2 linked / 0 unlinked GROWTH: Triple NOTE: Found in Junon Underwater Reactor - SPIRIT LANCE ATK: 92 / ATK%: 112 SLOTS: 4 linked / 0 unlinked GROWTH: Normal NOTE: Found in sunken Gelnika - VENUS GOSPEL ATK: 97 / ATK%: 103 SLOTS: 8 linked / 0 unlinked GROWTH: None NOTE: Ultimate weapon. Obtained by talking to the old man in Rocket Town after the rocket has been launched. The more MP Cid has, the higher the Gospel's damage will be. - GROW LANCE ATK: 78 / ATK%: 102 SLOTS: 6 linked / 0 unlinked GROWTH: Normal NOTE: Found on the 64th Floor of the Shinra Building during Raid on Midgar ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- V. LIMIT BREAKS Cid�s Limit Breaks are his best asset. Use them often against Bosses because of their high damage. Below is a short list of his Limits and how to acquire them. NOTE: These figures are based off of my own personal calculations. They may vary from game to game. - BOOST JUMP (LEVEL 1.1): Initial Limit. - DYNAMITE (LEVEL 1.2): Use Boost Jump 7 times. - HYPER JUMP (LEVEL 2.1): Kill about 60-70 enemies. - DRAGON (LEVEL 2.2): Use Hyper Jump 6 times. - DRAGON DIVE (LEVEL 3.1): Kill about 80-90 enemies. - BIG BRAWL (LEVEL 3.2): Use Dragon Dive 5 times. - HIGHWIND (LEVEL 4.0): Give Cid his Limit Break Manual found in the cargo bay of the sunken Gelnika on Disks Two and Three. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VI. DISK ONE (after getting Cid) a. Getting Started Before you dive into the western continent, there are a few things you should take the time to do. First, return to land. Put Cid on the team and give him all the Sources you have accumulated so far. Send him to the back row, and kill off the other two team members in battle. Next, head to Rocket Town and sell all unnecessary items. Equip the weakest weapons and armors on all other characters, and sell the better equipment for loads of cash (at least 30,000 gil). If you do not have at least 3 HP Plusses, return to Cosmo Canyon and buy them now. The All materia isn�t necessary, but it may be wise to attach one to your weapon or armor so it will get mastered eventually (that way you will be rich). :) Go to the Item Shop and buy at least 5 Tents, 20 Hi-Potions, and 20 Ethers. This will give you enough supplies to get to Wutai without trouble, and for fighting some battles on Da-Chao Mountain. Now Cid needs to get prepared. First, equip the Edincoat you got from defeating Palmer in Rocket Town. Put two HP Plusses on it, along with the Counter Attack, Long Range, Deathblow, Steal, and Enemy Skill materia. In two of the weapon slots you should put a Restore materia that has the Cure2 spell learned, a summon spell (preferably Odin because of his instant kill attack), and a third HP Plus. Equip the Power Wrist for some much-needed strength. Before taking the long walk to Wutai, go to Bone Village and get a Diamond Bangle for later use. Now take the Tiny Bronco over to the shores of the western continent. Getting to Wutai is a bit of a challenge. In every battle, make sure to cast Trine. This is your most powerful spell at this point in time. For an even easier win, use Odin. Your only problem will be MP consumption. After each battle, make sure to heal and give Cid an Ether if needed. With skill and speed, you should make it. b. Wutai Ah, paradise! Heal using items and save. Do not rest in the bedroom unless you really want to kill off your teammates again. Next, buy a few Swift Bolts and Fire Veils (save them both for later use). Do not bother picking up the Slash Lance from the Weapon Shop. Now head to Da-Chao Mountain. Inside the cave, there is a weapon for Cid called the Dragoon Lance. This will be your best friend until well into Disk Two. Equip it, and replace the Edincoat with the Diamond Bangle you bought from Bone Village (see where this is going?). Now the linked materia slots are on your armor. Fight around on Da-Chao Mountain for some X-Potions. Bizarre Bugs will drop them indefinitely, so having about 20-30 of them before you leave is a good idea. You will likely pick up a few Remedies, too. Just be careful of an enemy named Garuda. It can drain your MP and deal severe damage to Cid. Also, if Cid is under Fury status, by the time you reach Level 30, you should have learned your Level 2.1 Limit Break, Hyper Jump. This will cause around 1,500 damage with the Power Wrist equipped. With the spare change from fighting, buy as many Ethers as possible. When you are ready, head back to the Tiny Bronco. You should not have to use any healing items or Ethers at all. c. Searching for the Keystone First, go to the Weapon Seller�s house (north-east of Gongaga). Talk with him, then head over to the Gold Saucer and enter the Battle Square. Talk with Dio in the trophy room and accept his challenge (Cloud will be dead, so you will not be fighting). Cloud goes on a date, Cait Sith is a backstabber, and Cid takes a nap. Any questions? :) Head back to the Tiny Bronco and kill Cloud and Aeris in battle along the way. Go south-east to get to the Temple of the Ancients. d. Temple of the Ancients Here comes your first major challenge with Cid. Try and get through the labyrinth as fast as possible, picking up all items along the way. Make sure not to miss the Mind Source near the highest staircase in the main area, the Luck Plus and Morph materia near the middle of the maze, and the Ribbon in Room V of the clock room. The Trident weapon is pathetic compared to your Dragoon Lance (but you can make a good chunk of change from all these useless weapons later). When you come across an Ancient, make sure to NOT choose the �Rest� option and just heal using items. I would recommend you save to a second file because there is no way out of this place now. When you are ready, head to Room VI. To catch the Ancient, simply jump down one ledge and go in the third cave from the left. Be sure to put the Fire-Elemental combination on the Diamond Bangle for extra insurance. If you have equipped the Ribbon, replace it