Sand and Circuses Walkthrough and Hard Mode Guide

Sand and Circuses is a Side Quest that can be unlocked during Chapter 12 of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth (FF7 Rebirth). Read on to learn more about how to unlock Sand and Circuses, how to beat each round and the Joker on Normal and Hard Mode, as well as the available rewards for completing the side quest.

How to Unlock Sand and Circuses

Complete the Of Robed Men and Ransoms Side Quest

To unlock Sand and Circuses later in Chapter 12, you will first need to complete the Of Robed Men and Ransom side quest available at the end of Chapter 7. Once you arrive at North Corel and speak to Dr. Sheiran, this side quest should become available.

Of Robed Men and Ransoms Walkthrough

Complete the Trouble in Paradise Side Quest

Before you can unlock Sand and Circuses, you will first need to complete the prerequisite side quest, Trouble in Paradise, available during Chapter 12. Do note that this particular side quest only becomes available after completing Lifeline in Peril and The Hardest Sell.

Trouble in Paradise Walkthrough

How to Complete Sand and Circuses

1. Talk to Leslie
2. Talk to the Gatekeeper
3. Participate in Solo Battles

Talk to Leslie

Map Image	Overworld Image

After you've completed all the necessary side quests, you can then fast-travel to The Dustbowl and proceed to the Community Noticeboard.

From there, accept the Sand and Circuses side quest and follow the objective marker so you can talk with Leslie.

Talk to the Gatekeeper

After you've talked with Leslie, follow the objective marker on the map and head down the ladder that leads to an underground level. From there, talk to the Gatekeeper and engage in a series of battles.

Participate in Solo Battles

Solo Battles
Round 1: Yuffie Round 2: Aerith Round 3: Barret Round 4: Tifa Round 5: Cloud

You will need to participate in a series of solo battles using members from your party, excluding Red XIII and Cait Sith. You could access the main menu during the Beast Battleground selection screen so you could equip and optimize your members with the proper gear.

Round 1: Yuffie

Playable Character	Enemies
Yuffie	・Valron x2 Strategy: ・Interrupt Graviton Charge with powerful attacks ・Exploit weakness and use Ice Elemental Ninjutsu ・Ice Spells build up its stagger gauge

Yuffie will need to beat 2 Valron fiends during this round. Use Ice spells or Yuffie's Elemental ninjutsu to weaken it.

You will particularly want to interrupt the Graviton Charge move whenever the Valron does it. Make sure to have an ATB bar saved up and use a powerful attack, like an Ice Spell, to interrupt and pressure it.

Another tip is to equip a Precision Defense Focus materia to help you perfectly block the enemies' attacks since the attacks are relatively easy to predict.

How to Get the Ice Materia

Round 2: Aerith

Playable Character	Enemies
Aerith	・Bomb x2 Strategy: ・Equip Barrier Materia to use Manaward ・Use Recovery Spells to endure in battle ・Cast a Ward to Use Ward Shift

Aerith will be facing 2 Bomb fiends during this round. Equip a 2-star Barrier Materia so that you can use Manaward to protect yourself from the enemies' magic damage.

You will also need to be patient and avoid the Fireball attacks of the enemies before attacking because Aerith has a slow attack animation. For the large fireballs, it is recommended you keep running instead of dodging since the Fireball can still hit you if you dodge.

Casting a Ward will also help you since it allows you to properly use Ward Shift to teleport. Try to lure the fireballs in a different direction and then teleport to your ward to avoid it completely. Then, follow it up with an attack while the Bombs are idle.

Once you get the flow of battle, make sure to save up your ATB bars for offensive or recovery spells. Use a strong offensive spell whenever the Bomb is breathing fire to pressure it. You may also want to use your ATB to use your summon to deal damage while you avoid fireballs.

How to Get the Barrier Materia

Round 3: Barret

Playable Character	Enemies
Barret	・Zemzelett x2 Strategy: ・Use Steelskin to avoid being interrupted ・Inflict damage during Wingbeat ability to pressure it ・Exploit weakness and use Ice Spells

Barret will engage battle with 2 Zemzelett fiends. Equip Barret with Ice Materia before the battle and use Ice Spells to exploit their weakness.

Once the battle starts, use Steelskin so that you cannot be interrupted when using abilities or spells. This is crucial since the Zemzeletts will be constantly attacking you, and Barret's attack animations are quite long.

Then, save up an ATB bar or Overcharge so that you can use a powerful attack when the enemy uses Wingbeat. This will pressure them, making it easy to take them down once they are staggered.

