The Valkyrie (VII Remake)

The Valkyrie is a boss in Final Fantasy VII Remake, fought by Cloud, Tifa, and Barret on the Collapsed Sector 7 Plate during "To the Top of the Plate" at the end of Chapter 15.
__TOC__
==Stats==
==Attacks==
Some attacks used depend on the battle phase.
*Phase 1: Starting location
*Phase 2: The battle moves to a wider platform. Summoning becomes possible (any summon can be called)
*Phase 3: After it uses Limiter Override at 30% health left
: = Physical damage
: = Magical damage
Attack 	Pic	Phase	Description 	Block	
Mark 98 Rotary Cannons 	 	All 	The boss fires at party members with its turrets. 	 	
Mark 99 Anti-fiend Artillery	 	All 	Fires two rockets at the party thrice dealing damage. 	 	
Napalm Drop 	 	All 	Sets parts of the battlefield ablaze for 12 seconds dealing damage to those who come into contact with itHard Mode: The blaze lasts for 24 seconds. 	 	
Antipersonnel Gas 	 	2–3 	Releases gas in four directions; the gas lingers for 12 seconds and inflicts (120 seconds) and (15 seconds)Hard Mode: The gas lingers for 24 seconds. 	 	
Drill Dive 	 	2–3 	Spins and burrows into the floor. 	 	
Firewheel 	 	2–3 	The boss bores its drill into the floor and chases a target while spinning. 	 	
Bombardment 	 	2–3 	The boss simultaneously launches Mark 98 Rotary Cannons, Mark 99 Anti-fiend Artillery, and Napalm Drop. 	/ 	
Limiter Override 	 	3 	Increases its magical and elemental defense and boosts its movement speed. 	 	
Particle Cannon 	 	3 	A laser beam follows a target from the drone. Touching it shoots a particle ray in two seconds. The Valkyrie can be hit if baited.Hard Mode: The particle ray shoots in 1 second	 	
==Battle==
The Valkyrie is a flying enemy who uses powerful ranged attacks. Some of its attacks are fire-elemental. The battle starts with the boss flying around out of range bombarding the party with its firearms. Spells and ranged attacks from Barret's guns deal steady but small damage, but aerial attacks from Barret's melee weapons, or from Tifa or Cloud, build its stagger faster. Because the Valkyrie flies, most abilities from Tifa and Cloud cannot reach it, leaving only Barret's ranged abilities.
After dealing minor damage to it, a cutscene commences, and the Valkyrie is fought in a different area and now hovers within melee range. It uses a gas attack that can inflict the party with and . It can drill into the ground and spin, making melee characters vulnerable, and can bombard the party with all its best attacks at once. The battleground has a wall that the Valkyrie's bullets don't penetrate.
After it is reduced to a third of its HP, the Valkyrie uses Limiter Override, and all attacks against it have limited effect on stagger. It will deploy a drone whose attack takes a while to charge, but is not stopped by the wall on the battlefield. The Valkyrie will continue to use the Limiter Override until defeated, but the drone's laser can be used to pierce the boss's barrier. 
The Valkyrie drops a cog bangle.
===Strategy===
When the boss is flying, the player needs to use aerial attacks from Cloud and Tifa, and any abilities from Barret, while ensuring the party stays healed. After the battle moves onto another platform, the Valkyrie can drill into the ground and spin; the player should stay away from it until this ends. It is now within melee range, allowing Cloud and Tifa to rush in and set up a stagger with their melee attacks. Once a stagger is set up, Tifa's Unbridled Strength techniques can be used to increase the damage the boss takes, and lay into it with abilities and spells from all characters. Cloud's Infinity's End is especially powerful during stagger. The player can use the wall on the battleground as a shield when the boss is preparing an ability.
After the Valkyrie puts up the barrier and deploys its drone, the player can lure the drone towards the boss until it starts to charge, then dodge, and the laser will hit the boss and not the player, dealing damage and raising stagger.