with your trusty Power Wrist for now. Save, and enter the main door. Get ready, �cause here comes Cid�s first Boss fight! *********************************************************************** BOSS: Red Dragon HP: 6,800 STRENGTH: Absorbs Fire; invulnerable to Gravity WEAKNESS: Poison DIFFICULTY: 6/10 WIN: Dragon Armlet You could try poisoning the Red Dragon right from the start, but this is not necessary. Set up Big Guard immediately, and hammer away at him using Deathblow and Limit Breaks. Your counter-attacks will also help out. Heal when necessary. This battle should not be much of a problem, as long as you only use your magic for healing and defensive purposes. *********************************************************************** Keep pressing on! Equip the Dragon Armlet and Ribbon on Cid. Replace the Fire-Elemental combination with an Earth-Elemental combination just to be safe. Make sure to revive Cid using your items and save. Here we go! *********************************************************************** BOSS: Demon�s Gate HP: 10,000 STRENGTH: Halves Earth damage; invulnerable to Gravity and Poison WEAKNESS: None DIFFICULTY: 8/10 WIN: Gigas Armlet This guy is a real pain. Immediately cast Big Guard. Use Deathblow for good damage and Limit Breaks whenever possible. Bahamut will deal around 2,000 damage, but will drain almost half your MP, so do not bother. Let your MP go toward keeping up Big Guard. You will also be making good use of those X-Potions from Wutai. When the Gate drops below 5,000 HP, it will start doubling up on attacks. Just keep an eye on your HP and do not let it drop below 800. Thankfully, you will not encounter another really difficult Boss like this until you are well into Disk Two. *********************************************************************** Now you are in the clear. After the events unfold and Aeris leaves the party, you are back in... Gongaga? Anyway, leave there, and head north to Bone Village to dig up the Lunar Harp to the left of the big tent on the upper platform. Before continuing, buy about 20-30 more Ethers. Now enter the Sleeping Forest. e. Sleeping Forest Technically, you really do not need the Kjata materia. Summons will be unnecessary until Disk Two. However, there is an essential item underneath the log in the next area called the Water Ring. This will make the next Boss insanely easy. In your first random encounter, make sure to kill off your teammates. :) f. Forgotten City Grab all items in this area, including the two Sources, the Elixir, the Aurora Armlet, and the Comet materia. Equip the Aurora Armlet and attach Comet. Now equip the Water Ring. As long as you have it on, Cid will be invincible in this next Boss fight. Just make sure to kill the other team members in battle. *********************************************************************** BOSS: Jenova-LIFE HP: 10,000 STENGTH: Absorbs Water; invulnerable to Gravity WEAKNESS: Earth DIFFICULTY: 0/10 WIN: Wizard Bracelet First, kill your friends. Jenova will help you with that. Then, just hack away. If you still have the Enemy Skill materia on (which you should never take off), you will learn Aqualung. *Yawn* *********************************************************************** Congratulations! Disk One is done! By now you should be pretty comfortable fighting solo with Cid. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VII. DISK TWO a. Corral Valley Cave Now for a friendly check-up. You should have the Dragoon Lance, Aurora Armlet, and Ribbon equipped. On the Lance, you should have the Enemy Skill, Deathblow, Steal, Counter Attack, and Long Range materia, along with three HP Plusses. On the Armlet, you should have the Restore and Comet materia, with empty slots next to each. The only Enemy Skill you will need indefinitely will be Big Guard. Comet is much more powerful than Trine or Aqualung. Cid should be around Level 32. Kill your teammates. Now navigate through here, picking up some useful items, such as a Megalixir, Power Source, Bolt Armlet, and the Magic Plus materia. The Bolt Armlet, however, is not much different from the Aurora Armlet, and will not be helping you at all. The Viper Halberd is not as good as the Dragoon Lance, so just sell it later. Pair the Magic Plus with your Comet materia on the Aurora Armlet. Now head across the snow fields to the next town. b. Icicle Inn Scan the area for an X-Potion, Turbo Ether, Hero Drink, and Vaccine. Do not buy the Mast Ax. There are plenty of things you can sell here, such as all the useless weapons, armors, and accessories that you have accumulated since Bone Village. There is no Item Shop here, so heal with whatever items you stocked up on in Bone Village. Grab the Glacier Map from the first house to the right, then talk to the man near the trees. Dodge Elena, and take the Snowboard from the kid in the house located in the center of town. Head down the mountain. c. Great Glacier Go right, then right again when snowboarding. From the landing point, head this way to get the Alexander materia (the directions are only for the main areas, not the walkways in between): Forward and to the right, straight (pick up the Added Cut materia along the second walkway), straight (touch the hot spring before leaving), straight to cave with All materia, then right. Go inside the cave in the next area and fight Snow for the Alexander materia. With the Aurora Armlet, you are invulnerable to her attacks. Easy fight :) Equip Alexander next to the Restore materia, and head back to the All materia cave. Go north to get to Mr. Holzoff�s house and rest. Save, then go up the mountain. d. Gaea Cliffs Try to navigate through here as fast as possible. Stay warm, too. Hack off your teammates at first chance. Pick up the Speed Source in the second cave and all other items (the weapons will make for a good profit). If you hang around too long, you will see your Ethers go away slowly but surely. The Icicle battles in the second cave can be