FF7 Remake

How to Beat Rufus | Boss Fight Guide (Normal & Hard)

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Rufus.png

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

Rufus Stats and Information

Basic Information

Rufus
Rufus Enemy Icon
Species Movement Type
Human Grounded Boss

Description

Shinra's vice president and the son of the president. He carries a custom-made shotgun and is protected by Darkstar, a military canine.

Assess (Tips)

Standard physical and magic attacks have no effect on his stagger gauge. However, hitting him with a certain attack when his guard is down will instantly stagger him.

Rufus Stats

Easy Normal Hard
HP 8078 14688 21222
Attack 139 220
Magic Attack 139 220
Defense 213 312
Magic Defense 213 312

Rufus Weaknesses & Resistances

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

Stagger Rates

PhysicalIcon.pngMelee
PhysicalIcon.pngRanged
MagicIcon.pngMagic
FireIcon.pngFire
×No effect ×No effect ×No effect ×No effect
IceIcon.pngIce
LightningIcon.pngLightning
WindIcon.pngWind
-
×No effect ×No effect ×No effect -

Stagger Length

Stagger Length 6 seconds

Rewards

Easy/Normal Hard
Gil 1300 2250
AP 10 30
Exp 1300 4500
Items Dropped -
Rare Items Dropped -
Steal -

Learnable Enemy Skills

No Enemy Skills can be learned from Rufus.

List of Enemy Skills

Check the guide below for information on Darkstar, Rufus's ally in combat.
Darkstar Weaknesses and Obtainable Items

Rufus Boss Fight Guide

Rufus Abilities and Attack Patterns

Name Element Blockable? Knockdown? Status
physical.pngShotgun
- Yes No -
Fires off a volley of bullets (normal is 6 shots while counterattacks are 5). When firing off 6 shots, one bullet will knock the target back.
Reload
- - - -
Loads 4 bullets into his guns (6 during Combat Load or Hard mode).
physical.pngFollow-Up
Phase 1.jpg Phase 2.jpg
- Yes No -
Moves to Darkstar's position and fires his gun.
physical.pngAssist
Phase 1.jpg Phase 2.jpg
- Yes No -
Jumps in front of his target and fires his guns.
magical.pngThunderclap
Phase 1.jpg Phase 2.jpg
lightning.png Yes Yes -
When Darkstar casts Thunder, Rufus will use it to charge a lightning shot at his target.
Heel
Phase 1.jpg Phase 2.jpg
- - - -
Reconnects with Darkstar.
physical.pngGuns Akimbo
Phase 2.jpg Phase 3.jpg
- Yes No -
Splits his gun in two and fires. Will fire 10 shots (13 on Hard mode) and then have to reload.
magical.pngUp in Smoke
Phase 2.jpg Phase 3.jpg
- No No -
Tosses a coin in the air and shoots it, causing a cloud of smoke to appear. Target will also flinch.
magical.pngBright Lights
Phase 2.jpg Phase 3.jpg
- No Yes -
Throws 2 coins and shoots them, causing red lasers to fire at a target. Will also use as a counterattack.
magical.pngTread Softly
Phase 2.jpg Phase 3.jpg
- No No
Stun (5 sec)
Throws 3 coins to the ground that emit electricity for 8 seconds.
magical.pngThink Fast
Phase 2.jpg Phase 3.jpg
- No Yes -
Tosses 5 coins into the air and shoots them, causing them to explode.
Combat Load
Phase 3.jpg
- - - -
Ups the amount of bullets reloaded to 6 (does not use on Hard mode).

*Status Effects and Ailments Guide

Darkstar Abilities and Attack Patterns

Name Element Blockable? Knockdown? Status
physical.pngBite
- Yes No -
Bites its target.
physical.pngSpear Whip
- Yes No -
Swings the tentacle on its head at its target.
physical.pngFollow-Up
- Yes Yes -
Bites a target after Rufus performs an action.
physical.pngWhirlwhip
- Yes Yes -
Jumps into the air and slams its tentacle down onto its target.
physical.pngSubdue
- - No -
Emits a red aura and jumps at its target, binding them and tossing them into the air for a follow-up from Rufus.
physical.pngCorkscrew
- Yes Yes -
Emits a red aura and charges while spinning at its target.
magical.pngThunder
lightning.png Yes No -
Casts Thunder on Rufus.
magical.pngCuraga
- - - -
Casts Curaga on Rufus.

