How to Beat Tonberry | Boss Guide

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

Tonberry Basic Information

Stats and Weaknesses

Tonberry
Species	Movement	Type
Biological	Grounded	Normal

Description

Enigmatic creatures purchased on the black market by Don Corneo. These green, robed fiends will slowly approach with no expression on their faces, but a lantern and a chef's knife in hand.

Assess (Tips)

If they fail at performing an action, they are briefly susceptible to being staggered.

Tonberry Stats

Tonberry Weaknesses & Resistances

Stagger Rates

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

Stagger Length

Rewards

Learnable Enemy Skills

No Enemy Skills can be learned from Tonberry.

List of Enemy Skills

Tonberry Boss Battle Guide

Tonberry Abilities and Attack Patterns

Name	Element	Blockable?	Knockdown?	Status
Chef's Knife	-	Yes	No
	Runs towards a target and stabs them with its knife.
Tantrum	-	Yes	No
	Its eyes begin to glow and it stabs a target with its knife.
Scourge	-	No	Yes	-
	Releases its hatred from the lantern in its right hand, preventing its target from moving for 6 seconds.
Doom and Gloom	-	No	Yes
	Summons three spirits that go after a target.
Bone-Deep Grudge	-	No	No	(10 sec)
	Releases a light from its lantern that causes Stop on all nearby allies.

*Status Effects and Ailments Guide

Best Characters for This Boss

Available Characters

Cloud	Barret	Tifa	Aerith

Most players will encounter Tonberry in the Malicious Goons Side Quest in Chapter 14, though it is also encountered in the Monsters of Legend challenge in the Shinra Combat Simulator, as well as when fighting Hell House on Hard Mode.

In the Malicious Goons battle, Cloud, Barret and Tifa will be available to use.

Recommended Characters

Tonberry can inflict Instant Death both close up and at a distance, so it's best to hit him with melee attacks and keep him Pressured. Tifa is a great choice for this, as she can achieve a high DPS and also quickly dodge out of the way of Chef's Knife.

Tonberry Attack Phases

Phase 1

Tips & Strategies for Beating Tonberry

★ Strategy Checklist ★ (Click to jump)
Equip Warding Materia + Subversion Materia Bring Revival Earrings and Equip Revival Materia Pressure it to Limit its Movement Dodge Chef's Knife Cast Slow to Gain an Edge

Equip Warding Materia + Subversion Materia

By combining the Warding Materia with the Subversion Materia, you can give your characters immunity to Instant Death. As Tonberry will use its Abilities Chef's Knife and Doom and Gloom to knock out your characters as soon as you've revived them, it's highly suggested to equip this combination to as many characters as possible before the fight to render its attacks less effective.

If your Warding Materia is Level 1 or 2, this will only prevent Instant Death some of the time; in order to fully prevent the effects of the Tonberry's attacks, you'll need to have Warding Materia Level 3, so be sure to start leveling up your Warding Materia as soon as you get them to be ready for battles with Tonberrys.

Bring Revival Earrings and Equip Revival Materia

The Accessory Revival Earrings will automatically revive a character who has been knocked out. This will prevent the need for another character to cast Raise, which will cost valuable ATB in a battle where characters are constantly being knocked out. Even if your last character is defeated by the Tonberry, Revival Earrings will give one last chance to come back and win the battle.

As Revival Earrings will only work once per character, it's still key to have Revival Materia on each of your characters for this battle, even if you equip Revival Earrings to all of your characters. Better safe than sorry!

Pressure it to Limit its Movement

When a Tonberry is in a Pressured state, it won't be able to move or execute attacks. Although this won't last forever, continue pounding the Tonberry with melee attacks to keep it Pressured and prevent it from using its Instant Death Abilities.

Dodge Chef's Knife

The Tonberry's most frequently used attack is Chef's Knife, in which it runs at one of your characters and stabs them to inflict Instant Death. This attack can be dodged, but by the time you see the Ability name, it may already be too late. Be on your toes and ready to dodge as soon as the Tonberry turns to face your controlled character.

If you are able to dodge Chef's Knife, Tonberry will become more susceptible to Staggering, so go all in and aim for a Stagger as soon as possible.

Cast Slow to Gain an Edge

Tonberry does not have a resistance to Slow, making it possible to inflict it with Slow and limit its speed in using its signature Abilities. Consider casting Slow from the start of the fight and keeping it on Tonberry throughout to give your characters a chance to inflict Pressure without being overwhelmed by Instant Death attacks.

Boss Battle Related Articles

List of Boss Battles

Major Story Bosses

VR Mission Bosses

Story Sub-Bosses

Monster Variants & Optional Sub-Bosses

Intergrade and INTERmission Bosses