Danger in the Hideout

Danger in the Hideout and Escort the Children are quests in Chapter 8, "Budding Bodyguard", in Final Fantasy VII Remake, taking place in the Sector 5 Slums. After taking Aerith Gainsborough to her house and helping her with a flower delivery, Cloud Strife hears of a dangerous man in black robes who is allegedly sick.
==Walkthrough==
The quest begins after talking to Aerith. Follow Oates to the east side of the district and through a gap. After reaching the hideout, a cutscene will commence; follow Oates further down a linear path and head through a gap in the wall to the Sector 5 Slums Underdeveloped Area. Before proceeding, prepare materia. Cloud can benefit from linking an with if possible to deal more damage, as all enemies here are weak to . Aerith can keep the , or use instead; the latter costs MP, but uses only 1 ATB charge.
Head down the path to find several hedgehod pies; as before, or can deal with them quickly, as Cloud fights them up close while Aerith stays in the back. Descend the ladder, as another hedgehog pie and wererats are fought. This leads to a fork in the road; the path south leads up to a treasure chest with a mega-potion, while the path north leads across a bridge to progress, where Aerith spots the kids.
Head further north through a gap, where several wererats are fought, which can be dealt with quickly with normal attacks and abilities. Further north, hedgehog pies and wererats appear, against which the normal tactics apply. After this, down a ladder, hedgehog pies are fought with a smogger. Cloud should attack the hedgehog pies and engage the smogger in close range, while Aerith stays back and fires at it from a distance, avoiding its attacks. Once it is defeated, more hedgehog pies are fought; using Blizzard or Blizzara when they are clustered together defeats them effectively. More smoggers will then appear, against which the same tactics apply.
Once all enemies are defeated, follow Aerith to where the kids are to commence a cutscene. Follow Aerith back to the hideout, defeating the enemies encountered along the way (first a smogger, then hedgehog pies). After a cutscene at the hideout, talk to Oates to obtain the handmade necklace, then return to Aerith's house. A cutscene commences before leaving the hideout, and after leaving again, Oates will deliver dialogue, leading to "Requests for the Mercenary".
==Hard mode tips==
The enemies are much more durable, but tactics against them are similar: ice materia should be used by both characters, where Cloud pairs it with elemental, while Aerith casts ice spells. Due to Aerith's MP regeneration, she can afford to cast often, and her high means low-level spells are still effective for lower MP cost. Cloud should make use of Triple Slash to clear the enemies nearby. Aerith can also benefit from pairing the materia with for her sustainability.
Category:Quests in Final Fantasy VII Remake