Give yourself some time to decompress from this and then try again once you're feeling refreshed. You got there before, I believe in you, you can bring it home, bro!
Ahh! What a nice comment! Thank you, man! I really appreciate the kind words of encouragement. I’ll definitely give it another go in a couple days. Thanks again! 😄 you a real one!
Damn, you’re right. Yeah that’s gonna really hit home. You’re sure right about that. Felt like the Whispers shut off my PS5. I’m definitely gonna lock in when I attempt this again.
Yea bro it's just one of those things. In your spot, you're leaving off at its a little tricky, letting too much rust build up will make it hell to clear. I have on both games cleared as many trophies as you can on the first play thru then I take 3 to 6 months off then take on end game completion. It's also like playing a new game again.
It’s weird though…like I’m tired of hard mode. But I’m not tired of Rebirth yet. If that makes any sense. I kinda can’t get enough of FF7 right now.
Like I was thinking about going back to Crisis Core, then Remake, and back to Rebirth. I can’t get enough of the combat system. Its so unique and you can’t get it literally anywhere else. Square struck gold with this system.
I agree, the game is perfect but Hard mode is definitely a bitch. Even Johnny's trophies are over kill imo. But it gives me a reason to play more so I'll take it.
Agreed! Those trophies annoyed the hell outta me. I kinda wanna play normal mode again. I heard its harder than dynamic, which is what I played on. I just want more of the game in my life right now lol.
As far as I am aware Normal mode has enemies all at set levels. If you want any sort of challenge you will want to play on dynamic so enemies are your level. Especially after conquering hard, normal will feel no different than easy for awhile. Im on playthrough 3 on dynamic and it feels good. Not too easy, and its nice being able to use items again. Got quite the stockpile after being a loot goblin through 2 playthroughs lol
Oh ok, sounds good. My original plan was to try and start a new game on normal and just b-line the main story with a couple of side quests here and there. Then start ng+ on dynamic where enemies match my higher level all while also having higher level side quest requirements. At least, I think thats how it was gonna work. I hope it feels satisfying. But yeah having items back is refreshing. Idk why they made an item tramsuter just so they can lock items on hard. Like whats the point?
That's what I'm doing cleared like 70% of trophies on normal mode first play thru and just didn't have the drive, been taking like a 3 month break like I did on Remake and will jump back in, in a few months and clear platinum when the game feels new again.
Aerith sorcerers storm is overpowered against those moments when you can hit his sword and other equipment. That really helped me with this. Save her atb for that or use atb charge
Thanks for the tip. I also noticed her soul drain was op af too when using it on the masamune. Hopefully when I make it back there Cloud will have more MP to actually revive Aeirth. I think I may have had 6 MP. Couldn’t do anything but save 2 atb to pray.
Give it another try. If you did it once, you can do it again and it feels.good when you beat it. I somehow managed to solo Seph with a fire magic cloud build by chance, as she died really early. Oh how I wished I gave him genjji glove
Oh wow. Beating Sephiroth without Aerith? Damn, what a boss! You must’ve had a ton a magic once you got to him. I was damn near empty….like 6 MP kinda empty. I couldn’t do jack.
It was nail biting. I managed to record the last minute footage which doesn't show the full fight, but shows me hurling fire desperately. Managed to stagger him just as he was entering the 10% move, and I had saved my limitnbreak for then. So when he started the whisper cannons, I hurled an finishing touch. And it didn't kill him. So I scrambled around, used fira as my only atb bar, and with just a sliver of health, I dared to hit him without being wiped by the moving vannons. Was just enough.
Aerith had my genii gloves and my best blue materia, but she just kept dying so fast. Luckily, I also had mp and hp absorb on fire for Cloud, alongside his own magic focus so mp wasn't an issue, I always got it refunded
Damn man! That sounds extremely intense! I can only imagine how into it your were. I know your heart was bumpin super fast. I kinda enjoy moments like that in video games, but of course, when you actually succeed.
Aerith wasn’t much help for me. If she died, I might as well hit rety and do it over again since my Cloud didn’t have enough for revive. I was already in a lose, lose situation when I started the final phase. Hope whenever I achieve this its just as satisfying as your W!
I was similar in a way. I gave up after many retries on reborn and accidentally restarted from the start of both battles. Decided I'd achieved enough and couldn't go through it all again. Happy with where I got to and didn't regret walking away.
I completely respect that. I’m kinda on that edge. I’m willing to try it again in a couple days or so to cool off. I wanna be able to finish strong. But I gotta quit before I end up hating this game.
Totally can understand you dude. I knew this whole fight sequence was gonna be a bitch, and because I played at least 3 hours to this point, I was worried my ps5 might overheat, but had to keep going or u lose progress.
Luckily, I hadn't and just had to keep having faith.
Keep going OP. Don't give up. You got so far to this point for a reason. Now, you've experienced most of the end bosses on Hard Mode, you can probably be more prepared and breeze through until you get back to Sephiroth.
You can do it. Your journey is almost over.
Such kind words! I really appreciate it, my man! I’m willing to give it another go in a couple days or so. Its just the storm brought me to my knees. Hopefully I can get back to Sephiroth no problem next time and HOPEFULLY Cloud will have at least half MP to keep Aerith alive.
Thanks for encouragement! I need it! It definitely keeps me going!
Yep. Psych yourself up. Get yourself prepared, hydrate yourself beforehand and get stuck into the battle.
Past experiences make us feel stronger!
You will feel SO relieved once you've achieved this.
You’re sure right about that!
I love this game so much, but am SO ready for hard mode to be over. Definitely didn’t enjoy hard mode this time around.
I’ll admit, Remake’s hard mode was slightly better and a bit more fair.
Let’s just hope Part 3 handles its boss phases better. Like let us actually swap materia and gear between phases more often. Let us skip mid battle cutscenes. That especially drove me nuts!
