This is a complete guide to beating the INTERmission DLC on Hard Mode in the game Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade. Read on for our best Hard Mode Builds, including what Materia are best to use in Hard Mode, what Equipment and Materia are recommended, and how to handle running out of MP.

Hard Mode Differences

Hard Mode for INTERmission is essentially the same as Hard Mode from the main game as it is unlocked by clearing the DLC, enemies deal more damage and may have more abilities, and so on:

• You cannot change the difficulty setting from the System Menu. To change the difficulty, you will need to use Chapter Select and go to the start of a Chapter with a different difficulty setting.
• In Hard Mode, you can't use items at all. If you open the Commands Menu and hover over "Items", you'll see a notification that items cannot be used.
• When using a bench at a rest area, your HP will be restored, but not your MP.
• You'll receive Manuscripts for defeating each Fort Condor player as well as from Bosses and sub-bosses.
• A Hard Mode exclusive match in the Shinra Combat Simulator is also unlocked, similar to the main game.

Hard Mode Guide (Story Walkthrough)

★Strategy Checklist★ (Click to jump)
Hit the Level Cap Use Yuffie's Boomerang for MP Skills Make Use of Revival Earrings Match Your Elemental Materia and Ninjutsu with the Foe's Weakness Make Use of Perfect Guards Keep Distance and Use Incite Synergize With Sonon Use Yuffie's Brumal Form

Hit the Level Cap

If you enter Hard Mode right after completing a lower difficulty, you will likely struggle if you jump head first into Hard Mode. Return to Chapter 2 where the Shinra Combat Simulator will open up for Yuffie and Sonon to farm Exp and AP so you can level them and your materia up.

Intergrade: How to Level Up Fast and AP Farm

Use Yuffie's Boomerang for MP Skills

One way of combatting the MP restrictions is by Yuffie's Boomerang. There are 3 skills that can assist you in conserving and regenerating MP.

As MP Regeneration 50% Boost comes from Sub-Core IV you'll need to collect some Manuscripts by beating Fort Condor players in the Sector 7 Slums to reach Weapon Level 6.

How to Recover MP in Hard Mode

Make Use of Revival Earrings

Another way to conserve MP is by equipping Revival Earrings to Yuffie and Sonon. Rather than using healing magic, letting a character die with these equipped will automatically heal them to 50% HP. They can only be used once before breaking, but they only cost 500 Gil at any shop that sells accessories so you can stock up on these ahead of time.

Intergrade: How to Farm Gil

Match Your Elemental Materia and Ninjutsu with the Foe's Weakness

Use the linked Materia slot on Sonon's Weapon to hold an Elemental Materia together with the Magic Materia matching the Boss's weakness while Yuffie can change the damage type of her Shuriken with her Elemental Ninjutsu abilities. Almost all of the Bosses in the main story will have a weakness, so simply by changing out which Magic Materia you equip or switching Ninjutsu, you can deal extra damage to almost every Boss.

List of All Bosses and their Weaknesses

Make Use of Perfect Guards

Instead of forcing your way through with attacks, you'll want to conserve your HP as much as possible on Hard mode. Hold R1 frequently to block your opponents' attacks and wait for the right timing to strike; timing your block at the right time will execute a Perfect Guard that negates all damage. You'll know you've done it right as time will slow for a split second and Immune will pop up in blue text in place of numbers for damage.

Precision Defense Weapon Skills

When pulling off a Perfect Guard you can also activate certain weapon skills that provide Yuffie with various buffs.

Weapon	Skill and Effect
4-Point Shuriken	Precision Defense: ATB Boost Guard against an attack at the right time to fill the ATB gauge.
Boomerang	Precision Defense: Barrier Guard against an attack at the right time to cast Barrier.
	Precision Defense: Manaward Guard against an attack at the right time to cast Manaward.
Steel Reaper	Precision Defense: Regen Guard against an attack at the right time to cast Regen.

Keep Distance and Use Incite

With Yuffie's signature ability, she can throw her Shuriken at an enemy and switch to Ninjutsu, ranged attacks that deal magic damage. Doing so will keep you away from enemies and let you target their weaknesses with the various elemental damage you can deal. You can then finish off a combo with Windstorm as it will target whatever you threw the Shuriken at. Pair this with Sonon's Incite ability, which can be learned from the Indurate Staff, so Sonon can distract enemies and allow Yuffie to take less damage and deal more uninterrupted.

Synergize With Sonon

There are two reasons why you'll want to make use of Synergy. The first is to deal extra damage against enemies with Synergized Art of War and increase stagger with Synergized Windstorm. The second is that depending on your distance from Sonon, turning on Synergy will cause Sonon to teleport him to you, effectively allowing him to dodge away from attacks that could deal heavy damage to him. Mix and match these to keep your boy safe and healthy!

Synergy Guide: How to Synergize Yuffie and Sonon

Use Yuffie's Brumal Form

Some attacks may be more difficult to dodge normally, so try to keep 1 ATB charge on you if possible to use Brumal Form against attacks like the Crimson Mare's Fusillade that can deal 1000-3000 damage depending on if you block or not.

Hard Mode Recommended Materia

Materia	Reason
HP Up	Required ・Try and give 2 to each character ・Attach 4 to the Ninja Armlet to level them up ・Try to start leveling them up as early as possible
Healing	Required ・Link to Magnify for best effects ・Still useful without Magnify
Revival	Required ・Only give to Yuffie ・Sonon will revive Yuffie by sacrificing himself if she dies
Chakra	Helpful ・A way to heal without using MP ・Heals more based on how much HP you've lost
Prayer	Helpful ・Heal all party members without using MP ・Requires 2 ATB so it can prevent you from using other attacks
MP Up	Helpful ・Gives you a boost to your MP ・Great for Hard Mode where you can't recover MP easily ・Equip 2 to each character if possible
Steadfast Block	Helpful ・Fills the ATB Gauge when blocking attacks ・Sonon can also make use of it
Synergy	Helpful ・Equip on Sonon ・Every time Yuffie uses a command Sonon will follow up with the weakest linked magic ・Does not require ATB or MP

Why Play Hard Mode?

Get Manuscripts Exclusive to Hard Mode

All 14 of Yuffie and Sonon's Manuscripts for additional SP are only available on Hard Mode. These are unlocked through playing Fort Condor or defeating Bosses. You'll want to get all of these to unlock every Weapon Upgrade available to take on the super boss in the Shinra Combat Simulator.

Locations of All Manuscripts

Obtain a Trophy

When you complete both Chapters on Hard Mode, you'll unlock the The Road to Revenge Trophy.

How to Unlock All Trophies

Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade Related Links

Intergrade and INTERmission Guide

Intergrade Story Walkthrough

Chapter 1	Chapter 2
Chapter 1: Wutai's Finest	Chapter 2: Covert Ops

Intergrade Boss Fights

Intergrade Side Content

Happy Turtle Flyers

Shinra Box Buster

Fort Condor Minigame

Fort Condor Guide	Condor Coin Farming
	Fort Condor Units
	Fort Condor Boards

Intergrade Guides

• Intergrade Battle and Combat Tips
• Yuffie Weapons and Abilities
• Sonon Weapons and Abilities
• Intergrade: Hard Mode Guide
• Trophy Guide
• Manuscript Guide
• How to Level Up and Farm AP
• Post-Game Content
• How to Farm Gil
• How to Get All Materia
• Synergy: How to Use
• Photo Mode Guide