Mako Cannon Rampage

Mako Cannon Rampage is the thirty-fourth chapter of Final Fantasy VII, and the fourth chapter of the fourth act, "Decisive Battle". After Cloud Strife's party left the City of the Ancients, the Diamond Weapon attacked Midgar, following which Cait Sith reported Professor Hojo using the Sister Ray to charge toward Northern Cave. The party fought Diamond Weapon, before commencing a raid on Midgar to stop Hojo and defeat the Shinra Electric Power Company.
This chapter can be skipped with the Raid on Midgar glitch.
== Walkthrough ==
=== Diamond Weapon boss battle ===
While leaving the Forgotten Capital after "What Aeris Left Behind", Cait Sith will urge Cloud to return to the Highwind. There, a dialogue sequence will commence, and Diamond Weapon will begin slowly heading toward Midgar.
The party must wait for Diamond Weapon on the western continent and fight it on land. Though the Highwind can ram Diamond Weapon, it will have no effect. If Diamond Weapon does reach Midgar, it will stop until the player starts it.
Diamond Weapon has strong attacks, but moves slowly. Its laser ray deals Fire-elemental damage to one target, while its foot stomp deals physical damage. It itself is initially immune to physical attacks until it is hit a number of summons or by a Limit Break (two or three may be needed depending on how much HP it has remaining) and opens its armor. When it does open its armor, it begins a Countdown, and at the end it will use a powerful attack that deals 7/8 of party member's current HP as damage and inflicts Silence staus, becoming immune again.
Diamond Weapon is weak to Lightning-elemental damage, making Bolt3 strong against it. A number of other strong spells such as Ultima and Comet2 can also be used against it, and the player can rely on spellcasting for damage without ever needing to open it up to physical damage. If a party is based around physical damage, it can be opened up using summons or Limit Breaks, but one must protect against Silence with an accessory on a spellcaster (typically Ribbon). The player can also steal the Rising Sun for Yuffie.
When Diamond Weapon is defeated, a cutscene commences. After the cutscene, the party must fly over to the Northern Cave for another cutscene, and then return to Midgar. At any point after this, Ultimate Weapon can be fought as a boss by flying around and fighting it in different spots, leading to the Ultima Weapon for Cloud; however, there is no urgency to doing so now and the player can continue with the story.
=== Sector 8 underground ===
Flying the Highwind over Midgar will cause the party to parachute into the streets of Sector 8. On the second screen, the party gathers around Cait Sith pointing to an entrance down to the plate infrastructure.
In the plate infrastructure, more challenging enemies are fought. Notably the Behemoth, who counters all magic attacks with a powerful spell, but teaches the Enemy Skill ????. Behemoth should be fought instead with physical attacks.
To navigate the underground obtaining all items:
* Ignore the stairs at the start, and head to the right until a Megalixir is found at a dead end.
* Follow the pipes to the dead end on the other side for an Elixir.
* Return to the start, head down the stairs and take the ladder down to the second screen.
* On the second, lower screen, head left and go back up to the top of the first screen for an Aegis Armlet, then return.
* Head back to the first ladder and head right, causing the platform to collapse. Taking the red pipe up will then return to the starting point.
* Jump into the chute and grab the Starlight Phone and Elixir seen either side.
* Climb down the ladder and jump into the chute, leading to a save point.
* At the save point, climb up he ladder to find a Max Ray. This is the second-strongest weapon for Barret behind his ultimate weapon.
* Return to the area with the save point and continue forward.
This will then lead into the Winding Tunnel, though with a wildly different compared to the earlier visit near the start of the game.
=== Turks boss battle ===
Upon entering the Winding Tunnel, entering its tunnel 7, heading north will trigger a scene where all three of the Turks appear. If "Homecoming of a Miserable Daughter" was complete, it is possible to skip the following boss battle, though doing so will miss out on the opportunity to steal powerful items: namely, the Minerva Band, the strongest female-only armor, can be stolen from Turks:Elena, while Turks:Rude has a Ziedrich and Turks:Reno has a Tough Ring. The Minerva Band and Ziedrich are strong enough to consider battling the Turks.
