Crimson Mare Mk. II Hard Mode Guide

Crimson Mare Mk. II is a boss in Chapter 9: The Planet Stirs of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth (FF7 Rebirth). Learn how to beat Crimson Mare Mk. II on Hard Mode and normal difficulties, its weaknesses and resistances, and a list of its moves and attack patterns in this guide!

Crimson Mare Mk. II Weaknesses and Stats

Stats

	Easy	Normal	Hard
HP	?	50768	?

Weakness and Resistances

Weaknesses	Lesser Resistances	Greater Resistances
Lightning	-	Stop
Absorbed Elements	Immunities
-	Proportional Damage Berserk Deprotect Deshell Debrave Defaith Silence Stop Stone

Changes When Staggered

Weakness / Effective	Resistance
-	-

Crimson Mare Mk. II doesn't have any changes to its weakness or resistance when staggered.

How to Pressure Crimson Mare Mk. II

How to Pressure

Destroy both arms and knock out Scarlet

The only way to apply pressure on Crimson Mare Mk. II is to destroy its arms and hit Scarlet after she's exposed. However, its arms have a lot of HP, and it might take some time before you can take them out.

How to Pressure and Stagger Enemies

Crimson Mare Mk. II Best Party and Builds

Notice from Game8	This section is for players who are playing on Easy and Normal difficulties. To check out the best builds and tips for Hard Mode, jump to our Hard Mode Guide section, below!

Fixed Party Setup

Recommended Party Setup
Tifa	【Punisher】 ・Focus on attacking the boss if pressured or staggered.
Yuffie	【Ranged Attacker / Healer】 ・Deal ranged damage against this flying boss ・Has the ability to infuse Lightning to its ranged attacks ・Can charge ATB quickly, allowing her to provide healing to allies if needed
Aerith	【Spellcaster / Healer】 ・Cast powerful Lightning spells to damage the boss ・Use Limit Break or Healing Spells to heal all allies

Play Between Tifa or Yuffie Only

Tifa and Yuffie should be able to hold their ground against Crimson Mare Mk. II because of their speed, so it is best to play between them. Only include Aerith if both Tifa and Yuffie are in critical health, as Aerith is slow and might not survive one or two hits if the aggro is on her.

Crimson Mare Mk. II Best Materia to Use

Recommended Materia

Materia	Effect
Lightning	・Ability to cast Lightning spell, which is the only weakness of Crimson Mare Mk. II. ・Can be equipped to all characters.
Ramuh	・Can help inflict Lightning damage once summoned.
Healing	・Heal a single ally in battle. ・Can be equipped to all characters
Prayer	・Heal all allies in battle. ・Best equipped on Yuffie
HP Up	・Increase the HP of a character. ・Can be equipped to all characters.
Steadfast Block	・Gain ATB when blocking attacks. ・Can be equipped to all characters.
Precision Defense Focus	・Improves the functionality of blocking. ・Works better together with Steadfast Block Materia. ・Can be equipped to all characters.
Chakra	・Heals a small amount of HP and cures poison. ・Best equipped on Yuffie and Tifa.

How to Beat Crimson Mare Mk. II

Crimson Mare Mk. II Boss Fight Tips
Use Lightning to Exploit Weakness Equip Materia that can Help Blocking Attacks Destroy Both Arms to Knock Out Scarlet Uses Different Arms in Each Phase Avoid its Rotating Rail Laser and Impact Eruption Guard Against its Rocket Arms

Use Lightning to Deal More Damage

Crimson Mare Mk. II is weak against Lightning, meaning it will receive more damage when hit by Lightning spells or abilities, like Yuffie's Lightning Ninjutsu. You can place Aerith's Arcane Ward before using Lightning Spells to double the damage.

You can also equip the Ramuh Materia to summon Ramuh and inflict consistent Lightning damage after staggering the boss for the first time.

