SPOILERS Hard Mode Discussion

[ph14basicbitch]

When he says a number, if you do a focused attack on him, he enters a pressured state and loses his Umbral Aura. That's how you make him pressured and turn off his damaging proximity aura.

No, the focused named attacks increase the amount of stagger you build if you use them when enemies are pressured. In the case of Bahamut, when the countdown starts, you have to do 4/5/6/8/15% damage equal to Bahamut's maximum HP to inflict the pressure status. Each time you inflict pressure, the % goes up. So the first time it's 4%, the second time it's 5%, etc.



For hard mode in general, I think the key to hard mode is understanding the relationship between pressure <-> stagger, and how to inflict pressure on bosses. The game doesn't really tell you how to inflict pressure on bosses, which I think is a fault of the game design. The $25 Ultimania, however, does tell you. You're welcome to view that info on the spreadsheet I translated. If you've seen this info on GameFAQs, that would be because the guide that uses it sources this spreadsheet.

Also, as general advice, Fury Rings work well in hard mode, and you can easily get rings for your whole party by restarting chapter 14 a few times.

 

[Makoeyes987]

Oh, well thanks clarification! Everytime I used those pressures attacks I managed to deal the amount of damage, so I thought that was the key

EDIT: Wow that spreadsheet is amazing. Holy shit, thank you.

But you left something out of your husband's entry. Yes, Rufus is immune to pressure. But if you strike Rufus while he's reloading with Braver, he instantly goes into stagger. I dunno if it works for any other move but Braver in normal and hard always staggers him if he's in the middle of reloading.

 

[Torrie]

Synergy (Hard mode loses a lot of it's teeth thanks to the buff it gained, your best magic user should always have Synergy paired with the best elemental magic for the situation)
Steadfast Block
Chakra (this is your bread and butter in terms of healing without using Cure magic)
HP Up (every character should have 2 of these on)
MP Up (most characters should have at least 1)
Parry (because the dodge is so much better and gives you short iframes and the frames you are vulnerable count as you blocking and you deal damage towards any enemies that get hit which also builds up ATB)
ATB Stagger
Revive (because you don't have phoenix downs, this needs mastered ASAP)
Cure (because you need cure)
Black magic materia (fire, ice, wind, lightning) should also be mastered, along with Barrier materia. But those are the essentials.

The funniest thing is that I mastered most of them already while I was was working my butt off for Chadley on normal. I thought he would toss some more tasks my way for hard mode but apparently there are only 20 reports in this game, and the biggest challenges are combat sim fights.

Like the boys said, I'm on PS4, and yes, I have no clue how to utilize Synergy, it just didn't seem to work at all but maybe it's worth trying again

I think anything and everything should be used to make the game as less stressful and accessible as possible to maximize enjoyment.

It sounds as if making the game as less stressful and more enjoyable as possible means not to tackle hard mode at all hahahaha don't blame me, I promise to give it another go.

For hard mode in general, I think the key to hard mode is understanding the relationship between pressure <-> stagger, and how to inflict pressure on bosses. The game doesn't really tell you how to inflict pressure on bosses, which I think is a fault of the game design. The $25 Ultimania, however, does tell you. You're welcome to view that info on the spreadsheet I translated.

This is priceless, thanks so much for sharing!!

Guys, another question before I forget.

I replayed The Belly of the Beast on normal in order to do the remaining fight at the sim, but this time around, a solo Aerith fight against... whoever the enemies were, I don't recall, was added to the list. But when we resque Aerith, we can't go back to that particular location. Is the only chance to do that fight is to access Chadley's sim in Chapter 17 on hard?

 

[ph14basicbitch]

Like the boys said, I'm on PS4, and yes, I have no clue how to utilize Synergy, it just didn't seem to work at all but maybe it's worth trying again

Synergy isn't worth using on the PS4 version of the game. It got buffed on the PS5 version to not consume mana or ATB.

This is priceless, thanks so much for sharing!!

Np.

I replayed The Belly of the Beast on normal in order to do the remaining fight at the sim, but this time around, a solo Aerith fight against... whoever the enemies were, I don't recall, was added to the list. But when we resque Aerith, we can't go back to that particular location. Is the only chance to do that fight is to access Chadley's sim in Chapter 17 on hard?

You can access Chadley's sim on easy or normal too.

Actually, regardless of what game difficulty you access it from, it should offer you a difficulty selection as well. So if you are on hard mode, you can do aerith's solo battles on easy in the sim.

EDIT: Wow that spreadsheet is amazing. Holy shit, thank you.