How to Get the Ice Materia

Round 4: Tifa

Playable Character	Enemies
Tifa	・Modded Sweeper x1 Strategy: ・Exploit weakness and use Lightning Spells ・Prioritize attacking its arms

Tifa will be taking on a mechanical enemy called the Modded Sweeper. Equip Tifa with Lightning Materia and cast Lightning Spells to pressure it. You can also pair it with Elemental Materia so that all of her attacks will be Lightning-imbued.

Next, you will want to prioritize attacking its arms so that it uses its strong attacks less often. Although, try blocking its barrage of attacks first and then counterattack while it is standing idle.

How to Get the Lightning Materia

Round 5: Cloud

Playable Character	Enemies
Cloud	・Joker Strategy: ・Exploit weakness and use Wind Spells ・Dodge Soul Sucker ability to pressure it ・Dodge Destiny ability from Joker
Destiny Effects
Hearts	Joker recovers HP
Diamonds	Joker casts defensive buff
Spades	Joker fires a magical attack
Clubs	Joker casts a physical attack from below
Joker	Joker fires a projectile that leaves you with 1 HP

Cloud will be fighting the Joker fiend during this round. Equip Wind Materia and cast Wind Spells to exploit its weakness.

Dodging its Soul Sucker ability will pressure the fiend when it uses Anima Howl. You may want to be in melee range most of the time so it uses the close-range Soul Sucker, which is much easier to dodge than the ranged version.

Be mindful when the Joker is using its Destiny ability, as it has various effects in battle depending on the type of card that appears after casting it. It is best to dodge the Spades, Clubs, and Joker abilities, with the Joker ability being the deadliest of them all as it only leaves you with 1 HP.

Once it falls below half health, it will go into Anima Unleashed mode. During this mode, it will keep using Destiny but will be always pressured. At this time, spam the Focused Thrust ability to stagger it as quickly as possible.

How to Get the Wind Materia

Sand and Circuses Hard Mode Guide

Sand and Circuses Hard Mode Tips
Round 1: Yuffie vs. Valron x2 Round 2: Aerith vs. Bomb x2 Round 3: Barret vs. Zemzelett x2 Round 4: Tifa vs. Modded Sweeper Round 5: Cloud vs. Joker

Notice from Game8	The Hard Mode builds in this guide use equipment that are at least Weapon Level 8. If you don't have enough Materia slots or the right Weapon Skills to complete a character setup, consider using a different weapon or collect all of the character's Manuscripts first.

Round 1: Yuffie vs. Valron x2

Jump to Round
1	2	3	4	5

Yuffie Solo
		Weapon		Armor
		Fuma Shuriken		Cetran Bracer
		Accessory		Summon Materia
		Genji Gloves		Gilgamesh
Weapon Materia			Armor Materia
HP Up MP Up Magic Up Speed Up Steadfast Block Precision Defense Focus			Magnify and Ice Barrier First Strike Skill Master Chakra ATB Boost
Weapon Skills
Ice Damage Up			ATB Charge Rate Up
Magic Attack Power +20			Max MP +3

Spam Ice Attacks With Yuffie

As soon as the fight begins, use ATB Boost so that you can get Yuffie's Ice Ninjutsu and Doppelganger active as soon as possible. From there, you'll just need to spam Blizzaga to beat this round. Remember to prioritize killing the Valron that uses Graviton Charge first to prevent it from casting Graviga.

Use Haste and Manaward If You're Struggling

In case you're having a hard time with this round, you can cast Haste to help generate ATB Charges and Manaward to prevent Graviga from bringing you down to 1 HP.

Round 2: Aerith vs. Bomb x2

Jump to Round
1	2	3	4	5

Enemies	Valron x2

Aerith Solo
		Weapon		Armor
		Ceremonial Staff		Cetran Bracer
		Accessory		Summon Materia
		Genji Gloves		Gilgamesh
Weapon Materia			Armor Materia
HP Up MP Up Magic Up Speed Up			Elemental and Fire Magnify and Lightning First Strike Skill Master Chakra ATB Boost
Weapon Skills
Lightning Damage Up			Reprieve
Magic Attack Power +20			Max MP +3

Elemental-Fire Absorbs the Bombs' Attacks

Having a maxed-out Elemental linked to a Fire Materia lets you constantly heal from the Bomb's Fire attacks. This makes this round incredibly easy since you cannot die unless the Bombs decide to only use their regular physical attacks.

Activate Arcane Ward to Double-Cast Thundaga

Get your Arcane Ward active as soon as possible so that you can spam Thundaga and beat this round. If you want an extra bit of safety, use Radiant Ward to protect Aerith from the bomb's physical attacks while she's casting spells.

Alternatively, you could use Blizzaga for a better AoE attack, but you won't benefit from the Lightning Damage Up Weapon Skill.

