Weiss (VII Remake boss)

Weiss is a superboss in Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, available in the Chapter 17 Shinra Combat Simulator in hard mode after completing Episode INTERmission, in a match called "Three-Person Team vs The Immaculate One". Weiss originally appeared in Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII-, where he led Deepground, a secret elite soldier program that Shinra Electric Power Company wanted to hide from the public, in contrast to the public-support-garnering SOLDIER.
Director and character designer Tetsuya Nomura chose him for a secret boss role because Weiss is a powerful enemy outside of Sephiroth.
He is difficult to damage without staggering, which is itself difficult due to his ability to reduce his own stagger gauge, and most of his attacks are unblockable. The effects of Götterdämmerung are halved during the fight, but defeating him earns two more of these coveted accessories.
==Stats==
Being a new addition, Weiss does not appear in the official strategy guide and thus his specific stats beyond what is shown during Assess are unknown.
==Battle==
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Weiss is extremely aggressive, ruthlessly charging at the player and dealing high damage through destructive and fast attacks. Alongside his two gunblades, Weiss can use Phase Shift to mimic the weapons and abilities of Rosso and Azul from Dirge of Cerberus. Phase Shift is used either past a certain amount of time or following a stagger.
On his regular form, Weiss will perform powerful sword combos and shoot with his gunblades, as well having a nimble movement speed which allows to easily close the gap between him and the player. He can use Evisceration to dash and close in on a target and slash around them; Stab to dash and thrust the player; Crosswire Cleave, a rotating slash as he dashes; and Obliteration to continuously slash the target culminating with a downwards jump slash. Obliteration is used as a follow-up attack after a successful hit with either Evisceration or Crosswire Cleave. Any direct melee attack from the player-controlled character on Weiss will be parried and countered.
When imitating Azul he forsakes speed for power, using highly damaging and long range attacks through bullet barrages. In this form, physical attacks have no effect unless Weiss is staggered. Weiss can use Mutilation to grow pincers at the top of his cannon with which to trap a target before blasting them at point blank. Ballistic Blackhole creates a spherical void that moves slowly on the stage dealing continuous damage on proximity (reminiscent of Tifa's Chi Trap, though hers is stationary). Debilitation has him discharge volleys of explosive bullets in a wide area that cause and either if the attack connects directly or a character runs over the resulting residue. Azure Assault is a more aggressive version of Mutilation, in which Weiss actively pursues his target before catapulting them upwards with a cannon swing, followed with slamming his cannon to the ground for shockwaves that deal lesser damage. Even if the player avoids being launched by Azure Assault, Weiss will still send out the shockwave. He can also use Behemoth Beam to shoot a laser beam into the ground before expanding its radius, covering a wide area.
When imitating Rosso, Weiss employs faster and more ruthless attacks, and performs lightning-fast leaps along Rosso's signature shockwaves. In this form, magic attacks will have no effect unless he is staggered. Weiss uses Extermination to transform into red lightning while slashing as he dashes ahead. Crimson Whorl is a rotating slash before a jump as Weiss unleashes a stream of ground shockwaves that circulate around him in an ever growing area. Decimation has Weiss summon multiple rotating red blades around him before jumping and slamming his target with his blade in a downward slash. Decimation is not named until he performs this final slash attack. Subjugation has Weiss close in a target while rotating his blade on them for a continuous stream of slashes, culminating with a slash sending them flying.
If not defeated quick enough, Weiss will Phase Shift into his original blades and end the battle with Immaculate End to deal inescapable 9999 damage to the entire party (can be mitigated with ). Immaculate End gives the player a brief room to stagger Weiss before he executes the attack, which, if successful, will cancel it. Revival Earrings and Reprieve can be used to circumvent the strict time limit imposed by Immaculate End, in which case, Weiss will reassume Phase Shift.
===Strategy===
A good party is Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith. The player should spend most of the battle controlling either Cloud or Tifa, with Aerith mostly providing support. Successful dodging is an essential part of victory as many of Weiss's attacks are unblockable, and Tifa's dodging is most effective; she is likely be the most used character during his regular phase. Weiss will always target the controlled character, making the ineffective.
