KINGDOM HEARTS 2: Defeat Sephiroth Guide ver 2.6 (hopefully) FINAL (05/02/06)
by: cryingsilence
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Copyright 2006 Patch Astronomo
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Kingdom Hearts 2 and all characters, terms and stories taken from the game is
Copyrighted 2005 by Square-Enix
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This may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal,
private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed
publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other
web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a
violation of copyright.
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All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their
respective trademark and copyright holders.
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|TABLE OF CONTENTS:
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I. Version History
II. Introduction
III. Pre-knowledge
A. Who's Sephiroth?
B. Why the heck should I care?
C. So how do I find Sephie?
D. What do I need to know bout Sephie and the actual fight?
IV. The Methods
A. How do I prepare myself before fighting Sephie?
B. The Long Method
C. The Short Method
V. FAQs
VI. Credits
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NOTE: ALL CREDITS TO ANY OF THE CHANGES AND IMPROVEMENTS ON THIS GUIDE ARE
LOCATED ONLY AT THE CREDITS SECTION SO PLEASE DO READ THEM. I DID THIS JUST TO
PRESERVE THE CONTINUITY OF THE GUIDE. SORRY FOR THOSE WHO DIDN'T NOTICE
IMMEDIATELY.
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VII. Contact Information
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|I. Version History:
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v1.0 - Started guide (04/25/06)
v1.5 - Finished everything except the abilities section (04/27/06)
v2.0 - Made A LOT of corrections like Life Bar count and confirmed that
Reflega can block the Darkness Orbs (which I think is actually named WARP)
among other things; finished the very long list of Credits for all
the peeps who improved my guide and pointed corrections (05/02/06)
v2.1 - I missed 2 parts for the Charging Slash combo: the Blockable and
Avoidable attribute :) (05/03/06)
v2.2 - A lil update. I never thought I'd have this many updates for my first
FAQ. :)
v2.3 - UPDATE!: I've tried and confirmed that Reflega can actually be used to
deflect and return damage to ALL attacks EXCEPT Meteor and Sin Heartless
Angel!!! Thanks to the contributors!
- also added the disadvantages of using Berserk Charge (05/05/06)
v2.4 - well more credits! :) and renamed some moves
v2.5 - FINAL VERSION - changed req's to getting to Sephie...
v2.6 - i posted the wrong update... how stupid of me.. hope this IS the FINAL
version...
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|II. Introduction:
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Well, this is my very first contribution and guide/FAQ for a game although
I have attempted MANY times to create and finish one, I guess either I was
just too lazy or I just had no time.
I'm doing this guide because:
1) I LOVE THIS GAME. And of course the first Kingdom Hearts too but even if I'm
obsessed with Kingdom Hearts, I've never played Chain of Memories... oh well.
I really can't afford buying a GameBoy Advance just to play the game so...
2) I discovered the method/s I'm gonna teach you entirely on my own. It's some
sort of a fulfillment thing for me to discover something no one else (I think)
has unearthed before me or maybe posted, at least, at GameFAQs.
3) I just love the feeling of defeating secret or hard bosses and the feeling
that you're not supposed to yet but you did or the feeling that you're someone
"smaller" but you defeated someone "bigger". Hah! but that doesn't mean I'm
small.
Enough of that and let's get this going.
NOTE: THIS guide contains SPOILERS. This guide is only applicable from
midway to the end of the game so you should be somewhere there before this will
be of any use to you.
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NOTE: I played Kingdom Hearts 2 (AMERICAN VERSION) on PROUD MODE Difficulty,
with SHIELD as my first choice and STAFF as my second choice so any of the
lists below won't necessarily apply or be better when played on an easier
difficulty.
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|III. Pre-knowledge
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This is just a list of stuff you need to know first or be aware of before
facing off with Sephiroth.
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A. WHO IS SEPHIROTH?
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Well for those who don't know (which will be kinda odd since you're reading
this guide), Sephiroth is the antagonist of the game Final Fantasy VII which
was released for the Playstation 1 console by, yours truly, Squaresoft (well
that's their former name before they merged to become Square-Enix). Mainly,
he WAS a hero but due to "reasons", he immersed himself unto the darkness.
To cut it short, Sephiroth is mainly Cloud Strife's (also originally from the
same game) nemesis. As Kingdom Hearts 2 puts it, however, he's Cloud's
"darkness".
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B. WHY THE HECK SHOULD I CARE?
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Mainly, if you're a fan of the Final Fantasy series or of just Kingdom Hearts,
you'll most likely know WHY. Simple, because he's a bad-*ss, cool, antagonist
and you either want to fight him for "supremacy" or you just want to see his
moves. :) But for Kingdom Hearts 2 strictly, it's because you can get 2 things:
1) A Drive Gauge upgrade
2) The Fenrir keyblade (Negative Combo) (the Keyblade with the highest attack
power in the game)
-after defeating Sephiroth, he'll tell you to go look for Cloud. So go to the
Market Place (place where the Shops are at Hollow Bastion) and talk to Cloud.
Tell him that Sehpiroth's at the Dark Depths. He'll go there and of course,
you've got to follow. Once back, 'Approach' Sephiroth and.. CUTSCENE. Then
another CUTSCENE and *ahem* will give you the Keyblade.