taxing, but the Fire Veils you bought at Wutai should take care of things quickly. Also, when you fight a Stilva, make sure to get the Magic Breath Enemy Skill. By the way, Cid�s Javelin weapon is nothing compared to the good ol� Dragoon Lance. As a sidenote, if you have been fighting every battle, you should get Cid's Level 3.1 Limit Break, Dragon Dive before you reach the Boss. When you get to the HP/MP revival pool in the third cave, use it only if you are running low on Ethers. Make sure to equip the Aurora Armlet and Fire Ring, then save. This way the upcoming Boss will be much less threatening. *********************************************************************** BOSS: Schizo HP: 18,000 (each side; total = 32,000) STRENGTH: Left side absorbs Ice, right side absorbs Fire; both sides invulnerable Gravity WEAKNESS: None DIFFICULTY: 3/10 WIN: Dragon Fang With the Aurora Armlet and Fire Ring equipped, you will be resistant to the right side�s attacks and will absorb the left side�s attacks. This means you should kill off the right (fire) side first, and then attack the left (ice). As long as you have over 2,500 HP, you have no worries. Both sides can use Quake3 and a final attack, but the left side will be healing any damage you take. Use Deathblow and Limit Breaks, and hang in there. Big Guard is unnecessary, unless you want to put Cid in Haste. *********************************************************************** Time to head to the summit. Make sure to replace the Aurora Armlet with your new-found Fire Armlet, and to replace the Fire Ring with a Ribbon. Save and scale the final cliff. e. Crater Make sure to grab the Neo Bahamut materia near the Save Point. At this point in time, it is unnecessary to attach it. There is an Ether and a Hi-Potion after the Save Point, in case you need them. The other items are only good for money. With the Fire Armlet equipped, here comes another extremely easy Boss. *********************************************************************** BOSS: Jenova-DEATH HP: 25,000 STRENGTH: Invulnerable to Gravity WEAKNESS: None DIFFICULTY: 0/10 WIN: Reflect Ring Just hack away. *Yawn* *********************************************************************** Be careful around the wind sections. Timing is everything. Grab the MP Turbo and attach it with Comet. Before you know it, Cloud is nowhere to be found, and Tifa wakes up in Junon... wha!? f. Junon Run, run, run. Barret and Cait Sith have no purpose in Cid�s quest for recognition. :) To maneuver Tifa out of the gas chamber, press X, X, Triangle, X and Triangle together, O and Triangle together, then O. Enjoy the fireworks and head to the Chocobo Ranch. Buy a Mimett Green for 1,500 gil and sell all the useless junk you have accumulated since Icicle Inn (you should have well over 100,000 gil). Now go to Mideel. g. Mideel First, head to the doctor�s office and check on Cloud. Tifa will stay and Cid will FINALLY BE THE LEADER! Okay, so you knew it was coming. :) Anyway, return to Mideel. Head to the house nextdoor to the doctor's and pick up the Elixir. Next, go to the room that is closest to the entrance of town (the Item Shop). Feed the little white chocobo the Mimett Green, tickle it behind its ears, and you will get the Contain materia. Pick up about 50 Ethers and the Partisan. Re-equip the Aurora Armlet (if you have not already done so). The only magic materia you will need are Restore and Comet. The Corel Reactor is your next stop. h. Huge Materia: Corel Reactor Here comes a tricky fight. Kill off your comrades in the first random battle. Your current set-up is sufficient for the train ride, but speed is the key. Here are some strategies for each train car: CAR 1: Hack away. CAR 2: Use Comet on one, hack the other apart. CAR 3: Hit hard with Aqualung. CAR 4: Use Swift Bolts and Comet. CAR 5: Kill him fast. If needed, heal in between battles with X-Potions QUICKLY. If you fail, never give up. When you successfully stop the train, you will receive the Huge Materia and Ultima materia. Hop back on the Highwind and head to Fort Condor. i. Huge Materia: Fort Condor There are dozens of strategies, but I believe this is the simplest. Set up one Defender and begin the game. Have him run dead-center down the mountain. When he nears the first enemy, set up about eight more Defenders (3 left, 2 center, 3 right) along the line of battle. This way you will not have to wait for all of your men to get to the front line. Gang up on all enemies, and add a Defender if one dies. Easy, right? :) Grab the Phoenix materia and the Huge Materia and get back to Mideel. j. Mideel Your current set-up is fine for this next part. Go to the doctor's office and check on Cloud. Oh, boy... *********************************************************************** BOSS: Ultima WEAPON HP: ?? STRENGTH: Invulnerable to Gravity WEAKNESS: None DIFFICULTY: 4/10 WIN: Nothing Defend for 3 turns. If you did not kill your teammates before you came to Mideel, have no fear, Ultima will annihilate them. Having Cid defend is ideal, however, Ultima is insanely powerful and will usually leave Cid hurting. If defending seems like the wrong move, give Cid an X-Potion to get through that turn. Godspeed. *********************************************************************** Ugh. That guy is ridiculous. Poor Cid. Have fun in the Lifestream. :) k. Gold Saucer: Speed Square That's right, folks. Before you go to Junon, take time to come here. Trust me, this is worth it. :) Drop 30,000 gil on a lifetime pass. Run in and out of the entrance until you see a man in blue suspenders and a yellow shirt near the top of the screen at the house. Buy 100 GP from him (10,000 gil), save somewhere, and enter the Speed Square. Try to win the Flayer weapon for Cid by getting 5,000 Points. It is better than the Venus Gospel (Cid's ultimate weapon) because you can have a high attack and still gain AP for materia. This will quite possibly be the most difficult thing you have done so