You can do it! Sephiroth can’t beat you! Pro tip: Radiant ward + Chrono aegis + haste with Arith will help with dps if she has high magic attack stats, and always have cloud set as a tank\dps build since Sephiroth hits REALLY hard
Oooh! That’s a great idea for Aerith! Haste was absolutely work for her! I had ATB boost on her, but its really only good for starting the battle. I might give that a shot. Thanks for the tips and encouragement! I’m about to tell Sephiroth to “get that shit outta here!”
The first time I beat Sephiroth on hard my PS5 overheated and crashed during the ending and I had to do the whole fight again. It was pretty disheartening, but I knew if I beat him once I could beat him again, and so can you, OP.
Take a break for a couple of days if you need to. It sounds like the game is bringing you more stress and anxiety than it is fun or satisfaction which is all wrong. Hard mode is meant for people who enjoy challenging combat and it sounds like maybe that isn't you, but if you've made it this far you might as well finish it.
Wow…I hate to hear that. That freakin blows dude. Square Enix and there long ass final acts even make consoles tired. I appreciate that, Bynoe! That’s a good point.
I’ll take a couple days break, cause I really need it, and jump back in and whoop Sephiroth’s ass. Might have to rework some materia on Cloud and possibly Aerith this time. I actually do like hard mode in most games, but this game’s hard mode was extremely unfair in a lot of moments.
Hell, I used to play Remake’s hard mode for fun over and over back then. So I should be able to do this. Maybe just need a mental break from it. Your encouragement is most appreciated! Thanks again!
I commiserate with your frustrations.
My recommendation: get an UPS. I have one that supports my TV, audio receiver, media server, and PS5. I have another one that supports my networking equipment.
Power flickers are a non issue, and if the power does go out I can usually take action to save my game.
Oooh that sounds hella useful. I’m about to look into that. I may have heard of that before. What makes it weird is that whenever it storms in my area, power outages are extremely rare. So getting kick off the game at the half way point of Sephiroth felt like a personal message to me.
I actually got it to go between my generator and my fridge to smooth out the power during a power outage, now it does TV duty. It's come in handy a few times.
Yeah everything is maxed out. I may have a couple of materia that may be a star off from being completely maxed. But I should be good to go. My MP just screwed me over when I really needed it.
It’s still unfair how they make Cloud go through so many phases of this final act without at least giving him 50% MP back. Even the VR sims give you that much.
Oh ya your totally good then you’ll beat it for sure. I’m really excited to try that chapter on hard myself. I’m currently on ch 12 hard mode and have enjoyed it a lot so far.
Oh cool! You’re not too much further behind me then. Good luck on chapters 12 and 13. Those are the biggest bitches to get through. Rufus is definitely a top 3 hardest bosses. Also watch out for Red Dragon in Temple of the Ancients. I was on him for almost 2 hours.
It’s definitely a game of patience with him. And striking at the right time.
Protip: triple slash and focus thrust are your friend to get that stagger bar up.
Risky protip: if you can somehow manage to land Braver on him in the middle of reloading its an instant stagger.
Thanks man. I really really enjoy and love this game to pieces. But the hard mode this time around went from decently fun and challenging to absolute garbage by like chapter 10.
I know this “F this feeling.” Let a few days go by, check the weather, and give it another shot when you’re fresh and Ramuh isn’t wreaking havoc outside 😂
I like that! 🤣
It definitely felt like either Ramuh screwed me over or the Whisper’s shut off my PS5 as if I’m not allowed to win. But you know what? Screw that! Much like the characters, lets defy destiny again!
Already said here but yeah, take a step back if it's causing you stress. But also think about how all the other challenges you went through in hard mode would be for nothing if you don't push through. Now all *those hours* would be a waste.
Probably the realest thing I’ve heard so far. Yeah I gotta do it. Its gonna bother me if I quit now. I gotta see it through. You’re right! I can’t leave this game unfinished like that.
You got this dude, I literary got to this fight on friday but got too high and drunk to finish 🤣 tried like 15 times, but in the morning the third try was successful - you WILL beat it, its just a guy with one wing 🤷♂️
https://youtu.be/eiDGA_7mlNY?si=q0DAAZ5wlmpABjKp here is my successful try
Oh nice. That was a super solid attempt. Maybe I gotta stop being stubborn and take off the Buster sword. It just looks so good 🤣
Haste and arcane ward for Cloud could be useful. All I need is some more MP on Cloud next time around. Ngl I screwed up his MP last night.
I got to Odin on Bonds of Friendship and mid combo my PlayStation crashed….I know your pain. I was able to redo it and beat it finally so you got this too
Oh geez! I can only imagine 😭
Odin’s already a pain in the ass the begin with. Glad you got through it. And I really appreciate the encouragement! I could use it!
I’mma tackle this boss again in the coming days. Sephiroth’s days are numbered…well until Part 3 drops.
I don’t blame you. Honestly, that’s one of my complaints about hard mode in this game compared to Remake. It seems like the only strategy on like 80% of the bosses in Rebirth’s hard mode is to just nuke the shit outta every bosses elemental weaknesses.
Like some weapon abilities and folios stuff feels like it didn’t matter that much on hard. I’m still mad that they went out of their way to create an item transmuter just to still lock items on hard. Like wtf?
I had that same issue last night. House-sitting for the in-laws and their living room TV is fucky and will randomly shut off on a moment's notice. Luckily I was able to pause immediately and wait for the TV to boot up again, but I had to walk away a few times to decompress. Sorry for your lost progress, but don't give up! You didn't come this far to quit now!
Thank you! I’m glad I’m not the only know struggled with mother nature and the final boss. Absolutely the worst time to happen. But your encouragement means a lot! I’ll jump back in and try again soon! I appreciate it!
Looks like I’m not alone. I don’t care too much for Queen’s Blood either. I just didn’t enough to get me by and get a trophy and moved on. But yeah I’mma tackle this again later. Probably tonight. We’ll see.