Extra:
3) Well, you just wanna see a cool cutscene of 2 swordmasters duelling and the
hottest RPG Game babe of course.:)
THAT is if you DEFEAT him.
And believe me, before I even knew of this method, it was helluva hard. And of
course, that's where I come in.
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C. SO WHERE DO I FIND THIS SEPHIE?
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Sephiroth is found at the Radiant Garden world, formerly Hollow Bastion.
Sephiroth's first appearance in Kingdom Hearts 2 is on your second visit to
Hollow Bastion, a story-triggered event where Merlin and Cid tells you that
something's wrong with the defense system and that Leon has found access to
Ansem's computer. You find that the gate to the Reconstruction Site is now open
and the next location after it will lead you to Postern. This is where
Sephiroth will appear and do a conversation with you and saying that he's
looking for Cloud. After that, you won't be seeing him for a while.
Once you seal the 2 Keyholes (100 Acre Wood is exempted) for Hollow Bastion,
the world will be renamed to Radiant Garden which is actually its real name. If
you notice, after doing so, an update will tell you that Jiminy has a new
entry.
Open up Jiminy's Journal, go to the Radiant Garden section, go to Missions and
you'll see there right underneath "Meet the Girls again" (the part where you go
see the lil Final Fantasy X-2 trio) a new mission named "Meet Sephiroth again".
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UPDATE!: This slipped my head... since if you let the story progress, it will
have required you to lock certain worlds before the events at Hollow Bastion
would even trigger so you really can't miss the Sephie event since you'll
eventually lock it twice and rename it to Radiant Garden which is all that you
need. :)
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He's at the Dark Depths. Remember the place where Mickey follows Xemnas into
the darkness and Axel appears to tell you what happened to Kairi and Saix
appears to tell you about Sora's purpose in the Organization's plan AND where
Maleficent TRIES to stop the Nobody's from attacking you but instead
"disappears"?
If that's too confusing, how about the place AFTER you fight the 1000
Heartless?
He'll be standing there at the edge of the cliff as if waiting for someone.
Go near him and do the Reaction Command 'Approach'. A cutscene will ensue and
after that...well...you fight.
And you can only DEFEAT him ONCE. So I suggest if you want to fight him all
over or view the cutscenes, save on a different file before the fight(the
nearest Save Point is at Crystal Fissure).
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STOP! Of course, it'll better to try it out first to get a feel of the fight
and familiarize yourself with his attack patterns. Believe me, even if he's
tough, memorizing his attack patterns will certainly give you a higher success
rate of defeating this monster. Well not really monster...okay...fine THIS VERY
TOUGH 'secret' BOSS.
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D. WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW BOUT SEPHIE AND THE ACTUAL FIGHT?
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This will be a good prep to familiarize yourself with Sephiroth's attacks and
"patterns" unless you've already done so.
First thing you need to know: you're alone in this fight. It's just a
one-on-one duel with Sephiroth. A swordmaster duel between a Masamune Master
and a uh...Keyblade Master. SO it means, NO Drives, NO Cooperative Limits, NO
Summons, NO help whatsoever from anyone else but yourself. Which is cool and
not cool at the same time.
Sephiroth has 15 Life Bars. TAKE NOTE: 15 LIFE BARS! Well actually, 15 Life
Bars since I fought him in Proud Mode Difficulty and it's been confirmed that
it's the same for all difficulties.
Unlike before in Kingdom Hearts I, he's got no "shield" or buffer before you
can actually deal damage to him. But I think Square-Enix just replaced that
with Life Bars instead since they actually ARE the same.
His Masamune (the name of his sword) range/length is approximately twice more
or less of your Keyblade (taking into account the lengths of the Ultima Weapon,
Fenrir and Oblivion Keyblades, the longest Keyblades in the game) so he's got
the place pretty much covered if you know what I mean. But luckily, if I
remember correctly, this "arena" is slightly larger or space-friendlier than
its Coliseum counterpart in the first Kingdom Hearts game. I guess because this
one's kind of oval in shape. But I'm not sure.:)
His swing speed is about 1.5 or twice your Keyblade swing speed. A good example
to show this is if you've tried to fight him, when he unleashes his ordinary
ground combo, you can actually block via Attack the first 1 or 2 swings but not
the successive ones.
Of course the exception to this swing speed is his special attack Flash wherein
he slashes you many times (well,how should I know how many times?) IF you don't
do the Reaction Command 'Block' on time.
Another slight exception to this speed is his aerial combo. He's got a small
delay BEFORE he does an aerial combo especially after he teleports at your back
when you're airborne leaving him open for an aerial combo reversal. But that's
actually just a delay since he does his aerial combo the same speed as he does
on ground.
Now going into detail for his attacks:
(BTW, the names I used below EXCEPT Flash, Meteor and Sin Heartless Angel are
names I invented on my own just to give a fair description of the move :) )
NOTE: His damage level will be usually HIGH since that what makes this Boss
a hard one. And also, I can't tell you the exact amount of damage since the
game doesn't show digits but bar percentages AND it's relative to your
Defense stat.
1) "Ground Combo" - a GROUND combo (duh) done with a series of slashes.
Slash count: 6
Damage: High (per slash it's just medium but the total damage is HUGE)
Blockable: Yes (you use Guard first by pressing SQUARE then Counter Guard
immediately using X or Attack. If done successfully, you can do a ground combo
reversal) AND Reflega
Avoidable: Yes
Occurence: Most of the time at his first 4 - 5 bars of life
2) "Aerial Combo" - an AERIAL combo (duh duh) done with a series of slashes.
