How to Beat Scorpion Sentinel | Boss Fight Guide (Normal & Hard Mode)

This is a guide to beating the boss Scorpion Sentinel from Chapter 1 of Final Fantasy 7 Remake. This article explains Scorpion Sentinel's attack patterns, weaknesses, and tips and strategies for defeating it on both Normal and Hard mode.

Scorpion Sentinel Stats and Information

Scorpion Sentinel Basic Information

Scorpion Sentinel
Species	Movement	Type
Mechanical	Grounded	Boss

Description

A large sentry weapon manufactured by Shinra's Advanced Weapon Division. Highly mobile due to its many legs and armed with an array of heavy weapons. Deployed at Mako Reactor 1 to protect the core.

Assess (Tips)

Its stagger gauge does not fill while its force field is deployed.

Scorpion Sentinel Stats

	Easy	Normal	Hard
HP	5188	9432	56592
Attack	56		301
Magic Attack	56		301
Defense	57		326
Magic Defense	11		268

Scorpion Sentinel Weaknesses & Resistances

Weakness / Status Ailments	Lightning (When its barrier is not up)
Lesser Resistances	-
Greater Resistances	-
Immunities	Poison, Silence, Sleep, Slow, Berserk, Proportional Damage, Lightning (When its barrier is up)
Absorbed Elements	-

Stagger Rates

Melee	Ranged	Magic	Fire
×1	×1	×1	×1
Ice	Lightning	Wind	-
×1	×1	×1	-

Stagger Length

Phase 1	Phase 2	Phase 3	Phase 4
8 seconds	8 seconds	5 seconds	10 seconds

Rewards for Defeating Scorpion Sentinel

	Easy/Normal	Hard
Gil	100	2250
AP	10	30
Exp	100	4500
Items Dropped	-
Rare Items Dropped	-
Steal	-

Learnable Enemy Skills

No Enemy Skills can be learned from Scorpion Sentinel.

List of Enemy Skills

Changes form as it takes damage

Each time Scorpion Sentinel takes a set amount of damage, it will change its form and its attack pattern. Keep in mind how to handle each of its forms before wrangling with it.

Summary of each form

Remaining HP	Method of Attack
100% (Phase 1)	Locks onto its target, then exacts a concentrated attack
70% (Phase 2)	Puts up a barrier to deflect attacks
40% (Phase 3)	Begins using its Tail Laser occasionally
10% (Phase 4)	Activates an auto-repair unit to heal itself. Will use Overkill, a flurry of ranged attacks

How to Pressure Scorpion Sentinel

Phase	Situation
Phase 1 Phase 2	・For 5 seconds after it takes damage equal to 8% of its max HP ・For 1.5 seconds after a character is freed from its Death Grip
Phase 2	After the barrier is destroyed
Phase 3	For 3 seconds after using Tail Laser
Phase 4	For 5 seconds after destroying one of its legs

Breakable Parts

Name	HP	Details
FIeld Generator	No HP	・Can only be attacked from the back ・Takes .5x damage from magic
Legs	4% of Max HP	・Can only be targetted during phase 4

Scorpion Sentinel Boss Battle Guide

Scorpion Sentinel Abilities and Attack Patterns

Name	Element	Blockable?	Knockdown?	Status
Mark 98 Cannons	-	Yes	No	-
	Shoots bullets from both arms. Each arm targets a different party member.
EM-Field		Yes	Yes	-
	Releases an electric wave into the surrounding area.
Jumping Press	-	Yes	No	-
	Leaps up high and attempts to crush its target.
Electrostomp	-	Yes	Yes	-
	Presses hard with its front legs charged with electricity.
Tail Swipe		Yes	Yes	-
	Lashes out and strikes with its tail.
Death Grip	-	No	Yes	-
	Grabs its target with both arms and shocks them with electricity after 5 seconds. Dealing 1% of its total HP in damage or hitting it with the Lightning element will free the target.
Target Scanner	-	No	No	-
	Targets a party member for a strong attack.
Scorpion Strikes		Yes	Yes	-
	Hits the ground repeatedly with its tail.
Mark 99 Launchers	-	Yes	No	-
	Fires out a salvo of small missiles.
Tail Laser		No	Yes	-
	While sending electricity out of its legs, charges a laser on its tail that goes off in 8 seconds, 6 for subsequent shots. (On hard mode the first laser goes off in 6 seconds followed by a second laser.)
Stinger Salvo	-	Yes	No	-
	Fires off blasts from its tail.
Overkill	-	Yes	No	-
	Uses Mark 98 Cannons, Mark 99 Launchers, and Stinger Salvo all at once.
Auto-Repair	-	-	-	-
	Surrounds itself with a green aura and recovers 1% of its max HP every 5 seconds (3% on Hard). If it recovers 16% of its max HP, is sent into pressured state, or staggered, it will stop healing.

*Status Effects and Ailments Guide

Hard Mode Attacks

Attack	Description
Overkill	Launches a chaotic salvo of missiles toward anything in front while shooting lasers
Tail Laser ※Watch Out!	Stores up electric waves and fires a laser from its tail twice

Best Characters for This Boss

Available Characters

Cloud

Barret

Recommended Characters

While you'll want to change to Cloud for the second phase when the barrier is up, Barret is the best character to control for this battle.