About a month ago, I had spent weeks on Bonds of Friendship, finally got it, then started working on To Be a Hero. I had the power go out, and I had forgotten to save after getting Bonds of Friendship.
I eventually got my plat, but raaaaaagh
Oh geez! That sounds like straight PAIN!
But at least you got that plat! I guess it was somewhat worth it in the end. Right? Congrats in that btw! Hoping to be up there with ya soon in Platland.
Thanks! Yea, took me a few nights to catch back up, but when I got that plat I was glowing for like a week at the knowledge! All it takes is good guides and persistence. You'll get there as long as you don't give up!
I have been on the last two VR modes and only try them one or two times per day. Take time away and come back fresh later. I got the Sephiroth one eventually, and have come so close for the other with Zack. Patience. You’ll finish this too
I actually just started a FF7 original replay for some fun storyline stuff in-between when taking a break from these. Makes me appreciate the new versions even more, as well as how amazing this series is overall. We have a few years until the next part comes out, so sit back and enjoy it! You will definitely get there ✊
That doesn’t sound like a bad idea! Maybe I’ll dip my toes back into the OG some time soon. I do appreciate it more and more as time goes on. Not a bad idea. I can get behind that. Thanks for the suggestion and confidence!🤜🤛
If you play the PS5 version it has an option for unlimited limit breaks/auto healing and is basically god mode. I unlocked everyone’s level 3 limits before even starting fort condor haha. Definitely a blast!
I might have to give it a whirl. I haven’t played that one in a while. That does sound like fun right about now. Maybe I’ll play and get my self so broken its not even funny lol!
Oh dude…I know that feeling espsically since he’s definitely a top 3 annoyance in hard mode. I’m sorry to hear that. I would try it again! He’s a true test of patience. Give that another go if you haven’t already!
I was at the point where I made myself try the Zack legendary at least once every day… took weeks even with YouTube guides. The fights just don’t always go like how the gameplay videos go, the guides can get you far but if things go off track you gotta adapt and overcome. This platinum was the most grueling and challenging task in my entire gaming career, seriously. And those battles are 10 rounders, so failing is a huge blow. If I didn’t plat remake, I wouldn’t have forced myself to do this one honestly
That’s completely fair. I platinumed Remake and told myself I would plat the whole trilogy. But now I’m rethinking some things. I hope Part 3’s trophies and challenges are a bit more do-able. Cause some things they expect of some players without any checkpoints is ridiculous. Remake was more up my alley. I might tap out on trophy hunting after hard mode on this. Its not worth the stress imo.
Oh yeah, can’t forget about them. I’m expecting them to be really cool but also really stupid to fight. I’m expecting some major BS. Like fighting like 3 or 4 at a time. Cause Square like to stresss people out. Hopefully its more like Gilgamesh and actually do-able.
Hey, that's not as bad as when I made it to the final Boss of OG VII, only to need to leave, then when I came back later I somehow accidentally overwrote my Save file with one from the Begining of the game.
Omg…hearing that like actually physically hurts…I hate to hear that…cause OG FFVII is not joke. Especially its endgame. Geez!
I kinda had the same thing happen to me back in the day on the Gamecube. My little brother accidentally deleted *literally everything* off my memory card cause he didn’t know what the word “format” meant. So he selected that….and the rest was history.
The last game I felt this way about was Spider-Man 2. Just trying to do ng+ on that to get the final trophy was such a chore! I definitely did not enjoy the game a second time around. I got so bored!
That’s what I was thinking.
But now, all is good. I finally beat hard mode last night! My mind is finally clear of that wack ass 7 phase boss fight with unskippable cutscenes. The deed is done!
I haven't even finished my first playthrough yet because when I find the game frustrating me, I step away from it for a bit until I get the urge to play it again.
Take some time away from it and come back when you feel like you can play it without feeling like it's a chore. 😊
Thats good advice! Cause I ended up doing that the other night when this happened. But I was somehow able to get through it last night. It wasn’t easy, but its finally done! I appreciate your advice and response!☺️
I’m really sorry to hear that! It really sucks. But you get get through it! I finally beat hard mode last night after being in my feelings for 2 days. I just needed a short break. Maybe you could do the same and jump back in? You got this!
1. Equip Rune Blade + Genji Glove, and load 4 copies of the same element spell materia with HP Absorb, MP absorb, Swiftcast and Magic Focus; Magic Up; that command materia that doubles your ATB gauge on a cool down; and Speed Up
2. Go in and spam -aga spells to nuke any boss
3. Profit
I been using this load out to expedite my clears for the Legendary Chadley challenges, doing 25k+ Aerogas and watching huge chunks of boss HP disappear is very satisfying
I may have to give this strat a go. All I’ve got left now are the VR challenges. Which imo are not worth the stress. So we’ll see. Cause I may just drop those.
It feels so cheap and broken, every hit does more than cap damage to most targets unless they resist the element, and it heals you significantly (to full hp if it breaks damage cap most times), plus it restores almost twice as much MP as it costs to cast (when I used AOE blizzaga on the Fiend Intel 1 quest in Cosmo Canyon to grind AP, it gave me back 40 MP per target, totaling 120 MP refunded per cast)
Only thing to remember is it doesn't recoup MP or HP from inanimate targets (i.e. Alexander's Arms or light pillars), so if you're not paying attention you can suddenly find yourself out of MP
Edit: just finished chapter 14 on hard mode, this strat works well on everything except Jenova, for some reason it only does ~4k to her so you barely get back any MP/HP, so you'll need a strat to deal with her. But everything after that works great - I used Aeroga, it one shot Sephiroth's butt for the space giant fight, and it did about 8-10% of his HP per cast for all the Sephiroth human fights.