Slash count: 6
Damage: Low/High/Very High to Extreme (Low if you happen to get hit ONLY by the
first slash then you successfully did a aerial combo reversal; High when you
get hit by the whole combo; Very High to Extreme when you get hit by the whole
combo, thrown off then get hit again after he teleports and so on...)
Blockable: Yes (you can do a couple of things for this attack [thanks to the
many contributors, YOU ROCK! or I'm just stupid hahaha]:
1) Avoid it completely. If you've tracked him closely, you'll know if he
teleported. And if he does, Aerial Dodge out of it then Glide away. When he
hits you however, just try repeatedly to do an Aerial Dodge and it will still
work around the 2nd slash then Glide away else he'll follow-up with another.
2) Anticipate it then counter-attack. Same as above or when he's already there
in front of you, just Attack immediately to deflect the slash then do an aerial
combo reversal OR similar to above but instead of Aerial Dodge, mash for a
Retaliating Slash instead. This will deflect the combo when you're already in
it as well or after it and automatically start the reversal thus also avoiding
another beating.)
Avoidable: Yes
Occurence: Very often
3) "Flash" - a ground/midair combo done with approximately twenty-five slashes.
THIS is a helluva move. Good thing they made it blockable. AND you'll know if
he's gonna do it BEFORE he even does it because of a sign.
Sign: Screen turns dark and Sephiroth stands from a distance as if doing a
death stance OR when he says "That's enough!". This will immediately prompt
you for a Reaction Command 'Block' which when done successfully will block the
combo entirely and save you from one Hell of pain. THIS will be a very fast
move so make sure that once you start seeing these movements, tap the TRIANGLE
button repeatedly to block it fast enough.
NOTE: THIS will be the very FIRST move he'll do EVERY time you start the fight
with Sephiroth
Slash count: I have no idea. Maybe twenty-five. It doesn't matter anyways.
Damage: Very High/Extreme (If your defense is too low or your HP is too low, it
will bring a whole life bar either down to 1 with Once More and Second Chance
equipped or well, to 0 in which case, you're dead)
Blockable: Yes via Reaction Command 'Block' (and although a very devastating
move, you just have to prioritize your head to anticipate the SIGN above and
you'll block every instance of this fine. A note though because you can ONLY
block it when you're on the ground) AND Reflega(yup, I've tried it and it
works. You need good timing though so it's really your choice)
Avoidable: Yes (but I DO NOT ADVISE IT THOUGH since the only way to "avoid"
it is when you're Gliding high or you happen to have been somewhere else on the
field when he executes it. This move is really a ground move but if you're
somewhere near the ground and along the path of line where the move is heading,
you'd still be hit so if you're on the ground, BLOCK it instead!)
Occurence: Random but very often when he gets the chance. Besides the sign I
stated above, there's an even better way to prepare yourself for this attack.
If you see Sephiroth just walking and saying several stuff, just Quick Run or
move away from him and stand at a place far away from him. Actually, this will
FORCE him to trigger the move but also will make you prepared to just block the
move rather than be caught in the open
4) "Firaga Wall" - a magical attack wherein he surrounds himself with
pillars of fire and sucks Sora towards him at the same time.
Damage: Low to Extreme (depends on how long you've been exposed to the pillars)
Blockable: Yes (Use Reflega and the world of hurt will turn the tides in your
favor...if you know what I mean)
Avoidable: Yes via Quick Running away from him or by Gliding away from him
although if you're too near, both would barely work
Occurence: Random; rarely to sometimes
5) "Shadow Flare" - a magical attack wherein he surrounds Sora or the field
with balls of energy and home into Sora. It's got 2 variations: a 3-ball and a
multiple ball one. The 3-ball one consists of a somewhat triangular
positioning of the balls and are far apart from each other. More of a tactical
move if you ask me, just for distraction. The multiple ball one is both a
tactical and assault move since it does a considerable amount of damage. Sora
or the field is surrounded by a lot of balls that follows Sora everywhere.
Damage: Low to Very High (depends on how many balls hit you)
Blockable: Yes with Reflect/Reflecta/Reflega (I've confirmed it and yes, this
tactical thingamajig is "reflectable" and it's better than the attack method
below but it's still your choice. Just make sure you do it on the spot so that
you have lots of time to prepare for whatever Sephiroth's got in store next.
And if I'm not mistaken, if the spell's still in effect long enough, it may
even deflect Sephiroth from attacking you whilst after casting.)
Avoidable. Yes. (you can just Glide away and if you're lucky they'd
dissipate in time but this is too risky as this will make you open for
Sephiroth's attacks. The best way to avoid them is NOT to. Attack the balls
and you'll be a lot safer; just do it quick or while in midair)
Occurence: Once you take away his 3rd life bar, he'll start doing this attack.
Often to very often
6) "Charging Slash Combo" - an attack done initiated by a running start first
then a powerful slash or a flurry of slashes.
Slash count: Varies but usually just one wide slash
Damage: Medium to Very High (depends if he continues onto a combo or not)
Blockable: Yes via Guard (then follow-up with Counter Guard) AND Reflega
Avoidable: Yes
Occurence: Starts when you've taken bout 5-6 bars of his life. Very often on
the last 6 bars of his life. AND usually in conjuction with Meteor Shadow Flare
or Firaga Wall.
