Final Fantasy VII Remake has a decently lengthy story — round 40 hours in the event you do all of the aspect quests — however die-hard followers will probably need to discover the up to date world of Midgar a second time. You can achieve this with exhausting mode, which not solely presents a higher problem, but additionally some new bosses. Here’s all the things it is advisable to know earlier than starting exhausting mode in Final Fantasy VII Remake. 
Further studying
What is tough mode?
Upon finishing Final Fantasy VII Remake the primary time, you’ll unlock chapter choose and exhausting mode. Instead of booting you again to the primary display screen, you’ll be caught in Chapter 18 the place you possibly can replay chapters on the specified issue utilizing chapter choose. If you need to do a tough mode playthrough, merely begin at Chapter 1. You’ll preserve your stage and all of your tools, making exhausting mode akin to a New Game+ mode.
Hard mode isn’t simply harder. Sure, enemies have extra HP and their assaults do extra injury, however that’s not what makes this issue robust. You can’t use objects in any respect, irrespective of in the event you’re in battle, in a city, or simply out exploring the world. Furthermore, benches solely restore HP, not MP. The solely technique to get well MP inside a chapter is to attend for it to slowly refill exterior of battle or smash some Shinra crates.
You most likely see what the issue is. You want to make use of spells to heal your celebration, which value MP. However, you additionally want to avoid wasting your MP for the boss battles on the finish of most chapters. Hard mode is hard on the subject of fight, however it’s principally a recreation about managing how a lot MP you may have at your disposal.
That means you need to stage up as a lot as attainable earlier than beginning a tough mode run. The stage cap is 50, and you need to be round stage 40 on the finish of a standard playthrough. Once you’ve crushed the sport, you acquire twice as a lot XP and thrice as a lot AP, permitting you to stage up and enhance your Materia a lot quicker. Grind out some battles within the coliseum in Chapter 9, and also you’ll hit stage 50 in a few hours.
New additions to exhausting mode
In addition to being a higher problem, exhausting mode options all of Final Fantasy VII Remake’s post-game content material, together with two new bosses. More necessary, although, bosses on exhausting mode drop manuscripts, which offer SP to characters. With the extra SP, you possibly can unlock weapon stage 6, which provides you entry to probably the most highly effective weapon talents within the recreation.
You ought to plan your loadout primarily based on these talents (we’ll suggest the most effective loadouts for every character subsequent). If you need to grind SP exterior of boss battles, replaying the aspect quests in Chapters 3, 8, 9, and 14 will award you with manuscripts.
There are two new bosses in exhausting mode, which supply the hardest problem and the best rewards within the recreation. You can entry them within the Chapter 17 Shinra Combat Simulator. The first boss is Malboro, which comes after a collection of 4 fights with the sport’s secret bosses. The combat itself is pretty easy. Avoid the Bad Breath talent, which is able to poison you, and you need to be nice.
Pride and Joy Prototype, the final post-game boss, is way, a lot tougher. Fighting Pride and Joy itself is simple — it’s weak to lightning and you’ll stagger it rapidly in the event you’re aggressive. However, you’ll have to combat by way of all the Summons within the recreation in a row earlier than taking over Pride and Joy.
Since you possibly can’t swap your loadout between fights, have Materia of every elemental kind throughout your celebration and loads of therapeutic spells. Unfortunately, there isn’t any specific technique for beating this gauntlet, exterior of therapeutic when attainable, utilizing your strongest ATB talents, and avoiding injury in any respect prices. It’ll take round an hour to beat all the bosses, however you’ll get the most effective accent within the recreation on the finish.
Taking down the Pride and Joy Prototype awards you with the Gotterdammerung. This accent offers you an on the spot Limit Break at the beginning of every battle, and slowly recharges your Limit Break in battle. If you need a better time on exhausting mode, it’s greatest to get this accent in Chapter 17 utilizing chapter choose earlier than starting your playthrough.
Hard mode loadouts
Hard mode will take a look at your expertise, however the issue of it should largely rely in your loadout. You ought to change your geared up Materia all through the sport to account for enemies you’ll be dealing with. After all, you beat the sport as soon as, so you understand the challenges for every stage. There is a few Materia you need to have geared up always, although.
That’s two HP Up and MP Up for Tifa, Aerith, and Barret, and two HP Up and one MP Up for Cloud. You don’t want all of those geared up directly. There are solely ever three characters in your celebration at any given time, so prioritize them. These boosts to your stats are important when enjoying by way of on exhausting mode, so all the time have them geared up in your energetic celebration members.
Otherwise, it’s depending on the scenario, although now we have a really helpful loadout for every character beneath for almost all of circumstances.
Cloud
Weapon: Twin Stinger
Weapon Materia:
Elemental linked with Fire, Ice, Lightning, or Wind
First Strike
2x HP Up
MP Up