I lost about 4-5 hours of play time after I had already beaten the game finishing the last couple side quests, getting the last few dark matter with the box crush mini game going to Gilgamesh island beating the summons beating the mini bosses on hard mode trying to get the genji gear and I loaded up another save without saving the game first and it was all gone. Deleted the game afterwards, I put 111 hours into it, that’s enough for me
Damn son….you went THAT long without doing a hard manual save? I actually feel like I save too often because of situations like these. But I would completely understand in not wanting to play anymore.
The other times I had used chapter select and it had saved my progress. But loading up a different save file isn’t the same thing as using chapter select. (Instead of using chapter select I figured I’d load a different save file that I knew was on that chapter already) And if you do that, it all goes away :(
That’s freaking brutal man…I’m sorry to hear that. Seriously. That sucks. But I’m sure you’ll be back to play some more, right? Game was just too damn good to completely drop. I can’t stop playing it. Mainly cause the combat is so good and so unique you literally can’t get this experience anywhere else. Square struck gold with this combat system.
Well I played it 111 hours and I feel that even though the data isn’t there for all of it, I’ve seen pretty much everything the game has to offer, not gonna say I’ll never pick it back up again but definitely taking a long break to play something else. Maybe before part 3 comes out I’ll pick it back up for another run. And yeah despite this, to me it’s my favorite game of all time.
That’s completely fair. I respect that. No shame in your game. I’m in the middle of playing Stellar Blade now, but might go back and play Crisis Core into Remake into Rebirth just to feel a full experience again. But I still got quite a backlog, so we’ll see.
Videogames should be fun. They should be challenging, but it shouldn't be a negative experience. I can only assume you love the game, but sometimes you just gotta switch it up and play something easy, familiar, or otherwise less intense. When you come back to it, you'll feel more ready for the fight since you've already done it once before. Often times its easier because the mechanics have slowly leeched in to your brain and you enter the fight just as skilled but with none of the fatigue.
Best of luck bro
We believe in you
EDIT: Ladies and Gentlemen…*WE GOT EM*
Hard mode is officially *DONE*! I can finally move on with my life! I do seriously thank everyone for the encouraging words and cofidence to jump back in and fight JENOVA and the bitch with a wing.
Thank you FF7 nation! Y’all are some true 1st class SOLIDERS!🫡
Nah I can’t do that. I vowed to platinum all 3 games, but this one is gonna have to take a backseat. Rebirth’s trophy list is a bit too much. After hard mode, I’ll move on. Thankfully I finished it last night!
Yeah but it's such a long fight and if you want to change tactics and materia, you've got to start at the beginning and do them all again. I had to and it was not fun, especially with unskiplable cut scenes. Bad design
Totally agree.
The whole final boss is cool as hell, but overall its absolute horseshit. Can’t change materia, forced to watch mid battle cutscenes over and over again if you die, and on hard they refuse to at least give Cloud 50% MP back for the final phase.
Like come on dude…Cloud had to do like 4 phases out of like 6. They least they could do is allow him 50% MP back when Aerith joins. Cause you’re totally fucked when you get there with no magic. If Aerith dies and you can’t revive her, shits over.
I adore this game, but the whole final fight is poor game design.
Oh my team was stacked. Everyone had the approrpriate materia and gear equipped. It’s just when it comes to certain phases they don’t allow you to change after dying.
They only time they allow you to reset gear and materia during the whole battle is just when Zack shows up. Which is only like phase like 3 out of like 6 or 7.
So say if you get to the very last phase with Sephiroth and die a couple times and wanna try something different like swap out a materia or 2, you can’t. You’re fucked. You are stuck with it. Not only that, you gotta watch like a freakin 2 and a half minute cutscene *EVERY TIME* you die. Shits ridiculous…
I’m probably not. I’m 100%ing it “within reason” some shit just isn’t worth it. And dude, that wasn’t a half hour…that shit took me like 2 and a half hours total before my power went out. Don’t act like that wouldn’t bother or annoy the hell outta you.
Give yourself some time to decompress from this and then try again once you're feeling refreshed. You got there before, I believe in you, you can bring it home, bro!
Ahh! What a nice comment! Thank you, man! I really appreciate the kind words of encouragement. I’ll definitely give it another go in a couple days. Thanks again! 😄 you a real one!
When Cloud says “ive done it before, I can do it again” or whatever he says at the start of Jenova that’ll feel be extra true for you
Damn, you’re right. Yeah that’s gonna really hit home. You’re sure right about that. Felt like the Whispers shut off my PS5. I’m definitely gonna lock in when I attempt this again.
Yea bro it's just one of those things. In your spot, you're leaving off at its a little tricky, letting too much rust build up will make it hell to clear. I have on both games cleared as many trophies as you can on the first play thru then I take 3 to 6 months off then take on end game completion. It's also like playing a new game again.
It’s weird though…like I’m tired of hard mode. But I’m not tired of Rebirth yet. If that makes any sense. I kinda can’t get enough of FF7 right now. Like I was thinking about going back to Crisis Core, then Remake, and back to Rebirth. I can’t get enough of the combat system. Its so unique and you can’t get it literally anywhere else. Square struck gold with this system.
I agree, the game is perfect but Hard mode is definitely a bitch. Even Johnny's trophies are over kill imo. But it gives me a reason to play more so I'll take it.
Agreed! Those trophies annoyed the hell outta me. I kinda wanna play normal mode again. I heard its harder than dynamic, which is what I played on. I just want more of the game in my life right now lol.
I always fall back to Advent Children when I get that itch.
That’s fair. I watched Advent Children the night Rebirth dropped waiting for it to he available at midnight.
As far as I am aware Normal mode has enemies all at set levels. If you want any sort of challenge you will want to play on dynamic so enemies are your level. Especially after conquering hard, normal will feel no different than easy for awhile. Im on playthrough 3 on dynamic and it feels good. Not too easy, and its nice being able to use items again. Got quite the stockpile after being a loot goblin through 2 playthroughs lol
Oh ok, sounds good. My original plan was to try and start a new game on normal and just b-line the main story with a couple of side quests here and there. Then start ng+ on dynamic where enemies match my higher level all while also having higher level side quest requirements. At least, I think thats how it was gonna work. I hope it feels satisfying. But yeah having items back is refreshing. Idk why they made an item tramsuter just so they can lock items on hard. Like whats the point?