7) "Teleport Slash" - an attack wherein immediately after teleporting, he does
a slash that if it connects, he'll continue into an Aerial Combo
Slash count: 1
Damage: Medium
Blockable: Yes via Attack or Retaliatiing Slash AND Reflega
Avoidable: Yes via Aerial Dodge or if you're already been thrown after an
aerial assault and avoid another, use Aerial Recovery
8) "Sin Heartless Angel" - a magical attack wherein Sephiroth drains Sora's
life to 1 and MP to 0 disabling Curaga at the same time. This one's got a sign
to so be prepared! A signature move by Sephiroth.
Sign: Screen darkens and Sephiroth flies way up. He'll then say "Descend,
Heartless Angel!" then cast the halo upon you
Damage: Extreme (WILL always drain your life to 1 and MP to 0)
Blockable: No (if it is successfully cast)
Avoidable: Yes via High Jump then Aerial Dodge towards him then Attack; you'll
have to do it before he says Angel though (this will disrupt the move then you
can continue to Aerial Combo). (Although, I've found a nifty way to counteract
the effect of Sin Heartless Angel and that's by a well-timed Curaga on the
exact moment the halo disappears on Sora. That will also leave you exact, ample
time to block the incoming Flash and give you the chance to do a combo
reversal)
Occurence: Random; will start once you take 4 of his life bars away; often to
very often the more you get nearer to the last of his life bars
9) "Meteor" - a magical attack wherein Sephiroth casts down a rain of meteors
on a third of the area and homes at Sora slowly. This is another signature move
although this one he actually used in Final Fantasy VII.
Sign: When he stops and tries to chant something whilst being invincible like
some sort of a ghost then glows purple/red, that's when he's ready to cast it.
Once he stands on the same spot where he standing on the cliff before you even
fought, get ready for this spell. The point is, once you see him in this mode,
just stay away from him until he finishes casting it. It will not happen again
if you can defeat him shortly thereafter.
Damage: High to Very High (depends on exposure)
Blockable: No
Avoidable: Yes just Glide all the way onto the opposite side then just Quick
Run away from the wave of meteors
Occurence: Rare. Sephiroth will start using this on his last 2-3 bars of life.
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|IV. The Method/s
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A. HOW DO I PREPARE MYSELF IN FIGHTING SEPHIE?
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I'll be listing down stuff you need to have or possess before the grand battle.
This isn't a complicated list as you've used all of the stuff below AT LEAST
once, I hope. I'll have a NORMAL list and a RECOMMENDED list so as to cater to
players who're at the middle of the game versus to those who are completing it
at the end.
I STRONGLY RECOMMEND THOUGH to do this Mission during the end where you're just
cleaning up the remaining entries of Jiminy's Journal since you'll have less
worries and the story doesn't need to progress anymore so you don't have to
deny yourself of the actual game.
But it's all up to you because I DID defeat him midway through the game.
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NORMAL List:
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1) Sora's Level must be at LEAST 60 (well, my level was 75 when I defeated
him unless you can risk to do lower, that'll be more challenging).
For the Forms, although you won't be using them, you're gonna need their
specialties that Sora inherits when not in Drive mode. All of them actually.
The higher the level of the form, the better.
TOTAL AP NEEDED: 10AP
-Quick Run(2AP)
-Aerial Dodge(3AP)
-High Jump(2AP)
-Glide(3AP)
The Summons' level won't matter.
2) Keyblade:
-Decisive Pumpkin (6/1: Combo Boost)
OR
-Fatal Crest (3/5: Berserk Charge)
OR
-Oblivion (6/2: Drive Boost)
-mainly what you're after for the Decisive Pumpkin and Oblivion is their attack
power. But for the Pumpkin, however, the built-in Combo Boost is a nice add.
-the Fatal Crest will be more for the ones who chose Defense and Magic over
Attack as their priority. This is because of the built-in Berserk Charge
although THIS is specially applicable if you're gonna use my Short Method.
3) Armor: Buster Band (+5 DEF), Cosmic Belt (+6 DEF), Power Band (+4 DEF)
-the higher the defense, the better
4) Accessories:
-Star Charm (+5 AP/+2 STR/+2 MAG)
-Cosmic Arts (+7 AP/+2 STR/+2 MAG)
-Moon Amulet (+3 AP/+2 STR/+2 MAG)
-mainly for AP then STR. You'll need the MAG pluses if you're going to use my
Short Method
5) Items: Fill all slots with Elixirs (Auto-Reload should be DISABLED)
-pretty self-explanatory as this will save you when Curaga is not available
6) Abilities:
-MP Rage x 2 (6AP)
-MP Haste (3AP)
-Defender (3AP)
-Leaf Bracer (1AP)
-Once More (4AP)
-Second Chance (4AP)
-Upper Slash (4AP)
-Air Combo Plus (1AP)
-Horizontal Slash (2AP)
-Finishing Plus (3AP)
-Air Combo Boost (2AP)
-Defender (3AP)
-Slide Dash (2AP)
-Aerial Finish (3AP)
-Aerial Sweep (2AP)
-Aerial Spiral (2AP)
-Retaliating Slash (3AP)
-Slapshot (2AP)
-Item Boost (2AP) *OPTIONAL
-Scan (2AP)
-Guard (2AP)
-Counter Guard (4AP)
7) Shortcuts: Curaga and 3 slots with Elixir (Auto-Reload should be DISABLED)
-the Auto-Reload is disabled so that when you use that slot with your
SHORTCUTs, it will not disable that SHORTCUT slot
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RECOMMENDED List:
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1) Sora at Level 99 (This is my current level and after trying to defeat
Sephiroth at lvl 75, I retried to defeat him and boy, was it a lot easier.)
