Cactuar (Final Fantasy VII)

The Cactuar is an enemy in Final Fantasy VII, found in the Corel Prison desert. It is quite rare, confined to this one desert area, and comprising only 1/16 of the encounters there; the other 15/16 being Land Worms. It is evasive and tends to run away, but if the party manages to defeat it, they get a bountiful gil reward.
There is also a similar enemy, called Cactuer, found in Cactus Island.
==Stats==
==Formations==
#	Formation
 	Cactuar
==Locations==
Corel Desert 	Corel Desert
Endless Desert	256
==Battle==
The Cactuar only uses a physical attack; it has, but never uses, its 1000 Needles attack, making it far less dangerous than the Cactuer. It is elusive with a high Evade and is immune to most elements. It tends to run away after three turns, leaving the player with nothing.
When defeated, the Cactuar drops 10,000 gil, making it a desirable enemy to fight. Its EXP to AP ratios are the lowest in the game until the Goblins when the Highwind is obtained; its EXP to gil ratios, until the Mover enemies of the final dungeon. Low-level challenges usually eschew expensive Materia, but the Cactuar makes them more accessible. The Cactuar's low encounter rate eats up a lot of time, making it less desirable for speed runs.
===Strategy===
Choco/Mog and Matra Magic are useful, being the only abilities the player has at this point in the game that are both magical and non-elemental. L4 Suicide will cause damage, but will not be able to kill a Cactuar outright as Matra Magic can, nor reduce its damage output, as the Cactuar is immune to the Small status. Grenade is also effective.
==AI script==
AI: Setup
{
:TempVar:DfltDf% = Cactuar's Df%
}
AI: Main
{
:If (Count == 0 or 1) Then
:{
::If (1/2 Chance) Then
::{
:::Choose Random Opponent
:::Use <Mystery Kick> on Target
::}
:} Else If (Count = 2 or 3 or 4) Then {
::Choose Random Opponent
::Use <Mystery Kick> on Target
::If (1/2 Chance) Then
::{
:::Choose Self
:::Use <(Report)> on Target
:::RunCmd 0x22/0x0F
::}
:} Else {
::Choose Random Opponent
::Use <Mystery Kick> on Target
::Choose Self
::Use <(Report)> on Target
::RunCmd 0x22/0x0F
:}
:Count = Count + 1
}
AI: Counter - PreTurn
{
:Cactuar's Df% = TempVar:DfltDf%
:If (7/8 Chance) Then
:{
::Cactuar's Df% = 255
:}
}
AI: Counter - 13
{
:Remove Self
}
==Gallery==
Cactuar FFVII Art.jpg|Concept art by Tetsuya Nomura.
==Etymology==
==Related enemies==
*Cactuer
Category:Enemies in Final Fantasy VII