Roche (VII Remake boss)

Roche is a boss fought during Chapter 4, "Mad Dash", during "A Little Diversion", at the Shinra Warehouse at the Upper Sector 7. He is faced with Cloud alone.
==Stats==
==Attacks==
: = Physical damage
: = Magical damage
Attack 	Phase	Pic	Description 	Block	
Relentless Assault	All 	 	Three sword attacks unless the target is airborne. Each strike is stronger than the last.	 	
Plunge 	1 	 	Chases down his target to attack with his sword. 	 	
Wind Slash 	1 	 	Hurls a blade of . Can deplete Cloud's ATB. 	 	
Vacuum Wave 	1 	 	Slashes with a cutting wave from afar. 	 	
Blizzard 	1 	 	spell; mine forms and soon explodes 	 	
Blizzara 	1 	 	spell; mine forms and soon explodes 	 	
Thunder 	1 	 	spell; strikes instantly 	 	
Thundara 	1 	 	spell; strikes instantly 	 	
Mow Down 	2 	 	Charges toward Cloud. 	 	
Combustion Sword 	2 	 	Jumps for a powerful sword attack that can used up to three times in a row. 	 	
Ignition Flame 	2 	 	Fires a beam of .Hard Mode: Fires three beams instead of one. 	 	
==Battle==
Cloud starts the duel with full health and MP regardless of his status before the battle. Roche has a high HP and attacks with elemental magic and his sword. He is weak to . When he is about to use a spell, he momentarily glows green.
After losing a third of his HP, Roche enters the next phase where his stagger gauge resets and he will dodge Cloud's attacks, and charge up his own, dashing towards and through Cloud. He no longer uses normal magic, but can fire up a blazing beam from his sword. His attacks will stun Cloud unless he guards. He can be pressured with consecutive powerful attacks that knock him back.
===Strategy===
It is best to guard against Roche's attacks, and throw in attacks to build up ATB, then use abilities. Punisher Mode can be used to guard to counterattack. When he glows, Roche is casting magic and the player can quickly guard. His ice attacks can then be avoided by dodge-rolling away when the ice mine manifests, but the lightning is too fast to dodge. Roche will occasionally "tire out", giving the player a brief window to lay in their own attacks and raise the stagger gauge.
When Roche enters his second battle phase, the player should still guard and wait for him to attack, then either stay guarded, or dodge, before unleashing attacks and fire spells. Countering with Punisher Mode is no longer as reliable. The player can go for a couple swings in Punisher Mode and watch how Roche reacts; if he starts returning fire, the player can block and counter. Continuing to guard and responding with spells, the player can take advantage of pressure. When Roche jumps, the player can dodge-roll to avoid damage from his Combustion Sword. Ignition Flame moves in a straight line and thus can likewise be dodged.
==Hard Mode==
Cloud is no longer restored to full health for the battle, but starts it in whatever condition he was in before. The player should equip Cloud for Roche rather than for the Sweepers fought before, as there is no time to change equipment in-between. His fire beam attack is now more potent, conjuring three blazing beams rather than one.
Bringing the for protection may help. Counterstance is effective: when Roche uses the charging thrust attack, engaging Counterstance just before will allow Cloud to reduce damage and respond with a powerful attack. Equipping lets Cloud replenish more ATB when guarding against attacks. Pairing with in his weapon lets Cloud do more damage with his sword attacks.
Defeating Roche on Hard Mode earns Vol. 6 of Cloud's Manuscript, raising his SP by 10.
Category:Bosses in Final Fantasy VII Remake