NOTE: This is just a recommended lvl. It means just as you wish. And yes, it's
a LOT easier when at lvl 99 but it doesn't mean you can't do the methods below
with a lower level.
For the Forms, although you won't be using them, you're gonna need their
specialties that Sora inherits when not in Drive mode. All of them actually.
The higher the level of the form, the better.
TOTAL AP NEEDED: 10AP
-Quick Run (2AP)
-Aerial Dodge (3AP)
-High Jump (2AP)
-Glide (3AP)
The Summons' level won't matter.
2) Keyblade: Ultima Weapon (There isn't any difference in Attack Strength but
what you really need is the innate ability of the Keyblade for MP Hastega.)
3) Armor:
-Cosmic Belt (+6 DEF)
-Buster Band (+5 DEF) x 2
OR:
-3 Ribbons (+4 DEF; 48% TOTAL Resistance to all elements including Dark)
-you can make another Buster Band via the Synthesis Shop
4) Accessories:
-Star Charm (+5 AP/+2 STR/+2 MAG)
-Cosmic Arts (+7 AP/+2 STR/+2 MAG)
-you can make another Star Charm via the Synthesis Shop
5) Items: Fill 3 slots with Elixirs and 3 slots with Ether (Auto-Reload should
be DISABLED)
6) Abilities:
-MP Rage (3AP) x 2 (6AP)
-MP Haste (3AP)
-Defender (3AP)
-Leaf Bracer (1AP)
-Once More (4AP)
-Second Chance (4AP)
-Trinity Limit (5AP)
-Berserk Charge (5AP)
-Combination Boost (4AP)
-Item Boost (2AP)
-Retaliating Slash (3AP)
-Slapshot (2AP)
-Air Combo Plus (1AP) x 2 (2AP) *OPTIONAL
-Combo Plus (1AP) x 2 (2AP) *OPTIONAL
-Slide Dash (2AP)
-Aerial Sweep (2AP)
-Aerial Spiral (2AP)
-Scan (2AP)
-Guard (2AP)
-Counter Guard (4AP)
7) Shortcuts: Curaga, 1 slot with Elixir, 2 slots with Ether (Auto-Reload
should be DISABLED)
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B. The Long Method
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Defeat Sephiroth by Aerial Combos and with Aerial Finish.
Here's the challenging and normal method of defeating Sephiroth. This method is
either for the unchallenged and those who can't meet the requirements above.
You can use this method in case you're level is lower or near lvl 75.
AND this will definitely familiarize you with all of Sephiroth's attacks and
patterns.
Alrighty then. Let's start.
The main idea is to do a 4-5 hit aerial combo then Aerial Finish then survive.
And most of the time you'll be "flying" in this method since you will want to
be always afloat whether avoiding or attacking. Of course, there will be
instances you'd rather stay on the ground.
'Approach' Sephiroth.
To start, like stated above, Sephiroth's opening move is ALWAYS the Multi-slash
combo after the cutscene. So press Triangle rapidy to 'Block' it. Once that's
done, immediately Lock-on to Sephiroth, Attack (since you've got Slide Dash,
you'll immediately hit him) then press Square to do the Upper Slash. This will
send Sephiroth flying so Attack for an Aerial Sweep (it will connect like Slide
Dash) then do an aerial combo. The aerial combo should go something like
X, [], X, X(Aerial Finish). And if you're fast enough you'll get one more slash
before he teleports to escape.
Immediately after the last Attack, Aerial Dodge (press O) then Glide(press []).
I must stress that this will be a permanent routine every time you do an
aerial combo so as to avoid his ground attacks or leave you open for any other
attack. THERE WILL ONLY BE ONE EXCEPTION: if you see the screen go dark whether
it's the Flash, Sin Heartless Angel or Meteor. DON'T GLIDE. These are the 2
situations you'd rather be on ground to 'Block' the Multi-slash or you could
cast Curaga/take an Elixir or avoid the attack altogether.
Once you're back on the ground, observe Sephiroth. You will determine what he's
gonna do next based on what he's currently doing. If you read the tips above,
you'll get his next move. But there are still things I need to tell you that
aren't included. WHY? Because although Sephiroth has a "pattern", it's not the
same always.
Here are the examples:
1) After you land, you see him walking. The tip above applies(Flash sign)
2) After you land, he's either started a ground combo or if you're near him, he
WILL start one. In this case, Quick Run away twice then wait for the last
slash. This will be an opening for another combo (ALWAYS do the Slide Dash,
Upper Slash, Aerial combo pattern.) OR if he's too near and you're cornered,
you do a High Jump if there's enough time and space OR just press Square to
Guard then Counter Guard with X (Attack)
3) BEFORE you even land, he teleports beside you and does an Aerial Combo. Now
this is the one you should always anticipate since it happens BEFORE you land.
