Airbuster (VII Remake)

Airbuster is a boss in Final Fantasy VII Remake fought during "Storm the Gates" at the end of Chapter 7, "A Trap Is Sprung".
Before fighting the Airbuster itself, during "Sentenced to Death", the player can sabotage it by extracting components from it. Extracting bomber components weakens its Big Bomber ability, while extracting AI processors slows its casting of abilities.
The battle has a 25-minute time limit, but it should be easy to finish in time and there is no need to rush. It is weak to and has multiple battle phases; in the last phase, the Airbuster will fly. The player can thus use both physical attacks and abilities and magic to defeat it, and it is a good idea to equip all party members with some offensive .
==Stats==
==Attacks==
The attacks used depend on the boss's HP.
:Phase 1: 100–75%
*Airbuster attacks with electricity.
*It is pressured for 5 seconds after sustaining damage equaling 8% of its max HP.
:Phase 2: 75–50%
*Airbuster uses Tankbuster
*It is pressured for 5 seconds after sustaining damage equaling 10% of its max HP.
:Phase 3: 50–10%
*Airbuster flies.
*It is pressured for 3 seconds after sustaining damage equaling 8% of its max HP.
:Phase 4: <10%
*Airbuster is near death
*It is pressured for 5 seconds after sustaining damage equaling 10% of its max HP.
: = Physical damage
: = Magical damage
Attack 	Pic	Phase 	Description 	Block	
Finger Beam 	 	All 	Shoots electric beams from its hands that stun for 8 seconds if not blocking. 	 	
Big Bomber 	 	All 	Opens its lower half and soon releases bombs. The attack can be stopped by hitting the opened lower half with two abilities or a Limit Break.	 	
Rear Machine Gun 	 	1 	Fires machine gun at a target behind itself. 	 	
Rear Grenade 	 	1 	Deploys grenades at a target behind itself. 	 	
EM Field 	 	1–2 	Releases electrified orbs. 	 	
Front Machine Gun 	 	1–3 	Fires machine gun at a target behind itself, piercing through many targets if possible. 	 	
EM Depth Charge 	 	1–3 	Deploys 3 charges (or more in phase 2, which release electrified orbs that stun those who come into contact for 8 seconds. 	 	
Divide and Conquer & Merge	 	2 	Detaches arms (Divide and Conquer) and reattaches them (Merge). 	- 	-
Tankbuster 	 	1–2, 4	Charges a cannon for 3 seconds before releasing a beam of energy. 	 	
Burner 	 	1–2, 4	Uses hands as flamethrowers. 	 	
Shoulder Beam 	 	1–2, 4	Fires homing lasers. 	 	
Energy Ball 	 	3 	Fires balls of energy all around. 	 	
Hook 	 	3–4 	Punches a target. 	 	
Hammer Blow 	 	3–4 	Electrifies its fists and slams down up to 5 times. 	 	
Lightning Strike 	 	2 	Hard Mode: Detached arms create a wall of electricity near the boss. 	 	
Rocket Punch 	 	2 	Hard Mode: A detached arm charges at a target. 	 	
Grapple 	 	2 	Hard Mode: A detached arm binds a target during Tankbuster, but will release if sustaining 1% of its total HP in damage or hit by an ability.	 	
==Weakening the Airbuster==
Before the boss battle the player could sabotage the mech's deployment by making sure some parts do not get installed in "Sentenced to Death". The player finds key cards in the control rooms where they can choose which parts to dispose of. Before the boss battle, the player can optionally visit the disposal room to collect the items they disposed of as spoils.
Removing AI programming cores makes Airbuster less susceptible to using Finger Beam and EM Field. Removing the big bomber shells will reduce Airbuster's damage output and ammunition, and it uses its Big Bomber less often. Removing M-units has no effect on the boss's behavior, but nets the player some items instead.
== Battle ==
The party is separated as the battle starts, with Cloud being alone on one side, and Barret and Tifa on the other. The Airbuster is a threat to be reckoned with even when fought from two sides. It uses various abilities, the most common being normal gunfire, as well two very dangerous attacks: Finger Beam and EM Depth Charge, both that can stun; if any party member is stunned, Airbuster targets them with Big Bomber, which deals massive damage. Airbuster is weak to and elements, Lightning being best for staggering it.
When Airbuster has lost around 1/3 of its HP, it changes tactics. It moves towards the entrance of the reactor, and uses a powerful attack called Tankbuster, firing a continuous straight beam of energy for heavy damage if it hits. Its short-range flame attack can also be deadly. Aside from Tankbuster and the flame attack, the Airbuster will also employ Divide & Conquer, where it detaches its arms to the sides of the arena; the arms will use Finger Beams regularly. The Aibuster will use Merge (re-attaching its arms) after some time or if one of the arms is destroyed by the player. The boss's hands can be assessed, but are not needed for Enemy Intel completion.
