Final Fantasy 7 Remake’s DLC Intermission climaxes with an epic boss fight against Nero. In the depths of Shinra HQ, Yuffie and Sonon are confronted by the creepy, metal-winged member of the Tsviets, an elite group of soldiers that were featured in the spin-off Dirge of Cerberus.
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Nero can definitely be intimidating from the start, especially after seeing him devour his fellow Shinra soldiers around him. He’s extremely ruthless and noticeably deranged, so remaining nimble throughout the fight is a necessity. Here’s how to effectively take down Nero and complete the Intermission DLC.
Check Your Party’s Gear
Upon arriving at the final boss fight, Yuffie and Sonon’s levels should be around 33-35. Depending on how you level up Yuffie’s weapons, there’s a good chance that her Steel Reaper has better attack and magic compared to her 4-Point Shuriken. However, by comparing the two weapon’s attributes, it’s clear that the 4-Point Shuriken is what Yuffie should use. Here's how it compares to the Steel Reaper:
- +250 Health Points (HP)
- + 4 Magic Points (MP)
- -7 Attack
- -3 Magic
- +1 Defense
- +1 Magic Defense
- +1 Vitality
- +1 Spirit
- +1 Materia Slot
By sacrificing only seven attack points and three magic points, Yuffie gains 250 HP, which will be extremely useful in the fight. Nero inflicts poison with his attacks, so try to have as much HP as possible. Equipping the Firebird Armlet can come in handy as another “get out of jail” free card for Yuffie. Aside from Sonon giving up his own life force to revive Yuffie if she falls, the Firebird Armlet will allow her to avoid incapacitation once per battle. However, the armlet will not activate if Yuffie’s hit by an instant death attack or if her HP was at one before getting KO’d. Finally, equipping the Supernatural Wristguards will give her a nice little ten percent strength boost.
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Sonon, on the other hand, has two viable weapon options: Indurate Staff and Marshalist’s Staff. While the Marshalist’s Staff is a great alternative, we chose the Indrate Staff for its superior physical attack power. Here's how it stacks up:
- -50 HP
- +6 MP
- +14 Attack
- -7 Magic
- -6 Defense
- +1 Magic Defense
- +1 Spirit
Now, it was previously stated that accumulating as much HP as possible is beneficial because of Nero’s poison, but given how effective Sonon is at auto-healing, taking the risk for more offensive firepower is a calculated one.
While most magic attacks won’t inflict certain ailments on Nero like paralysis or poison, they can still be effective long-range abilities. Yuffie should have Healing materia equipped, and Barrier also helps defensively if you have it. Because Yuffie has the Healing materia, be sure to equip Sonon with Item Master to enhance the ability of various healing items. Ultimately though, hammering Nero down with physical attacks is the best course of action, while utilizing any magic-using for healing purposes.
Assessing Nero
Right from the start, use Yuffie’s Assess to gauge Nero’s HP and immunities. Of course, by simply being on this guide you can skip that step because here’s what Nero’s packing:
- 71,520 HP
- Immunities: Poison, sleep, silence, slow, stop, berserk, fixed damage, proportional damage
- No weaknesses
- Rewards: 4500 EXP, 10 AP, 1500 Gil
Nero has a wide assortment of physical and magic attacks, both short and long-range. Overall, the boss fight is broken into three distinct parts with each being initiated by Nero’s health.
Phase One Of Nero's Boss Fight
In the beginning, Nero will alternate between using Chaotic Pulsars and Umbral Shell. Chaotic Pulsars fire darkness spirals from the ground up, while Umbral Shell fires physical projectiles at the ninja duo.
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Phase Two Of Nero's Boss Fight
After getting Nero’s health down to about 56,000-60,000, the next stage of the battle will begin. A cutscene will ensue showing him throw Yuffie through the glass window, then Nero consumes the Shinra scientists with his darkness. During this stage, there’s a good chance that the summon Ramuh will become active. If Yuffie and Sonon aren’t struggling health-wise, go ahead and summon the lightning god to join the fray.
Final Stage Of Nero's Boss Fight
Once Nero’s health gets down near halfway (36,000-38,000), a second cutscene will occur. He’ll burst with more dark energy and exclaim how much he hurts. During this last stage, Nero will start frantically using dark energy attacks like Chaotic Pulsars, Dark Torrent (fire darkness blast from airborne), Chthonic Surge (fire darkness blast on the ground), and Soul Erosion (immediately reduces HP to one).
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On top of the increase in attack frequency, Nero will also perform Spatial Shift, allowing him to teleport. When Nero teleports, it will remove the lock-on target on him, so be sure to reapply the lock-on when he appears. Casting Regen can help mitigate any poison effects, but continuous dodging is what’s going to help the most to survive. The poison effect won’t last indefinitely, it will eventually go away so keep avoiding Nero’s darkness and constantly heal.
By the time Ramuh’s time is up, Yuffie and Sonon should have their Limit Breaks ready for action (or even during Ramuh). Both Yuffie’s Limit Break, Bloodbath, and Sonon’s Dance of the Dragon deal multiple hits with their respective weapons, causing tremendous physical damage.
If Yuffie and Sonon’s limits aren’t enough to finish off Nero, keep peppering him with normal physical attacks or Yuffie and Sonon’s Art of War and Twirling Lunge, respectively. Nero can still be staggered like any other enemy, so apply additional pressure if the gauge is filling up. In no time, Nero will fall and all that’s left is to enjoy the final cutscenes of Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intermission.
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