Dark Claw Hard Mode Guide

Dark Claw is a boss in the Of Robed Men and Ransoms side quest of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth (FF7 Rebirth). Learn how to beat Dark Claw in Hard Mode and normal difficulties, its weaknesses and resistances, and a list of its moves and attack patterns in this guide!

Dark Claw Weaknesses and Stats

Stats

	Easy	Normal	Hard
HP	11540	16485	51217

Weakness and Resistances

Weaknesses	Lesser Resistances	Greater Resistances
None	None	None
Absorbed Elements	Immunities
None	Proportional Damage Stone

Changes When Staggered

Weakness / Effective	Resistance
None	Direct Attack Ranged Attack

How to Pressure Dark Claw

Dodge the Reaper Claws Attack

Throughout the fight, the Dark Claw will cast Reaper Claws, which are three consecutive swipe attacks that will instantly reduce your HP to 1 on hit. Avoid all three swipes or parry them to instantly put pressure on the Dark Claw.

How to Pressure and Stagger Enemies

Dark Claw Best Party and Builds

Notice from Game8	Builds and tips were made while playing on Hard mode during post-game. The recommended party setup and Materia may differ based on your current game progress.

Recommended Party Setup

Recommended Party Setup
Barret	【Main DPS】 ・High burst damage with Limit Break ・Heavily increases stagger damage. Recommended Level: 70
Cloud	【Secondary DPS】 ・Focused Thrust quickly applies pressure. ・Infinity's End deals massive damage. Recommended Level: 70
Aerith	【Stagger Support】 ・Mainly used for Ray of Judgement. ・Can heal allies when needed. Recommended Level: 70

Best Materia to Use Against Dark Claw

Materia	Effect
Revival	・Deal Fire Elemental Damage ・Best equipped on Yuffie (Doppleganger double-cast) or Aerith (high magic stat).
Healing	・Heal a single ally in battle. ・Best equipped on Aerith or Cloud.
Darkside	・Increase the potency of your abilities for a percentage of your health. ・Best equipped on Aerith or Cloud.
ATB Boost	・Allows you to play aggressive at the start of the fight. ・Can be equipped to all characters.
First Strike	・Gain a small amount of ATB (large if maxed out) at the start of battle. ・Can be equipped on Cloud or Barret to start building up the stagger meter.
Swiftcast	・Reduces the cast time of Arise using the Revival Materia. ・Best equipped on Aerith.
Prayer	・Best substitute for Healing Materia if you are running low on MP. ・Best equipped on Aerith.

How to Beat Dark Claw

Dark Claw Boss Fight Tips
Dodge Reaper Claws Use Abilities With High Stagger Burst Down the Boss with Powerful Attacks Use Aerith's Ray of Judgement

Dodge Reaper Claws

The only attack that you really need to look out for is Reaper Claws since it brings you down to 1 HP. This is a relatively telegraphed attack, so make sure that you're paying attention and dodge either behind it or far away from its attack range.

Use Abilities With High Stagger

Since the Dark Claw has no elemental weakness, Barret and Tifa are the best characters to use due to their abilities that can quickly build up the stagger meter. Using either Barret's Overcharge and Bonus Round or Tifa's Omnistrike and Overpower, you can easily stagger the boss as soon as the fight starts.

Additionally, you can also use Cloud as a secondary character to build up the stagger meter using Focused Thrust.

Bring Characters That Increase Stagger

Once you dodge Reaper Claws, Dark Claw will immediately be put under pressure. Make sure that you have characters that can quickly stagger it so that you can burst it down before it can get back up.

Burst Down the Boss with Powerful Attacks

As soon as the boss is staggered, your priority is to deal as much damage as possible. Use all of your heavy-hitting attacks like Infinity's End, Maximum Fury, or Limit Breaks to dispatch the boss with ease.

List of Limit Breaks

Use Aerith's Ray of Judgement

Aerith's only purpose is to use Ray of Judgement to further increase the damage of Barret's attacks and Cloud's Infinity's End, as well as heal the party if anyone gets too low.

If you're facing this boss at a later chapter, you could also use Cait Sith and his Moogle Knuckle to fill this role.

Dark Claw Rewards and Details

Rewards

Drops Tale of the Red Warrior Vol. X on Hard Mode

You can obtain the Tale of the Red Warrior Vol. X Manuscript for Red XIII by defeating the Dark Claw on Hard Mode.

List of All Manuscripts Guide

Basic Information and Details

Dark Claw
Location	Chapter Unlocked
Corel Region	Chapter 7
Species	Movement
Biological	Grounded
Details
A mutated deat claw, distinguished by its partially iron exoskeleton, ominous patterning, and gleaming black claws. It is extremely aggressive and constantly hungers for blood. Evading its Reaper Claw attack will pressure it.

Dark Claw Location and Side Quest

Fought During the Of Robed Men and Ransoms Side Quest

The Dark Claw is the final enemy and boss of the Of Robed Men and Ransoms side quest. Once you're done navigating the mine to confront the kidnappers, the Dark Claw will drop from the ceiling, forcing you to fight it.

Of Robed Men and Ransoms Walkthrough

FF7 Rebirth Related Guides

Boss Fight Guide and List of All Bosses

Story Bosses

Optional Bosses