*Status Effects and Ailments Guide

Best Characters for This Boss

Available Characters

Cloud IconCloud

Recommended Characters

This battle is fought with Cloud alone. Similar to previous fights like Roche, Reno and Rude, you'll need to use your swordsman prowess to get the best of Rufus.

Be sure to equip Twin Stinger for the Counterstance ability or master it if you prefer other weapons. This ability will give you a huge advantage especially during phases where Darkstar is present since Darkstar uses only close-ranged attacks and Counterstance deals massive damage if it successfully counters an attack.

Rufus Attack Phases

Phase 1

Phase Point Summary
1 Rufus will appear with his hound, Darkstar. Rufus will attack with his gun, while Darkstar will use melee attacks.

Phase 2

Phase Point Summary
1 Rufus will start using Abilities involving coins.

Phase 3

Phase Point Summary
1 This Phase will begin after Darkstar is defeated. Rufus will use Combat Load to start launching himself around at high speeds. He won't use his Abilities from Phase 2 here, or those involving Darkstar.

Tips & Strategies for Beating Rufus

Strategy Checklist
(Click to jump)




Watch the Ability Names

Counterstance.png

Unlike other Bosses which use a variety of unnamed attacks that are difficult to predict and handle, Rufus and Darkstar give you an advantage of preceding almost all of their attacks with an Ability name. So long as you're aware of what each of these Abilities' effects are, you can get ready in advance and handle the attacks as they come.

In general, a rule of thumb is to use a counter, such as Punisher Mode's auto-counter or Twin Stinger's Counterstance against Darkstar's attacks, and use Operator Mode to guard against Rufus's gun attacks.

Depending on the move, some, such as lasers like Bright Lights, can be dodged, but usually he will aim wherever Cloud has moved to, so simply guarding is the best best.

Avoid Magic Attacks on Rufus

FiraLowDamage.png

Here, Fira deals only 393 damage to Rufus, and 635 damage to Darkstar.

Rufus has a Lesser Resistance to Magic Attacks, meaning that you won't get much bang for your MP when you hit him with your expensive Spells. On the other hand, Darkstar will take standard damage from Magic attacks, so you could focus your Spells on Darkstar instead, or opt to spend your MP on Haste, allowing you to use Counterstance with greater frequency.

Use Counterstance against Darkstar

Counterstance2.png

As all of Darkstar's attacks are melee attacks, which largely give you the benefit of showing the Ability name beforehand, the Counterstance Ability of Twin Stinger will come greatly in handy. Simply wait until an Ability name appears above Darkstar's head and use Counterstance to hit back for heavy damage.

If you don't have Twin Stinger on hand, Punisher Mode's auto-counter will do as well. Hold R1 to guard, and Cloud will unleash an auto-counter when Darkstar attacks.

Also keep note of when Rufus uses the Heel command – this will let Darkstar know not to attack, so go ahead and attack yourself instead of going for a counter when this occurs.

Break Darkstar's Link With Triple Slash

triple slash.jpeg

Darkstar is also linked to Rufus throughout the fight, allowing them to use combination attacks. Targeting Darkstar with Cloud's Triple Slash will quickly break the link, preventing them from comboing you. Darkstar should be your first target to push Rufus into the easier phase 3.

In Phase 3, Wait for Rufus to Reload

Reload.png

Phase 2 is the most dangerous part of this battle, as Rufus and Darkstar will use a variety of combo techniques which can deal lots of damage. On the other hand, after Darkstar is defeated, Phase 3 is much easier to handle. The pool of moves Rufus can use is greatly reduced, and he will Reload frequently. Instead of slashing at him haphazardly, guard and wait for him to Reload, using abilties like Braver or a Limit Break to stagger him during the opening and take him down.

Rufus: Hard Mode Guide

Equip the Chakra Materia

Chakra.jpg

You will fight Rufus almost immediately after defeating Jenova Dreamweaver. As in that fight, you want to heal yourself without using MP as much as possible, so keeping Chakra equipped is the best for this.

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)

Author

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