Once you see him teleport, press X immediately to deflect his first slash and
instantly continue to an aerial combo. This is what I call an aerial combo
reversal. And in this instance, most of the time, you can even do 2-3 sets as
long as he's still floating after the first combo and follow him. If you
weren't fast enough, after you take the aerial combo beating, repeatedly do an
Aerial Dodge to escape or press Square immediately to do a Retaliating Slash
since Sephiroth will try and do an aerial combo to you indefinitely then after
deflect, aerial combo then repeat as many as possible.
Now if none of those above happens, you're kind of safe to do what you want.
Either heal or go at him and do the Slide Dash to Aerial Combo. I do advise not
to provoke him if you want to survive. Let him do the attacking first THEN
watch for an opening then attack. THIS will ensure your focus only on a fewer
things.
He will most likely also cast the Darnkess Shadow Flare if none of the above
happens. Whenever he casts this spell, don't immediately rush to destroy the
balls. WHY? Like I said above, it's more of a tactical move than an attack. HE
WILL use this as an opening for Flash or the Charging Slash. Wait for 1 to 2
seconds and see what will he do. IF the screen darkens, forget the balls, just
press Triangle rapidly to block Flash. Believe me, you'd rather get hit with
the balls than Flash. AND if you do block the attack, the balls would dissipate
anyways so don't worry.
Once you block Flash, you could do 2 things: either Heal if needed or do what
you did on the opening of the battle, Slide Dash then Aerial since he's open
for anything at this point. This also makes the timing for the Curaga I stated
above for Sin Heartless Angel then pressing Triangle to 'Block' Flash
important. You need to maximize all openings when doing the Long Method since
you want to finish the fight as soon as possible.
Here's an alternate for the Curaga timing:
DO THE MOVE TIP ABOVE. Disrupt Sin Heartless Angel instead.
OR:
If you think you're having a hard time doing the Curaga timing when he casts
Sin Heartless Angel or if you think it's too risky, do this instead: Just
concentrate on blocking the Multi-slash after Sin Heartless Angel then do the
Slide Dash combo then instead of doing the additional slash AFTER AERIAL
FINISH, cast Curaga midair. There is still a risk though to this. That is
example number 3 as stated above. If it does happen, AT LEAST you're not down
to 1 life or almost 1 life as compared to the damage you'll receive from his
aerial combo AND you can do the Retaliating Slash follow-up to tip the balance
back to you.
Things get tougher as more of his bars deplete. He'll have the Firaga Wall
and more of Sin Heartless Angel/Flash at his disposal. The only shift that will
happen in this method is you have to go prioritize Survival now versus Offense.
Find more openings for Curaga or Elixir rather than a combo since you'll most
probably get hit more in this stage.
On his last 2-3 life bars, this perhaps will be the slowest part of your fight.
It's because you don't want to go rushing in especially its the last part of
the fight BUT that doesn't mean you move slower too. What I meant is that you
have to be careful on the last part since Sephiroth won't slack off and hold
himself from casting Meteor or Sin Heartless Angel every now and then. JUST
ALWAYS WATCH OUT FOR METEOR. THIS is one helluva move and most of the time
after he casts it, during the residue of the spell, he'll do a Multi-slash or
teleport beside you.
Just keep in mind the shift. Start from aggressive attack then healing then
survival. This will take long but it is feasible. LOTS of patience.
And that's it for the long method. If you practice long enough, you won't need
short method. But you can also use the long method to familiarize yourself and
make the short method a lot easier to do.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C. The Short Method
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Defeat Sephiroth by Trinity Limit and Berserk Charge.
"And just when you thought they removed every little thing that could make you
win, here comes an unlikely power..."
Mainly, the secret to this method is a Trinity Limit followed by a Berserk
combo. The method is almost flawless in a way that one move fills the other's
gap while it's being recharged and still dealing enormous damage.
HOW?
To tell you, I 'accidentally' discovered that the Trinity Limit exists. YES, I
completely ignored this Limit due to my trauma of the same Limit from Kingdom
Hearts I and to the point that I DID NOT USE IT at all.
Until time came when the last battle against Xemnas was set and a prompt said
that all the entries for Jiminy's Journal have been unlocked. When I looked at
the Combo Attacks section, it didn't have this Mickey symbol meaning I haven't
completed it yet. And I said, how could that be when all Limits can be done via
the story itself with all the Special chars for each world? So I went all
around the world and found nothing. Until it sprung to my head the 'dreaded'
Trinity Limit. So I equipped it anyway and tried it out to complete the list.
AND HO! was I amazed at how powerful this Limit is. AND good thing I went on to
read Jiminy's Journal and found out that you can do this Limit alone.
DAMN! I should've known earlier!!! That's the reason behind me mastering the
Long Method because of my frustration with finding an easier way to defeat
Sephiroth.
AND so I went on to challenge him again and VOILA!, the Limit works, is
UNBLOCKABLE once it hits and does a helluva damage especially the finishing
blow.
NOW we all know that Limits drain all of Sora's MP right? That's where the
Berserk Charge comes in. Since your MP's drained, your attack will instantly
change into Berserk wherein you can do a combo indefinitely AND with added
damage! This disables the finishing move entirely but it doesn't matter since
the total damage done is a lot bigger.