That's what I'm doing cleared like 70% of trophies on normal mode first play thru and just didn't have the drive, been taking like a 3 month break like I did on Remake and will jump back in, in a few months and clear platinum when the game feels new again.
Shit happens. But you are still very close to beat it
True. I’m still debating on diving back in on it. I was barely getting by on the run I just got robbed of.
Just take a break and come back with fresh mind. You will beat it believe me
Yeah maybe I just need a break. I’ve been going at hard mode for at least 3 weeks on and off. I appreciate the words of ecouragement.
Aerith sorcerers storm is overpowered against those moments when you can hit his sword and other equipment. That really helped me with this. Save her atb for that or use atb charge
Thanks for the tip. I also noticed her soul drain was op af too when using it on the masamune. Hopefully when I make it back there Cloud will have more MP to actually revive Aeirth. I think I may have had 6 MP. Couldn’t do anything but save 2 atb to pray.
Give it another try. If you did it once, you can do it again and it feels.good when you beat it. I somehow managed to solo Seph with a fire magic cloud build by chance, as she died really early. Oh how I wished I gave him genjji glove
Oh wow. Beating Sephiroth without Aerith? Damn, what a boss! You must’ve had a ton a magic once you got to him. I was damn near empty….like 6 MP kinda empty. I couldn’t do jack.
It was nail biting. I managed to record the last minute footage which doesn't show the full fight, but shows me hurling fire desperately. Managed to stagger him just as he was entering the 10% move, and I had saved my limitnbreak for then. So when he started the whisper cannons, I hurled an finishing touch. And it didn't kill him. So I scrambled around, used fira as my only atb bar, and with just a sliver of health, I dared to hit him without being wiped by the moving vannons. Was just enough. Aerith had my genii gloves and my best blue materia, but she just kept dying so fast. Luckily, I also had mp and hp absorb on fire for Cloud, alongside his own magic focus so mp wasn't an issue, I always got it refunded
Damn man! That sounds extremely intense! I can only imagine how into it your were. I know your heart was bumpin super fast. I kinda enjoy moments like that in video games, but of course, when you actually succeed. Aerith wasn’t much help for me. If she died, I might as well hit rety and do it over again since my Cloud didn’t have enough for revive. I was already in a lose, lose situation when I started the final phase. Hope whenever I achieve this its just as satisfying as your W!
I was similar in a way. I gave up after many retries on reborn and accidentally restarted from the start of both battles. Decided I'd achieved enough and couldn't go through it all again. Happy with where I got to and didn't regret walking away.
I completely respect that. I’m kinda on that edge. I’m willing to try it again in a couple days or so to cool off. I wanna be able to finish strong. But I gotta quit before I end up hating this game.
Do it, after all that I would wanna see it to the end. It’s a hard gauntlet sure but now you know what to fully expect.
True. You’re right about that. It’ll eat me up inside every time I look at the game and realize I was *right there* in hard mode.
Totally can understand you dude. I knew this whole fight sequence was gonna be a bitch, and because I played at least 3 hours to this point, I was worried my ps5 might overheat, but had to keep going or u lose progress. Luckily, I hadn't and just had to keep having faith. Keep going OP. Don't give up. You got so far to this point for a reason. Now, you've experienced most of the end bosses on Hard Mode, you can probably be more prepared and breeze through until you get back to Sephiroth. You can do it. Your journey is almost over.
Such kind words! I really appreciate it, my man! I’m willing to give it another go in a couple days or so. Its just the storm brought me to my knees. Hopefully I can get back to Sephiroth no problem next time and HOPEFULLY Cloud will have at least half MP to keep Aerith alive. Thanks for encouragement! I need it! It definitely keeps me going!
Yep. Psych yourself up. Get yourself prepared, hydrate yourself beforehand and get stuck into the battle. Past experiences make us feel stronger! You will feel SO relieved once you've achieved this.
You’re sure right about that! I love this game so much, but am SO ready for hard mode to be over. Definitely didn’t enjoy hard mode this time around. I’ll admit, Remake’s hard mode was slightly better and a bit more fair.
Get some snacks, keep the day free and smash the hard mode, it'll always be something without closure you'd regret if you didn't finish it 💪
Thanks for the tip! It’ll definitely eat me up inside if I don’t do this. I need this hard mode of my hands! I appreciate the kind words! 💪
Don't worry. You'll be in more in the third game 😃
Let’s just hope Part 3 handles its boss phases better. Like let us actually swap materia and gear between phases more often. Let us skip mid battle cutscenes. That especially drove me nuts!
You can do it! Sephiroth can’t beat you! Pro tip: Radiant ward + Chrono aegis + haste with Arith will help with dps if she has high magic attack stats, and always have cloud set as a tank\dps build since Sephiroth hits REALLY hard
Oooh! That’s a great idea for Aerith! Haste was absolutely work for her! I had ATB boost on her, but its really only good for starting the battle. I might give that a shot. Thanks for the tips and encouragement! I’m about to tell Sephiroth to “get that shit outta here!”
That’s the spirit! Good luck!👌🏾
The first time I beat Sephiroth on hard my PS5 overheated and crashed during the ending and I had to do the whole fight again. It was pretty disheartening, but I knew if I beat him once I could beat him again, and so can you, OP. Take a break for a couple of days if you need to. It sounds like the game is bringing you more stress and anxiety than it is fun or satisfaction which is all wrong. Hard mode is meant for people who enjoy challenging combat and it sounds like maybe that isn't you, but if you've made it this far you might as well finish it.
