Grasptropod Hard Mode Guide

Grasptropod is a boss in Chapter 6: Fool's Paradise of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth (FF7 Rebirth). Learn how to beat Grasptropod on Hard Mode and normal difficulties, its weaknesses and resistances, and a list of its moves and attack patterns in this guide!

Grasptropod Weaknesses and Stats

Stats

	Easy	Normal	Hard
HP	?	20309	78532

Weakness and Resistances

Weaknesses	Lesser Resistances	Greater Resistances
Lightning	Ice	None
Absorbed Elements	Immunities
None	Proportional Damage Berserk Slow Poison Silence Stop Stone Petrify Morphable Items

Changes When Staggered

Weakness / Effective	Resistance
None	None

Grasptropod doesn't have any changes to its weakness or resistance when staggered.

How to Pressure Grasptropod

Deal Enough Damage or Wait for Breakneck Spin to End

Deal enough damage to Grasptropod. Wait for it to finish its Breakneck Spin in Phase 2. Land Synergy skills or abilities

There are only two reliable ways to pressure the boss. During Phases 1 and 2, you'll be able to Pressure it if you deal enough damage. Spam Cloud's high-damage ATB commands or exploit Grasptropod's weakness to lightning to proc the Pressured state.

During Phase 2 exclusively, Grasptropod will start using a new move called Breakneck Spin. Once it ends, it will Overheat and become Pressured automatically. Cripple the cylinders on either side of it to significantly increase the Stagger gauge.

While the Assess text does mention that you can Pressure Grasptropod using Synergy Skills and Abilities, this will be mostly useless since your party gets abducted throughout the fight.

How to Pressure and Stagger Enemies

Grasptropod 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 build and tips for Hard Mode, jump to our Hard Mode Guide section, below!

Party Setup Determines Cloud's Relationship Levels

Before fighting the Grasptropod, you will need to decide who to help during the beach attack. Choose between Tifa and Red XIII or Aerith and Barret to lock-in the party you'll be using to fight the Grasptropod.

However, do note that your choice will affect your relationship with the characters. The group you choose will get boosts to their relationship levels, so make sure to choose between Tifa or Aerith if you're planning to romance them in Chapters 8 and 12.

Romance and Relationship Guide

Aerith Allows for Thunder Spell Casts and Ward Setup

Party Roles if You Choose Aerith
Cloud	【Main Damage Dealer】 ・Focus on survival in the early parts of the battle. ・Punish the boss after its big moves, like Breakneck Spin during Phase 2. ・Use Aerith's Arcane Ward to double-cast Lightning spells during Phase 1.
Aerith	【Ward Setup / Magic Damage】 ・Set up the Arcane Ward before getting abducted. ・Use any spare ATB charges to cast Lightning spells.

If you're a meta gamer (and if you plan to romance Aerith anyway), she and Barret will be the best choice because of Aerith's utility. Getting her to set up Arcane Ward before she gets abducted allows you to double-cast Lightning spells until Phase 2 of the boss fight.

Tifa is the Harder Choice Due to the Group's Poor ATB Generation

Party Roles if You Choose Tifa
Cloud	【Main Damage Dealer】 ・Focus on survival in the early parts of the battle. ・Punish the boss after its big moves, like Breakneck Spin during Phase 2. ・Play safe using Perfect Blocks and use Lightning spells whenever Grasptropod uses AoE attacks.

If you're planning to romance Tifa, then do know that this is the harder choice of the two since Tifa and Red XIII will have poor ATB generation between them. Couple this with the warm up time of Chi Levels and Vengeance Mode, and the fight devolves into a 1v1 pretty early on.

Focus on Spamming Offensive Abilities

Since your party members are forced to leave the team during the boss fight, it's best to spam offensive ATB commands on them to help tear down the boss's HP. Use their strongest abilities or spells before they get abducted in Phase 1.

Best Materia to Use

Materia	Effect
Lightning	・Can be used to exploit the weakness of the Grasptropod. ・Make sure Cloud and at least Aerith have one each.
Healing	・Heal a single ally in battle. ・Best equipped on Cloud since he'll be staying around for Phase 2.
HP Up	・Increase the HP of a character. ・Can be equipped to all characters. If you only have a limited amount, make sure Cloud has the highest level one.
Precision Defense Focus	・Increase the overall efficiency of Perfect Blocking. ・Best equipped on Cloud so he can Perfect Block Drill Charge easily.
Item Economizer	・Automatically use items without consuming ATB after performing several actions. ・Best equipped on Cloud since he'll be staying around for Phase 2.
Ramuh	・Can help tear down the boss's HP with its lightning attacks.

How to Beat Grasptropod

Grasptropod Boss Fight Tips
Use Lightning Attacks to Easily Pressure It Expend ATB Gauge Before Getting Caught Don't Let Cloud Die at all Costs Attack After It Uses Breakneck Spin in Phase 2 Avoid Attacks with Debuffs

Use Lightning Attacks to Pressure Grasptropod

Grasptropod is weak against Lightning. Since one of its Pressure conditions is to deal enough damage to it, equip Lightning Materia to exploit its weakness and deal enough damage to send it into a Pressured state!

Note: Lightning is best equipped on Cloud (and Aerith if you chose to help her) since he will be the only one to fight Grasptropod later on during Phase 2. You can also equip the Ramuh summon if you want more periodic lightning damage during the fight.

Expend Your ATB Gauges Before Getting Caught

Characters are guaranteed to get caught by Grasptropod during the boss fight. Make sure to use their abilities as much as you can before they leave your party since this makes the fight a bit easier for Cloud later on in Phase 2.

