In one in all the more annoying battle sequences President Rufus Shinra appears to receive Cloud one on one match on the Golden Saucer in Chapter 12. As in , Rufus is a quick and deadly opponent. However, it is vitally surmountable if the proper techniques are used.

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Rufus’ fight will force you to dodge attacks more often than other battles in , and you will need to search for key opportunities to attack.

A 3-step solution to the fight against Rufus

You will need to indicate restraint and patience when fighting Rufus, profiting from free opportunities. His attacks deal intimidating damage, he’s fast and might easily counterattack and stun you. Here are three pieces of recommendation to be mindful when fighting Rufus Shinra.

I’m telling you, you are going to should dodge bullets

Be prepared to grind the wheels steadily to avoid Rufus’ various attacks. In fact, I like to recommend taking a while to get used to dodging his attacks reliably before you begin launching attacks. Fighting Rufus is like multitasking, and you’ll need to depend on your dodging, practically on autopilot, when you search for opportunities to attack him.

Once you get used to dodging his attacks, it’ll be time to make use of Cloud’s ranged attack and begin raising your ATB gauge.

Fill your ATB with Cloud’s ranged attacks

Cloud has a reasonably decent ranged attack, which, while not necessarily very powerful on each hit, does have lots of utility. After hitting the circle after which immediately hitting the square, Cloud will fire a beam from his blade that can fly towards the goal (be certain you’re locked onto the enemy with R3). If you hold square, it’ll physically fly towards your opponent. This last element can get you into trouble with Rufus, as he’ll likely counterattack.

You can in fact proceed to spam circle after which press a number of times on square to maintain attacking Rufus, but Cloud’s blade beams don’t do a ton of injury. Instead, they’re more useful for increasing Cloud’s ATB, which you need to be able to use as soon as Rufus starts reloading. After some time, Rufus may even grow to be resistant to this attack, so you’ll be wanting to hit enough to fill your ATB after which let Rufus do his own attack, after which he’ll probably should reload.

Rufus’ reload animation makes him extremely vulnerable

Rufus is fierce in his counterattack, but when you wait to hit him while he’s reloading, you may easily put pressure on him. His reload animation (accompanied by the word Reload above his head) is your window of opportunity. Not only do you could have to continually avoid his attacks, but you furthermore may should stay in range to be able to strike. Using the ATB skill Brave and Focused Push may even push him further towards the staggered state; it’s a very good idea to establish and memorize shortcuts for these attacks – especially Focus Push, which can send Cloud towards him.

Additionally, when you wait until he actually performs the Reload motion, you may often be too late before Cloud launches his attack and also you get punished by Rufus’ counter. Just keep in mind that it all the time reloads after performing certain firearm attacks. If you may avoid it, we found the moment right after Rufus deploys Guns Akimbo to be a very good opportunity to stand up close and get some hits.

Just a few other considerations

You poison Rufus Bio. It doesn’t do a ton of injury, but it may slowly drain his HP. Besides, it’s value throwing Haste and/or protective spells corresponding to Barrier/Protection on one another. Remember that Rufus has no elemental weaknesses, so be happy to make use of Cloud material gaps Down matter it will improve his overall effectiveness in battle and healing spells corresponding to Regen.

Read more: Clarified the confusing “Retry this battle” screen.

Note you could access the important menu through the cutscene between the Elena/Rude fight and the Rufus battle by holding down Square. If you would like to restart the battle with Rufus itself, select the “Retry from” option. This battle” after pausing the sport and choosing Retry.

What to do with the Dark Star

Rufus has a friend, a dog, who is incredibly annoying. He will join the battle when you knock Rufus all the way down to half his health. You will notice that there’s a connection between the 2, and breaking this connection will put pressure on the bloodhound.

Focus on eliminating Darkstar as quickly as possible. Lamenting on it’ll raise your ATB. I like to recommend avoiding Triple Strike as it could cause Cloud to attack Rufus, thus risking a counterattack from the President that can cost you HP and time.

The battle within the Colosseum in Chapter 12 definitely borders on sensory overload with the loud music and constant chatter of the announcers. In some ways, this increases the issue of defeating the previous president’s son. But dodging his attacks and striking at the proper moment will get you out of this battle and into the ultimate moments of this epic RPG.