Chapter 12: A Golden Key Walkthrough

A walkthrough for Chapter 12: A Golden Key in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth (FF7 Rebirth). Read on for a detailed guide of Chapter 12, including item locations, rewards, bosses, as well as useful tips for completing this chapter!

Chapter 12: A Golden Key Walkthrough

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Gold Saucer Date Walkthrough

	Objectives
1	Full Speed Ahead At the start of this chapter, you will be sailing to Costa Del Sol using the Tiny Bronco. Circle around the island and head to the east side of the Corel Region.
2	Once you arrive at Costa Del Sol, fast travel to the Gold Saucer, located southwest of your current position. Pirate King's Treasure: You can find a chest that contains a map at the port after arriving at Costa Del Sol. ▶ Pirate King's Treasure Guide
3	Find Dio Go to the Battle Square and then follow Aerith further inside the colosseum to find Dio. Tip: You can use the Guide Moogle to fast travel to the different squares in the Gold Saucer. Note: You can visit the Wonderment Square to play against Yuffie in a 3D Brawler. Winning will improve your Relationship Level with Yuffie. ▶ 3D Brawler Minigame Guide
4	Prepare for Tomorrow After the cutscene, head to the Ghost Square and then talk to the concierge to rest in your room. Note: Save your game before going to sleep so you can come back later to change who you go on the date with; alternatively, after beating the game, you can easily return to this point with Chapter Select.
5	In this section, you will play a short Interlude as Zack. Deliver the towel to Cloud in Aerith's room, then follow the path heading north to find a bike and end the Interlude.
6	A Visitor, Come Again After waking up, open the door in your room and you will be greeted by the character who you will go on the Chapter 12 Date with. Note: If you do not have enough Relationship Level with the other members in the party, Vincent, Cait Sith, and Cid will greet you instead. ▶ Romance and Relationship Guide
7	Loveless Go to the Event Square and head to the theatre to play the Loveless Minigame. In this minigame, you will need to press buttons quickly as they appear on the screen, but not in a timed pattern. Tip: You can easily determine the button that you need to press before it appears depending on the location of the circle. Note: This minigame is divided into 3 Acts that you need to complete in order to progress further.
8	Private Moment Head to the Skywheel Square and your Chapter 12 Date will begin. Your date scene will be either a Standard version or an Intimate version depending on how high your Relationship Level with that character is. Note: Be careful not to skip the cutscene after entering the door in Skywheel Square; you will skip to the next day and the game will autosave immediately!

Musclehead Colosseum Walkthrough

	Objectives
1	The Fight for Naming Rights After the cutscene, you will need to fight several rounds of opponents in the Musclehead Colosseum with your date partner and another character of your choice. Make sure to prepare them before starting the match. Round 1: Defeat 10 Corneo Lackeys Round 2: Defeat 3 Cacneos Round 3: Defeat 2 Tonberries and 1 Donberry
2	After winning all three rounds, a boss fight against Abzu will immediately begin. ┗ Recommended Party for Abzu ▶︎ How to Beat Abzu Tip: Abzu is weak to Fire. Make sure to take advantage of this and use Fire attacks as much as possible. Note: Halfway through the fight, the Don will attempt to put out Abzu's fires, but Fire-element attacks will still exploit its weakness.
3	Interlopers After defeating Abzu, you can recover your HP and use the vending machines at the Rest Stop provided by Dio. Once you are ready, you can talk to Dio to start the boss fight against Rude and Elena. ┗ Recommended Party for Rude and Elena ▶︎ How to Beat Rude and Elena. Tip: Rude and Elena are weak to Wind and Lightning respectively.
4	Upon defeating Rude and Elena, a cutscene will trigger and Rufus will enter the arena. This will immediately start a 1-on-1 boss fight against Rufus. ▶︎ How to Beat Rufus Tip: These two have no weaknesses, but if you hit Rufus while he is reloading, he will be Pressured, during which he can be staggered instantly if he is hit with Braver. A good way to hit him during Reload is to use Cloud's ranged attack by dodging and then tapping square once. After Darkstar appears, they will both be Pressured if the chain linking them is broken.