Round 3: Barret vs. Zemzelett x2

Jump to Round
1	2	3	4	5

Barret Solo
		Weapon		Armor
		Hi-Caliber Rifle		Cetran Bracer
		Accessory		Summon Materia
		Space Ranger Medal of Honor		Gilgamesh
Weapon Materia			Armor Materia
HP Up MP Up Strength Up Speed Up Elemental and Ice			Elemental and Wind Steadfast Block Precision Defense Focus First Strike Skill Master Chakra ATB Boost
Weapon Skills
Overload Overcharge			Overload Overcharge
Unflinching Overcharge			Opening ATB Bonus

Instantly Activate Turbulent Spirit

Use Turbulent Spirit as soon as the fight begins so that Barret can rapidly charge his ATB Gauge and spam his abilities. This works even better with the boosts he gets to Overcharge since it recharges quicker, allowing him to gain even more ATB Charges over time.

Go Up to the Zemzeletts and Use Point Blank

Thanks to the Elemental-Ice equipped on your weapon, Point Blank should kill the Zemzeletts in one hit after a single Overcharge. Make sure that you have a full ATB Gauge before using this move to maximize its damage output.

Round 4: Tifa vs. Modded Sweeper

Jump to Round
1	2	3	4	5

Tifa Solo
		Weapon		Armor
		Kaiser Knuckles		Cetran Bracer
		Accessory		Summon Materia
		Corsair's Compass		Odin
Weapon Materia			Armor Materia
HP Up MP Up Strength Up Speed Up Elemental and Lightning			Time Steadfast Block Precision Defense Focus First Strike Skill Master Enemy Skill Chakra ATB Boost
Weapon Skills
Martial Arts Mastery			Enemy Parts Damage Up
Max HP +200			Concentration

Focus on Destroying the Arms

The combination of Elemental-Lightning, Plasma Discharge, and Enemy Parts Damage Up should let Tifa easily destroy the Sweeper's arms. Prioritize destroying them first with abilities like Divekick or Starshower so that you can cripple the enemy and easily kill it off, especially once it gets staggered.

Cast Stop to Prevent It From Moving

The Modded Sweeper likes to move a lot when attacking, so make sure to cast Stop when you can to lock it in place and make it easier for you to destroy its arms.

Round 5: Cloud vs. Joker

Jump to Round
1	2	3	4	5

Cloud Solo
		Weapon		Armor
		Sleek Saber		Cetran Bracer
		Accessory		Summon Materia
		Corsair's Compass		Gilgamesh
Weapon Materia			Armor Materia
HP Up MP Up Strength Up Speed Up Elemental and Wind			Time Steadfast Block Precision Defense Focus First Strike Skill Master Enemy Skill Chakra ATB Boost
Weapon Skills
Attack Power +20			Attack Power +20
ATB Charge Rate Up			ATB Charge Rate Up

Cast Haste and Stop to Simplify the Fight

Once the fight starts, use ATB Boost so that you can cast Haste on yourself and Stop on the Joker. This allows you to get a lot of damage in before the enemy can even act.

Use Sonic Boom to Apply Attack Buffs

Sonic Boom is a good ability for this fight since it exploits the Joker's Wind weakness while also giving Cloud a Brave and Faith buff. Use this ability when you can to apply the buff and boost the damage of your other abilities, like Braver and Infinity's End.

Dodge Soul Sucker to Pressure the Joker

Make sure that you're dodging the Joker's Soul Sucker attack to avoid it from healing itself. After dodging it enough times, it will use Anima Howl and Anima Unleashed, where it automatically gets pressured. Save some of your ATB Charges so that you can stagger it with Focused Thrusts and kill it with Infinity's End immediately after.

Sand and Circuses Rewards

List of Rewards

Rewards for Completing Sand and Circuses
▸ Way of the Fist Vol. VI (10 SP for Tifa) ▸ 10 Party EXP ▸ Player EXP (based on current level)

Increase Favorability With Tifa

Completing Sand and Circuses will also increase your friendship with Tifa. This will affect the events that will occur when you visit the Gold Saucer later in the game.

Romance and Relationship Guide

Way of the Fist Vol. XIV in Hard Mode

While playing in Hard Mode, completing this side quest will reward you the Way of the Fist Vol. XIV for Tifa. You can access Hard Mode after completing your first playthrough of the game in any difficulty.

Hard Mode Difficulty Guide

Sand and Circuses Information

Information and Overview

Basic Information
Recommended Level: 42
Availability		Region		Side Quest Giver
Chapter 12		Corel		Leslie
Unlock Requirement		Complete the "Of Robed Men and Ransoms" and "Trouble in Paradise" side quests

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