Use Barret to Avoid Getting Interrupted

Many of the Sentinel Scorpion attacks are close-ranged and will interrupt Cloud's attack if he's too close.

You can also continue attacking it when it's on the wall, so Barret has the clear upperhand with his range, Thunder and Cure.

Use Cloud for Phase 2 and During Stagger

During the second phase, when the barrier is up, the Sentinel Scorpion will take reduced damage from bullets and be immune to Thunder, so you should switch to Cloud and attack from behind.

If you manage to Stagger the boss, you'll also want to switch to Cloud and go into Punisher mode to deal out some serious damage.

Tips & Strategies for Beating Scorpion Sentinel

★Strategy Checklist★
Thunder brings the pain Balancing attacking and defending is key When bound, switch characters and attack When the barrier is up, attack from behind Hide from Tail Laser behind debris When it's on its last legs, destroy it Hard to fill its Focus Gauge After it's staggered, lay on the damage

Thunder brings the pain

Scorpion Sentinel's main weakness is Thunder Magic. Barret can use Thunder, so either switch to Barret and attack, or use the ◯ button to select the Thunder command.

Balancing attacking and defending is key

Scorpion Sentinel uses a variety of ranged attacks, and Cloud in particular can have his HP run ragged in a matter of moments. Instead of simply pushing hard offensively, it's important to Guard sometimes and play defensively to limit the amount of damage your party takes.

When bound, switch characters and attack

Scorpion Sentinel is able to use Death Grip, an unguardable attack which bounds one of your characters. When one of your characters is bound, they will be unable to move and also take damage when the move is over, so switch to the other character to continue attacking and save the bound teammate.

How to Get Unbound

When the barrier is up, attack from behind

In Scorpion Sentinel's 2nd Phase, it will set up a barrier which can deflect attacks. On its tail end, the Field Generator will be visible, and is vulnerable to attacks. Use Abilities and Magic to deal damage.

Hide from Tail Laser behind debris

In its 3rd Phase, Scorpion Sentinel will repeatedly gather electricity and fire off its Tail Laser. It deals heavy damage, in Normal Mode averaging around 600. The scattered surrounding debris can protect you from the attack, so when the animation for the attack begins, be sure to start searching for a place to hide.

How to Change Difficulty

When it's on its last legs, destroy it

When Scorpion Sentinel has only a small amount of HP remaining, it will begin to heal itself while attacking in a frenzy. By destroying its left and right legs, you can cause it to falter and stop moving, so be sure to focus your most powerful Abilities on the legs.

Hard to fill its Focus Gauge

Scorpion Sentinel's Focus Gauge takes a long time to fill up. Simply attacking haphazardly will make the battle long and arduous – it's best to aim for a Stagger, which will provide an opening to pull ahead in the battle.

Chances to Stagger Scorpion Sentinel

	Explanation
1st Chance	After saving your teammate from Death Grip (~1 second window)
2nd Chance	The barrier from the 2nd Phase must have been destroyed
3rd Chance	After it uses Tail Laser in the 3rd Phase (~3 second window)
4th Chance	After destroying its legs in the 4th Phase

After it's staggered, lay on the damage

If you've pulled off the tough feat of Staggering Scorpion Sentinel, seize your chance to attack. When attacking with Cloud or Barret's Unique Ability, your ATB Gauge will be maxed out, so rain down hard on it with Abilities and Magic.

Don't forget – after you've Staggered an enemy, your Limit Gauge will fill up. When it's at max, you'll be able to do a mega-powerful Limit Break attack, so save up to unleash at the end of the fight.

Scorpion Sentinel: Hard Mode Guide

Best Characters and Equipment

Cloud	Role: Tank & Attacker Weapon: Buster Sword Armor: Supreme Bracer Accessory: Crescent Moon Charm or Survival Vest
Barret	Role: Healer & Long-Range Attacker Weapon: Gatling Gun or Big Bertha Armor: Supreme Bracer Accessory: Revival Earings or Survival Vest

As MP needs to be managed right and most of your attacks outside of Stagger will be standard attacks, it is best to rely on weapons with a balance of Physical Attack and Magic Attack. Weapons like Buster Sword and Gatling Gun are recommended. You can also use Big Bertha for more damage on Physical Attacks if you feel like you do not need the extra MP and Magic attack.

Supreme Bracers are encouraged for both Cloud and Barret, as Scoropion Sentinal's hard to avoid attacks are physical. You'll be blocking a lot of these attacks so increasing your defense is a must.

With Barret as your primary healer, Revival Earrings are a solid choice, as having Barret down can make the fight much more difficult as you can not use items to revive. Crescent Moon Charm can be good for Cloud as you will be using Barret for most of the battle. And Survival Vests are also solid choices to further up your party's Defense.

Best Materia to Use

The number of slots in your Weapon may vary depending on your Weapon Level.