Don't Let Cloud Die at all Costs

Your characters will get abducted eventually during the early stages of the boss fight. Make sure that Cloud is alive before your characters get caught, or it will end up in a game over once all of them are caught.

Yuffie will show up once it is Cloud's turn to get caged to save him. This triggers Phase 2 of the boss fight and it will be a one-on-one fight from this point on.

Attack After Grasptropod Uses Breakneck Spin

Grasptropod's Breakneck Spin attack will cause it to overheat, rendering it Pressured and open to attacks for a short time. Use that time window to inflict as much damage as you can to push it into a Stagger.

Once Staggered, unload with Cloud's Punisher Mode to build ATB and spam high-damage ATB commands to whittle away at its HP. When it recovers, keep your distance and spam Lightning spells until the next Breakneck Spin attack.

Avoid Attacks with Debuffs

All Grasptropod Debuff Attacks
Silencing Solvent	Sprays liquid in a 180 degree arc in front of it that Silences on hit.
Sublimated Toxin	Spreads a cloud of toxin gas around itself, Poisoning characters on hit.
Disruptive Ammo	Phase 2 Only: Barrage of missiles that temporarily reduces your magic attack power on hit.
Disarming Ammo	Phase 2 Only: Barrage of missiles that temporarily reduces your physical attack power on hit.
Enervating Ammo	Phase 2 Only: Barrage of missiles that temporarily reduces your physical resistance on hit.

Grasptropod has various attacks that can inflict debuffs on your characters. During Phase 1, it will alternate between Sublimated Toxin and Silencing Solvent, which indicates poison and silencing effects, respectively. Dodge away when it starts casting these.

During Phase 2, it will gain access to new moves. When it uses any of its Ammo attacks, getting hit will inflict a debuff that can either lower your magic attack power, physical attack power, or physical resistance.

Grasptropod Hard Mode Guide

Grasptropod Hard Mode Tips
★ Best Hard Mode Builds for Grasptropod ★
Focus on Building Stagger During Phase 1 Buff or Heal When Grasptropod Drops to 60% HP Destroy the Left and Right Cylinders to Build Stagger Use Infinity's End and Thundagas to Defeat the Boss

Grasptropod Best Hard Mode Build

Notice from Game8	The build featured in this Hard Mode section is at Weapon Level 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.

Since this fight eventually ends up in a one-on-one fight between Cloud and the Grasptropod, the build featured here will only be for Cloud. It should work regardless of who you choose before the fight.

Cloud DPS
		Weapon		Armor
		Igneous Saber		Cetran Armlet
		Accessory		Summon Materia
		Supernatural Wristguards		Odin
Weapon Materia			Armor Materia
Magic Efficiency and Healing Elemental and Lightning Enemy Skill Chakra			HP Up MP Up Steadfast Block Precision Defense Focus First Strike ATB Stagger Luck Up
Weapon Skills
Unrelenting Punisher			Max HP +200
Stalwart Punisher			Limit Gauge Stagger

Link Elemental and Lightning to have your normal attacks exploit Grasptropod's weakness to lightning. Enemy Skill is taken for its bonus stats and access to a no-MP Brave and Faith cast via Sonic Boom.

Focus on Building Stagger During Phase 1

During Phase 1, you should focus on building up Grasptropod's Stagger gauge in order to hit its max damage cap for the phase. Alternate between Cloud and Barret, spamming Focused Thrusts, Overcharges, and Focused Shots to build stagger.

Use Aerith to Set Up an Arcane Ward Before She Gets Captured

Once you see that Aerith has an ATB charge, have her create an Arcane Ward before she gets captured. This will persist between phases, allowing you to make the most of your Thundaga casts once Cloud is the last man standing on the battlefield.

Buff or Heal When Grasptropod Drops to 60% HP

If you manage to deplete Grasptropod's HP to 60% (47,119 HP) in Phase 1, it will stop taking damage. This will be the trigger for Phase 2 so use this time to heal or buff up. Chakra, Heals, or a Sonic Boom for a free Faith and Brave buff should do the trick going into Phase 2.

Destroy the Left and Right Cylinders to Build Stagger

After Grasptropod uses its new Phase 2 move called Breakneck Spin, it will Overheat and become Pressured. Before spamming Focused Thrusts, destroy the Left and Right Cylinders on its sides to greatly increase its Stagger gauge.

Use Infinity's End and Thundagas to Defeat the Boss

Once Staggered, spam Punisher Mode strikes to build ATB and cast Infinity's End to deal damage. If Grasptropod recovers or when it starts doing AoE attacks, maintain distance and opt to cast Thundaga instead to avoid taking damage.

If you chose Aerith earlier, you should have an Arcane Ward that you can use for Phase 2. Make sure to step inside it before casting Thundaga to maximize the damage dealt per MP spent casting.

Grasptropod Rewards and Details

Rewards

Grasptropod Rewards
Easy/Normal						Hard Mode
・950 EXP ・50 Party EXP ・10 AP ・950 Gil						・6500 EXP ・30 AP ・3250 Gil ・The Way of the Fist Vol. X
Items Dropped						Rare Items Dropped
None						None
Stealable Items						Morphable Items
None						None

Basic Information and Details

Grasptropod
Location	Chapter Unlocked
Costa Del Sol	Chapter 6
Species	Movement
Mechanical	Grounded
Details
A robot manufactured by Shinra's Advanced Weaponry Division at Professor Hojo's request. It restrains targets with its tentacle-like appendages, then abducts them with drones. Inflicting enough damage or landing synergy skills and synergy abilities will pressure it. After a certain amount of time, it will use missiles and drones to capture targets. After using Breakneck Spin, it will overheat, rendering it temporarily inoperative.

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