Roche, the speed demon, makes up one of the early boss fights in Final Fantasy 7 Remake, and it may well be your first real challenge if you’ve been finding the combat fairly easy so far.
The fight takes place in Chapter 4 and pits Cloud against a relative equal, a 3-C Soldier with a penchant for drama. In this guide, we’re going to show you how to exploit his weaknesses and take him down so you can progress past this tricky early battle.
- Check out our Final Fantasy 7 Remake review
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How to weaken Roche in Final Fantasy 7 Remake
First off, you want to make sure you’ve got Fire Materia equipped on Cloud before you start the battle. Roche is weak to Fire magic, and as such, hitting him with the Fire or upgraded Fira spell will quickly raise his Stagger bar, making it easier for you to put him on the back foot.
Also, don’t waste any potions prior to the fight, as Roche will heal you at the start to ensure that the duel is fair.
How to beat Roche in Final Fantasy 7 Remake
Now that you’ve got that figured out, you’ll want to know what to expect from his attacks. Unusually, you’re on your own in this battle without any teammates, so managing your health is of utmost importance, which means you need to dodge and block as much as possible. Beyond his fairly standard three-attack combo, the first skill to watch out for is a dashing strike, which cleaves through Cloud in the second phase. The good thing is you can see Roche prepare to use this attack. Wait until just before he starts charging and leap out of the way, following up with a combo from behind. Where you can’t dodge, make sure you’re blocking.
Roche is particularly tough to interrupt in battle, but you can improve your chances by blocking his attacks at the right moment, which will parry him and open his torso up to a sword combo. Roche can also use Ice magic, so make sure you have some magic resistance on Cloud prior to the fight - it’s difficult to predict this attack, so when you see the glacier appear, simply dodge away to escape it, as it deals damage in an area of effect. When you see him pause and summon a trail of particles on his person, that means he’s about to use lightning. This is tricky to dodge, so just hold block when you see it.
His most annoying attack is Ignition Flame, where Roche will spit fire in a line towards Cloud. As soon as you see this notice above his head, dodge in either direction and charge a Fire spell to hit him from afar whilst he’s conducting the animation. When you’re at a distance from Roche he will also use Plunge, a charging attack which you can safely dodge if you keep your distance. Roche will also be in recovery after most of his attacks, so swap to Punisher Mode and build that stagger bar. When he’s staggered, use Braver to focus him down.