Cloud

Weapon (4 Slots)
Elemental + Lightning
Steadfast Block	ATB Assist
Armor (3 Slots)
ATB Boost	Chakra
Revival
Summon
Fat Chocobo

Barret

Weapon (4 Slots)
Elemental + Lightning
Chakra	Revival
Armor (3 Slots)
Healing + Magnify
Refocus
Summon
Leviathan

Having Elemental binded with Lightning for both Cloud and Barret is the best offensive choices. This will let you deal more damage without having to use any MP. Charkra is also a must have for them both. It will let you heal without consuming any MP. Revival is also important to have. Without Phoenix Down, this is the only way to revive any fallen teamamtes.

Steadfast Block is a good materia to have on Cloud as he will be tanking and blocking most of the damage. While ATB Assist will ensure Barret can follow up after Cloud uses Focused Thrust twice to stagger the Scorpion Sentinel. And ATB Boost will ensure Cloud will have enough ATB to do so. It can also be used after Staggering to use Infinity's End.

For Barret, he will need Healing binded with Magnify to be able to maximize the MP he uses for healing. Refocus is another great materia to have. It grants good stats and with its Refocus Limit will significantly boost Barret's damage output.

Fat Chocobo is good on Cloud as it will give him stats to make him tankier and Leviathan is a good summon to use against the Scorpion Sentinel.

Hard Mode Basic Strategy

In battle, control Barret and keep attacking with your basic attacks from afar. For the first phase, keep pelting it with attacks and wait for it to use Death Grip on Cloud, then use Thunder or any high damaging ability to save Cloud and to knock it off balance. When this happens use Focused Thrust and Focused Shot to put it into Stagger.

For the second phase, switch to Cloud and try to attack it from behind to damage the shield generator. After the shield generator is down, use Focused Thrust and Focused Shot to put it into Stagger again.

For the third phase, wait for it to use its Tail Laser, but beware: It shoots it twice in Hard mode. Use Thunder or high damaging abilities to knock it off balance, then use Focused Thrust and Focused Shot to put it into Stagger once more.

You will want to save some MP for the last phase. During the last phase use all your damaging abilities and Thunder to break its legs to put it into Stagger.

Tips & Strategies

★Strategy Checklist★
Can Receive One of Barret's Manuscripts Use the Chakra Materia to Heal Beware of its Second Tail Laser!

Can Receive One of Barret's Manuscripts

If you take down the Scorption Sentinel on Hard Mode, you will receive Barret's Manuscript, Sharpshooter's Companion Vol. IV. Every Hard Mode boss fight will drop a Manuscript for a character, so those looking to max out their skill points should give Hard Mode a go!

Use the Chakra Materia to Heal

While playing on Hard Mode you are unable to use items so preserving your MP becomes vital. You want to save your MP for filling the Scorpion Sentinel's focus gauge with lightning magic, so when you are low on HP use the Chakra materia instead.

You can also equip Cloud's Mythril Saber with its 50% MP Regeneration boost to go wild with magic.

Beware of its Second Tail Laser!

Another new addition on Hard Mode is that the Scorpion Sentinel will use its Tail Laser attack a second time immediately after the first. Just like with the first attack, quickly take cover again to avoid damage.

Boss Fight Related Articles

List of Boss Battles

Major Story Bosses

All Major Story Bosses
Chapter 1	Scorpion Sentinel
Chapter 4	Roche
Chapter 5	Crab Warden
Chapter 7	Airbuster
Chapter 8	Reno Rude
Chapter 9	Hell House
Chapter 10	Abzu
Chapter 11	Ghoul Eligor
Chapter 13	Failed Experiment
Chapter 14	Abzu (2nd Fight)
Chapter 15	The Valkyrie
Chapter 16	Specimen H0512
Chapter 17	Jenova Dreamweaver Rufus The Arsenal
Chapter 18	Motor Ball Whisper Harbinger Sephiroth

VR Mission Bosses

All VR Mission Bosses
Chapter 8	Shiva
Chapter 9	Fat Chocobo
Chapter 13	Leviathan
Secret Boss	Bahamut
Superboss	Pride and Joy Prototype

Story Sub-Bosses

All Story Sub-Bosses
Chapter 2	The Huntsman
Chapter 3	The Hoodlums
Chapter 4	Enigmatic Spectre
Chapter 12	Enigmatic Spectre
Chapter 17	M.O.T.H. Unit Brain Pod Swordipede

Monster Variants & Optional Sub-Bosses

All Monster Variants & Optional Sub-Bosses
Chapter 3	Doomrat Cerulean Drake Wrath Hound
Chapter 8	Hedgehog Pie King Mark II Monodrive Venomantis Chromogger
Chapter 14	Rust Drake Tonberry Trypapolis Type-0 Behemoth
Chapter 17	Malboro

Intergrade and INTERmission Bosses

Intergrade and INTERmission Bosses
Chapter 1	Levrikon Gigantipede
Chapter 2	Scarlet & The Crimson Mare Projector Nero the Sable
Optional	Ramuh Weiss the Immaculate Pride and Joy Mk. 0.5 (Top Secrets)