While Turks:Reno and Turks:Rude have similar abilities to their previous battles, Turks:Elena is new, and is capable of inflicting Confusion. As such, protecting against it is crucial. Turks:Elena also moves back and forth between rows, and absorbs Ice-elemental attacks, while Turks:Reno now absorbs Fire-elemental attacks and Turks:Rude absorbs Lightning-elemental attacks.
Only one of the Turks needs to be defeated, after which the others lose. Turks:Reno has the lowest HP of the three, with Turks:Elena's being the highest. However, defeating all three at once will net more EXP and AP if the player wishes to try this, using a non-elemental summon to hit all, spells such as Ultima, or the Slash-All ability. It is typically easier to end the battle by defeating one after stealing the necessary items, and pairing Steal as well Materia with any attack the player uses frequently is helpful.
=== Winding Tunnel optional items ===
After fighting (or skipping) the boss at tunnel 7, the objective is to head further north to fork 8. However, there are a number of rare items to be obtained by instead heading south (which can also be done before encountering the Turks).
In the tunnels are two different types of screens: forks and tunnels. The tunnels will contain items. Those not in the party will be found at different points in the Winding Tunnel.
Heading as far south as possible leads to a dead-end where the W-Item Materia is found. Due to the W-Item duplication bug, this can be used to obtain an infinite amount of any item usable in battle. Along the way, a Power Source, Guard Source, Mind Source, and Magic Source are obtained. If the W-Item is missed, it can be found in Bone Village later.
Returning to tunnel 7 and heading north leads to fork 8 allows the player to either head left to continue the story, with an option to head right to the Shinra Bldg.. Although Cait Sith will tell the party that this is not the way to the cannon, there are a number of items to be obtained in the Shinra Bldg.:
* In the in the building lobby, the Master Fist and Pile Banger are obtained for Tifa and Barret respectively. Master Fist is similar to God's Hand in that it can be made formidable if Tifa is under the effect of numerous negative statuses as each will double or triple her damage; unlike God's Hand, it has six Materia slots (all unlinked), but has lower base damage. The Pile Banger deals strong physical damage for Barret, but is weaker than the Max Ray overall.
* In the stairs, a Behemoth Horn can be obtained. This is one of the stronger weapons for Red XIII in terms of physical damage, and has six Materia slots, though all are unlinked.
* On the 63rd floor, a Grow Lance can be found for Cid, a decent all-around weapon with three pairs of linked Materia slots.
* On the 64th floor, in a locker, Cait Sith's ultimate weapon, HP Shout, is found. Cait Sith's ultimate weapon deals more damage the higher Cait Sith's HP is and has maximum Materia slots, but as with other ultimate weapons, has no Materia growth. The vending machine nearby gives a Mind Source and a Speed Source.
With all items obtained in the Shinra Bldg., the party can return to fork 8 and head left. This will lead onto the bridge in Sector 8.
=== Proud Clod boss battle ===
Returning to the bridge on Sector 8, after a short scene, a boss battle begins agaist Proud Clod.
Proud Clod has a large amount of HP, and mostly deals strong physical attacks. However, its Materia Jammer ability will inflict Reflect on the entire player party, disrupting them and preventing them from casting healing spells (as these will reflect onto Proud Clod). The Beam Cannon ability will also deal significant damage to the entire party, though it also grants the player an opportunity to deal more damage against it. In addition, Proud Clod has Jamar Armor, which is not necessary to defeat but doing so will prevent its Materia Jammer attack and earn much more EXP and AP at the end of the battle.
Proud Clod can be defeated using physical attacks, which can be enhanced using Materia such as 2x-Cut, and Added Cut paired with another Materia (though it cannot pair with 2x-Cut, it can pair with Deathblow to deal two attacks). Powerful summons and non-elemental magic can also be used, but there are no elements to exploit. When Proud Clod uses Materia Jammer, one can use the White Wind with Enemy Skill Materia to get around it; alternatively, items can be used.
