Guard Scorpion (Final Fantasy VII)

The Guard Scorpion is the first boss the player encounters in Final Fantasy VII. Cloud and Barret fight it in the No. 1 Reactor at the reactor's Core during the first quest, "No. 1 Reactor Bombing".
Unlike most other bosses in the game, Guard Scorpion's battle music is "Opening ~ Bombing Mission" and not "Those Who Fight Further". In the 1996 demo version of Final Fantasy VII, Guard Scorpion is replaced by an enlarged Sweeper accompanied by two Grunts.
==Stats==
==Formations==
#	Formation
 	Guard Scorpion
==Locations==
No. 1 Reactor	No. 1 Reactor
Core 	324 (fixed)
==Battle==
A misleading battle message has Cloud tell the player to attack Guard Scorpion while its tail is raised, but doing so will cause it to always use Tail Laser. This is its only strong attack and deals a large amount of damage to both Cloud and Barret.
Guard Scorpion has two forms. It starts in Form 1 and its second form is when it raises its tail. It will transform to Form 2 after using two damaging attacks, and will revert shortly. Guard Scorpion has a fixed attack pattern: Search Scope, Attack, Search Scope, Attack, Transform to Form 2, Wait, Wait, Transform to Form 1, and it starts from Search Scope again. It always uses Search Scope on the victim of its attacks before attacking, and Search Scope does nothing. Also his two basic attacks Rifle and Scorpion Tail just do damage in a decent amount, but not much else.
===Strategy===
Cloud should cast Bolt while Barret attacks. The player can set Barret in the back row to take less damage, as he has a ranged weapon. Eventually, Guard Scorpion will raise its tail, and counter attack with Tail Laser whenever hit. It is best to do nothing but heal when it raises its tail.
==AI script==
===Notes===
*Guard Scorpion's tail is up while Stage equals 1, and down while Stage equals 0. In addition to a difference in stats and attack pattern, the two stages also have different idle animations and flinch animations.
*Depending on who's alive when Guard Scorpion raises its tail, the in-battle dialogue changes. It remains unclear to the player how to adequately respond in each scenario.
==Gallery==
Search Scope.png|Search Scope.
FFVII Rifle.png|Rifle.
FFVII Scorpion Tail.png|Scorpion Tail.
Tail Laser.png|Tail Laser.
==Etymology==
de:Wachskorpion (FFVII)
es:Escorpión guardián (Final Fantasy VII)
Category:Bosses in Final Fantasy VII