Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth: How to Beat the Materia Guardian Boss

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Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is one of, if not the biggest RPG of 2024, and it remains faithful to the original in several key ways, and one of those are the memorable boss battles. The Materia Guardian was a late-game fight in the original, but this time, it serves as the first big boss of the story. Here is how to take it down with Cloud and his best emo friend, Sephiroth, with our own video at the bottom as well.

Materia Guardian Boss Tips and Strategies

FF7 MATERIA BOSS FIGHT — Image Source: Square Enix via The Nerd Stash

As the Materia Guardian is the first BIG boss fight of FF7 Rebirth, it serves as a hybrid tutorial. Nevertheless, you can die in this fight if you don’t have your wits about you. One thing to keep in mind is its weakness to Fire magic, so Cloud is well prepared to take advantage of this weakness.

As you’re fighting it, it will try to swoop in and capture you or Sephiroth. If you can evade this move, you will Pressure it. Use Cloud’s Focused Thrust ability to build up the Stagger gauge as much as possible when it’s being pressured. If you do get captured, free your ally with Fire or Braver to also start building up Pressure. When it’s staggered, use Sephiroth Synergy’s skill to inflict a ton of damage.

ff7 materia guardian — Image Source: Square Enix via The Nerd Stash

Once it’s been hurt enough, The Materia Guardian will take to the ceiling and build up a powerful attack called Trine. When it’s in this stance, you have a limited amount of time to knock it down and stun and Stagger it. Take this time to use the Double Helix Synergy Ability which will instantly knock it down and inflict a great deal of damage.

If your Synergy Ability isn’t primed, cast Fire on its legs. When a leg is destroyed, it will also slam on the ground. After rinsing and repeating this strategy for a couple of cycles, the fight will end with a cinematic flourish, and your first big boss will be down for the count.