In Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, we fight against the new Shinra boss Rufus in the Gold Saucer in Chapter 12. And that’s not all. And as if Rufus wasn’t already a house number in his own right, he even calls his buddy Dark Star onto the field.
But this time there’s no Yuffie to help us out against this monster like in the Beast Battleground. We’re fighting with Cloud alone. So what can we do?
In this guide, you’ll learn how to beat Rufus so that you can get back to more fun things in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. For example, riding the Ferris wheel. Or winning all the races in Chocobo Square (solution).
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth: Chapter 12 – Rufus in the Gold Saucer
The problem with the whole thing is that we’re not only fighting Rufus, but also his friend Dark Star at the same time. And even in a fight directly after the Turks.
That’s why you need to go into battle with a basic premise. When you fight the Turks, make sure that you end up with Cloud at full health. So before you give Rude and Elena the coup de grace, you need to heal Cloud once more so that he can go into the next fight with full power.
This is because his health points are carried over to the next fight with minimal healing and if you restart this fight because you didn’t manage it the first time, the initial HP remains at this current level. This can sometimes make the start more difficult.
Important preparation for the fight
Rude and Elena are pretty easy, we’re still fighting with the full squad here. But that changes with Rufus, which is why we have to prepare Cloud for this solo fight in the best possible way.
First of all, I’ll tell you all the weapons, accessories and materia that I used for the fight and that I can recommend to you with a clear conscience.
Use the following armor items:
- Weapon: Igneous Saber
- Armor: Varvados Bracelet+ (or level 11+ armor)
- Accessory: Draconic Ring
With the Igneous Saber you can equip a total of 6x Materia and it is also quite strong, so I get 350 with the Physical Attack.
When it comes to armor, a Varvados Bracelet+ or an equivalent piece of armor will do, so that you are sufficiently protected and have enough space for Materia.
And then there’s the choice of the right accessory. I recommend the Draconic Ring, which fills up the limit bar more quickly.
Now we come to choosing the right materia. This is extremely important, as we need several buffs against Rufus.
The following materials are particularly useful:
- Endurance Up: Increases vitality (physical defense) As much as possible!
- Power Up: Increases strength (physical attack) as much as possible!
- HP Up: Increases your health points – as much as possible!
- MP Up: Increases magic points
- Enemy Skill: Has sound waves from the start (Important!)
- Barrier: Shield against physical attacks
- Healing: Healing through Vitra and Regena
- Elemental: Prevents elemental damage (from level 2) – in armor
- Fire & Ice: Combine with Elemental (optional Materia: Embers) – in armor
- Weapon Skills: Magic attack +20, TP maximum +200
More vitality makes perfect sense, as Rufus knocks out a lot of physical damage with his shooting iron. The same applies to strength, as we can never have enough attack power.
In terms of buffs, we have an important ability with Enemy Skill: Sonic Boom. This skill not only deals damage, it also strengthens Cloud’s attack.
And then there are two more buffs: Barrier (Protes) from the Barrier Materia and Regena from the Healing Materia. We should have all three buffs activated continuously in battle.
And that’s not just something we say. Rufus and Darkstar are really strong in a double pack, so we have to protect Cloud accordingly while slightly boosting his attack.
Fight against Rufus in Gold Saucer
Once you have eliminated Elena and Rude, it’s time for the big showdown: Cloud vs Rufus.
First of all, Rufus is immune to almost all condition changes. He is also immune to all element types, which is why only Cloud’s physical attacks are really any good. Forget attack magic and rely entirely on Cloud’s weapon skills.
What do I have to watch out for in active combat? The most important thing when fighting Rufus is his weapon. It has several attacks, both physical and magical. But they all have one thing in common: after using an ability, they put Rufus into the reload state.
The above diagram is, so to speak, the starting signal for Cloud to go full into the boards. The best way to catch him during this weak spot is with an impulse slash. Alternatively, you can also counter one of his attacks with an ATB command.
Either way, you’ll have to attack Rufus without mercy once you’ve caught him. Because if you don’t catch him at the right time, you can hardly do anything against him. At the beginning, it’s a little difficult to find the right time to attack. But then it should work. Try a Cross-Slash, for example, which will send Cloud hurtling towards the enemy.
The input window for Rufus’ reload is really not very long, so we have to be quick in these moments.
Since Rufus uses a fire attack during the fight and we have put Elemental (level 2) + Fire in our armor beforehand, this attack is completely ineffective. This saves you some health points.
The star of the hour: Darkstar
But Rufus is nothing without his four-legged friend. If he loses a lot of health points, he suddenly summons Darkstar onto the battlefield and then the dynamics of the fight change. The battle becomes even more difficult than it already is.
To make him vulnerable to shock, we have to deal a lot of damage or cut the connection to his master.
Darkstar has no direct weaknesses, but unlike Rufus, he is not immune to everything. That’s why Darkstar works:
- Poison: Highly resistant, but you can use it
- Sleep: Highly resistant, but you can use it
- Magic attacks: You can use e.g. Feura
Our great counterattack: Odin
I recommend enlisting the help of a summon now at the latest to make the battle a little more balanced again. If you have Odin, summon him to the battlefield now. And if not, Neo-Bahamut will do.
Where can I find Odin? You can basically get Odin quite easily in the Nibel region. It’s not a big challenge, once you’ve collected all the Esper sources and weakened Odin, start Chadley’s Simulator.
You can now give the Esper commands, but you should concentrate on Darkstar for now. Once Darkstar is out of the way, the rest of the fight will be a lot easier.
For example, attack Darkstar with Imperial Might, which will keep him busy for several seconds. During this time, you can go full on Darkstar with Cloud and when the limit bar is full, it ignites directly on Dark Star.
Although you can’t take out Rufus in one hit like other enemies, Odin’s Zentatsuken ability deals devastating damage to Rufus, up to 9,999 points of damage. And that’s probably enough for the final blow.
A few tips for the battle: As mentioned at the beginning, Cloud should always be buffed. So keep a constant eye on Cloud’s status values. This also means that you need to keep an eye on your MP display. Because without MP, there are no defensive spells. Do you have some ether with you? Very good!