Catch Cait Sith Walkthrough

	Objectives
1	Cait Burglar Upon leaving the arena, approach Aerith near the exit then turn around to look for Cait Sith in the gift shop, posing as a doll. Interact with him and chase him into the Park Central.
2	Scaredy Cat Go to the Event Square entrance and talk to Barret. You'll see Cait Sith run past. Go to the other side of the staircase to your left and you'll see Cait Sith's Moogle posing as a decoration on a bench. Interact with him and chase him into the back room.
3	Hightailing It Continue to follow Cait Sith through the Utilidor until you reach the helicopter. While chasing Cait Sith through the Utilidor, make sure to pick up the chest containing Yuffie's weapon.
4	Tracking the Turks Fast travel or take a helicopter back to Costa del Sol. Interact with Cid at the Costa Port to end the chapter.

Chapter 12 Boss Strategy Guide

How to Beat Abzu

Abzu
Location	Chapter Unlocked
Gold Saucer	A Golden Key
Weaknesses	Lesser Resistances
Fire
Greater Resistances	Immunities
None
Absorbed Elements	When Triggered
None
Pressure Conditions
Inflicting enough fire damage will light them on fire and pressure them. When their HP falls below half, they will begin evading fire spells and Corneo will douse any flames. They will crash into the wall if Ferocious Charge misses, pressuring them and causing Corneo to faint.

Found at the Musclehead Colosseum

You will fight Abzu inside the Musclehead Colosseum in the Corel region during Chapter 12.

Recommended Party Setup

Recommended Party Setup
Yuffie	・Use Yuffie as the active character to attack Abzu from a distance ・Use Fire Ninjutsu to infuse Fire on your ranged attacks Recommended Level: 44
Cloud	・Hit Abzu with Firebolt Blade to deal more damage ・Only switch to Cloud if Yuffie has low HP or the boss is staggered Recommended Level: 44
Date Partner in Chapter 12 (Fixed)	・Depends on which character has the highest affection level once you reach Chapter 12. ・Cait Sith will automatically be the third member if the Relationship Level is not enough. Recommended Level: 44

Abzu Boss Fight Tips

• Continuously Use Fire to Pressure and Stagger
• Use Abilities and Limit Break Once Staggered

How to Beat Abzu

How to Beat Elena and Rude

Rude

Rude (Chapter 12)
Location	Chapter Unlocked
Gold Saucer	A Golden Key
Weaknesses	Lesser Resistances
Wind
Greater Resistances	Immunities
Absorbed Elements	When Triggered
None	None
Pressure Conditions
Hitting him with multiple powerful offensive abilities while his guard is up will pressure him. Interrupting his synergy strikes will also pressure him.

Elena

Elena (Chapter 12)
Location	Chapter Unlocked
Gold Saucer	A Golden Key
Weaknesses	Lesser Resistances
Lightning	None
Greater Resistances	Immunities
Absorbed Elements	When Triggered
None	None
Pressure Conditions
Hitting her with powerful offensive abilities will pressure her. Interrupting her synergy strikes will also pressure her.

Found at the Musclehead Colosseum

You will fight Rude and Elena inside the Musclehead Colosseum after defeating Abzu in Chapter 12.

Recommended Party Setup

Recommended Party Setup
Cloud	【Active Character / Punisher】 ・Use Firebolt Blade to deal Lightning damage on Elena ・Best used as the active character, as his attacks and abilities can make the bosses flinch Recommended Level: 44
Aerith	【Spellcaster】 ・Best equipped with Lightning and Wind to save one Materia Slot ・Get ATB charges quickly with the ATB Boost to cast an extra spell in a short time window. ・Can place a Radiant Ward to double-cast a spell Recommended Level: 44
Tifa	【Substitute / Punisher】 ・Switch to Tifa if Cloud is currently low health. ・Use Unfettered Fury to stagger the bosses quickly Recommended Level: 44

How to Beat Elena and Rude

How to Beat Rufus

Rufus
Location	Chapter Unlocked
Gold Saucer	A Golden Key
Weaknesses	Lesser Resistances
None	None
Greater Resistances	Immunities
None
Absorbed Elements	When Triggered
None
Pressure Conditions
Striking him while he is reloading or landing an ATB command after he attacks will pressure him. ATB commands will leave him open longer than basic attacks. Hitting him with certain attacks while he is reloading or after he attacks will stagger him instantly.

Found at the Musclehead Colosseum

You will fight Rufus inside the Musclehead Colosseum in the Corel region near the end of Chapter 12.

Rufus Boss Fight Tips

• Do basic attacks during reload to pressure
• Use strong abilities during reload for instant stagger

How to Beat Rufus

Chapter 12 Map and Obtainable Items

Maps

Obtainable Items

This list does not include the items that you get from destroying the wooden crates.

Materia List and How to Get All Materia

FF7 Rebirth Related Guides

Story Walkthrough