FF7 Remake

How to Beat Crab Warden | Boss Fight Guide (Normal & Hard Mode)

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FF7 - Crab Warden Battle

This is a guide to beating the Boss Crab Warden in the game Final Fantasy 7 Remake. This article explains Crab Warden's attack patterns, weaknesses, and tips and strategies for defeating it on both Normal and Hard Mode.

Crab Warden Stats and Information

Basic Information

Crab Warden
Crab Warden Enemy Icon
Species Movement Type
Mechanical Grounded Boss

Description

A large sentry weapon manufactured by Shinra's Advanced Weapon Division. It is an outdated model used during the last war, so it is kept in storage in the corkscrew tunnel. Slow but heavily armored and bristling with powerful weapons.

Assess (Tips)

Crippling its parts significantly fills its stagger gauge.

Crab Warden Stats

Easy Normal Hard
HP 14755 26828 89604
Attack 124 463
Magic Attack 124 463
Defense 114 379
Magic Defense 115 385

Crab Warden Weaknesses & Resistances

Weakness / Status Ailments Lightning
Lesser Resistances Stop
Greater Resistances -
Immunities Poison, Silence, Sleep, Slow, Berserk, Proportional Damage
Absorbed Elements -

Stagger Rates

PhysicalIcon.pngMelee
PhysicalIcon.pngRanged
MagicIcon.pngMagic
FireIcon.pngFire
×1※ ×1※ ×1※ ×1
IceIcon.pngIce
LightningIcon.pngLightning
WindIcon.pngWind
-
×1 ×1 ×1 -

Stagger Length

Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3
15 seconds 15 seconds 4 seconds

Rewards

Easy/Normal Hard
Gil 400 2250
AP 10 30
Exp 400 4500
Items Dropped Metal Knuckles (100%)
Rare Items Dropped -
Steal Molotov Cocktail (12%)

Learnable Enemy Skills

No Enemy Skills can be learned from Crab Warden.

List of Enemy Skills

Crab Warden Boss Fight Guide

Crab Warden Abilities and Attack Patterns

Name Element Blockable? Knockdown? Status
physical.pngStomp
- Yes Yes -
Raises its front legs and slams them on the ground. Will stomp with its back legs shortly after during phase 3.
magical.pngWildfire
fire.png Yes Yes -
Shoots orbs of fire leaving patches of fire that persist for 10 seconds (20 seconds on Hard) while spinning in a circle. The fire goes further during phase 3.
physical.pngRevolving Volley
- Yes No -
Rotates from left to right while firing its guns for 5 seconds. Rotation speeds up during phase 3.
physical.pngMissile Assault
- Yes No -
Fires missiles from its top gun. Missiles fired increase during phase 3.
physical.pngMissile Barrage
- Yes No -
Fires missiles in an arch. Missiles fired increases during phase 3.
physical.pngReverse Cannon
- Yes Yes -
Launches missiles from its backside, causing it to charge forward.
magical.pngFlamethrower
fire.png No No -
Sprays fire for 2 seconds in the direction it faces.
magical.pngEM Field
Phase 1.jpg Phase 2.jpg
- Yes No -
Releases an electric wave into the surrounding area.
Target Lock
Phase 1.jpg Phase 2.jpg
- No No -
Targets a party member.
Air Support
Phase 2.jpg
- - - -
Summons 3 Slug-Rays.
physical.pngCharge
- Yes Yes -
Charges at a target.
magical.pngSurge
Phase 3.jpg
- No Yes -
Channels electricity through the rails on the ground for 8 seconds, 6 seconds on consecutive uses (3 seconds on Hard), resulting in an explosion.

*Status Effects and Ailments Guide

Best Characters for This Boss

Available Characters

Cloud IconCloud Barret IconBarret Tifa IconTifa

The Crab Warden is encountered during Chapter 5. In this chapter, Cloud. Barret, and Tifa are available.

Best Equipment for Characters

Cloud Icon.jpegCloud Role: Attacker & Healer
Weapon: Iron Blade
Armor:Star Bracelet
Accessory: Power Wristguards
Barret Icon.jpegBarret Role: Support
Weapon: Gatling Gun
Armor: Star Bracelet
Accessory: Crescent Moon Charm
Tifa Icon.jpegTifa Role: Attacker
Weapon: Leather Gloves
Armor: Leather Bracer
Accessory: Power Wristguards

Best Materia for Cloud

Weapon (3 Slots)
Armor (2 Slots)
Summon

Use Triple Slash to damage multiple legs or Thunder or Thundara to deal massive damage to one leg. Summon Ifrit as soon as possible and spam Radiant Plume to cripple each of Crab Warden's parts one by one.

Best Materia for Barret

Weapon (3 Slots)
Armor (2 Slots)

Cast Barrier to your main attacker (Cloud or Tifa) and try to conserve as much MP as possible for Auto-Cure's emergency healing. Remember to use Overcharge for a huge ATB boost.

Best Materia for Tifa

Weapon (3 Slots)
Armor (2 Slots)

Use Unbridled Strength until you reach Chi level 3 (unique ability becomes Rise and Fall) for damage boost then spam Divekick. Use Rise and Fall before it expires then use Unbridled Strength again to return to Chi level 3.