As Barret likely attacks the most, the player can equip him with and or in his weapon. Cloud and Tifa can also equip lightning materia to attack with thunder magic. The player can also an the elemental materia in an armor with to fend against the boss's fire attacks. Using linked to stops a character from falling asleep from the boss's gas attack. The Headband accessory also works for this.
The boss tends to focus on one party member, so the player should switch party members as soon as it starts attacking the character the player is controlling to always be doing damage rather than holding .
==Hard Mode==
In the first phase of the fight, the Valkyrie will exit the phase after a set amount of attacks. It is impossible to bring it to the ground, so there's not enough time to stagger it, even if the party can strike it hard enough to stall it in midair and use Tifa's high level chi aerial attacks. The ideal strategy during phase one is to deal as much regular damage as possible, which means primarily using Barret's guns and any wind attacks. The magic damage afforded by the can take care of both, although is also a good option for those who prefer maximum defense. It is best to stay in cover while The Valkyrie attacks, as even when guarded, the Anti-Fiend Artillery missiles still deal heavy damage, and Barret is too slow to dodge them out in the open. Once it fires three missiles, the boss stalls in midair to reload; this is the only time the party can reliably strike it with wind attacks. Once it attacks a certain amount of times, it'll use its Napalm Drop. Using any attack that locks the player in place during this is risky, and it is better to prioritize evasion over damage, although Barret's minigun can deal safe enough damage and build some ATB for the next phase. After two rounds of napalm, the next phase will begin.
In hard mode the boss's attacks that leave a lingering effect on the battlefield last twice as long and it is no longer weak to lightning. It remains weak to wind, but getting wind magic to hit takes precision, unlike with lightning, and the Valkyrie is highly mobile. In phase two, striking with wind after (or even during, if a non-active character casts the spell) the Anti-Fiend Artillery still works, but it'll gain a few new moves and can't be counted on to reliably use that enough to exploit. The best way to deal with phase two is with Tifa, as her speed will allow her to keep the cover in the middle of the arena between her and the boss's projectiles, avoiding all damage and using any free time to raise her chi levels with Unbridled Strength. The player should avoid the bullets and missiles until The Valkyrie either uses Firewheel or begins to hover directly above the player, both of which require different responses. 
If it uses Firewheel, Tifa needs to outrun it until the attack ends. The safest way is to use the mid-battlefield cover to keep the boss at bay (and even Barret can outrun it if this cover is used), but that won't always be possible. If The Valkyrie has used Antipersonnel Gas in a way that forces the party back from cover, they may have no choice but to run large circles around the battlefield to stay out of range. If the gas forces them to run in too wide a pattern, only Tifa stands a chance of staying out of range, and even she may fail. If the player is going to be caught, it is best to guard the attack, and get someone else ready to either heal or revive the victim. The Firewheel will be followed up by Bombardment, which deals thousands of damage even when blocked. This can be avoided by giving Tifa a Headband to keep her awake but she needs to be ready to deal with the poison afterwards. Using to heal the sleep is ineffective, because by then it'll be too late.
If The Valkyrie begins to hover above the player (which will follow from either Firewheel or Rotary Cannons), it is about to use Drill Dive, which is avoided by rolling and running when the boss begins the dive, unless when playing as Barret, in which case it is safer to block it. Even if struck, the boss will remain stuck in the ground after the dive, allowing the party to close in to press the advantage. The player should let the boss get above them, because staying out from under it for too long as it chases will cause it to abandon the Drill Dive and use Antipersonnel Gas instead, which complicates future maneuvering. 
