Raid on Midgar

The Raid on Midgar is an event in Final Fantasy VII that takes place on January 14, εγλ 0008 when the Diamond Weapon attacks Midgar by firing its powerful beams of energy towards the city. Although being able to destroy the Diamond Weapon with the Sister Ray cannon, the Shinra Company couldn't prevent the Weapon from firing at the city, destroying the upper floors of the Shinra Building and presumably killing Rufus Shinra in the process. Combined with the assumed death of Scarlet and Heidegger at the hands of Cloud's party, this event spelled the end of the Shinra Company's position as the dominant power in the world.
The whole event can be skipped by holding the down, right and run buttons when the cutscene before the event fades from the Shinra Headquarters to Hojo. This is called the Raid on Midgar glitch.
==Before the battle==
Cloud's party has found out from Geisel Bugenhagen that Aeris had cast Holy to stop Sephiroth's Meteor from destroying the Planet. Sephiroth is holding Holy back, and the only way to save the Planet is by destroying Sephiroth himself. As the party is leaving the City of the Ancients, they pick up a signal and discover Diamond Weapon attacking Midgar. They fly the Highwind to Midgar to confront Diamond Weapon and protect the city.
Shinra has just finished their two new weapons: the Proud Clod and the Sister Ray. Shinra plans to use the Sister Ray to destroy the energy barrier around North Crater.
==Battle==
300px|right|The Raid on Midgar
Both the Highwind and the Diamond Weapon arrive at the outskirts of Midgar around the same time. Cloud chooses two allies to help him fend off the Weapon. After inflicting minor damage to it, Reeve Tuesti, the Head of Urban Development in Shinra (acting through Cait Sith) orders the party to get away, for the Sister Ray is being launched. Diamond Weapon fires at the city before Sister Ray's energy blast destroys it, along with the energy barrier around the crater. Even after having been destroyed, the Weapon's beams of energy hit the Shinra Building and leave President Rufus Shinra injured and thought dead by both Cloud's party and Rufus's minions alike.
==Events following the battle==
The party learns that Scarlet and Heidegger are ordering Reeve to turn off the Midgar mako reactors, but Reeve is not able to. They discover it is Hojo's doing, and if they don't stop him the reactors will explode, destroying Midgar. Reeve tries to talk sense to Scarlet and Heidegger, but as Rufus is believed to have died in the crossfire, they both greedily take control of the company and places Reeve under arrest for his double-agent role and so that he is not able to stop them from doing as they please. The party parachute to Midgar and can choose to confront the Turks, depending on previous actions, and then defeat Scarlet and Heidegger piloting the Proud Clod.
Once they reach Hojo, he reveals himself as Sephiroth's father and that he is going to fire the Sister Ray to give his son a burst of energy to help him out. The party critically injures Hojo, but because he injected himself with Jenova Cells, he transforms into a monster Helletic Hojo and then Lifeform-Hojo N. Cloud's party deactivates the Mako Reactors before it is too late. Before his demise, Hojo uploaded his consciousness onto the Worldwide Network, as revealed in the sequel Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII-.
==Aftermath==
With Hojo dead, the Shinra descending into chaos, and the elimination of Sephiroth's barrier, the events proved to be a serious setback to both of AVALANCHE's enemies. It marks the end of the Shinra Company's influence over Midgar and the Planet, although the company didn't fully collapse at the spot (employees are still at work on the 66th floor in the Shinra Building when visited for the second time by Cloud's party). It is also revealed in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children that Rufus Shinra escaped the Shinra Headquarters' destruction, and seeks to revive the company. By now the populace has grown suspicious of Shinra and with its main business model, production of Mako Energy, out of the picture, the new Shinra Company can no longer project power over the Planet like they used to.
==Gallery==
SisterRayatMidgar.png|The Sister Ray before firing at the Weapon.
SisterRay-ffvii-fmv-charge.png|The Sister Ray charging its shot.
DiamondWeapon-ffvii-fmv-hit.png|The Diamond Weapon is hit by Sister Ray.
RaidOnMidgar7.png|Midgar civilians running for their lives.
==See also==
*Siege of Fort Condor
*Battle of Midgar
Category:Events in Final Fantasy VII