Crab Warden Attack Phases

Phase 1

Objectives
1 Attacks are slow but deal a lot of damage
2 Weak to Thunder
2 Uses EM Field, an AOE attack
2 Take out Legs to Stagger it
3 When Staggered, aim for the Generator

Phase 2

Objectives
1 5 Slug-Rays will join the fight, get rid of them first
2 Crab Warden open with Missile Barrage
3 It also uses Wildfire, a flamethrower attack
4 You can summon from this phase
5 Use Thunder and go for the Legs again

Phase 3

Objectives
1 Instead of Legs, you can target Auxiliary Weapons
2 It uses Surge to electrify the metal bits and wires on the ground, damaging all characters and destroying objects to hide behind
3 Staggering it will expose the Pilot
4 Cripple the Pilot to immobilize it
5 Keep up healing and Thunder magic attacks

Tips & Strategies for Beating Crab Warden

Crab Warden is the first multi-phase Boss since Scorpion Sentinel. As they are both based on shelled insects, they seem to be part of a set. Be aware of the differences between each of its three Phases before fighting it.

Strategy Checklist
(Click to jump)



Prepare Materia Before Battle

Crab Warden is weak to Thunder, so prepare or purchase and equip Lightning Materia.

Destroy One Leg After Another

Destroy the Crab Wardens Legs

The Crab Warden can be Staggered by destroying its Legs, so aim for those and take out one at a time. If you use Cloud's Abilities or Thunder magic, it should be fairly easy.

Once you Stagger it, the Generator will appear so hit that weak spot with your most powerful attacks.

Fight Away from the Track

Crab Warden using Surge
In Phase 3, the Crab Warden uses the Surge attack to electrify the rails and wires, so make sure you and your party members are standing on the tiles.

Heavy Guns Come Out at the End

The Crab Warden
Also in Phase 3, the Crab Warden will bring out two Auxiliary weapons. The attacks from these are hard to dodge, so just keep on attacking and destroying them with Thunder.

Crab Warden: Hard Mode Guide

Best Characters and Equipment

Cloud Icon.jpegCloud Role: Mage
Weapon: Mythril Saber
Armor: Force Bracelet
Accessory: Circlet
Tifa Icon.jpegTifa Role: Attacker
Weapon: Metal Knuckles
Armor: Force Bracelet
Accessory: Champion Belt
Barret Icon.jpegBarret Role: Healer & Tank
Weapon: Gatling Gun or Big Bertha
Armor: Supreme Bracer
Accessory: Survival Vest

Cloud as the Mage

Cloud has the best Magic damage output and potential with his Mythril Saber combined with the Circlet. You will want to use him whenever you need to stagger with the help of Lightning magic.

TIfa as the Hitter

Once Airbuster is staggered switch to Tifa and let her rip. Make sure you have max Chi lv. when you stagger it. Use Rise and Fall and Omnistrike to increase the stagger bonus damage and use True Strike for maximum damage.

Barret as the Healer

With Barret's large health pool and ability to fight from afar, he has the best chances of living the longest, making him an effective healer. Switch to him whenevery you need to heal, revive or simply need to attack from afar.

Best Materia to Use

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

Cloud

Weapon (6 Slots)
Armor (3 Slots)
Summon

Tifa

Weapon (6 Slots)
Armor (4 Slots)
Summon

Barret

Weapon (6 Slots)
Armor (4 Slots)
Summon

Hard Mode Basic Strategy

Fire Linked with Elemental to Negate Fire Attacks

FIre Immune
When Crab Warden uses its Wildfire attack it will cover the battlefield in fire. This can make it hard to approach the Crab Warden and can deal a lot of damage. Having Fire linked with Elemental Lv.2 will completely negate the damage and having it at Lv.3 will even heal your party member equipped.

Switch to Tifa After Staggering

Tifa Vs Staggered
Take advantage of Tifa's damage output after staggering the Crab Warden. Make sure you have max Chi level and immediately use Rise and Fall and Omnistrike to maximize the Stagger damage.

Switch Character When Locked-On

The Crab Warden will lock-on to the character you are controlling at the moment, you will know when this is happening with a red circle over your character. It is better to switch to a different character as whoever is locked-on will be blocking most of the time to tank the attacks. While they tank the attacks you can use your other party members to continue the assautl!

Tips & Strategies

How to Beat Crab Warden on Hard Mode



Obtain Barret's Manuscript as a Reward

Sharpshooter
Beating the Crab Warden on Hard Mode will reward you with Barret's Manuscript: Sharpshooter's Companion Vol. V. Make sure to fight and beat this boss if you want to collect all the manuscript for each character!

Equip Healing and Revival Materia

CrabWardenHard1.jpeg

On Hard Mode, the battle with Crab Warden is not significantly different from on Normal Mode. Its attack power is significantly higher, and it will use more bullets, making it impossible to fight back under heavy fire. Equip the Healing Materia and Revival Materia to at least two of your party members to make sure you can continue the fight and attack when you have an opening.

Basic flow is the same as Normal Mode

CrabWardenHard2.jpeg

Stick to the same major strategies you employed when fighting Crab Warden on Normal Mode, destroying its legs to Stagger it. Its defensive stats are higher this time around, so you'll need to focus more directly on the legs to yield a Stagger.

Handle the weaker enemies with Magnify + Lightning

CrabWardenHard3.jpeg

Crab Warden will summon Slug-Rays to serve as a nuisance during the battle. Take these out in one swoop by using the Magnify Materia together with the Lightning Materia to hit all of them in a single attack. Even with a Magic Attack of 285, Thunder wasn't enough to take these out, so use Thundara to make sure you can finish them off in one hit.

How to Get the Magnify Materia

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)

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