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Sephiroth has always been the dream of Final Fantasy. One look at him, and he appears by all intents human yet also ethereal. There’s an unattainable aura about him. The terrifyingly long sword, Masamune, doesn’t exactly make him any more approachable, either.
In the original Final Fantasy 7, they were happy to let you view Sephiroth’s strength from a distance. InFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth, however, you get direct control over Sephiroth and can unleash his power how you see fit. That said, he can be a lot to take in all at once, so here are all the unique aspects of his character and combat style.
Combat Overview
Like most playable characters in Remake and Rebirth, Sephiroth works off the same base principle - ‘Square’ for regular attacks and ‘Triangle’ for special attacks.
Sephiroth’s regular attacks are bothfast and far-reaching, letting him dominate the battlefield with ease. By holding the regular attack, Sephiroth insteadfires off a ranged magic attack that tracks enemiesfor a small amount of damage.
In a somewhat similar vein to Tifa, Sephiroth’s special attacks change depending on how far into a chain of attacks he is, letting them be easily woven into combos.
These special attacks also change based on whether Sephiroth is in the air, dodging, etc.
One core thing about Sephiroth’s special attacks is that he must first build up regular attacks to fill his gauge. After the gauge is filled, it stays as such regardless of how many special attacks you use.
However, it resets upon being hit even once.
A major change to Sephiroth compared to other characters is his lack of a block button. Instead, Sephiroth enters a defensive mode known as Retaliation Stance, letting him parry almost any attack and deliver a devastating counter.
Sephiroth also has anadvanced form of the normal dodge called ‘Warp.‘As the name implies, Sephiroth insteadteleports across the battlefieldinstead of manually moving. This creates an instant gap closer that can also warp to airborne enemies.
Sephiroth also has aLimit Break known as Octoslash.As you might expect from the name, it has Sephiroth focused on a single enemy and unleashing eight devastating strikes.
All Of Sephiroth’s Branching Special Attacks
As mentioned above, Sephiroth’s special attacks branch off depending on various circumstances. Along his regular chain of attacks, they are as follows:
As you may see, there is a great variety in his moveset, allowing them to be weaved into any combo with ease and even in any scenario Sephiroth may find himself in.
Sephiroth’s Abilities
Like all other characters, Sephiroth has a series of moves he can use in exchange for a bar of the ATB gauge. In the Rebirth demo, Sephiroth only has two combat abilities, though each can be extended through his special skill button.
Ability
Zanshin
As per its in-game description, Zanshin ‘launches rending waves of energy at an enemy.’ It is immensely powerful and is great for attacking an enemy you don’t want to get too close to.
It can also be extended with an additional ranged slash called ‘Zanshin Rising’ by pressing the special attack button while the gauge is filled.
Hell’s Gate
Using a famed downward slashing motion, Hell’s Gate has Sephiroth ‘descend from the skies and impale an enemy.’ It does exactly as it describes, acting as a more powerful version of Skyshatter that can be used at any time.
It also has a follow-up attack called ‘Infernal Gate’ that causes an explosion activated by pressing the special attack button while the gauge is filled.
Remember that the follow-up attacks on abilities require a charged special attack gauge and an additional ATB bar.
Though Sephiroth doesn’t have a large repertoire of abilities, being able to extend them offers a lot more flexibility in their use than other characters.
Retaliation Stance
Just like all other characters, Sephiroth’s special mode isRetaliation Stance. In exchange for a dedicated block button, Sephiroth gains the ability to parry almost all forms of attacks, both ranged and melee.
Because this requires more precise timing, it may be easier to rely on warping rather than parrying.
Parrying is a simple process in Retaliation Stance. Once entered by using ‘R1’, Sephiroth will grip Masamune and lock himself in place. Just before an attack hits,use your regular attack to parry.
If you are successful, the special attack gauge will fill and you can strike both with ‘Counter’. This only appears for a brief moment after parrying an attack, so make sure to act fast.
Don’t worry if you miss your parry either. As long as you’re not hit, Sephiroth will simply return to Retaliation Stance rather than reverting to his regular combat mode.
If the special attack gauge is filled while in Retaliation Stance, you may access the ‘Retaliation’ command. This acts identical to the ‘Counter’ attack, thoughslightly weaker and accessible at all times.
Sephiroth’s Synergy Skills And Ability
Synergy Skills are a new combat mechanic added in Rebirth to show the bond between characters in combat with Cloud and Sephiroth having access to unique Synergy Skills that complement their battle styles.
Synergy SkillsandSynergy Abilitiesaretwo different things. Think of Synergy Abilities as being akin to Limit Breaks and Synergy Skills as similar to regular Abilities.
For Sephiroth, there is only a single Synergy Skill -Dualblade Dance. This skill hasSephiroth and Cloud double team an enemy, both independently slashing an enemy.
For Cloud, there are two Synergy Skills, an offensive and defensive one:
Since both characters have differing Synergy Skills, it’s important tocoordinate actions between themboth to dominate battles.
Finally, there is their shared Synergy Ability,Double Helix. This move has the duoleap into the airto draw a symbol and thenunleash an onslaught of attackson the enemy.
After the attack finishes,Cloud gains an additional barto his Limit Gauge, andSephiroth gains unlimited MP.
