Roche (Chapter 11) Hard Mode Guide

Roche (Chapter 11) is the boss of Chapter 11: The Long Shadow of Shinra in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth (FF7 Rebirth). Read on to learn how to beat Roche (Chapter 11) on Hard Mode and normal difficulties, his weaknesses and resistances, a list of his moves and attack patterns, as well as tips and rewards for beating him.

Roche (Chapter 11) Weaknesses and Stats

Stats

	Easy	Normal	Hard
HP	17257	24654	?

Weakness and Resistances

Weaknesses	Lesser Resistances	Greater Resistances
-	Stop	-
Absorbed Elements	Immunities
-	Proportional Damage Slow Poison Silence Sleep Stone Morphable Items

Changes When Staggered

Weakness / Effective	Resistance
-	-

How to Pressure Roche (Chapter 11)

How to Pressure

Attack Roche after he uses Special Attacks

Inflicting damage after he performs special attacks will pressure him.
How to Pressure and Stagger Enemies

Roche (Chapter 11) 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!

Cloud Solo Boss Fight

Recommended Party Setup
Cloud	・Use strong abilities like Focused Thrust, Firebolt Blade, or Braver when Roche is pressured or staggered ・Igneous Saber is the best obtainable weapon for Cloud in this chapter Recommended Level: 42

Best Materia to Use

Materia	How to Use
Healing	・Gives the ability to cast healing spells
HP Up	・Equip to increase HP
Item Economizer	・Automatically use items after doing several actions
Time	・Apply Haste to match Roche's speed and accumulate ATB charges quickly
Item Master	・Increase the effect of items like Potions
Chakra	・Can be used to recover HP if you're out of potions or MP for healing

How to Beat Roche (Chapter 11 | Normal)

Roche (Chapter 11) Boss Fight Tips
Use Long-Range Attacks and Continuous Dodging Hit Roche After He Uses Special Moves to Pressure Interrupt Basic Combo by Parrying or Countering Use Strong Abilities or Limit Break While Staggered Equip Revival Earrings to Revive Once

Use Long-Range Attacks and Continuous Dodging

Ranged Sword Attacks	, x3

Roche can guard and dodge melee attacks during the boss fight. It's best to fight him at long range while continuously dodging to avoid getting countered after he dodges or blocks your attacks!

Only attack him at close range if he uses a special move (a named move), as he will be open and take time to recover!

Lock On Roche to Avoid Losing Him

Press the R Stick to lock on Roche and avoid losing him during the fight. With Roche's speed and your continuous dodging, he might go off the screen, and you might not be able to see him attack.

Hit Roche After He Uses Special Moves to Pressure

You can apply pressure after dealing enough damage to Roche. The best time to damage him is after he unleashes his special named moves. Use this chance to activate a strong ability, like Focused Thrust, to deal more damage and get him closer to being staggered!

How to Pressure and Stagger Enemies

Interrupt Basic Combo by Parrying or Countering

You can interrupt Roche's basic combo by parrying or countering it. Press the block button or Punisher Mode button before the attack hits to parry or counter successfully.

Note that Roche's named moves are unblockable, and you should dodge them instead of parrying!
How to Counter and Parry Attacks

Use Strong Abilities or Limit Break While Staggered

Don't miss the chance to use powerful abilities or Limit Break when Roche is staggered to maximize the damage dealt to him. Some abilities you can use are Focused Thrust, Braver, or Firebolt Blade.

If the Limit Break is available, Cloud's Cross-Slash is quicker than Ascension, so it's better to use it instead!

Equip Revival Earrings to Revive Once

You can equip Revival Earrings on Cloud to revive him once during the battle. It is to ensure that Cloud won't die during the boss fight, or it will end up in a game over! Note that this accessory will be destroyed after Cloud is revived.

It is optional, and you can replace it with a Supernatural Wristguards for damage or a Survival Vest for defense instead. You can get Revival Earrings for 500 Gil at any Vending Machines.

Revival Earrings Effects and How to Get

Roche (Chapter 11) Hard Mode Guide

Roche (Chapter 11) Hard Mode Tips
★ Best Hard Mode Builds for Roche (Chapter 11) ★
Use Plasma Discharge at the Start Block or Parry Basic Combos to Build ATB and Disrupt Dodge Special Attacks and Counter to Pressure Use Focused Thrust to Stagger Use Braver or Cross-Slash while Staggered

Roche (Chapter 11) Hard Mode Build

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.

Cloud
		Weapon		Armor
		Igneous Saber		Valkyrian Bangle
		Accessory		Summon Materia
		Enhanced Karmic Cowl		Gilgamesh
Weapon Materia			Armor Materia
HP Up Skill Master Strength Up Vitality Up Steadfast Block Precision Defense Focus			HP Absorption and Enemy Skill First Strike Speed Up ATB Boost Chakra
Weapon Skills
Stalwart Punisher			Unrelenting Punisher
Enhanced Magic Guard			Altruistic Buff Up

Additional Build Note:

• You can use the Genji Gloves on Cloud to surpass the 9,999 damage cap when using Cross-Slash when Roche is staggered.

Use Plasma Discharge at the Start

Stand close to Roche and use Plasma Discharge to prevent him from using an opening attack against you.

The Plasma Discharge is also a setup to further disrupt Roche's basic combos throughout the fight, allowing you to attack him relentlessly when he's not using a special move.

Block or Parry Basic Combos to Build ATB and Disrupt

You can block or parry Roche's basic combos to minimize or prevent the damage you receive from Roche's basic combos.

With plasma discharge active, Roche would not be able to finish his combos as he will be disrupted by your Plasma Discharge once you fill an ATB gauge.

Dodge Special Attacks and Counter to Pressure

Dodge Roche's special attacks to avoid damage and counterattack to pressure him. Most of Roche's special attacks are directed forward, so continuously dodging sideways and away should be safe for you.

Cloud has a slow recovery time from these attacks and opens him for more damage when hit, so be sure to watch out for the prompts above Roche's head before committing to your attacks.

Use Focused Thrust to Stagger

Once Roche is pressured, two Focused Thrusts should stagger Roche, opening him up for a barrage of attacks.

We recommend switching to Prime Mode (Punisher Mode) once Roche is staggered for increased damage of normal attacks.

Use Braver or Cross-Slash while Staggered

After staggering Roche, spam Braver or use Cross-Slash when Limit Break is available. Keep in mind that Cross-Slash can reach the 9,999 damage cap, so you can use the Genji Gloves as an alternate accessory to ramp up the damage further.

Roche (Chapter 11) Rewards and Details

Rewards

Roche (Chapter 11) Rewards
Easy/Normal						Hard Mode
・1850 EXP ・50 Party EXP ・10 AP ・1573 Gil						・6500 EXP ・30 AP ・2763 Gil
Items Dropped						Rare Items Dropped
None						None
Stealable Items						Morphable Items
None						None

Basic Information and Details

Roche (Chapter 11)
Location	Chapter Unlocked
Nibelheim	Chapter 11
Species	Movement
Human	Grounded
Details
The self-proclaimed speed demon, after having undergone Hojo's experimental cellular modification surgery. While his capabilities have been greatly enhanced, his degradation has also been accelerated. He bears a SC4 tattoo on his shoulder as proof of his test subject status. Inflicting damage after he performs special attacks will pressure him.

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