Equip Materia that can Help Blocking Attacks

You can equip Precision Defense Focus Materia to help you block attacks. Additionally, you can pair it up with Steadfast Block Materia to gain small ATB chargers when blocking!

You should be able to get them in any Vending Machine at this point in the story!

Guard Against X-ecution Attack

X-ecution is a quick, cross-slashing move of Crimson Mare Mk. II during the first phase. Once you see the prompt, quickly put your guard up to defend against it. You can try to perfect block that attack once you get the timing!

Destroy Both Arms to Expose Scarlet

Destroying both weapon arms will expose Scarlet, giving you a chance to knock her out and pressure Crimson Mare Mk. II. Aside from pressuring Crimson Mare Mk. II, it will also weaken and reduce its number of moves in battle. Note that it will get a new pair of arms at the start of second phase and last phase.

You can use Limit Break like Tifa's Somersault or Yuffie's Bloodbath to destroy them quickly since each arm is tough and won't easily go down. You can also use Synergy Abilities like Tifa and Yuffie's Cyclonic Kick or Aerith and Tifa's Divine Punishment.

Focus on Crimson Mare Mk. II in the Last Phase

You will most likely defeat Crimson Mare Mk. II before you can destroy the arms in the last phase. It's better to funnel your attacks directly on it to defeat it faster!

Uses Different Arms in Each Phase

Phase / Weapon	Effect
1st Phase: Saber Hands	Can perform variety of quick and deadly sword attacks.
2nd Phase: Mako Cannons	Can unleash wide and long-range laser beam attacks.
3rd Phase: Gauntlets	Can do various melee combos and ranged attacks.

Crimson Mare Mk. II has three sets of arms it will use during the boss fight, with each one having different attack sets.

First Phase: Saber Hands

The first and default one is the Saber Hands, which allows it to perform a variety of melee attacks. Although limited to melee attacks, it is swift and can hit you easily if you're not paying enough attention!

Second Phase: Mako Cannons

The second set of arms is the Mako Cannons, which only use ranged attacks to hit your party. Crimson Mare Mk. II will use these arms at the start of its second phase after losing around 30% HP.

Third Phase: Gauntlets

The last arms it will use are the Gauntlets, which allow it to switch between melee and ranged attacks. These arms will replace the Mako Cannons at the start of the last phase after losing around 60% HP.

Avoid its Rotating Rail Laser and Impact Eruption

Rotating Rail Laser and Impact Eruption are Crimson Mare Mk. II's AoE moves during the second phase and last phase, respectively. They cover a lot of ground and inflict almost the same damage as X-ecution.

Move away quickly once you see the attack prompt to avoid getting hit. If you think you can't make it in time, you can still block it to reduce the damage!

Guard Against its Rocket Arms

Crimson Mare Mk. II will release both its arms and make them into Rocket Arms in the last phase. The arms move fast, making it hard to attack and dodge them. Focus on blocking them instead of attacking and dodging until they return to the main body.

Crimson Mare Mk. II Hard Mode Guide

Crimson Mare Mk. II Hard Mode Tips
★ Best Hard Mode Builds for Crimson Mare Mk. II ★
Combine Arcane Ward and Doppelganger Destroying Both Arms Applies Pressure Keep Your Distance With Ninjutsu

Crimson Mare Mk. II Hard Mode Builds

Notice from Game8	The builds featured in this Hard Mode section are at Weapon Levels 7~8. If you find that you don't have enough Materia slots to complete the setup, consider getting all the possible Manuscripts on Normal, first.

Combine Arcane Ward and Doppelganger

With Aerith, you can cast Arcane Ward on the ground and have Yuffie stand on the flower. Then, you can use Yuffie and her Doppelganger to cast Thundaga using 3★ Lightning Materia to instantly burst down any part of the Crimson Mare Mk. II. This combo will allow Yuffie to perform four Thundaga spells consecutively, dealing massive damage to the boss.

