FF7 Remake

How to Beat the Ghoul | Boss Fight Guide (Normal & Hard Mode)

Ghoul.jpg

This is a guide to beating the Boss Ghoul in the game Final Fantasy 7 Remake (FF7R). This article explains Ghoul's attack patterns, weaknesses, and tips and strategies for defeating them on both Normal and Hard Mode.

Ghoul Stats and Information

Basic Information

Ghoul
Ghoul Enemy Icon
Species Movement Type
Unreadable Grounded Boss

Description

An aggregate of ghosts. The large amounts of baleful energy that results from this aggregation allow it to use telekinesis.

Assess (Tips)

Switches between physical and ghostly forms. Neither magic attacks against the physical form nor physical attacks against the ghostly form have any effect on its stagger gauge. Use magic attacks against the ghostly form to rapidly fill its stagger gauge.

Ghoul Stats

Easy Normal Hard
HP 10276 18683 40086
Attack 136 328
Magic Attack 136 328
Defense 156 342
Magic Defense 143 312

Ghoul Weaknesses & Resistances

Weakness / Status Ailments Fire
Lesser Resistances -
Greater Resistances -
Immunities Silence, Slow, Stop, Magic, Proportional Damage
Absorbed Elements -

Stagger Rates

PhysicalIcon.pngMelee
PhysicalIcon.pngRanged
MagicIcon.pngMagic
FireIcon.pngFire
×1※ ×1※ ×1.75 ×1
IceIcon.pngIce
LightningIcon.pngLightning
WindIcon.pngWind
-
×1 ×1 ×1 -

Stagger Length

Phase 1 Phase 2
12 seconds 12 seconds

Rewards

Easy/Normal Hard
Gil 600 1800
AP 10 30
Exp 600 3600
Items Dropped Subversion Materia (100%)
Rare Items Dropped -
Steal Turbo Ether (5%)

Learnable Enemy Skills

No Enemy Skills can be learned from Ghoul.

List of Enemy Skills

How to Pressure the Ghoul

Phase Situation
Phase 1 When damage is dealt equaling 7% (10% on Hard Mode) of its max HP.
Phase 2 When damage is dealt equaling 5% (8% on Hard Mode) of its max HP.
In the time before it attacks when it is hit by magic while charging Etheric Burst.

Damage and Stagger Dealt While in Ghost Form

Spell Damage Normal
(Stagger Rate)
Pressured
(Stagger Rate)
Cure Low 4 24
Cura Medium 6 36
Curaga High 10 60
Regen Low 0 0
Raise Medium 0 0
Arise High 0 0
Potions Low to Medium 3 18
Elixir High 8 48

Note: The Ghoul has a Focus Gauge of 150.

Ghoul Boss Fight Guide

Ghoul Abilities and Attack Patterns

Name Element Blockable? Knockdown? Status
physical.pngOrb of Light
wind.png Yes No -
Makes orbs of light float into the air. Once in the air they will home in on the party.
magical.pngShock Wave
- Yes Yes -
Swings its right claw down, creating a trail of light that explodes soon after.
physical.pngTelekinesis
- Yes Yes -
Uses various types of debris and hurls them at the party telekinetically with varying strength.
(A) Lifts 1 or 3 pieces of debris and sends them at the target.
(B) Lifts everything in the room and rearranges it, smashing it down to the ground.
(C) Lifts debris one by one to throw at a target, up to 6 times.
magical.pngClaw Swipe
- Yes No
silence.png (15 sec)
Chases a target, swinging with its claws.
magical.pngPiercing Scream
- No No
Stun (3 sec)
Screams in a wide area, stunning anyone in range. Can be avoided by hiding behind debris.
Phantasmic Flurry
- No No -
Summons red lights around the room that ghost arms come out from when approached. Can grab and bind a target for up to 20 seconds.
Incorporeality
- - - -
Changes to Ghost form.
magical.pngBalefire
Phase 2.jpg
- Yes Yes -
Summons blue flames around the arena that will explode when come into contact with. Will disappear after 12 seconds.
magical.pngEtheric Drain
Phase 2.jpg
- Yes No -
Binds a target and absorbs their MP for 5 seconds.
magical.pngEtheric Burst
Phase 2.jpg
- Yes Yes -
Charges energy for 2 seconds and releases it in a wide area. Can be avoided by hiding behind debris or hitting it with magic while it charges.

*Status Effects and Ailments Guide

Hard Mode Attacks

Nothing new for abilities in this fight, however the damage dealt and frequency of the attacks is increased so be careful.

Best Characters for This Boss

Available Characters

Cloud IconCloud Tifa IconTifa Aerith IconAerith

Recommended Characters

You want to have Aerith doing the most with her strong magic abilities until the Ghoul goes into its Physical form where Cloud and Tifa will shine the most. Rotate as necessary.

