How to Beat Specimen H0512 | Boss Fight Guide (Normal & Hard)

This is a guide to beating the Boss Specimen H0512 in the game Final Fantasy 7 Remake (FF7R). This article explains Specimen H0512's attack patterns, weaknesses, and tips and strategies for defeating it on both Normal and Hard Mode.

Specimen H0512 Stats and Information

Basic Information

Specimen H0512
Species	Movement	Type
Artificial Life	Grounded	Boss

Description

A monster created by Shinra's R&D Division. Highly adaptable, it evolves during battle, where it exhibits extraordinary offensive and restorative capabilities.

Assess (Tips)

Tactical data not available.

Specimen H0512 Stats

	Easy	Normal	Hard
HP	23338	42432	61308
Attack	233※1		391※2
Magic Attack	184		301
Defense	183		268
Magic Defense	233		342

Specimen H0512 Weaknesses & Resistances

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

How to Stagger Specimen H0512

Stagger Rates

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

Stagger Length

Stagger Length	10 seconds

Specimen H0512 Abilities

Rake

Noxious Expulsion

Seize

Regrowth

Rewards

	Easy/Normal	Hard
Gil	1300	2250
AP	10	30
Exp	1300	4500
Items Dropped	Talisman (100%)
Rare Items Dropped	-
Steal	Timeworn Talisman (12%)

Learnable Enemy Skills

No Enemy Skills can be learned from Specimen H0512.

List of Enemy Skills

Specimen H0512 Boss Fight Guide

Specimen H0512 Abilities and Attack Patterns

Name	Element	Blockable?	Knockdown?	Status
Sweep	-	Yes	Yes	-
	Swings its larger claw left to right.
Rake	-	Yes	Yes	-
	Charges and swings out with its smaller claw. During phases 2 and 3 will charge towards further away targets.
Seize	-	No	Yes	-
	Grabs a target with its right claw and binds them for 3 seconds before hurling them into the ground and creating a shockwave. Allies can be freed by dealing damage equal to 2% of its total HP or hitting it with abilities.
Regrowth	-	-	-	-
	Regrows its left claw.
Noxious Expulsion	-	No	No	(120 sec)
	Sprays a purple mist in front of itself (spreads further on Hard mode) from its left claw that causes poison.
Mako Expulsion	-	No	No	(120 sec) (15 sec)
	Sprays Mako out of its left claw. H0512-OPT α caught in this will change into H0512-OPT β. The Mako can spread in front of Specimen H0512 or around the arena in phase 3. It will linger for 10 seconds.
Regurgitate	-	-	-	-
	Summons 5 H0512-OPT α in phase 2 and 5 H0512-OPT β in phase 3.

*Status Effects and Ailments Guide

Best Characters for This Boss

Available Characters

Cloud

Barret

Tifa

Best Characters and Equipment

Cloud should serve as the main attacker, countering attacks like Rend with Punisher Mode. Don't try to dodge away from attacks, as you won't be able to make it out of the way in time. Counter its attacks and bring the heat after you've Staggered it.

Cloud	Role: Attacker Weapon: Mythril Saber Armor: Cog Bangle Accessory: Otherworldly Crystal
Tifa	Role: Support Weapon: Purple Pain Armor: Gothic Bangle Accessory: Mythical Amulet
Barret	Role: Tank & Long-Range Attacker Weapon: EKG Cannon Armor: Sorcerer's Armlet Accessory: Healing Carcanet

Focus on attacking its left claw and continue attacking it until it is staggered then let out your most damaging attacks. Increase the stagger damage by using Cloud's Infinity's End and Tifa's True Strike.

Best Materia for Cloud

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

Weapon (5 Slots)
Poison + Warding
HP Up	HP Up
Luck Up
Armor (3 Slots)
Time + Warding
Assess
Summon
Leviathan

Best Materia for Tifa

Weapon (4 Slots)
Healing + Magnify
MP Up	Magic Up
Barrier	Revival
Armor (3 Slots)
ATB Boost	First Strike
Skill Master
Summon
Ifrit

Best Materia for Barret

Weapon (5 Slots)
Elemental + Fire
Synergy + Fire
ATB Assist	Binding
Armor (3 Slots)
HP Up	HP Up
Item Master
Summon
Fat Chocobo

Since Cloud is your main attacker for this battle, you'll need to have him deal with the status effects from Mako Expulsion and Noxious Expulsion, which is why the Warding materias are paired with Poison and Time materias. You can also cast Haste from the Time materia to himself so he can unleash punishing abilities in quick succession. Remember to focus your attacks on the claw first.

Tifa will be your support this time. Cast Barrier to Cloud as soon as possible to make him endure more attacks from Specimen H0512. The First Strike materia will help you cast it sooner. If an ally needs healing, fill half of her ATB Gauge then use ATB Boost to completely fill it, then cast Cure. If her Magic Attack is high, Cure or Cura should be enough to restore a significant amount of HP. If you use another ability other than Barrier and Cure, the boost from Skill Master will be triggered, increasing your ATB gauge.