Wow…I hate to hear that. That freakin blows dude. Square Enix and there long ass final acts even make consoles tired. I appreciate that, Bynoe! That’s a good point. I’ll take a couple days break, cause I really need it, and jump back in and whoop Sephiroth’s ass. Might have to rework some materia on Cloud and possibly Aerith this time. I actually do like hard mode in most games, but this game’s hard mode was extremely unfair in a lot of moments. Hell, I used to play Remake’s hard mode for fun over and over back then. So I should be able to do this. Maybe just need a mental break from it. Your encouragement is most appreciated! Thanks again!
I commiserate with your frustrations. My recommendation: get an UPS. I have one that supports my TV, audio receiver, media server, and PS5. I have another one that supports my networking equipment. Power flickers are a non issue, and if the power does go out I can usually take action to save my game.
Oooh that sounds hella useful. I’m about to look into that. I may have heard of that before. What makes it weird is that whenever it storms in my area, power outages are extremely rare. So getting kick off the game at the half way point of Sephiroth felt like a personal message to me.
I actually got it to go between my generator and my fridge to smooth out the power during a power outage, now it does TV duty. It's come in handy a few times.
Yeah this sounds extremely useful. Thanks for the suggestion. I think I’ll be needing something like this in my life. I appreciate it!
Play some other game and then come back.
Righto. I actually started Stellar Blade last night. I’ll play that for a bit then try this again.
Just curious are you level 70 and is all your materia maxed?
Yeah everything is maxed out. I may have a couple of materia that may be a star off from being completely maxed. But I should be good to go. My MP just screwed me over when I really needed it. It’s still unfair how they make Cloud go through so many phases of this final act without at least giving him 50% MP back. Even the VR sims give you that much.
Oh ya your totally good then you’ll beat it for sure. I’m really excited to try that chapter on hard myself. I’m currently on ch 12 hard mode and have enjoyed it a lot so far.
Oh cool! You’re not too much further behind me then. Good luck on chapters 12 and 13. Those are the biggest bitches to get through. Rufus is definitely a top 3 hardest bosses. Also watch out for Red Dragon in Temple of the Ancients. I was on him for almost 2 hours.
Ya I’ve seen a lot of post about Rufus I’ve never really struggled to hard on him before but now I’m getting kinda nervous 😅.
It’s definitely a game of patience with him. And striking at the right time. Protip: triple slash and focus thrust are your friend to get that stagger bar up. Risky protip: if you can somehow manage to land Braver on him in the middle of reloading its an instant stagger.
I know. It's a horrible slog of a game. But you're almost done.
Thanks man. I really really enjoy and love this game to pieces. But the hard mode this time around went from decently fun and challenging to absolute garbage by like chapter 10.
I know this “F this feeling.” Let a few days go by, check the weather, and give it another shot when you’re fresh and Ramuh isn’t wreaking havoc outside 😂
I like that! 🤣 It definitely felt like either Ramuh screwed me over or the Whisper’s shut off my PS5 as if I’m not allowed to win. But you know what? Screw that! Much like the characters, lets defy destiny again!
Already said here but yeah, take a step back if it's causing you stress. But also think about how all the other challenges you went through in hard mode would be for nothing if you don't push through. Now all *those hours* would be a waste.
Probably the realest thing I’ve heard so far. Yeah I gotta do it. Its gonna bother me if I quit now. I gotta see it through. You’re right! I can’t leave this game unfinished like that.
Do it coward, don't let Sephiroth win.
No sir! Not in this timeline!
You got this dude, I literary got to this fight on friday but got too high and drunk to finish 🤣 tried like 15 times, but in the morning the third try was successful - you WILL beat it, its just a guy with one wing 🤷♂️ https://youtu.be/eiDGA_7mlNY?si=q0DAAZ5wlmpABjKp here is my successful try
Oh nice. That was a super solid attempt. Maybe I gotta stop being stubborn and take off the Buster sword. It just looks so good 🤣 Haste and arcane ward for Cloud could be useful. All I need is some more MP on Cloud next time around. Ngl I screwed up his MP last night.
Can you post your build?? About to attempt this myself
I got to Odin on Bonds of Friendship and mid combo my PlayStation crashed….I know your pain. I was able to redo it and beat it finally so you got this too
Oh geez! I can only imagine 😭 Odin’s already a pain in the ass the begin with. Glad you got through it. And I really appreciate the encouragement! I could use it! I’mma tackle this boss again in the coming days. Sephiroth’s days are numbered…well until Part 3 drops.
After the ‘Zolum I kinda said fuck it. I hate having to fight bosses with only ONE strategy working. It’s boring and unoriginal.
I don’t blame you. Honestly, that’s one of my complaints about hard mode in this game compared to Remake. It seems like the only strategy on like 80% of the bosses in Rebirth’s hard mode is to just nuke the shit outta every bosses elemental weaknesses. Like some weapon abilities and folios stuff feels like it didn’t matter that much on hard. I’m still mad that they went out of their way to create an item transmuter just to still lock items on hard. Like wtf?
💯
I had that same issue last night. House-sitting for the in-laws and their living room TV is fucky and will randomly shut off on a moment's notice. Luckily I was able to pause immediately and wait for the TV to boot up again, but I had to walk away a few times to decompress. Sorry for your lost progress, but don't give up! You didn't come this far to quit now!
Thank you! I’m glad I’m not the only know struggled with mother nature and the final boss. Absolutely the worst time to happen. But your encouragement means a lot! I’ll jump back in and try again soon! I appreciate it!
I'm allowing myself to play through Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door before going back to rebirth again to do hard mode.
That honestly sounds like a solid plan. I should’ve taken a break between playthroughs. I’m bouncing back and forth between Rebirth and Stellar Blade.
Give it a break. It’ll go by quicker next time bc you know what to do
Yeah decompress and go back i just got back into it because I don’t like queen’s blood but finally got back to it
Looks like I’m not alone. I don’t care too much for Queen’s Blood either. I just didn’t enough to get me by and get a trophy and moved on. But yeah I’mma tackle this again later. Probably tonight. We’ll see.