But you left something out of your husband's entry. Yes, Rufus is immune to pressure. But if you strike Rufus while he's reloading with Braver, he instantly goes into stagger. I dunno if it works for any other move but Braver in normal and hard always staggers him if he's in the middle of reloading.

Yeah I didn't actually do any of the battle strategy / battle advice stuff because that's a lot of text.

For Rufus specifically, yeah Braver after Reload, and you can bait him into Reloading outside of his pattern (between [x] # of skills, or using Guns Akimbo) by Bravering him when he doesn't Reload which will cause him to do a single laser counter, then Reload immediately after.

 

[cold_spirit]

You're welcome to view that info on the spreadsheet I translated. If you've seen this info on GameFAQs, that would be because the guide that uses it sources this spreadsheet.

Thanks so much for this. I remember reading a while ago that Lightning is the worse for raising the enemy's stagger gauge and that Blizzard is the best, but I couldn't remember the specifics.

 

[Strangelove]

I'm reminded of a famous, embarrassing tweet.

Spoiler

i see this tweet and just conceive new previously unknown ways to make every game easier. i have a big backlog to get through


are there any other small gameplay changes besides the one materia?

 

[Odysseus]

i see this tweet and just conceive new previously unknown ways to make every game easier. i have a big backlog to get through


are there any other small gameplay changes besides the one materia?

You mean to the PS5 version? One other useful tweak is that you're actually invincible during the limit break animations in the PS5 version. Can't get killed cheaply anymore.

 

[Torrie]

One other useful tweak is that you're actually invincible during the limit break animations in the PS5 version.

Wow, that's really cool. In my recent playthrough, Sephiroth somehow killed Cloud while he was doing Ascension (I don't know how he managed to, really), so it did zero damage, and Cloud k.o.`d immediately after that. Imagine the frustration. If it had been on PS5, the fight would have played out very differently.

 

[Shademp]

@cold_spirit Did you write up a summary of the battle changes for Intergrade or am I misremembering?

The PS5 version also added this triangle-encased exclamation point.



If I recall correctly, it signifies that the attack can't be blocked.

 

[Odysseus]

Oh yeah, forgot about that. It was funny getting the tutorial for that during the Weiss battle lol.

 

[Makoeyes987]

For a brief minute I believed Weiss created a whole new gameplay mechanic of unblockable moves

 

[Odysseus]

Wait, so I guess no bosses in the Yuffie DLC used that mechanic?

 

[cold_spirit]

@cold_spirit Did you write up a summary of the battle changes for Intergrade or am I misremembering?

Yep, though everything has already been mentioned.

Wait, so I guess no bosses in the Yuffie DLC used that mechanic?

They do for sure. Example is Nero. It's just that the tutorial message naturally pops up when playing Intermission since it's its own save file. When transferring main game saves from PS4, however, that tutorial message will pop up asap since it didn't exist prior.

 

[kathy202]

My personal hard mode strategy is first strike + chakra or prayer if I need a quick heal. If not it's first strike + offense.

If Aerith is in the party, magic + magnify + MP absorb, though technically you could equip anyone with one of their magic boosting weapons for that. If Aerith isn't in the party, or if she doesn't get the job done, it'd be Cloud with triple slash.

If neither are in the party, Barret's overcharge is one free ATB so he doesn't need first strike, and he's really good at tanking anyway. Tifa's ATB also builds up real fast, especially with the ATB supporting materia like ATB stagger/assist or skill master. She does take damage very fast too though (or maybe I just suck at close range), so I always keep deadly dodge on her and sometimes pair it with a HP absorb.

At least that's what gets me through the regular mobs and keeps me with enough MP for the bosses. As for the bosses, I just heal a lot :p usually with chakra or prayer if the situation isn't too bad, and throw in a barrier/regen + magnify.

And strangely, the hardest thing about hard mode for me isn't the bosses (not counting Bahamut), but that one fight up the pillar. I think it's the first one just after Tifa joins Cloud. I don't know how many times I've died to that.

 

[Torrie]

Thanks to everyone who suggested I should start Hard Mode from the very beginning of the game. Chapters 1 & 2 turned out quite manageble and I was quite pleased with my performance to an extent. I even defeated the Scorpion and the Hunchman first try without dying! Have just completed Chapter 3 I swear those doomrats were worse than all the bossess and mini bosses of the previous chapters put together. Had to die on them a couple of more times until my offence strategies started working.