Armor: Chain Bangle
Armor Materia:
Healing
Revival
Barrier
Steadfast Block

Accessory: Champion Belt
Tifa
Weapon: Sonic Strikers
Weapon Materia:
Elemental linked with Fire, Ice, Lightning, or Wind
2x HP Up
2x MP Up

Armor: Cog Bangle
Armor Materia
Healing
Revival
First Strike

Accessory: Champion Belt
Barret
Weapon: Light Machine Gun
Weapon Materia:
Elemental linked with Fire, Ice, Lightning, or Wind
2x HP Up
2x MP Up

Armor: Cog Bangle
Armor Materia

Accessory: Champion Belt
Aerith
Weapon: Reinforced Staff
Weapon Materia:
2x Magic Up
2x HP Up
2x MP Up

Armor: Rune Armlet
Armor Materia

Accessory: Healing Carcanet
Don’t merely run with these loadouts for your entire recreation. The normal thought behind them is that Tifa and Cloud assault up shut, whereas Aerith and Barret assault from vary. That makes the latter two higher at therapeutic, which is why they’re geared up with Magnify-Healing. In battles the place Barret is crucial — Airbuster involves thoughts — think about switching Magnify out for First Strike to construct ATB faster.
There are solely two Elemental Materias within the recreation, too, so that you’ll want to modify them between Barret and Tifa (all the time maintain one on Cloud). In its place, think about Prayer. It heals your celebration, however it doesn’t value MP. If you may have a celebration member with a full ATB gauge and little MP, Prayer can prevent in a pinch.
Also, you should definitely swap the Elemental Materia and its linked kind between your weapon and armor relying on the circumstance. For occasion, Reno assaults with Lightning, so that you’ll need to have Elemental-Lightning in your armor for that battle.
Hard mode ideas and tips
Flee if attainable
If you’re not at stage 50 going into exhausting mode, you’ll attain it shortly after beginning. Outside of AP, then, battles award you with nothing. The XP doesn’t matter, that means fights between bosses are HP and MP hogs, nothing extra. If you possibly can keep away from a battle, it’s greatest to take action. You need to save your MP for the boss, and since you possibly can’t use objects to heal, meaning preserving your HP all through the extent.
Smash each crate
Crates will award you with objects, that are ineffective throughout exhausting mode. Sometimes, nonetheless, they’ve provide you with again some MP by way of a Mako Shard. Smash each pile of crates you come throughout so you possibly can, hopefully, enter the boss battle on the finish of most chapters with a full cost. If you’re working low, you can too create a handbook save proper subsequent to a set of crates. Smash them, reload the save, rinse and repeat.
Don’t get cocky
Of all the ideas for exhausting mode, an important is to not get cocky. With your full loadout and excessive stage, it’s straightforward to write down off early bosses like Roche and Scorpion Sentinel. These bosses are simply as robust as the primary time you confronted them, although, even with your entire spells and ATB talents, so you need to method them as cautiously as you probably did in your first playthrough.

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