Leviathan (VII Remake boss)

Leviathan is an optional boss in Final Fantasy VII Remake fought in Chadley's VR mission after completing Battle Intel missions 1–14, first available in Chapter 13, "A Broken World". The player can take it on with the party of Cloud, Tifa, and Barret. The earliest Leviathan is available, the battle may be too hard to complete. Defeating Leviathan in Chadley's VR mission earns it as a . Leviathan is also fought in the gauntlet up to Pride and Joy Prototype in the Shinra Combat Simulator in Chapter 17, "Deliverance from Chaos", in hard mode.
==Stats==
==Attacks==
: = Physical damage
: = Magical damage
Attack 	Pic	Description 	Block	
Charge 	 	Charges at a target. 	 	
Bite 	 	Bites a target. 	 	
Tail Whip 	 	Dives under the floor and swipes at the party with its tail. 	 	
Spin Rush 	 	Diving under the floor and spins towards a target. 	 	
Fly Up 	 	Dives under the floor and emerges under a target. 	 	
Briny Barrage	 	Deploys 4–8 homing orbs. 	 	
Briny Bellow 	 	Fires a jetstream from left to right across the battlefield. 	 	
Gyro Spume 	 	Draws in the party before releasing an explosion. 	 	
Spinning Dive	 	Charges across the arena. 	 	
Tidal Roar 	 	Whirlpools appear that deal damage those who touch them.Hard Mode: The pools "swallow" party members.	 	
Aquatic Focus	 	Prepares Tidal Wave. If staggered, Tidal Wave is canceled. 	- 	-
Tidal Wave 	 	Floods the arena to damage all party members. 	 	
==Battle==
Leviathan is tough, and it is preferable to be near to level 30 before taking it on. Leviathan is weak to and uses various strong non-elemental magic attacks with long animations that affect wide areas; it can be difficult to avoid damage, but guarding against them is easy due to the animation length. Leviathan cannot be interrupted unless it is pressured or staggered.
After losing half its health, Leviathan uses Tidal Roar and takes up to the air. Geysers appear around the arena that block damage to Leviathan when it is behind one. The serpent alternates flying up high and down low, and during the lower phase Cloud and Tifa can reach it with their normal attacks and ATB abilities. If Leviathan staggers while airborne, the geysers vanish and the serpent comes crashing down. Leviathan's ultimate attack is Tidal Wave, which deals severe non-elemental unavoidable damage. The attack has a charging period, and if Leviathan is staggered during this, Tidal Wave is canceled.
Leviathan will target the player-controlled character; if the player manages to split their party in an optimal manner, and switches whenever Leviathan turns, the boss can get stuck in a "retargeting" phase rather than attacking.
===Strategy===
Everyone is best equipping and some means of healing. Lightning materia can be paired with in weapons to make physical attacks more worthwhile, especially for Barret with a ranged weapon as when Leviathan takes up to the sky, Cloud and Tifa will struggle to hit it with normal attacks. They will have to resort to using magic and can improve their spellcasting with and (though Leviathan does resist magic damage, Thunder spells do not miss and are still a good way to do damage when the serpent is flying).
While Leviathan is on the ground, its stagger gauge is filled faster by physical melee and lightning attacks, and will be pressured by losing 30% of its max HP during its grounded mode. The party should focus on reducing Leviathan's HP as quickly as possible by targeting its weakness, and when it becomes pressured, raise the stagger gauge rapidly with abilities such as Focused Thrust and Focused Strike. When the serpent takes to the skies, it cannot be pressured. However, Leviathan's gauge will be filled faster by targeting it with physical ranged attacks and lightning attacks while it is flying.
Using halves magical damage, important against Tidal Wave, and the can be paired with to protect the whole party at once. If the party has it, can be used to halve both magical and physical damage. Another option is to pair magnify with , but the party can also use and . Equipping armor that prioritize magic defense over physical defense is beneficial. Revival Earrings may come to use, as does the . is a good summon for this battle as there is no lightning summon in the base game. is good as well, as the player will be guarding Leviathan's attacks more than avoiding them; it is good to start guarding when the ability name pops above Leviathan's head, though it can be difficult to always spot it as the boss is so large and a lot of it may be off screen.
Cloud and Tifa can use their melee attacks up close when Leviathan uses Briny Bellow and Aquatic Focus, and move away when it prepares Gyre Spume. Briny Bellow will miss if the player is right next to the serpent, giving a good opening to deal some damage and build stagger. When the ATB gauges fill, the party can use their focus abilities to raise Leviathan's stagger. Barret can also help by using Steelskin and Lifesaver to tank some damage, and then be bestowed with .
When Leviathan staggers, the party can go all in with damage. Tifa can use her abilities to raise stagger bonus damage and Cloud can use Infinity's End. Holding while in Punisher Mode has Cloud finish his combo by sticking his sword to the ground, gaining that makes Infinity's End even more powerful. Leviathan's stagger is also a great time to use limit breaks; Tifa can empower hers by using Starshower first.
When the serpent takes to the skies, Barret can hit it with his normal attacks and Overcharge to rapidly fill its stagger gauge, while Tifa and Cloud use Thunder spells. The geysers block damage to Leviathan if in-between Barret and the serpent, so one should maneuver a little among them and not use Overcharge when it can't hit. When Leviathan begins casting Tidal Wave, the player should heal right away and cast Manaward.
===Chapter 17===
Leviathan is fought on the third round of the summon gauntlet to reach the Pride and Joy Prototype in hard mode. Though the battle again relies on dealing damage during stagger, Leviathan's attacks, particularly Tidal Wave, can be devastating and easily wipe the party. It is important to keep HP topped up. Leviathan's attacks can be avoided by staying close to it (easily dodging its Briny Bellow attack), even with Barret and Aerith, so if using spells, Arcane Ward is unreliable. Cloud's Focused Thrust, Barret's Focused Shot, and Tifa's Starshower can be used to build stagger; occasionally doing so can also pressure it, providing more opportunities to build stagger. Before Leviathan uses Tidal Wave, the player should cast Manaward on the party and heal to full. While Leviathan flies, spells can be used to defeat it, and when it flies lower, the player can focus on staggering it with the focus skills.
==Gallery==
Leviathan boss from FFVII Remake.jpg
Briny Bellow from FFVII Remake.png|Briny Bellow.
Briny Barrage from FFVII Remake.png|Briny Barrage.
Category:Bosses in Final Fantasy VII Remake