far. Getting 5,000 Points can be very tedious. First, get a turbo controller. Unless you have an itchy trigger finger, this is essential, and will help tremendously. Remember always to shoot in short, controlled bursts using O. If you have a turbo controller, just hold down O. The yellow boulder in the desert area (with the planes) is worth 200 Points and is hidden on one of the walls. Aim up and to the right to find it. There is also a spotlight at the end of the course on the bottom left that can be shot at for 200 Points. Also, the huge UFO is worth 1,000 Points. If you hit all three of these targets, plus MOST of everything else, you should get 5,000 Points. The only thing you must remember is that THIS TAKES PATIENCE. I cannot stress that enough. Around your eigth or ninth run through the course, you should know exactly what to hit and where to put the cursor to hit it. For Cid's sake, keep up the hard work, and never give up! This can be done! :) The Flayer is unbelievably powerful. Cid�s physical attacks will be much stronger than most spells at this point in time. Equip it. Now save. You have a big decision ahead of you. :) l. Huge Materia: Underwater Reactor Okay. Cid should be around Level 40. Before you enter Junon, you should consider these options: 1. Breed chocobos now and get the Knights of the Round materia, then proceed to Junon. - OR - 2. Proceed to Junon. Chances are excellent you do not have enough gil to start breeding chocobos, unless you have kept an All materia on you at all times (which I have not advised). If you (somehow) can afford breeding, you can cut down to Section IX-a and go ahead. Just so you know, KOTR will make the rest of the challenge easy as pie. For the sake of those who are broke at this point in the game, I will follow the premise that you opted not to breed now, and are continuing to Junon. If you decide to get KOTR now, note that all upcoming Bosses will have a difficulty of 0/10 because they will die with one cast of this summon. Now back to the strategy. Pay the guard 10 gil to get in, and head toward the middle of Junon to go down the hall with the guards. Kill off your teammates in the battle on the elevator, and proceed through the area. SAVE AT THE SAVE POINT. Just in case... :) When you reach the underwater tunnel, attach a Morph materia to your weapon. Get into a battle with a Ghost Ship, and Morph it into the Guide Book. It can kill you instantly, so make this as quick as possible. Anyway, keep going. Save again, and take a deep breath. This next Boss is the hardest you will have to face (next to Emerald WEAPON, of course). In fact, this and the fight with Emerald are the only two parts of the challenge that depend mostly on luck. Make sure Cid is fully healed and has a Limit Break ready (I know this isn't the normal approach, but this isn't any normal Boss). :) *********************************************************************** BOSS: Carry Armor HP: 24,000 (center); 10,000 (each arm) STRENGTH: Invulnerable to Gravity WEAKNESS: Lightning DIFFICULTY: 9/10 WIN: God's Hand (Tifa) The hard part is the first part. Use Dragon Dive immediately, then follow up with Big Guard. Use the Magic Breath Enemy Skill (from Stilva in the Gaea Cliffs) about 3 times and the arms will be gone. From here, it's clear sailing, but getting to this point may take a few tries until you get lucky enough to not get killed by the Arm Grab. Now hammer away at its body. Keep the Guard up at all costs and use X-Potions and Ethers when necessary. If it kills you, rinse and repeat. If you did not get Cid's Level 3.2 Limit Break, Big Brawl, before now, you will likely get it here. This fight may take a few tries until you can win without it grabbing you. Good luck and don't give up! *********************************************************************** Whew. Slap yourself to make sure you actually beat it, and keep going. Heal Cid and grab the Scimitar en route to the sub; you will not need the other weapon. You can also pick up the Leviathan Scales, but it is not necessary. Kill anyone who stands in your way. If you decide to wipe out the sub's crew, you can steal a Shinra Alpha armor off the captain. Again, not essential. For the sub game, just focus all your fire on the red sub. This should not take more than 30 seconds. When you return to the surface, re-enter Junon. Go to the airport, watch the FMV, and hop back in the sub. Get the Huge Materia from the red sub you just sank (southern area). Now head to the cove near Costa Del Sol and the Gold Saucer. Time to turn Cid into God. m. Sunken Gelnika Okay, DODGE EMERALD WEAPON. :) Go to the sunken Gelnika (white plane) and save in the hall. Run through the room north of the Save Point and collect all the items. By "run," I also mean RUN from all battles. These creatures can and will destroy Cid. The only necessary items here are the Megalixir and the Double Cut materia, which should be put on your weapon in place of Manipulate or Morph (whichever you have attached). Keep your current equipment on. Now enter the other room. *********************************************************************** BOSS: Reno & Rude HP: 15,000 (Reno); 20,000 (Rude) STRENGTH: Both invulnerable to Gravity WEAKNESS: None DIFFICULTY: 4/10 WIN: Elixir Go after Reno first. His Neo Turk Light attack will not affect you because of the Ribbon. They each have elemental attacks, but will not deal enough damage to be considered threats. Just make sure Big Guard stays up at all times. Of course, after Carry Armor, any battle like this would be a walk in the park. :) *********************************************************************** Heal, save, and continue to the cargo bay. Pick up all items here, including the Hades materia, Megalixir, and Cid's Level 4.0 Limit Break Manual, Highwind. Now Cid is unstoppable. Muhahaha... Leave, and zip north a bit to search around. The Key of the Ancients is hidden in a tunnel to the right. When you get it, surface