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Rufus Shinra is a returning boss inFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirthwho acts much like he did inFinal Fantasy 7 Remake. This battle is broken up into two phases, with both being fought as Cloud alone. The first phase will be a one-on-one between Rufus and Cloud, with Rufus' dog, Darkstar joining in on the second phase once Rufus reaches half health.
This time around, Rufus has a few new tricks to make this battle very difficult for unprepared players. Unlike otherboss battles inFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth, players will need to be very reactive to Rufus and only attack when there is an opening. Otherwise, Rufus will counter the attack to deal damage and protect himself.
Rufus Immunities
The main gimmick with Rufus is that he can’t be attacked anytime, and will counter any melee attack or ability coming his way. The only way tohit and pressure Rufusis todamage him whenever he is reloading his weapon. There isn’t a set number of bullets in the gun or skills he has to use first, and players will mostly have to wait to see the animation and Reload skill name to appear over Rufus' head to signal an attack. Whenever Rufus lands an attack, he will almost always reload. Due to the knockback and general stagger of his attacks, don’t let this opening bait you as the time it takes Cloud to recover will have Rufus fully reloaded before Cloud can land an attack.
Players' key to victory in this fight will be using Cloud’s ranged attacks and never running in for melee until the opportunity arises. Ranged attacks will deal reduced damage to Rufus but won’t trigger a Counter, and can also be landed at a distance to trigger a pressure by hitting him when he reloads, even right after dodging an attack. The main attack players need tolook out for is, “Guns Akimbo” as he will always reload afterward. It may take a few dodges, but after the final shots have been fired, immediately use a ranged attack to hit and pressure him.
Hitting Rufus withan ATB Abilityduring a reload will deal much more damage and stagger, but will sometimes require an initial hit to open up the window for a bigger skill to land.Spamming ranged attacks won’t deal much damage but can be a great method for safely charging ATBto either use a potion or prepare a skill for the next opening. Save your summon and be patient as fully staggering him will take time. After he is fully staggered, use a Limit Break if available, along with any powerful skills to deal massive damage and trigger Phase 2.
Darkstar Immunities
Once this phase begins, use whicheversummon you find is best inFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirthto even the odds and add some firepower. Darkstar will be your only target until it is defeated, and luckily there are no counters to worry about. Simply damaging Darkstar will pressure and stagger the creature, so focus all your efforts on damaging it while keeping an eye on Rufus' continued attacks.Utilize the abilities of your summon to damage Darkstarwith powerful attacks while still leaving Cloud open to dodge the attacks coming from two angles.
Attacking Darkstar will be a welcome break and won’t pose much difficulty if players stay aware of Rufus. After Darkstar is defeated, it willleave the arena and the rest of the fight can be continued the same as Phase 1. Rufus' attacks and patterns won’t change between phases and defeating Darkstar effectively takes the battle back to Phase 1.