Aerith and one other character can equip Revival Earrings, and the other should have the Götterdämmerung. Although the pre-battle screen states that Götterdämmerung has no effect, its effect is merely halved: while the character will not start the battle with a full limit bar, they will still benefit from gradual increases to their limit gauge during the battle. Having at least one character with Reprieve and Revival Earrings will ensure the player can survive at least two uses of Immaculate End.
In terms of general materia setup, and is a good combination going into the battle, and it is beneficial to keep on all characters as much as possible to build up ATB. Every party member should have and some means of healing (such as , , or both), and each character should also have at least one offensive to attack with during the Azul phase. It is possible to win without or equipped if the player is confident of not needing to attempt to survive Immaculate End, but they are also recommended. and other ATB-boosting materia are also useful to equip if any free slots remain. is also useful, especially on Tifa; if she also equips the Götterdämmerung, she can build her limit break faster.
Tifa is the best character to deal with Weiss, regardless of his form, thanks to her unmatched mobility. is essential to dodge most of his attacks, specially on his default form and Rosso's Phase Shift, given that her parry animation is the fastest in the game. can also be equipped to frame cancel lenghty abilities such Focused Strike without losing momentum. is key to aid her allies with ATB build-up, while can ensure she always has ATB available. Her best weapons for facing Weiss are, for its raw , or , to increase her , meaning faster ATB build-up. Having at least one Magic Materia on Tifa, such as , is recommended. can also be valuable during the stagger phase to help her get critical hits. If the player is feeling confident enough to attempt to defeat Weiss without letting him Phase Shift, the player can forgo the Götterdämmerung in favor for the Fury Ring.
Cloud can be used as a mixed spellfighter, or even a full-on magic build for support alongside Aerith, while Tifa does the heavy-lifting. Both Cloud and Aerith can be equipped with their strongest -based weapons, the Mythril Saber and Mythril Rod, respectively, to maximize their spellcasting. and are also key to keep the ATB flowing. Aerith can be equipped with and a Magic Materia to ensure she constantly pelts Weiss with spells whenever Tifa attacks. The two available in the game can either be both given to Aerith, or one to her and the other to Cloud.
During his regular form, Weiss will be temporarily pressured if the player successfully dodges Evisceration, Crosswire Cleave, or Stab. Each attack must be dodged differently: Evisceration requires a backward dodge just before the attack connects; Stab requires a precisely timed dodge towards Weiss and the controlled character will vault over his head; while Crosswire Cleave is best dodged with a sideways roll (with slightly more leeway on timing); Tifa can easily dodge all these attacks with Parry Materia. After each successful dodge, the character should land a barrage of attacks until the pressure status runs out, at which point they should immediately move away from Weiss and prepare to dodge any incoming attacks. During this phase damage from all attacks is significantly reduced, and the main priority of attacking is to fill the stagger gauge during these small opportunities where he is pressured. Tifa should use Unbridled Strength when possible to prepare for a stagger. She is likely controlled for the majority of this phase, however, if her HP falls low, then Cloud can take over while she heals, although it is more difficult to dodge Evisceration in particular while not controlling Tifa. It is not beneficial to attack Weiss in this phase when he is not pressured, as he will take minimal damage and immediately counter-attack. If the player successfully dodges many times, it is possible to stagger Weiss in this first phase; with the right setup, it is even possible to defeat him entirely between the first phase and the start of his second phase.