Once the Valkyrie has used its Drill Dive, it is time to counterattack. It will be stuck in the ground, and laying enough melee damage into it cripples its flight capability for a good length of time. Tifa's Divekick and Cloud's Braver are good, depending on who is closer or who has an ATB charge ready. Overpower or Disorder can be effective as well (as long as Disorder is followed by Punisher Mode attacks), and they have significantly more range and refund ATB when used. If successful, the machine will be briefly Pressured (not long enough to capitalize on with Focused Thrust, though). This is where the damage-dealing phase begins. The Valkyrie will be able to move around, but it will be slow and unable to lift out of melee range, so Tifa and Cloud can go to work. Every time it sustains 1500–2000 damage, the boss will suffer more explosions, and be interrupted from using its Rotary Cannons, so a good way to keep it in something close to stunlock is to attack with Braver or Divekick, and switch between Tifa and Cloud depending on whom the Valkyrie is targeting. Done right, the player can unleash a nearly uninterrupted stream of punishment, likely staggering the boss without even needing to use stagger-building moves. Should The Valkyrie escape the onslaught without being staggered and take to the air, the player can repeat previous maneuvers.
Phase three is the hard part. The enemy drone fires its massive laser under peculiar conditions. Tifa should get behind cover from the Valkyrie's fire, because the missiles and the cannons can force a block, which will prevent the player from getting out from under the laser in time. When in cover, the player can bait the laser beam to their position, and dodge it once it charges up. The first time it fires, it will be as soon as it reaches the player, which is designed to demonstrate how the laser works. After this, the conditions under which it fires change. 
The mech will operate the same way it did before, but with a massive laser overhead, a shield protecting it from almost all magic/stagger damage, and a new twist on its Firewheel attack. The laser will not fire on the player as soon as it gets to them, but will only strike if the player is hit by one of The Valkyrie's attacks, or if The Valkyrie has been downed by sustaining excessive damage or taking melee damage after using Drill Dive. Dodging the missiles, wheel, and dive are the same as before, except now, Firewheel will launch sleeping gas in all directions as it spins, which could result in being hit. The laser will wait until Bombardment is over before striking, so if the player survives, Tifa or Cloud can escape the following blast. 
When the boss is downed, the player should focus not on keeping it in melee stunlock, but on baiting the laser to their position and making sure to not be hit by it when using it to bring down the mech. The cannons can be blocked as the laser closes in, and the player can roll out of the hail once the laser begins to charge. When the laser hits The Valkyrie, it will take damage, fall to the ground, lose its magic/stagger proof shield, and become pressured for long enough to capitalize. Using Focused Thrust will almost completely fill its stagger bar, resulting in a nearly guaranteed stagger. Two staggers should be enough to finish the job.
Defeating The Valkyrie will give Barret Sharpshooter's Companion Vol. XII.
==Musical themes==
When the party first encounters the Valkyrie and tries to flee from it, "Run, Dammit, Run" plays. The boss theme for the main encounter itself is simply called "The Valkyrie" . "The Valkyrie" is featured on the Final Fantasy VII Remake Original Soundtrack and the Final Fantasy VII Remake Original Soundtrack Plus while "Run, Dammit, Run" is featured on the Original Soundtrack Plus. They were composed by Keiki Kobayashi, who is best known for composing most of the music for the Ace Combat franchise by Bandai Namco.
==Behind the scenes==
In "Episode INTERmission", numerous Valkyries are shown in the Advanced Weaponry Division's development area in B13.
==Gallery==
The Valkyrie from FFVII Remake Enemy Intel.png|Enemy Intel.
The Valkyrie on the collapsed plate from FFVII Remake.jpg|The Valkyrie patrols the area with other Shinra forces.
Antipersonnel Gas from FFVII Remake.jpg|Antipersonnel Gas.
Drill Dive from FFVII Remake.jpg|Drill Dive.
Firewheel from FFVII Remake.jpg|Firewheel.
Mark 99 Anti-fiend Artillery from FFVII Remake.jpg|Mark 99 Anti-fiend Artillery.
==Etymology==
The Japanese version retains the name from the original Final Fantasy VII, "Heli Gunner".
Category:Bosses in Final Fantasy VII Remake