FF7 Rebirth: How To Beat The Materia Guardian

The Materia Guardian is the first boss players will encounter in Final Fantasy 7 (FF7) Rebirth and can prove daunting for the unprepared. Thankfully, you won't have to fight it without preparation. In this guide, we will teach you how to beat the Materia Guardian in FF7 Rebirth.

How to Beat the Materia Guardian

First off, what is the Materia Guardian? The Materia Guardian is a boss players will encounter during the first chapter of FF7 Rebirth. During Cloud's recollection of the past, players will arrive at a cave filled with Mako. There, they will encounter the Materia Guardian, a six-legged creature that is raring for a fight. It can attack quickly with its forelegs and can deal a lot of damage to anyone unlucky enough to get hit.

Thankfully, this fight is the game's tutorial for how boss fights work. Not only that, but you have the hero Sephiroth in your team. This all but makes the fight trivial, thanks to his fast, strong attacks, as well as his mastery of magic. The fight isn't trivial, as I mentioned, as you will still need to block and dodge the enemy's attacks. We will first tackle the boss's attack patterns and special attacks, as well as its phases. Afterward, we will teach you the Materia Guardian's weaknesses and how to effectively defeat them.

Materia Guardian Attack Patterns and Phases

As mentioned above, the boss primarily attacks using its forelegs. It swings at enemies in front of it a lot, so it's safer to stay at its side or behind it. Additionally, he has four special attacks that the player has to be wary of. The first attack, Dual Tail Slash, is a wide area-of-effect attack that can easily hit both Cloud and Sephiroth. Spread out and keep your distance when the boss prepares this attack. Next is Seizing Claws, where the boss applies Bound on its target, preventing them from moving. Third is Hellish Pounding, which is a multi-hit combo with a finisher that sends targets flying backward. Finally, there's Mucous Jet, in which the boss spews mucous from afar.

The boss has a total of three phases, with a transition in between to signify the phase shift. The first phase happens from the start of the fight and will last until the boss is at around half HP. During this phase, the boss is primarily on the ground, and will use its normal attacks, as well as Dual Tail Lash and Seizing Claws. The second phase, on the other hand, starts once the boss is under half HP. It will proceed to jump onto the ceiling, and spam Mucous Jet at the party below. Finally, there's the third phase, which starts once the boss is at 25% HP or so. This can be considered the “Rage” part of the fight, as the boss will empower himself with Mako and attack faster and harder.

Materia Guardian Boss Fight Guide

First, let's talk about team compositions. You don't have a choice on the matter, as you are forced to use Cloud and Sephiroth for the entirety of Chapter 1. As such, your team will consist of the two. As for who your primary character will be, it's ideal and recommended to use Sephiroth. This is thanks to his strong and fast attacks, as well as his ability to use Fire Spells. The Materia Guardian is weak to Fire, so Sephiroth's Spells can quickly whittle down the boss's HP, while also building up its Stagger bar quickly.

Now, let's talk about combat tactics. As mentioned above, the boss primarily attacks in front of it. As such, positioning yourself behind or beside it helps you stay safe and deal damage. Use Cloud as a means to attract the boss's attention, then switch over to Sephiroth to deal damage to the boss. This is for the first phase of the fight.

Once the second phase starts, players will be introduced to the body part mechanic. That means that players can now target specific body parts of a boss. In the case of this fight, players can now target the forelegs and midlegs of the Materia Guardian. Once the boss enters the second phase, quickly focus on taking down either of the body parts. Not only will this deal a lot of damage and Stagger the boss, but it will also make the boss fall, making it easier to attack it. Use Fire spells to attack the body parts, then your melee abilities once it is on the ground.

Finally, there's the boss's third phase. The boss will start hitting harder, and will also be faster. Thankfully, this phase of the fight introduces Synergy attacks, as well as Limit Breaks. Keep on attacking the boss and whittle down its HP. Once you can use the Synergy Attack between Cloud and Sephiroth, as well as their Limit Breaks, use it to finish off the boss. Once their HP hits zero, it will reward you with 1,750 XP, 10AP, and 1,750 Gil. Congratulations! You have beaten FF7 Rebirth's first boss: the Materia Guardian. Now you can continue the story and learn more about Cloud's past.

That's all for our guide to FF7's Materia Guardian boss. The game is now available exclusively on PlayStation 5. Check out our gaming news articles for the latest in gaming news.