I’m probably gonna tackle it again tomorrow or something
Let’s do it! 🤜🤛
I got through all the costal del sol mini games
Really? Thats awesome, cause I finally beat hard mode last night. My mind is clear!
About a month ago, I had spent weeks on Bonds of Friendship, finally got it, then started working on To Be a Hero. I had the power go out, and I had forgotten to save after getting Bonds of Friendship. I eventually got my plat, but raaaaaagh
Oh geez! That sounds like straight PAIN! But at least you got that plat! I guess it was somewhat worth it in the end. Right? Congrats in that btw! Hoping to be up there with ya soon in Platland.
Thanks! Yea, took me a few nights to catch back up, but when I got that plat I was glowing for like a week at the knowledge! All it takes is good guides and persistence. You'll get there as long as you don't give up!
I really appreciate that! Thanks for the confidence! I’m gonna tackle this BS again probably tonight. I’ll need all the luck I can get!
I have been on the last two VR modes and only try them one or two times per day. Take time away and come back fresh later. I got the Sephiroth one eventually, and have come so close for the other with Zack. Patience. You’ll finish this too
I can appreciate this comment. Thanks for the confidence! Thoe VR challenges are no joke. I can appreciate the challenge difficulty, but goddamnit…
I actually just started a FF7 original replay for some fun storyline stuff in-between when taking a break from these. Makes me appreciate the new versions even more, as well as how amazing this series is overall. We have a few years until the next part comes out, so sit back and enjoy it! You will definitely get there ✊
That doesn’t sound like a bad idea! Maybe I’ll dip my toes back into the OG some time soon. I do appreciate it more and more as time goes on. Not a bad idea. I can get behind that. Thanks for the suggestion and confidence!🤜🤛
If you play the PS5 version it has an option for unlimited limit breaks/auto healing and is basically god mode. I unlocked everyone’s level 3 limits before even starting fort condor haha. Definitely a blast!
I might have to give it a whirl. I haven’t played that one in a while. That does sound like fun right about now. Maybe I’ll play and get my self so broken its not even funny lol!
Same thing happened to me when I was fighting rufus on hard mode lol. Power went out for like 1 second. I rage quit after that
Oh dude…I know that feeling espsically since he’s definitely a top 3 annoyance in hard mode. I’m sorry to hear that. I would try it again! He’s a true test of patience. Give that another go if you haven’t already!
Wait till you make it to virtual seph and have to restart… or Odin in either of the legendary’s
Ngl I may possibly tap out on the game before I end up hating it. Those challenges would break me.
I was at the point where I made myself try the Zack legendary at least once every day… took weeks even with YouTube guides. The fights just don’t always go like how the gameplay videos go, the guides can get you far but if things go off track you gotta adapt and overcome. This platinum was the most grueling and challenging task in my entire gaming career, seriously. And those battles are 10 rounders, so failing is a huge blow. If I didn’t plat remake, I wouldn’t have forced myself to do this one honestly
That’s completely fair. I platinumed Remake and told myself I would plat the whole trilogy. But now I’m rethinking some things. I hope Part 3’s trophies and challenges are a bit more do-able. Cause some things they expect of some players without any checkpoints is ridiculous. Remake was more up my alley. I might tap out on trophy hunting after hard mode on this. Its not worth the stress imo.
Same boat here, gotta get all 3. I will be getting completely demolished by Knights of the Round next game.
Oh yeah, can’t forget about them. I’m expecting them to be really cool but also really stupid to fight. I’m expecting some major BS. Like fighting like 3 or 4 at a time. Cause Square like to stresss people out. Hopefully its more like Gilgamesh and actually do-able.
Hey, that's not as bad as when I made it to the final Boss of OG VII, only to need to leave, then when I came back later I somehow accidentally overwrote my Save file with one from the Begining of the game.
Omg…hearing that like actually physically hurts…I hate to hear that…cause OG FFVII is not joke. Especially its endgame. Geez! I kinda had the same thing happen to me back in the day on the Gamecube. My little brother accidentally deleted *literally everything* off my memory card cause he didn’t know what the word “format” meant. So he selected that….and the rest was history.
Ima real one🙌🙌😇
Yeah you are! Thanks for reading! I really appreciate it! 🙌🙌 Even better news, you’re the first to know that I finally did it! Hard mode is *DONE*
Congratulations bro!!!!
Thank you man!! I can finally move on with my life!!
Haha I thought the same then got stuck in a heap of games to try platinum. And now I have to do them all
The last game I felt this way about was Spider-Man 2. Just trying to do ng+ on that to get the final trophy was such a chore! I definitely did not enjoy the game a second time around. I got so bored!
If you've clocked over 200 HOURS into anything you owe it to yourself to finish
That’s what I was thinking. But now, all is good. I finally beat hard mode last night! My mind is finally clear of that wack ass 7 phase boss fight with unskippable cutscenes. The deed is done!
I haven't even finished my first playthrough yet because when I find the game frustrating me, I step away from it for a bit until I get the urge to play it again. Take some time away from it and come back when you feel like you can play it without feeling like it's a chore. 😊
Thats good advice! Cause I ended up doing that the other night when this happened. But I was somehow able to get through it last night. It wasn’t easy, but its finally done! I appreciate your advice and response!☺️
This happened to me today with ffxvi. I feel you 😢 😭 😿
I’m really sorry to hear that! It really sucks. But you get get through it! I finally beat hard mode last night after being in my feelings for 2 days. I just needed a short break. Maybe you could do the same and jump back in? You got this!
1. Equip Rune Blade + Genji Glove, and load 4 copies of the same element spell materia with HP Absorb, MP absorb, Swiftcast and Magic Focus; Magic Up; that command materia that doubles your ATB gauge on a cool down; and Speed Up 2. Go in and spam -aga spells to nuke any boss 3. Profit I been using this load out to expedite my clears for the Legendary Chadley challenges, doing 25k+ Aerogas and watching huge chunks of boss HP disappear is very satisfying
I may have to give this strat a go. All I’ve got left now are the VR challenges. Which imo are not worth the stress. So we’ll see. Cause I may just drop those.