After losing 2/3 of its HP, Airbuster takes to the air and becomes unreachable by melee attacks until it flies in range. The player should still stay on the lookout for Tankbuster, as it will now track a target. Also, when in it goes into melee range, it will always open with Finger Beam (even if all AI Programming Cores are removed), which stuns unless blocked; if stunning a character, the Airbuster will immediately charge Big Bomber on the stunned target. On close range, it'll also use Burner, its flamethrower.
Once the Airbuster has around 15% health left, it'll stay on melee range indefinitely and alternate between Hammer Blow, Finger Beam, Shoulder Beam, and Big Bomber.
The Airbuster drops the Titanium Bangle when defeated. 
===Strategy===
During the first phase, the player should avoid attacking the Airbuster from behind, as it'll use Rear Machine Gun and Rear Grenade, the latter being especially dangerous due to its high damage. The player can, however, swap between characters and not attack, which will cause the Airbuster to turn around; during this he is completely vulnerable, and the player can use this to their advantage by constantly switching to force him to turn.
Pay attention to the Airbuster's attack patterns. If its fingers start glowing blue, it will use Finger Beam; blocking it will prevent the stun. Should one of the characters get stunned and targeted for Big Bomber, the player can use on them to mitigate damage and keep attacking the Airbuster until it staggers. Using or spells, or the in conjunction with or in a weapon, can help a lot.
The player should be on the lookout for the electrified mines and avoid them when the boss deploys them. When the Airbuster uses Tankbuster, the player can avoid it by maneuvering away from the beam's range to the sides of the catwalk, then resume onslaught until it is used again. Since Barret can use guns, he can stay out of the way of attacks the whole time, and can attack the Airbuster while it remains stationary firing its energy beam. During phase two, when the Airbuster detaches its arms, Cloud can get close to them and use Punisher Mode tactics, and lightning magic is also effective to destroy them fast. 
When the Airbuster begins to fly, Barret's ranged attacks and thunder and wind spells can be used to damage it. Tifa can use her Unbridled Strength to level 3 and then use spells. Wind spells are little more effective against the flying form. Once Airbuster comes close enough, it can again be hit with melee attacks. If Cloud's or Tifa's Limit Breaks fill at this stage, the player can wait to unleash them when the Airbuster draws near again.
Summons are best used during either the second or fourth phases. Ifrit can be used, but Chocobo & Moogle is specially useful since Chocobo Kick deals wind damage, which the Airbuster is weak to.
=== Hard Mode ===
On hard mode, the Airbuster is mostly the same but has access to three new devastating attacks after using Divide & Conquer: Lightning Strike, where one of the detached arms creates a wall of electricity around the boss, preventing the player from approaching in melee range; and Rocket Punch, where one of the arms charge at full speed against the player; and Grapple, where, while the Airbuster is charging Tankbuster one of the arms will attempt to grab the player and drag them to the boss so they are hit by the beam.
Barret can use Steelskin and then Lifesaver to protect the party, and the player can cast Barrier and on him to further help his tanking. can be brought along for MP-free party-wide healing, though it is safe to expend all MP here. Linking the with lets the player bolster the whole team's defenses at once. If the player has two elemental materia, they can link them with lightning materia to two party members' weapons; Barret may be good as he can attack physically even when the Airbuster moves out of range. The others can use magic and support skills at this point; any offensive spells can be linked with or to make one casting go further.
Leviathan and Bahamut are the best summons for this fight, specially during the third phase. Bahamut in particular can easily hit the Airbuster from afar with all his abilities and normal attacks.
==Musical themes==
"The Airbuster" is a heavy metal arrangement of "Fight On!". It was arranged by Tadayoshi Makino. The track is notable as it is dynamic and will change depending on which phase the boss is currently at.
==Gallery==
Airbuster artwork for FFVII Remake.png|Artwork.
Airbuster from FFVII Remake Enemy Intel.png|Enemy Intel.
FFVIIR gameplay June2019 03.jpg|June 2018 E3 footage.
Airbuster in storage from FFVII Remake.jpg|The Airbuster in the basement of Sector 5's Reactor.
Airbuster on a console from FFVII Remake.jpg|The Airbuster's specs.
File:Airbuster being deployed from FFVII Remake.png|The Airbuster being deployed.
Airbuster Shockwaves from FFVII Remake.jpg|EM Field.
File:Airbuster's Tankbuster from FFVII Remake.png|Preparing Tankbuster.
File:Airbuster's Divide and Conquer from FFVII Remake.png|Divide and Conquer.
==Etymology==
Category:Bosses in Final Fantasy VII Remake