The only drawback is, ONLY for Sephiroth and other Bosses, even if the combo
goes indefinitely, there'll be a chance for escape. ALWAYS. So the combo can
go as much as 2-3 full combos only. WELL, that's devastating damage already
if you ask me. Try it and you'll see.
AND here's the next gap remover. Remember the MP Rage x 2, MP Haste and, if you
have the Ultima Weapon, MP Hastega in the list? That's to shorten the MP Charge
time so you can immediately do another barrage of the Trinity Limit or you can
cast Curaga whichever the situation calls for.
SO, this makes it the Short Method since all you gotta do is Trininty, Berserk,
Berserk/Curaga/Elixir, Trinity, Berserk...and so on.
BELIEVE me, once you master this method, Sephiroth will just be a long fight.
PERIOD. NOT HARD but just long. AND you'll find that the Paradox Cups are even
harder. AND so will Xemnas, the last form that is.:)
'Approach' Sephiroth.
After the cutscene, press Triangle to 'Block' his Flash. Immediately select
Limit then execute Trinity. Just keep on pressing Triangle for the Reaction
Command 'Break' until the Limit Bar is EMPTY. I'll have to stress that you can
do 3 WHOLE sets of Trinity(that's 2 Breaks) and 1 last 'Break' the exact moment
that your Limit gauge is empty. So don't stop until you've executed the LAST
Break. Once the last Break is in execution, press X like crazy so you can
immediately move on to use Berserk. Don't worry if he escapes somewhere in the
middle of the barrage because by this time, you will have taken away 4-5 of his
Life Bars!!! Now watch out because he'll do one of 2 things usually: either
Shadow Flare or Flash. By chance, he could also do his first Sin Heartless
Angel. Just follow the tips I gave you above about 'how to' for each of
Sephiroth's attacks. After any of the above happens, you either need to cast
Curaga or...well...Trinity. Actually, this is what I did. I went on to execute
Trinity when I had the MP or if I didn't, I even found time to use an Ether to
refill then Trinity. Why? The combo method is unblockable and unbreakable
(except escaping the Berserk barrage) making the fight shorter and giving you
more time afterwards to heal since he'll be doing shorter and slower but more
powerful attacks. Believe me, you'll get a lot of chances to heal whether via
Curaga or by Elixir.
AND to tell you, with the Ether method then just cast Curaga if really
necessary, you won't even have to use a SINGLE Elixir! How's that?
So if you're successful, that's 8-10 Life bars down depending on how many
Berserk combos you've done in between. That leaves us with approximately 5-7
more. Well? ITS STILL THE SAME. This is what makes this method short and easy.
Because the pattern stays short and the same. The only dynamic part is
avoidance AND healing. When you see a chance, ALWAYS put Trinity on top of the
list THEN the healing part. HECK, you can even do a Trinity when he's casting
Firaga Wall because with this Limit, you're invincible EXCEPT when
Sephiroth's casting Sin Heartless Angel (and so with all other Limits anyways)
and still deal the same damage! Take note that Berserk doesn't grant you
invulnerability though so you can end the pain by just Trinities when
Sephiroth's doing an all-out attack like Firaga Wall or Meteor.
==============================================================================
NOTE: The last pinch of life that Sephiroth has will only diminish via Break or
in more general terms, via a Finishing move. IT WILL STILL work if you're doing
a Berserk barrage. How? You'd have to do a Horizontal Slash or an Upper Slash
to "replace" the Finishing move.
==============================================================================
So that's it. Easy right? RIGHT. Well, it's not easy at first but once you get
the hang of it, you'll fight him over and over again like crazy.
Just to tell you, when I first tried this method successfully, I only used ONE
ELIXIR and about 15-20 mins. of battle time, although I had to try it 4 times
first. All of which I died...hahaha. On my second try, NO ELIXIR, 2 Ethers and
ONE CASTING OF CURAGA for about the same time.
TIP: Things will be a LOT easier if you get to try the LONG method first. You
don't have to DEFEAT him using it but instead, you just need to try it.
Promise, it'll certainly get you accustomed to EVERY attack and pattern
Sephiroth has.
/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------\
|V. FAQs
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------/
This section is for the confused or for the ones who just needs to throw their
stones at me... hahaha.. JOKE!
Q: How long did it take you to figure this out?
A: 2 days. Accidental 2 days that is.
--------------------------
UPDATE! With all the additional stuff...it's officially 8 days...hahaha...
--------------------------
Q: How do you get Final Form?
A: WHA?!? Anyways, after you "fight" Roxas during a cutscence at Memory
Skyscraper, this Form will be activated. Just go to the Underdrome Tournament
at Olympus Coliseum then enter the Cerebrus Cup. Go into a Form then if it
doesn't come out as the Final Form (which is silver and black in color) then
just RETRY. Then repeat until you get it.
Q: Is this the hardest part of the game?
A: NO. Not at all. NO I'm not boasting. I'm saying the truth since the HARDEST
PARTS of the game, IMO, are the Paradox: Hades Cup and 100% completion of the
Gummi Ship routes :). So... Sephiroth is being friendly...
PLEASE DO NOT SEND ME STUFF THAT'S ALREADY IN THE GUIDE OR SOMETHING NOT
RELATED AT ALL TO KINGDOM HEARTS. You can send in something related as long as
I can answer it. No prob with it!