and fly to Rocket Town. n. Huge Materia: Rocket Town Head to the rocket (duh). Plow through the guards with Double Cut. Compared to the Rude you just fought, this one is cake. *********************************************************************** BOSS: Rude & Attack Squad HP: 9,000 (Rude); ?? (Attackers) STRENGTH: Invulnerable to Gravity WEAKNESS: None DIFFICULTY: 2/10 WIN: Hi-Potion First, kill the lackeys. Rude can catch you off guard, so heal if necessary. Use Double Cut and he should be gone in no time. You do not have to steal the Ziedrich armor. *********************************************************************** Cut through the last guard. Follow the plotline, and watch as Cid fulfills his dreams of entering outer space. He's the man. :) The code for the Huge Materia is: O, Square, X, X. Return to Rocket Town and talk to the old man in the center of town. Be nice and talk to him three times, and he will give you Cid's ultimate weapon, the Venus Gospel. While this weapon can give Cid a wicked physical attack, you will not get any AP for your materia on it. The Flayer should be your first choice unless you are going in the Battle Square (optional) or heading into the final fight. Now head to Cosmo Canyon. Bugenhagen is waiting. :) o. Another Key Before meeting Bugenhagen, climb the ladder on the far right of town and go inside. The roped off room is now open. Nab the Full Cure materia, Elixir, and Magic Source, then leave. Now go all the way up. You already have the Key of the Ancients, so talk with Bugenhagen, get Bahamut ZERO from the blue materia in his planetarium, and go to Bone Village. Go through to the Ancient City. Follow the plot, and exit back to the Highwind. Replace the Aurora Armlet with the Fire Armlet. Hurry back to Wutai and buy about 15 Swift Bolts. Only magic and Limit Breaks can hurt this thing. *********************************************************************** BOSS: Diamond WEAPON HP: 30,000 STRENGTH: Halves Fire damage; invulnerable to regular physical attacks and Gravity WEAKNESS: Lightning DIFFICULTY: 3/10 WIN: Nothing Diamond may look all big and tough, but it packs a weak punch. You will not be needing Big Guard. Its Fire attacks will heal you. Before/if it connects with Diamond Flash (when the countdown reaches zero), try to defend to soften the blow. Heal if necessary. Use Swift Bolts all the time, and use Comet if you can. You will probably get a Limit Break in, which is bad news for Diamond. Go Cid! *********************************************************************** Awesome FMV. One of my personal favorites. :) Fly to the Northern Cave, then head back to land. Heal and save. Anyway, now you are faced with a few more big decisions: 1. Start chocobo breeding now, or wait. 2. Kill Ultima WEAPON now, or wait. You now have the money to breed, so the option is wide open. You can get even more money from hunting down Ultima WEAPON, but it will be more difficult at your levels, so if you choose to do so, refer to Section IX-c. I will still be going on the premise that you do not have KOTR, and have avoided fighting Ultima WEAPON for now. A good thing to do before entering Midgar would be to stock up on X-Potions at Wutai. About 20-30 would be nice (unless you want to use the W-Item trick once you get the materia in Midgar... selecet one item, cast it, then select another item... go to cast it, but instead, push X to cancel the cast... repeat and you can have 99 of almost any item). Buy 5 Tents and save on a separate file for extra insurance. When you are ready, parachute in. Cid should be around Level 46 or higher. p. Raid on Midgar Save and enter the hatch Cait Sith opens up. Kill your buddies in your first random encounter. From the maze entrance, head across the straight platform and all the way across. Grab the Megalixir and Elixir, then return down the path, and take the stairs down. Climb down the ladder, then up the ladder in the background. You can get the Aegis Armlet here, but it is only necessary if you are really struggling. Go back down, and when you try to cross the pathway, it will break and send you down. Go up the pipe ladders and jump down the nearby vent (with the red opening). There is another Elixir near where you came out (the Starlight Phone is useless). Barret's Max Ray is at the end of the lower vent path, and it also useless, so don't bother. Simply run up the nearby stairs, save, and enter the next area. From the entrance, head south. Way south. Even when Red XIII tells you to turn back, go south. :) There are four Sources and a W-Item materia down here. Replace Deathblow with W-Item. You can now use the W-Item trick mentioned earlier. It is not really a glitch, but it is not quite cheating either. Use it if you wish. Save at the save point, then head way, way back up north. Replace the Aurora Armlet with the Fire Armlet for now. Your three HP Plusses should have two or three stars each, giving Cid around 6,000 HP. Oh, he's the man. Keep going north past your entrance point and you will run into your friends, the Turks. *********************************************************************** BOSS: Reno, Rude & Elena HP: 25,000 (Reno); 28,000 (Rude); 30,000 (Elena) STENGTH: Reno absorbs Lightning, Rude absorbs Fire, Elena absorbs Ice; all invulnerable to Gravity WEAKNESS: None DIFFICULTY: 5/10 WIN: Elixir The one thing you should keep in mind is that once you have taken out a Turk, the other two will leave. That said, focus all your attacks on Reno. Use only physical attacks with the Flayer. Use Regen (you should have it by now) and/or Big Guard on Cid. Heal when necessary. Once Reno is taken care of, they will all escape. You do not have to steal any items from them. *********************************************************************** Easy stuff. Put the Aurora Armlet back on. Heal and save back in the maze area, then continue north in the tunnel. You do not have to enter the Shinra H.Q. because all the weapons there