While imitating Azul, Weiss is immune to physical attacks while his magic defense returns to normal. It is beneficial to use high-level magic during this phase where possible to cause significant damage and build his stagger gauge. If a is available, it is useful to call it shortly after he switches to this phase, as its final attack will be most effective against this form; one should take care to not use Fat Chocobo or Ifrit whose attacks are physical based. If his stagger bar is above empty, Weiss will occasionally use Rejuvenation during this phase to slowly reduce his stagger bar. It is still possible to build his stagger while Rejuvenation is in effect, so continuing to attack with magic is recommended, as the Rejuvenation effect will eventually wear off. Of his regular attacks in this phase, most can be dodged easily, although if the character is too close during Behemoth Beam, it is better to defend. Azure Assault can be avoided by dodging towards Weiss as he jumps into the air then remaining still while the shockwave lands (the timing does not need to be perfect). Debilitation, in particular, needs to be avoided, as the resulting Silence status is a significant disadvantage in this phase. While Weiss is immune to physical attacks during this phase, attacking him physically will still fill the character's ATB gauge, if required. If Weiss is staggered in this phase, it is best to retain one of Cloud's or Tifa's limit breaks if they have a full bar, in preparation for his next phase switch.
Weiss is most dangerous while imitating Rosso. His attacks are at their most powerful, and each attack that connects will also heal him, which means he can recover his HP quickly. Although his attacks can be dodged, they are even faster than the ones from his first form, giving the player-controlled character little time to use healing or revival magic without being hit by the next barrage of attacks. Aerith's Planet's Protection limit break is particularly useful as it'll make the party immune to all of Weiss's attacks in this form. It is recommended to end this phase as quickly as possible by staggering Weiss, and the easiest way to achieve this is to hit him with limit breaks. One limit break will fill his stagger bar around 80%, so if any stagger has been carried forward from the previous phase, then one limit break may be enough to stagger him, otherwise the player may need to use two limit breaks, or attempt to land some quick attacks after the first limit break hits (Omnistrike is effective for a quick attack that can lead to a rapid dodge). If both Cloud and Tifa have a limit break, and the first is enough to stagger Weiss, the second will deal considerable damage. 
At various points during the battle Weiss will switch to his regular form to use Immaculate End, after which he will switch back to the phase he was in previously if he was not already in this form. It is possible to survive Immaculate End with around 8,000 HP and Barrier in effect, so the battle could be survivable indefinitely, but it is best to aim to end the battle within 10 minutes; it is difficult to recover from having two characters KO'd, especially during the Rosso phase. Weiss uses Immaculate End approximately every four minutes, although the timing is not exact. Weiss can use Immaculate End twice in a row where a summon's final attack lands between the first Immaculate End and him switching back to his previous phase. If the player intends to use a summon, they should exercise caution in the timing. 
It is possible to defeat Weiss in his first form, though it requires good timing, ATB maintenance, and coordination. The player should control Tifa at all times and continuously use parry to dash away from Weiss's normal attacks, while avoiding his abilities to leave him vulnerable and pressured. When this happens, Cloud and Aerith should cast tier 1 or 2 magic to raise his stagger gauge while Tifa dashes towards him with parry to knock him while using a combination of normal attacks, Focused Strike, and deadly dodge frame cancels. Once Weiss's stagger gauge is nearly full, the player should stall while Cloud and Aerith's ATB gauges fill up, and maximize Tifa's chi with Unbridled Strength. As soon as he is staggered, Aerith can use Arcane Ward, Tifa spams True Strike in combination with her attacks to raise Weiss's stagger bonus damage above 250%, while Cloud and Aerith cast tier 3 magic from within the Arcane Ward. If Weiss is still alive by the time the stagger ends, the player should continuously cast spells as he uses Phase Shift to quickly end him. 
==Gallery==
Weiss from FFVII Remake Intergrade Enemy Intel.png|Enemy Intel.
Weiss the Immaculate hologram from FFVII Remake Intergrade.png|Weiss's digitization.
Weiss gunblade from FFVII Remake Intergrade.png|Weiss's gunblade handle.
Weiss the Immaculate from FFVII Remake.png|Weiss accepting his defeat.
File:Weiss Slashing from FFVIIR Intergrade.png|First Form sword slashing.
File:Weiss' Evisceration from FFVIIR Intergrade.png|Evisceration.
File:Weiss' Crosswire Cleave from FFVIIR Intergrade.png|Crosswire Cleave.
Weiss staggered from FFVII Remake.png|Hit with a limit break when staggered.
==Citations==
Category:Bosses in Final Fantasy VII Remake
Category:Superbosses