Destroying Both Arms Applies Pressure

If you manage to destroy both arms of the Crimson Mare Mk. II, it will automatically become pressured, allowing you to stagger the boss and unleash all of your powerful abilities to deal a huge chunk of damage to its health.

Keep Your Distance With Ninjutsu

While playing as Yuffie, you can attack the Crimson Mare Mk. II from a distance with your Ninjutsu attacks infused with Lightning. This tactic keeps you out of range of the Crimson Mare Mk. II's melee attacks and gives you more time to react and dodge its Spinning Thrust.

Change Affinity Using Lightning Ninjutsu

You can use Yuffie and switch your affinity to Lightning using the Elemental Ninjutsu to consistently deal Lightning damage, which allows you to exploit the boss's weakness and quickly build up the stagger meter.

Crimson Mare Mk. II Rewards and Details

Rewards

Crimson Mare Mk. II Rewards
Easy/Normal						Hard Mode
・2250 EXP ・50 Party EXP ・10 AP ・1500 Gil						・6500 EXP ・30 AP ・3250 Gil ・Secrets of the Ninja Vol. X
Items Dropped						Rare Items Dropped
None						None
Stealable Items						Morphable Items
None						None

Drops Secrets of the Ninja Vol. X on Hard Mode

You can obtain the Secrets of the Ninja Vol. X Manuscript for Yuffie by defeating the Crimson Mare Mk. II on Hard Mode.

List of All Manuscripts Guide

Basic Information and Details

Crimson Mare Mk. II
Location	Chapter Unlocked
Gongaga Reactor	Chapter 9
Species	Movement
Mechanical	Flying
Details
A modified version of the blooded battle armor designed for Scarlet's personal use. It is equipped with state-of-the-art weaponry, allowing for even more savagery without sacrificing style. Destroying the weapons on both of its arms will allow you to target Scarlet. Knocking her out will pressure the battle armor.

FF7 Rebirth Related Guides

Boss Fight Guide and List of All Bosses

Story Bosses

All Major Story Bosses
Chapter 1	Materia Guardian
Chapter 2	Midgardsormr
Chapter 3	Rude and Elena Mythril Golem
Chapter 4	Terror of the Deep Roche
Chapter 5	Jenova Emergent
Chapter 6	Grasptropod
Chapter 7	Custom Valkyrie Gigatrice
Chapter 8	Dyne Anuran Suppressor
Chapter 9	Specimen H1024 Crimson Mare Mk. II
Chapter 10	Gi Nattak
Chapter 11	Diabolic Variant Yin and Yang Forgotten Specimen Galian Beast Roche
Chapter 12	Abzu Rude and Elena Rufus
Chapter 13	Red Dragon Ironclad Reno and Rude Tseng and Elena Moss-Grown Adamantoise Demon Gate
Chapter 14	Jenova Lifeclinger Sephiroth Reborn

Optional Bosses

Grasslands
Summon	Titan
Classified Intel	Quetzalcoatl
Side Quests	White Terror
Junon
Summon	Phoenix
Classified Intel	Mindflayer
Side Quests	White Mousse Hell Rider II Sandstorm Drake
Corel
Summon	Alexander
Classified Intel	Tonberry King
Side Quests	Dark Claw Joker
Minigame	Test 0
Gongaga
Summon	Kujata
Classified Intel	Great Malboro
Side Quests	Levridon Mastodon Gorgon Mane Gigantoad
Cosmo Canyon
Summon	Bahamut Arisen
Classified Intel	Jabberwock
Side Quests	Irasceros Gigaworm
Nibel
Summon	Odin
Classified Intel	King Zu
Side Quests	Queen Bee Dranabarga
Meridian Ocean
Gilgamesh's Island	Gilgamesh Titan and Bahamut Arisen Phoenix and Kujata Alexander and Odin
Pirate King's Treasure	Ogre Raider Brineborn Demon Hueyacoatl Sea Dragon