/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------\
|VI. Credits
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------/
Thank God for giving me this life to live.
Myself for being not so lazy and helping out other gamers.
CJayC for GameFAQs, the BEST and ONLY resource for all your gaming help and
info needs! GameFAQs is a gamer's heaven!
Sony for making the Playstation 2 console.
Square-Enix for creating Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts 2 and for all the
great games out there!
Tetsuya Nomura for being the coolest character designer ever! Well for Square-
Enix at least. :)
NOW THIS IS A LONG LIST:
(5/3/2006)
BIG THANKS FOR ALL THESE GUYS AND GALS and for those I didn't include, I'm
sorry. Please do tell me so I can credit you. But if I've posted 3 already for
the same tip, I'll appreciate the work but I can't post yours as credit. Sorry.
jesse creem <
[email protected]> - added reflega to deflect pillars of hell
Patrick Moore <
[email protected]> - ground combo is blockable; mash
square to block it (GUARD) or use retaliating slash
[email protected] - 15 health bars on all difficulties
A P <
[email protected]> - reminded me of timing for Curaga
Cray Baranowski <
[email protected]> - aerial dodge then attack while sin harvest
is in progress will disrupt it
Carl Cruz <
[email protected]> - thanks me for a good guide; credit 2nd for
using Guard for the ground combo and ADDING in Counter Guard to counterattack
Shane <
[email protected]> - 2nd to tell bout reflega..
#1 Hikki Fan <
[email protected]> - for same spot and signs for meteor
UPDATE! - reminded me bout add'l requirements for unlocking the Sephiroth
event
Kevin Jones <
[email protected]> - 2nd to tell me bout hitting Sephiroth while
in harvest to disrupt it...
Tyler <
[email protected]> - 2nd thanks me for a good guide
Duquin <
[email protected]> - 2nd hit for aerial combo is avoidable via quick
aerial dodge then glide to evade or attack to do an aerial combo reversal
[email protected] - 3rd to thank me; 3rd credit for sin harvest disruption
Andy <
[email protected]> - 4th to appreciate
Adam Secord <
[email protected]> - showed me best method to kill sephiroth
video...normal mode...no heal...damn...my style's crapped!!! hahaha...
Richard and Teree <
[email protected]> - 5th to appreciate
Scott McMahan <
[email protected]> - 6th to appreciate
Christopher Bell <
[email protected]> - 7th to appreciate
Eric Mackie <
[email protected]> - name of multislash move is
FLASH (and Bradygames as source)
[email protected] - 3000HP for all difficulties
Sami Siitari <
[email protected]> - 8th to appreciate
Lynbt Kan <
[email protected]> - 3rd counter guard tip
Moham <
[email protected]> - Sin Harvest is actually Sin Heartless Angel based
on original game; 3rd about reflega...
Sol Niki Acacio <
[email protected]> - correction bout the choose a weapon
during Roxas gets you a bonus while choose for sora grants you order of
abilities; number of slashes for Flash
Allan Cooper <
[email protected]> - Bloodshed name for Flash
(unconfirmed) and Warp (unconfirmed) for Shadow Flare
Ben Carroll <
[email protected]> - 9th to appreciate
Zack Spencer <
[email protected]> - lots of add'l stuff for the faq
(well...just bad luck i guess...)
Jin An Jr. <
[email protected]> - 10th to appreciate
(5/4/2006)
Mr. T. Steven Avery, Jr. <
[email protected]> - 11th to appreciate
(5/5/06)
Stephen Kok <
[email protected]> - 12th to appreciate; 1st to give advice
bout using Reflega against physical attacks including Flash
Jonathan Samilin <
[email protected]> - 13th to appreciate; reminded me to
stress the disadvantages of Berserk Charge; 2nd to give tip bout using
Reflega against Flash and Combos
Greg DeVries <
[email protected]> - 2nd to give advice bout the
disadvantages of Berserk Charge
(5/8/06)
Bobby Fowler <
[email protected]> - 14th to appreciate
Kurtis McPherson <
[email protected]> - 15th to appreciate; comment for
Sin Heartless Angel
rickymatt <
[email protected]> - confirmed the req's for unlocking the
sephie event
Michael Zoccoli <
[email protected]> - added tip for using 3 Ribbons
instead to further reduce damage from Sephie's attacks
Tyler <
[email protected]> - for confirming that on Normal, Seph gets 13 Life
bars(actually, bottom line, no matter how many life bars this guy has, he ain't
that easy...)
[email protected] <
[email protected]> - Sin Heartless Angel will still
work even if you're on Trinity mode
(05/06/06)
Justin King <
[email protected]> - gave names for the moves for sephie
although i kept the ground and air combo as is since they sound simpler :)
"
[email protected]" <
[email protected]> - 16th to appreciate; second
for sin heartless angel goes through invincibility during trinity
Eric Mackie <
[email protected]> - again for appreciatin AND 2nd one to
confirm the REAL names of Shadow Flare for Darkness Balls and Firaga Wall for
Pillars of Hell
Ben Dickinson <
[email protected]> - 17th to appreciate
Michael Murillo <
[email protected]> - 18th to appreciate
(05/31/06)
Scott Luther <
[email protected]> - 19th to appreciate; confirmed the 2
Keyholes needed to trigger the Sephie event
/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------\
|VII. Contact Info
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------/
well it's the final version already... :)