Defeating Proud Clod will drop the Ragnarok. This is Cloud's second-strongest weapon, with good Materia slots and stats. Though its damage will not equal Cloud's ultimate weapon, because ultimate weapons have no Materia growth, it can be used in contexts where the player still wants to improve Materia.
=== Climbing the Sister Ray in Sector 8 ===
After defeating Proud Clod, the player can head north to the fountain area where a save point is found. Around here are chests containing an Elixir and Mystile. Mystile is one of the strongest all-around armor, with six Materia slots (linked in pairs) and strong stats, but does not nullify elements as the Minerva Band or Escort Guard do.
It is possible to change parties here. If not present in the party, the player should first change the party to include Barret to head up the stairs for his ultimate weapon, the Missing Score, which can only be found if he is in the party. Missing Score deals more damage the higher the AP of the Materia equipped in the weapon. This means the weapon deals more damage with mastered Materia, especially mastered Materia that take a large amount of AP to master (such as Knights of Round). The weapon leans Barret more toward a spellcasting role wherein he can equip powerful Materia that also improves his damage, however, it requires a significant amount of investment to reach full potential. The weapon is permanently missed if not picked up now.
Climbing the Sister Ray are a number of difficult enemies. SOLDIER:1st are powerful and fast enemies that attack twice and inflict Silence to counter magic attacks, but are themselves not immune to any negative statuses, and Counter Attack with Cover is effective against them. XCannon has very high HP, but its few attacks are relativey weak. Grosspanzer∙Mobile is particularly challenging due to its strong physical attacks (meaning Big Guard may be needed, but can be defeated with strong attacks such as the Enemy Skill Magic Breath, Bolt3, or 2x-Cut.
A boss battle will commence at the top of the cannon. If Vincent is in the party, there will be unique dialogue in the following sequence before the next battle.
=== Hojo boss battle ===
For the battle, Added Effect is strong. It can be paired with Time Materia to inflict Stop on Hojo's summons, or paired with Hades on armor to resist most negative statuses. Ribbons are crucial to equip on other party members. With Vincent in the party, Vincent's Limit Breaks can make him immune to many of the statuses applied.
It is very important to equip Cover and Counter Attack on a party member. 2x-Cut and other Materia enhancing physical attacks should be equipped for the early parts where the player will want to avoid expanding MP. In addition, Summon and Magic Materia can also be equipped and paired with Added Cut. It is also important to have curative spells for the battle, and equip protective accessories. Phoenix Materia can be used in an emergency.
The first battle is simply fought against Hojo who summons two Poodler Samples. The Poodler Samples will be respawned if killed. For this, the player should avoid expending MP and simply defeat Hojo with physical attacks before moving to the next.
Helletic Hojo is a more challenging boss, which can inflict Poison, Confusion, Sleep, and Silence. For this, using summons, Ultima, Comet2, or the Magic Breath ability can be useful to hit all arms (as defeating its arms prevents it using some attacks), but it is not necessary to defeat it. The boss has double the HP of the base Hojo, and will take longer to defeat.
Lifeform-Hojo N is the final part of the battle, and has the highest HP. Many of its attacks inflict negative statuses even with Ribbons equipped, and it has a number of powerful combo attacks that deal high physical damage. If a party member has Counter Attack and Cover equipped, however, they can intercept most of these attacks and respond with their own, but will need healing by the other two members. Additionally, Magic Hammer can be used to drain its MP.
=== After boss battle ===
Following the boss battle, the party returns to the Highwind for a dialogue scene. Depending on the player's date mechanics score with Tifa, the scene that follows will be drastically different in dialogue (if their score is below 50).
Following this, the cutscene leads to the Highwind being over the Northern Cave, the final dungeon, for the last quest, "The Planet's Judgment". Before attempting this, the player should prepare for the final dungeon in "Feelings from the Heart of Every Place", the chapter comprising a number of sidequests to be completed to obtain rare items and weapons before the final dungeon for full preparation.
== Citations ==
Category:Chapters in Final Fantasy VII