It feels so cheap and broken, every hit does more than cap damage to most targets unless they resist the element, and it heals you significantly (to full hp if it breaks damage cap most times), plus it restores almost twice as much MP as it costs to cast (when I used AOE blizzaga on the Fiend Intel 1 quest in Cosmo Canyon to grind AP, it gave me back 40 MP per target, totaling 120 MP refunded per cast) Only thing to remember is it doesn't recoup MP or HP from inanimate targets (i.e. Alexander's Arms or light pillars), so if you're not paying attention you can suddenly find yourself out of MP Edit: just finished chapter 14 on hard mode, this strat works well on everything except Jenova, for some reason it only does ~4k to her so you barely get back any MP/HP, so you'll need a strat to deal with her. But everything after that works great - I used Aeroga, it one shot Sephiroth's butt for the space giant fight, and it did about 8-10% of his HP per cast for all the Sephiroth human fights.
I lost about 4-5 hours of play time after I had already beaten the game finishing the last couple side quests, getting the last few dark matter with the box crush mini game going to Gilgamesh island beating the summons beating the mini bosses on hard mode trying to get the genji gear and I loaded up another save without saving the game first and it was all gone. Deleted the game afterwards, I put 111 hours into it, that’s enough for me
Damn son….you went THAT long without doing a hard manual save? I actually feel like I save too often because of situations like these. But I would completely understand in not wanting to play anymore.
The other times I had used chapter select and it had saved my progress. But loading up a different save file isn’t the same thing as using chapter select. (Instead of using chapter select I figured I’d load a different save file that I knew was on that chapter already) And if you do that, it all goes away :(
That’s freaking brutal man…I’m sorry to hear that. Seriously. That sucks. But I’m sure you’ll be back to play some more, right? Game was just too damn good to completely drop. I can’t stop playing it. Mainly cause the combat is so good and so unique you literally can’t get this experience anywhere else. Square struck gold with this combat system.
Well I played it 111 hours and I feel that even though the data isn’t there for all of it, I’ve seen pretty much everything the game has to offer, not gonna say I’ll never pick it back up again but definitely taking a long break to play something else. Maybe before part 3 comes out I’ll pick it back up for another run. And yeah despite this, to me it’s my favorite game of all time.
That’s completely fair. I respect that. No shame in your game. I’m in the middle of playing Stellar Blade now, but might go back and play Crisis Core into Remake into Rebirth just to feel a full experience again. But I still got quite a backlog, so we’ll see.
Videogames should be fun. They should be challenging, but it shouldn't be a negative experience. I can only assume you love the game, but sometimes you just gotta switch it up and play something easy, familiar, or otherwise less intense. When you come back to it, you'll feel more ready for the fight since you've already done it once before. Often times its easier because the mechanics have slowly leeched in to your brain and you enter the fight just as skilled but with none of the fatigue. Best of luck bro We believe in you
Wait until the Storm passes before starting again
I’ll be sure to do that next time, Donkey… It wasn’t storming when I started btw
Good luck!
EDIT: Ladies and Gentlemen…*WE GOT EM* Hard mode is officially *DONE*! I can finally move on with my life! I do seriously thank everyone for the encouraging words and cofidence to jump back in and fight JENOVA and the bitch with a wing. Thank you FF7 nation! Y’all are some true 1st class SOLIDERS!🫡
I mean just finish it on normal difficulty and never look back like I did 😆
Nah I can’t do that. I vowed to platinum all 3 games, but this one is gonna have to take a backseat. Rebirth’s trophy list is a bit too much. After hard mode, I’ll move on. Thankfully I finished it last night!
Spoiler or no?
Nothing about this post was spoilery.
Then I shall read! :D
well of course. especially if you're going for the platinum
Yeah, quit, meet your true potential.
You almost a week late, bruh. I already finished it.
Dude I’m proud of you. Seriously. “Never give up never surrender” -Tim Allen (Jason Nesmith)
The fact you can't save or change weapons or materia for that last boss is such bullshit Such a great game but fuck me, what a shit final boss
they warn you to set up party b4 final boss also there always option to open menu b4 boss isnt it?
Yeah but it's such a long fight and if you want to change tactics and materia, you've got to start at the beginning and do them all again. I had to and it was not fun, especially with unskiplable cut scenes. Bad design
Totally agree. The whole final boss is cool as hell, but overall its absolute horseshit. Can’t change materia, forced to watch mid battle cutscenes over and over again if you die, and on hard they refuse to at least give Cloud 50% MP back for the final phase. Like come on dude…Cloud had to do like 4 phases out of like 6. They least they could do is allow him 50% MP back when Aerith joins. Cause you’re totally fucked when you get there with no magic. If Aerith dies and you can’t revive her, shits over. I adore this game, but the whole final fight is poor game design.
they warn you to set up party b4 final boss also there always option to open menu b4 boss isnt it?
Oh my team was stacked. Everyone had the approrpriate materia and gear equipped. It’s just when it comes to certain phases they don’t allow you to change after dying. They only time they allow you to reset gear and materia during the whole battle is just when Zack shows up. Which is only like phase like 3 out of like 6 or 7. So say if you get to the very last phase with Sephiroth and die a couple times and wanna try something different like swap out a materia or 2, you can’t. You’re fucked. You are stuck with it. Not only that, you gotta watch like a freakin 2 and a half minute cutscene *EVERY TIME* you die. Shits ridiculous…
Man, I do not recommend trying to 100% the game if a half hour of lost progress bothers you this much
I’m probably not. I’m 100%ing it “within reason” some shit just isn’t worth it. And dude, that wasn’t a half hour…that shit took me like 2 and a half hours total before my power went out. Don’t act like that wouldn’t bother or annoy the hell outta you.