are useless. :) At the first Y-intersection, go left to reach the Sister Ray and... *********************************************************************** BOSS: Proud Clod HP: 60,000 (armor has 20,000) STRENGTH: High magical defense; invulnerable to Gravity WEAKNESS: None DIFFICULTY: 3/10 WIN: Ragnarok (Cloud) This thing reminds me of Diamond WEAPON. Looks bad, fights like a pansy. Lace into it with physical attacks and set up Big Guard. Forget about attacking the armor. Heal using items, and AVOID casting Cure spells on Cid (Proud Clod can cast Reflect on Cid). This fight will take a while, but will not be too difficult. *********************************************************************** Heal and contine. There is an Elixir and Mystile armor next to the Save Point. Equip the Mystile (the only armor you will need from now on) and save. You can attach Deathblow again and a materia of your choice (hint: All is worth a lot of gil when it gets mastered). :) Head up the stairs to find... *********************************************************************** BOSS: Hojo HP: 13,000 (first form); 26,000 (second form); 30,000 (third form) STRENGTH: Invulnerable to Gravity WEAKNESS: None DIFFICULTY: 5/10 WIN: Power Source For the first form, just hack away. Disregard his pals. For the second form, focus your attacks on the main part. Heal when necessary. Deathblow works very well here. The third part is probably the most difficult because of Hojo's Combo attack. Just keep Big Guard and/or Regen up and keep ripping him up with your Flayer. Cid will counter- attack a lot in this fight. A Highwind Limit Break will REALLY mess Hojo up. :) His status effect attacks will not hurt you because of the Ribbon. Not too tricky. *********************************************************************** Congratulations! You made it through Disk Two! From here, you are free to either complete the optional side-quests or go face Sephiroth in the Northern Cave. I would HIGHLY recommend you at least gather all the items in the Cave before moving onto things like the Battle Square or fighting the WEAPONs. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VIII. DISK THREE a. Northern Cave Cid should be around Level 50 before entering. Kill off your teammates in the first battle. In the first area you can get a Save Crystal (use it at the very bottom of the Cave, before the final descent) and a Guard Source. The only enemy to be wary of is the Dark Dragon. In the second area, look out for Scissors. Either kill them A.S.A.P. or run. On the way down the right, get the Guard Source and Mind Source. Scale the left side and get a Magic Source, Power Source, Elixir, and HP Absorb materia. When you come to the third area, head left inside the cave. Grab the Power Source and Guard Source, then go out the other end. Get the Hero Drink to your right, then head back through the cave to the beginning. Go right, drop down the ledge, and grab the Mind Source to your left. Jump up, go left, and get the Megalixir inside the nearby cave. Backtrack to where you got the Mind Source, and enter the cave below you. Come out the other side, and get out of the area by dropping down. Choose the right path for Cid, Cloud, and one other person, and make everyone else go left. When coming down the spiral column, take the Elixir (you do not need another Mystile). In the lower area, grab the Speed Source, Tetra Elemental accessory, and both Megalixirs. If you run into a Dragon Zombie, you can learn the Shadow Flare and Pandora's Box Enemy Skills. Grab the Luck Source and create a Save Point here, at the bottom. Two choices again... :) 1. Head all the way back up using the left path. 2. Keep going down to fight the final battle. I would strongly suggest going back up the left path before fighting Sephiroth. The Mega-All materia will be key in the upcoming battle. Before going up the left path, make sure to check with your teammates to get the items they picked up along the way. Anyway, in the first rocky area you need the Speed Source and Mega-All materia (attach in place of Double Cut). There is also a Turbo Ether and X-Potion. In the third rocky area, you should get the X-Potion, Elixir, and Remedies. For the brown areas, make sure to pick up the Magic Source and Remedy (first brown area), and the Hero Drink (second brown area). The last area with the shining light has a Counter and W-Magic materia. Pair W-Magic with Comet on the Mystile. Anyway, now for the final fight. Hop down the stones as fast as possible. Either kill the baddies or run away to save your strength. Eventually, you will come to the shiny bottom. Replace the Flayer with the Venus Gospel. Remember to keep your MP high so the Gospel will deal its maximum damage. Your equipment should look a little something like this: Venus Gospel: W-Item, Enemy Skill, Mega-All, Long Range, Counter Attack, HP Plus Mystile: Comet=W-Magic, Restore=Deathblow, HP Plus=HP Plus Ribbon *********************************************************************** BOSS: Jenova-SYNTHESIS HP: ?? (not a lot) STRENGTH: None WEAKNESS: None DIFFICULTY: 5/10 WIN: Nothing Use Deathblow and focus on the center. Heal when necessary. She may cast Stop, which could leave Cid hurting, but have your HP high just in case. Not a particularly tough fight, but try to kill her before the timer reaches zero. If/when you get a Limit Break, save it for the next Boss. *********************************************************************** After the fight, just heal. Time for Cid's final stand... *********************************************************************** BOSS: Bizarro-Sephiroth HP: ?? (each part of B.S. ... haha... has between 2,000 and 10,000) STRENGTH: None WEAKNESS: None DIFFICULTY: 3/10 WIN: Nothing Use Slash-All until the Core is vulnerable. If you have a Limit Break, use it. Attack with Deathblow. This fight takes forever, but just keep healing and hacking away at Part C. After that, lace into the other parts with