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

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
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

Melee	Ranged	Magic	Fire
×1※	×1※	×1.75	×1
Ice	Lightning	Wind	-
×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
Orb of Light		Yes	No	-
	Makes orbs of light float into the air. Once in the air they will home in on the party.
Shock Wave	-	Yes	Yes	-
	Swings its right claw down, creating a trail of light that explodes soon after.
Telekinesis	-	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.
Claw Swipe	-	Yes	No	(15 sec)
	Chases a target, swinging with its claws.
Piercing 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.
Balefire	-	Yes	Yes	-
	Summons blue flames around the arena that will explode when come into contact with. Will disappear after 12 seconds.
Etheric Drain	-	Yes	No	-
	Binds a target and absorbs their MP for 5 seconds.
Etheric Burst	-	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

Tifa

Aerith

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 Weak to Healing in Ghost Form Stay Away From the Blue Fire

Watch Its Body Color

Enlarge

Enlarge

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

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	Weapon: Buster Sword Armor: Force Bracelet Accessory: Champion Belt
Aerith	Weapon: Mythril Rod Armor: Chain Bangle Accessory: Circlet
Tifa	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)
Elemental+Fire		Time
Steadfast Block	ATB Stagger	First Strike
Armor (4 Slots)
Revival	Healing	HP Up
HP Up
Summon
Leviathan

Aerith

Weapon (6 Slots)
Magnify+Healing		Magic Up
Revival	Steadfast Block	ATB Stagger
Armor (4 Slots)
MP Up	MP Up	HP Up
HP Up
Summon
Shiva

Tifa

Weapon (6 Slots)
Elemental+Fire		Barrier
Steadfast Block	ATB Stagger	ATB Assist
Armor (4 Slots)
Revival	Healing	HP Up
HP Up
Summon
Ifrit

★Strategy Checklist★
Guard or Avoid Its Flame Attack Use Curaga While it's in Ghost Form Play it Safe During Balefire

Guard or Avoid Its Flame Attack

Enlarge

→

Enlarge

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

Enlarge

→

Enlarge

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)