Ghoul Attack Phases

Phase 1

Phase Point Summary
1 The Ghoul will begin with Telekenesis, hurling debris at a random target.
2 It will also use a blue flame attack from time to time and Piercing Scream to stun.
3 When it uses Incorporeality it will change into its Ghost form and become immune to physical attacks.
4 While in Ghost form it can use Phantasmic Flurry to silence a target. Ghost arms also appear to grab or damage your party members throughout the arena.
5 When it takes enough damage it will move into phase 2.

Phase 2

Phase Point Summary
1 The Ghoul continues to use Telekenesis, however also as a shield.
2 When it casts Balefire, blue flames will spawn around the Ghoul, making it more difficult to approach.

Tips & Strategies for Beating Ghoul

Strategy Checklist
(Click to jump)


Watch Its Body Color

The Ghoul will alternate between two forms, Physical and Ghost. While in its Physical form, it will be blue, and in Ghost form it will be red. While in Physical form it is immune to magic damage and in Ghost form immune to physical attacks. Target it with Cloud and Tifa while in Physical form until it uses Incorporeality to switch to Ghost form, then hit it with your strongest fire spells to quickly get it to switch back. If you hit it with enough magic attacks it won't be able to use its Phantasmic Flurry attack that will silence you.

Weak to Healing in Ghost Form

While the Ghoul is not typically weak to healing like Ghosts are, when it uses Incorporeality and switches to Ghost form, it will take damage from healing. Using a Phoenix Down on it in Ghost form will also immediately make it revert back to Physical form.

Stay Away From the Blue Fire

Balefire.jpg
In the second phase, the Ghoul will begin to cast Balefire from time to time. This will cause blue flames to appear on the ground around it that can deal enough damage to KO a character if they aren't at full health. Walk around these as carefully as you can when attempting to get close to the Ghoul.

Ghoul: Hard Mode Guide

Best Characters and Equipment

Cloud Icon.jpegCloud Weapon: Buster Sword
Armor: Force Bracelet
Accessory: Champion Belt
Aerith Icon.jpegAerith Weapon: Mythril Rod
Armor: Chain Bangle
Accessory: Circlet
Tifa Icon.jpegTifa Weapon: Metal Knuckles
Armor: Force Bracelet
Accessory: Champion Belt

Balanced Cloud

With the Ghouls changing forms constantly, it is a good idea to have Cloud have both Physical and Magical damage to be able to deal with both forms. Cloud's signature Buster Sword will be a good weapon for this fight.

Aerith as the Offensive Mage

Aerith can deal tons of damage with one spell if built offensively. Equip her with Mythril Rod and Circlet and you will be seeing big numbers when you deal damage with your spells!

Heavy Hitter Tifa

Aerith and Cloud can deal the magical damage, you will need Tifa for the Physical damage when the Ghoul is in its Physical form. With Metal Knuckles you can deal the most physical damage when you can.

Best Materia to Use

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

Cloud

Weapon (6 Slots)
Armor (4 Slots)
Summon

Aerith

Weapon (6 Slots)
Armor (4 Slots)
Summon

Tifa

Weapon (6 Slots)
Armor (4 Slots)
Summon
Strategy Checklist


Guard or Avoid Its Flame Attack

When the Ghoul unleashes its flame attack on hard mode it can hurt pretty bad. When you see the Ghoul raise its arms over its head, be prepared to guard or dodge away. There are also times where it will use this move directly after Telekenesis, so be prepared to heal.

Use Curaga While it's in Ghost Form

As in normal mode, while in Ghost form it is weak to healing magic or items. To take full advantage of this, have Aerith cast Curaga on the Ghoul for massive damage. Arise will deal damage as well, but Curaga hurts more and costs less MP.

Play it Safe During Balefire

When its HP gets low it will begin to use a combination of Balefire, Telekenesis, and its flame attack, giving you less freedom to maneuver the battlefield safely. Getting hit by any of these attacks will take out a large chunk HP, so try to go for the small openings after Piercing Scream or its flame attack to lay on the hurt.

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)

Comment

6 Anonymousover 3 years

Go and apply the Poison from Bio, alongside the additional Regen assistance to aid the DoT damage altogether. This will make it take a lot more damage per tick even more so when you put sleep on it.

5 Anonymousover 4 years

Yea but if you have healing 20% less, curaga is great just have Aerith and Cloud cast it as soon as it changes for easy 8-9k dmg and pressured, and if you want to cast sleep/poison that is actually a good idea poisoned will make it take 60 every second, sleep will give you time to max out your ATBs and ensure that those curaga hits dont miss. Baleful fire is the only annoyance that poison can make up for in dmg so you can stay put and wait till it changes form again.

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