Comet2, Pandora's Box, or Shadow Flare. Once the Core and left and right arms are dead, they will not be revived. The length of the fight will be attacking the middle portion (Part A). If he happens to use Heartless Angel, heal A.S.A.P. If he uses Aurora Fence, kill your teammates immediately. He will fall eventually... *********************************************************************** Now for the grand finale. Use an Elixir on your first turn! *********************************************************************** BOSS: Safer-Sephiroth HP: ?? (less than 80,000) STRENGTH: None WEAKNESS: None DIFFICULTY: 8/10 WIN: The game. Muhahaha... After the Elixir, set up Big Guard. This guy plays rough. Keep hacking away at him using Deathblow. Limit Breaks will be your saving grace in the end. The only real threats are Shadow Flare and Super Nova. Make sure to only attack AFTER you know what Sephiroth's next move is. This way if he casts Super Nova you are not about to use Deathblow. Use an Elixir after you get hit really hard. Basically, this will become one big slugfest. Don't be shocked if you see Super Nova at least three times. Good luck, my friend. :) *********************************************************************** Pat yourself on the back. Cid is victorious!! Not only that, but his Highwind saves the day. In the course of this game, Cid reached outer space, found new respect for his girlfriend, and swore... a lot. :) CONGRATULATIONS!! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- IX. OPTIONAL SIDE-QUESTS a. Chocobo Breeding This is the most time-consuming part of the challenge. There are dozens of methods, but this (I believe) is the cheapest and least painful. First, make sure you have at least 75,000 gil. Now... 1. Rent 4 stables from Choco Bill (40,000 gil) 2. Buy 2 Sylkis Greens from the Chocobo Sage (10,000 gil) 3. Steal 3 Carob Nuts from Vladorakos (located around Bone Village) 4. Steal 1 Zeio Nut from a Goblin (located on north-eastern islands) Okay. Now get into a random battle. Use the W-Item trick (explained in Section VII-p) to get 99 Sylkis Greens. If you chose to start breeding before that section, just buy as many as you can. Now attach the Chocobo Lure materia. Run around on the tracks located near Mideel until you have captured a great chocobo. Save. Whatever sex it is, get the opposite sex in a good chocobo from the tracks near the Gold Saucer. Save. There is no need to race these two. Simply mate them with a Carob Nut to get a green or blue chocobo. If you do not get one of these, reset and try again. Feed the newborn 50 Sylkis Greens and save. Race it at the Gold Saucer Chocobo Square using the short course until it is at Rank A. When racing, hold all 4 shoulder buttons down to gain back stamina quickly. Make sure to take GP instead of an item. Save. :) As a sidenote, if Choco Billy says it is too early for the chocobos to breed again, go outside and fight around a bit. After a few battles you can have them mate. Save before you breed. Use a Carob Nut to mate the original parents again. This time you should get the opposite sex and opposite color (either green or blue). If not, reset and try again. When you are successful, release the original parents. Feed the newbie 50 Sylkis Greens and race it until it is at Rank A. Save. Sense a pattern? :) Mate the green and blue chocobo using a Carob Nut and you should get a black chocobo. Save. Head to the Icicle Inn area tracks (west part of northern continent) and capture a wonderful chocobo with the opposite sex of the black chocobo. Release the green and blue chocobos. Save. Feed the black and wonderful chocobos 50 Sylkis Greens each and race them until they are each at Rank S. Save. Mate the black and wonderful chocobos using the Zeio Nut and you should get a gold chocobo! If not, try again. SAVE. Ah, how boring... sorry that was so time consuming, but it is a necessary evil to defeat the WEAPONs quickly at a low level using only our hero. :) Hop on your goldie and ride to the far north-east to find the hidden materia cave. Grab Knights of the Round. Now run all the way to the western continent and locate the materia cave (around the middle of the continent, due east). Here you can pick up the Mime materia. That's all you need, folks! b. Gold Saucer: Battle Square Before entering here, make sure you have explored the Northern Cave. This way, you are certain to have all the necessary materia needed to make this as easy as possible. Also, you should have LOADS of GP from chocobo racing. Cid should be around Level 60 if you decided to kill Ultima WEAPON and Ruby WEAPON before coming here (which a good plan). Your goal is the W-Summon materia (64,000 BP). You will earn more/less BP depending on your luck with the reels (i.e. - the "All Materia Disabled" reel will give you much more BP than the "Cure" reel). Keep fighting, and do NOT leave the area until you have the materia, or else all your BP will disappear. Equip the Venus Gospel, Mystile, and Ribbon. On the Gospel, have the Counter Attack, Mega-All, and Long Range materia, along with 3 HP Plusses. On the Mystile, you should attach the Deathblow=HP Absorb combination, the Restore materia, and the Enemy Skill and W-Item materia. Put whatever you wish in the other slot. :) Now head into battle. The best thing to do is to use the Deathblow-All attack and Slash-All. Do not expect an easy fight, though. This arena is geared toward Cloud, and someone like Cid normally should not be used here. Even if you get frustrated, do not give up until you have all 64,000 BP. Use Big Guard if you feel threatened. Your main problem will be the reels' effects. A few things to keep in mind are: The Ghost Ship can be killed by using an Elixir, the Magic Breath Enemy Skill is key to survival if your attacks become weak, and if you happen to come across a Tonberry, I can only hope you have a Limit Break ready. Good luck!! After you have W-Summon, exit back down the stairs. If you