Also, someone else had recommended playing without background music, so I decided to try that while on hard. The impressions are indescribable. I'm drowning in the enjoyment of listening to the VAs and feeling as if everything is happening real time. All these little hints and nuances that I missied previously, all the sound effects that cannot be heard otherwise, the strong feeling of involvement... Gosh, the game completely comes alive. I never expected it to be so multidimensional.

Apart from that, I don't know how much further I'll be able to go... The unrestorable MP makes me feel handicapped and makes life really... hard.

 

[ph14basicbitch]

IMO, offense and using Fury Rings (+30% damage dealt, +30% damage taken) get rewarded in hard mode, despite the increase damage taken, due to the way MP works.

Using ATB and MP on healing might not sound punishing conceptually, but it is punishing by causing an encounter to be drawn out further where you'd have to expend more resources.

 

[Torrie]

Hey guys, I have a bit of a problem summoning Leviathan. I figured you need two ATB bars to summon it, and in my solo battles in the Sector 7 warehouse it worked perfectly and did insane damage, but I don't seem to be able to summon it when the rest of the party are equipped with other summon materia. Already tried it with Cloud and Barret with full ATB, no result. The character just doesn't have the summon bar available in the command menu. That is, I can summon whoever else BUT Leviathan and I can't see the reason why. Do you think it's a bug or a hard mode feature? Or is Leviathan too selfish to share room with other summons?

 

[Mayo Master]

Hey guys, I have a bit of a problem summoning Leviathan. I figured you need two ATB bars to summon it, and in my solo battles in the Sector 7 warehouse it worked perfectly and did insane damage, but I don't seem to be able to summon it when the rest of the party are equipped with other summon materia. Already tried it with Cloud and Barret with full ATB, no result. The character just doesn't have the summon bar available in the command menu. That is, I can summon whoever else BUT Leviathan and I can't see the reason why. Do you think it's a bug or a hard mode feature? Or is Leviathan too selfish to share room with other summons?

If I recall correctly, summons show up in areas large enough for them to move around. Leviathan needs a lot more room than Ifrit, for instance, so smaller battlegrounds screen-out Leviathan's availability.

 

[Torrie]

If I recall correctly, summons show up in areas large enough for them to move around. Leviathan needs a lot more room than Ifrit, for instance, so smaller battlegrounds screen-out Leviathan's availability.

Ohhhhh that makes sense. The areas indeed haven't been large enough so far. Thank you!

 

[LNK]

If I recall correctly, summons show up in areas large enough for them to move around. Leviathan needs a lot more room than Ifrit, for instance, so smaller battlegrounds screen-out Leviathan's availability.

That's what I liked about 15's summons. They were situational

 

[ForceStealer]

A lot of people were really chafed by the system for the XV summons. I wouldn't want them to work like that in every game, but I enjoyed how it fit in with the setting and story. These were capricious gods choosing to help you when they felt like it, rather than a fancy spell you could use at any time.

 

[LNK]

I enjoyed how it fit in with the setting and story. These were capricious gods choosing to help you when they felt like it, rather than a fancy spell you could use at any time.

Exactly! I had hopes that remake was going to use summons in the same way. Not in the way they are summoned, but making them more apart of the setting and story.

 

[Makoeyes987]

Hey guys, I have a bit of a problem summoning Leviathan. I figured you need two ATB bars to summon it, and in my solo battles in the Sector 7 warehouse it worked perfectly and did insane damage, but I don't seem to be able to summon it when the rest of the party are equipped with other summon materia. Already tried it with Cloud and Barret with full ATB, no result. The character just doesn't have the summon bar available in the command menu. That is, I can summon whoever else BUT Leviathan and I can't see the reason why. Do you think it's a bug or a hard mode feature? Or is Leviathan too selfish to share room with other summons?

There's a size system for summons in FFVII-R.

The tiny DLC summons, Cactuar, Chocobo Chick, and Carbuncle can be summoned virtually anywhere.

The mid-size summons, Shiva, Ifrit, and Choco-Mog can be summoned in quite a few boss fights and mini-boss fights that have wide open arenas.

The large, truly powerful summons like Fat Chocobo, Bahamut and Leviathan need even more space. And they're the ones that take the most ATB to summon.

Just keep that in mind when equipping summon materia.

 

[Strangelove]

 

[Torrie]

So. I'm stuck at the battle with Crab Warden and, having died on it quite a few times, I lost my enthusiasm for hard mode. If that thing has been such a pain in the backside, I can imagine the other bosses being an absolute nightmare. It's been... kinda fun, but it's insanely stressful at the moment, so I don't feel like going on.