Your long range support Barret should be able to deal more damage with the Synergy and Elemental materias while you use Cloud. You can also pair these materias with Ice if it has a higher level than your Fire materia. Cast Silence on H0512-OPTs if their magic attacks are bothering you.

If you have the chance to summon, you can pick either Ifrit and focus the summon skills on Specimen H0512 or Fat Chocobo to deal with the H0512-OPts at the same time. You cannot summon Leviathan in this fight since the battle area does not have enough space.

Specimen H0512 Attack Phases

Phase 1

	Phase Point Summary
1	Specimen H0512 will be surrounded by five H0512-OPTs. It will use all of its attacks from the start of the battle.

Phase 2

	Phase Point Summary
1	All the defeated H0512-OPTs will be regenerated. They will start to use Apoptosis, in which they will Self-Destruct and deal moderate damage to anything nearby.

Tips & Strategies for Beating Specimen H0512

★ Strategy Checklist ★ (Click to jump)
Use Punisher Mode's Auto-Counter Aim for the Claws Cast Silence on H0512-OPTs Increase Defense with Barrier Cast Haste to Remove Slow Watch out for Apoptosis

Use Punisher Mode's Auto-Counter

As Specimen H0512 mostly uses melee attacks with its Claws, most of its attacks can be countered using the Auto-Counter feature of Cloud's Punisher Mode. When it readies an attack like Rend, hold R1 to block, and Cloud will strike back with gusto.

Aim for the Claws

Specimen H0512 mostly attacks using its two massive Claws, and its Abilities like Rend and Seize are reliant on them. By crippling both of these, you can render it largely unable to attack. On the other hand, keep in mind that crippling the claws will add to the Focus Gauge, but not automatically cause Staggering.

It's not necessary to attack the Claws to finish the fight, but like many other bosses with multiple targets, doing so will make the battle go much more smoothly.

Cast Silence on H0512-OPTs

Unlike other fights with multiple opponents such as Enigmatic Spectre, there's no need to take out the smaller foes to deal damage to the main opponent. By Silencing them, you can leave them unable to use Magic attacks like Fire and Blizzard, and render them inert during the battle.

Increase Defense with Barrier

If you've Silenced the H0512-OPTs, you won't have much to deal with in the way of Magic, so you'll mostly only have to worry about physical attacks. Set up Barrier on Cloud, so that he can continue wailing on Specimen H0512 while taking reduced damage from its hits.

Cast Haste to Remove Slow

Specimen H0512's Mako Expulsion attack can inflict Slow on your party members. Be sure to get rid of Slow as soon as possible, so that you'll have enough ATB to cure the Poison effects and continue using Abilities and Magic. If you've got a Time Materia equipped, you'll be able to cast Haste on your party members to cancel out the effects of Slow.

How to Get the Time Materia

Watch out for Apoptosis

In the second phase of the battle, the H0512-OPTs will begin to self-destruct, and can seriously hurt your party if you're not ready for it. Be sure to dodge out of the way when the Apoptosis Ability name appears over their heads.

That said, you can also acquire the Self-Destruct Enemy Skill from being hit by Apoptosis, so be sure to send in your character equipped with the Enemy Skill Materia to take at least one of these blows.

Specimen H0512: Hard Mode Guide

Best Characters and Equipment

Cloud	Weapon: Hardedge Armor: Force Bracelet Accessory: Champion Belt
Tifa	Weapon: Metal Knuckles Armor: Force Bracelet Accessory: Champion Belt
Barret	Weapon: Light Machinge Gun Armor: Chain Bangle Accessory: Healing Carcanet

Best Materia to Use

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

Cloud

Weapon (6 Slots)
Time	Revival	Steadfast Block
ATB Assist	ATB Stagger	Chakra
Armor (4 Slots)
Elemental+ Fire		HP Up
HP Up
Summon
Shiva

Tifa

Weapon (6 Slots)
HP Up	HP Up	Deadly Dodge
Cleansing	Revival	Chakra
Armor (4 Slots)
Elemental+ Fire		Steadfast Block
Parry
Summon
Ifrit

Barret

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

★Strategy Checklist★
Have Cleansing Equipped For Resist and Esuna Equip Elemental Linked with Fire or Ice

Have Cleansing Equipped For Resist and Esuna

Having Cleansing equipped can be a huge help against Specimen H0512. It will constantly use its poison and slow attack. Casting Resist ASAP will make sure you will not have to worry about any of those attacks.

Equip Elemental Linked with Fire or Ice

Equipping Elemental linked with Fire or Ice can help with ignoring H0512-OPTs. At Lv.3 of Elemental, you can even purposely get hit to recover some health.

Boss Fight Related Articles

List of Boss Battles

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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)