talk to the person on Cloud's right, he/she (?) will give you an accessory called Sprint Shoes, which automatically puts Cid in Haste. If you are thinking about killing Emerald WEAPON, this is absolutely necessary. :) c. Ultima WEAPON You can find it near Junon hovering over the giant crater after Diamond WEAPON is dead. If you have KOTR, this will be easy. If not, you will have to chase Ultima all over the world. A good strategy is to follow Ultima until it stops over an area, land the Highwind nearby, heal, save, and THEN ram into it. This way you will not lose sight of where Utlima is going next. Once it falls below 20,000 HP, it will hover above the Cosmo Canyon area to wait for the final fight. Use the Ultima-Elemental combination in your armor for some much-needed insurance. If you have completed the Raid on Midgar, equip the Mystile. You should also put on a Tetra Elemental accessory in place of the Ribbon (found in the Northern Cave or obtained by morphing a Cactaur). Use the Flayer so you get AP from the fight. *********************************************************************** BOSS: Ultima WEAPON HP: 100,000 (approx.) STRENGTH: Invulnerable to Gravity WEAKNESS: None DIFFICULTY: 3/10 WIN: Ultima Weapon (Cloud) Attack it with Deathblow. A Limit Break will leave Ultima in pain. Tetra Elemental will absorb most of its attacks, so there is no need for Big Guard. Before the final fight, equip the Reflect Ring so the Shadow Flare attack goes right back to Ultima. Stick to your guns and hunt it down wherever it goes. *********************************************************************** Good job! You just raked in 25,000 gil. Sell Cloud's Ultima Weapon for 1 gil just to spite him. :) The Ancient Forest holds a Slash-All materia, but you really do not need it at all, unless you feel like getting tons of AP for the Flash attack. That could be useful in the Battle Arena, but there are other ways to win. If Cid has the Mega-All materia on (found in the Northern Cave), his physical attacks will hit all opponents. d. Ruby WEAPON Appears in the desert after Ultima WEAPON is dead. Ram its head to make it pop up. There is a very easy strategy to take care of Ruby at a low level. First, raise a gold chocobo and get KOTR. You really do not need W-Summon from the Battle Arena for Ruby. Equip the Scimitar, Mystile, and Ribbon. Simply attach KOTR to the HP Absorb you can find in the Northern Cave on the Scimitar (so KOTR gets a ton of AP from Ruby), and have the Mime materia from the materia cave near Wutai on the Mystile. Load up on HP Plusses (until Cid has around 9,500 HP) and make sure to remove Counter Attack. Wait... I think I feel a yawn coming... *********************************************************************** BOSS: Ruby WEAPON HP: 800,000 (approx.) STRENGTH: High physical defense; invulnerable to Gravity WEAKNESS: None DIFFICULTY: 1/10 WIN: Desert Rose Since your other two teammates are dead, Ruby will immediately bury his tentacles. Use KOTR on the tentacles, then Mime away. If the tentacles happen to pop back up, KOTR will attack them. *Yawn* (ah, there it is) *********************************************************************** Take the Desert Rose to the Kalm Traveler to get a (really) crappy gold chocobo. And guess what? It's useless. :) e. Emerald WEAPON Ah, yes. The big green thing with bell bottoms on. Before you fight it, make sure to trade in the Guide Book (from the Underwater Reactor) for the Underwater materia with the Kalm Traveler. Also, get 64,000 BP in the Battle Sqare for the W-Summon materia (now you need it) and the Sprint Shoes accessory from the Battle Square person (automatically puts Cid in Haste - speed is essential for winning this fight). It is located in the ocean, so move around in the sub until you find it. If it is nowhere to be found, climb to the surface and submerge again. Emerald is gigantic and very hard to miss. :) To set up, equip the Flayer, Mystile, and Sprint Shoes. Attach the Underwater materia to a dead teammate. The timer will be gone, and Cid will not take damage for having Underwater on him. Good thinkin', right? :) Link KOTR and HP Absorb and put Mime on. This time, you will need W-Summon also. Make sure your level is high enough (Cid should be around Level 60 if you have not leveled up at all, but have fought every Boss except Emerald and almost every random encounter) so that you only need one or two mastered HP Plusses to make Cid have about 9,500 HP. This way, if/when Emerald uses Aire Tam Storm, you will only take 5,555 or 6,666 damage. Here we go... *********************************************************************** BOSS: Emerald WEAPON HP: 1,000,000 (approx.) STRENGTH: None WEAKNESS: None DIFFICULTY: 10/10 WIN: Earth Harp Cast 2 KOTRs, then Mime forever. Be quick. Since you have only two stars for KOTR (from the Ruby fight), it will take about 16-18 casts to kill Emerald. This strategy may seem easy, but it may take a few tries to win because luck plays a HUGE factor in this fight. Aire Tam Storm is your biggest threat. This is the toughest Boss in the challenge, hands down, so keep up the fight and never give up! *********************************************************************** Trade in the Earth Harp for 3 Master Materia (Magic, Command, and Summon) with the Kalm Traveler. Now Cid has all the materia he ever needed, without the tedious task of collecting AP. Congrats! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- X. CREDITS - Cid Highwind for making FFVII complete (and for all the good laughs)... your vocabulary is never-ending. :) - GameFAQs.com for hosting this FAQ. - CJayC for making this all possible. - The Official Final Fantasy VII Strategy Guide (Brady Games, 1997) for basic, but much-needed info. - Squaresoft for making the game that has taken several beautiful days out of my life... the game that gets better and better every time I play it. :)
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