How to beat that nasty final boss in the Final Fantasy VII Remake demo
Ewww spiders!
Final Fantasy fans don’t have to wait until the April 10 release date for Final Fantasy VII Remake to experience Midgar, because Square Enix released a public demo on the PlayStation Store Monday, encompassing the game’s first mission where Cloud and the rest of Avalanche destroy a Mako Reactor, which you may remember from E3 2019.
During the demo’s final act, you’ll encounter the Scorpion Sentinel boss, a particularly difficult robot that resembles a giant spider. For anyone having a hard time with the boss, here's a guide to each of the phases in the boss fight battle to help steer you towards victory.
How to defeat the Scorpion Sentinel in the Final Fantasy 7 Remake demo
Scorpion Sentinel boss: Stage 1
During the first stage, the Scorpion Sentinel will be shuffling around on the platform, and things are pretty straightforward. Watch out for the boss's laser, but even that can be dodged by just staying in motion. All you need to do is focus on attacking the Sentinel. Play as Cloud, slashing the boss as much as you can. Use his Focused Thrust ability when available, alternating between that and Barret’s Focused Shot. This will hopefully cause the Sentinel to stagger before reaching Stage 2, briefly immobilizing them so you can deal extra damage.
Once they’re good and staggered, use Barrett’s Thunder spell on the Sentinel repeatedly. The mechanical arachnid is weak against Thunder, so you can stack the type effectiveness damage with the stagger damage boost. Once the boss is down to 75 percent health, you’ll move onto Stage 2 of the fight.
Fighting the boss!
Scorpion Sentinel boss: Stage 2
This stage begins when the Sentinel jumps away from you and dons a barrier. If you haven’t already, switch to Barrett and get behind the boss. You’ll notice a Field Generator under the tail, which you need to shoot directly while strafing around the arena and keeping your distance. If you’re having trouble being attacked while attacking, use Barret’s Steelskin ability to eliminate personal stagger.
After taking down the barrier, you can switch back to Cloud, repeating the actions taken during Stage 1. There will be an added move where the Sentinel jumps onto the wall and fires a barrage of rockets. Either block this attack using R1 or go on the offensive with a combo of Barret’s long-range attacks and his Steelskin ability. Other than that, continue using Stage 1 tactics to deplete the Sentinel’s health further. Continue this until Stage 3 begins. The change will be marked by the Sentinel leaping to the ceiling, creating tons of debris.
Barrett, making his face!
Scorpion Sentinel boss: Stage 3
Despite being Stage 3, this is just another entry in the classic Stage 1 shenanigans in that things remain fairly straightforward. If you have a Limit Break, DON’T USE IT YET. Your actions here can remain the same as before, but be wary of the Scorpion Sentinel’s energy tail shot. Once in awhile, they’ll charge up their tail to attack you. The attack can be avoided by simply hiding behind a massive debris block. If you can’t spot it, look for your partner and they’ll automatically take cover from the attack, indicating that you should do the same
After enduring some damage, the Sentinel’s right and left legs will become vulnerable. Take out one by using Barret's Thunder spell and this will briefly stun the boss. At this point, attack the main body with your Limit Break. Now, if they get back up, destroy their other leg with Barret’s Thunder. After that, you just need to slash the core a bit and you should be done!
Congratulations on defeating FF7 Remake’s first boss! I hope you can escape the timer on the explosion in time. Otherwise, this'll be a very short game for you.
Final Fantasy VII Remake launches on April 10, exclusively for PS4.
