Rufus was one of three of the worst enemies I’ve had to deal with in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Hard Mode, probably because he forces you to play at your own pace. If this daddy’s boy is giving your Hard Mode a hard run, here’s how I “cheesed” the battle.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Hard Mode Rufus guide
To beat Rufus in FF7 Rebirth Hard Mode, it’s all about understanding what he can do, when you can act, and what “sever the link to pressure” the dog means. Let me break my strategies down for you.
Attack after Rufus uses Guns Akimbo
Having trouble understanding the timing of Rufus’ reloads? Same. But that’s why watching out for a move called Guns Akimbo is useful. After using Guns Akimbo (which you can dodge by simply running), Rufus always Reloads, allowing you to pressure him. If you didn't know, the only way Rufus can be pressured is if he's hit while he uses Reload.
Attack, then Triple Slash when pressured
Rufus recovers from Pressure really quickly unless he’s hit with ATB commands (which “resets” the invisible timer as to when his Pressure status goes down). To deal the most amount of damage during his Pressured state, start by having Cloud land a combo basic attack and follow up with Triple Slash.
The basic attacks will load your ATB bar and the Triple Slash will lengthen his Pressured state. Triple Slash is a move Cloud recovers quickly from, allowing you to land another basic combo. And another Triple Slash.
You get what I mean.
Once Rufus starts getting pissed off, he will use a move called Desperation. This leads us to the next step.
Related: FF7 Rebirth Tempering Trials Guide – How to beat all Gilgamesh Island summons
Dodge Desperation and pressure him again
Desperation is a move Rufus uses when he takes too much damage. After which he’ll Reload automatically. This means that as long as you dodge Desperation successfully, you can punish him again with basic attacks and Triple Slashes.
Desperation is a front laser. When you see the move name on top of Rufus’ head, dodge to the side immediately. Launch a basic attack and he’ll be pressured.
Use your summon and Limit Break after he calls Darkstar
To make your life infinitely easier in the next round, only use your summon after Rufus calls Darkstar. Make sure you have one ATB fully charged for the next round though.
Finally, if you have a Limit Break save for a pressured Rufus or Darkstar in the next phase.
Wait for a combo Darkstar and Rufus move before attacking
Darkstar gets pressured when its “link gets severed” from Rufus. You can do this by pressuring Rufus. He'll rarely use Guns Akimbo in this phase, but when he does, you know what to do.
The most likely Reload move you should keep an eye out for is Rufus and Darkstar's combo attack.
Wait for Rufus to use Heel and link with his dog (look for the blue line between them) and run away until Rufus uses an elemental “shot” move and Darkstar, the spell. This is their joint attack(s). And yes, Rufus will always use Reload after.
So, after dodging the spell shots, use Triple Slash on Rufus (don't even wait for "Reload" to appear). This will Pressure Rufus and sever his link with DarkStar, which Pressures the dog.
If you listened and saved your Limit Break, a pressured Darkstar is one of the best victims for it. It should deplete 70-80% of its HP. Or if you're feeling really confident, you can use it on a pressured Rufus too.
Once you've used the Limit Break on Rufus, follow it up with the Attack + Triple Slash hack I taught on Rufus (again) until DarkStar recovers from its own Pressured state. In which case, just wait for them to link up and unleash another joint shot-spell attack.
With two to three rounds of bullying, Rufus is defeated. Congrats!
For more help with Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, check out FF7 Rebirth: Gears and Gambits Guide – Standard & Hard Mode and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Enemy Skill List here at Pro Game Guides.
Bianca has over three years of experience in gaming journalism, specializing in anything remotely turn-based and strategic, like Pokémon, Final Fantasy, and Honkai: Star Rail. She's a huge fan of Square Enix, RPGs, party games, and visual novels, but will play anything with a banger OST. She's a proud early bird.