ForceStealer
Double Growth
So, despite the countless hours I have sunk into playthroughs of FF7, there is one thing I still have never done and this is beaten Ruby Weapon. I haven't even ever really attempted it. It's not that I've thought he'd be too difficult. I know VII is on the easier side of FFs and everyone that's beaten superbosses in any game loves to proclaim how easy they are. Rather it's just that, despite being a fan of turn-based JRPGs, I lack the patience for the tedium of being completionist and superbosses always embody this. Not only are they tedious to prepare for with gobs of grinding, the battles themselves usually aren't very fun. If you've adequately prepared it's a matter of sitting through a half hour of using the same ultimate move a million times as you whittle away at their bloated HP count.
See Emerald, I beat it several years ago (still long after first playing the game) with the old KotR mime strategy. It worked, but my friend and I also played a game of chess while it was happening, I just had to reach over and push O three times every six minutes or so.
I happened to be reading up on FF superbosses last week and I learned some things about Ruby that, if I had known, I had forgotten. That he has 200,000 fewer HP than Emerald (though astronomical defense), and that he's vulnerable to paralysis. It also suggested that Ruby would be more of an active battle than simply spamming Knights of the Round. Seeing this, I decided it was silly for me not to have beaten him yet. I did everything there was to do in FF13 for goodness' sake. You'd think I'd have everything done in my favorite game that I know like the back of my hand.
So over the weekend I got my old PS1 memory card and loaded up my original, 15-year-old save file. It's the only playthrough I have with characters level 99 with crazy amounts of gil and fancy materia, it's the game I beat Emerald with, and it feels the most appropriate anyway. Last night I spent some time Morphing Dazers and then I fought two reconnaisance battles with Ruby, just to get a feel for things.
I already knew the basics like entering the the battle with only one party member alive, letting Ruby bury its claws then reviving the others. And then Knights of the Round is countered by Ultima. I learned some things too, I had the Sprint Shoes on Cloud, but it's clear that Ribbon is necessary.
Also I notice Ruby Flame is indeed classified as a spell and of fire element, so a Fire-Elemental in my armor is in order. I know of an armor or two that nullify or absorb the element, but I expect they're too old to be of any use.
I also see Ruby uses Shadow Flare sometimes, which I know is reflectable. Especially since I will be healing largely with my stockpile of items that I will have literally zero use for after this battle, putting reflect on the party might be an idea.
W-Summoning Knights of the Round followed by Hades does nicely to prevent the Ultima counter, as well as giving Ruby a steady diet of Dazers. It's also one of the few moves I found that circumvents Ruby's crazy defense.
Apart from loading Cloud up with Hero Drinks (I only have 3) and Omnislash, I'm not sure of many other ways to hit for solid damage. I've never heard it mentioned as a strategy online, but Coin ignores defense. And I have millions of gil that will be, again, completely useless after this battle, so I could easily toss 8 million gil Ruby's way. I assume it's not referenced as a strategy because it's still limited by the damage cap and there are faster ways to deal damage? Still, if Cid's got a turn to spare here and there I can work it in, it will do a lot more damage than attacking.
This was partly a way for me to get my thoughts and strategies lined up, but I'd like to hear your strategies or just thoughts on superbosses in general.
