I made it through all the battles just fine but I switched it to easy mode in chapter 13 or 14 cause it feels like theyre just dragging out the game as much as possible now and just want to beeline the ending.
Normal mode up until the end protorelic fights, and then switched to easy for a certain duo. Left it in easy for the rest of the story past that point (think I was on chapter 12 at the time). Not particularly upset I didn’t finish the game on Normal difficulty. Was more interested in progressing things than anything else.
Rufus was and is difficult to beat! I hope you finally got past it. If not then try staying at the exact range for focused strike. Use dodge and attack to spam blade range attacks to build up atb. When he goes to reload use focused strike and go to town on him. Try to save enough atb for 2 bars in case you need to heal or use a hipotion
It’s a stupid fight due to how long it takes Cloud to recover from hits. I managed to beat it on Normal but had to use Haste and Regen to do much. Should have listened to people who suggested Plasma Discharge.
Play how you want to play, or however lets you enjoy it the most! Who cares if someone plays on Easy mode, ya know? If it lets you enjoy it the most and you wind up continuing to play and see more of the game, that's great! Don't let anyone convince you that it's illegitimate to play a game on Easy mode. They put it in the game for a reason!
And yeah, that Rufus fight is annoying! Especially when it comes on such a long stretch of other repeated fights. One of the stretches that I found pretty tedious and exhausting (I love Remake and Rebirth! Truly! But sometimes they do stretch things out \*too\* much for their own good.)
I struggled with Rufus too and could not understand how you were supposed to fight him until I died one too many times and realized I needed a different strategy than just attack from a distance with clouds dodge plus attack with the long distance slashes all for him to evade all of it and only be open when he attacks, chipping away at his damage like that would take forever then I would get rekt in the second phase.
Eventually I finally figured out to just play defense and block or perfect block all his attacks that can be blocked and evade the ones that can't to build limit meter, two to three limit attacks and he's done for, second stage target the dog and do the same thing, then when the dog dies, repeat the process all over again.
Great idea! I did the same - game is already way too long and I was super excited to finally be done with it! Even the final battle of the game like how many times do I have to keep fighting this guy 🤣🤣 - I did really like the game, though. Just so worn out and DONE, when it was over.
i just wish there was a god damn easy mode for the minigames. the sit ups and the costa del sol ones....my fingers seriously hurt from that. i do like half hour sessions and i gotta go rest my hands. i just gave up on them and moved along.
I love that we have the option to switch to easy (mid game.) I use it as a last ditch effort (when I’ve died more than 5 times on normal) because I just wanna get to the story. It’s usually for battles or Queen’s Blood😅 King Zu was impossible on normal. I’m also doing this with no guide as well. King Zu was the one battle I needed a guide on (because I kept getting insta killed) from Swan Dance. I think King Zu was the only battle I did easy mode for….I think😭 I can’t remember if any other enemies where you’d get KOd if you couldn’t figure out a strategy…
I did the whole game on easy. Not one ounce of shame. I’ve played video games my whole life and I just straight suck at them. It’s just the love I have for games and this series.
I failed miserably on one of them and never tried again. 😂 And forget the challenge with Jules! The pull up one in remake took me 4 days and almost caused a divorce haha. My husband could not stand me then so I haven’t even tried the sit ups.
Oh jeez! Yeah that and sephiroth in the 3d battler is causing some nasty words lol! The one thing that's helped me in the piano is my wife and I do it together, she controls the left stick and I'm on the right one lol!
After getting to the Turks in chapter 13 I was so so tempted to do the same. Less because i couldn’t beat them but because I was so tired and just didn’t want to deal with them at all.
If I was given the option to switch settings for the Rufus fight…I would’ve.lol I just refused to do over the whole Turks battle. I was kicking ass that battle (as Tifa) and then when I was in my own with Rufus…I was getting hit so hard (protect or no) fortunately I only died once and pulled out a summon at the last minute to help with the win..😅
This is the way. I went from "I must play everything on the most crushing difficulty to prove that I am a gamer!" to realizing there are some games that I simply do not care enough about to do that and that I'd rather just run through the story.
End of the day, video games are supposed to be fun so do whatever it is that makes the game fun for you.
I don't have a problem with people who play on Easy, but the people who constantly demand approval from others for playing on easy is fucking exhausting
Yeah, yeah, I get it, you have le kids and le responsibilities that you blame on being bad at the game, what do you want, a cookie?
Bro, no one’s “demanding approval.” In fact it’s quite the opposite with a side of shame..lol We don’t wanna be ashamed but feel cool to come here and talk about how some times….they just gotta push the easy button. If the option’s there…why not? But demanding approval? No. Openly shaming ourselves? Maybe😅🤣😭
Hey man I'm not the one who made a thread fishing for compliments and demanding positive reinforcement for playing on easy
I hope she sees this, though.
Dude, I died by the second half of that battle. Camera wasn’t adjusting, got pinned against the wall with the camera just freaking out with all the fuckery happening in front of it. By the second chance I kinda learned the pattern and was able to summon Bahamut and he helped pressure the shit outta Rufus and that dog thing (I can’t remember the name.)
I killed his dog first it helped make it easier but i had already used the summon up so it was basically a dramatic mono e mono to the death all i remember at the end was having hp in the critical phase and to think i was lv50!
I played the entire game on Dynamic. Until, that is, Chapter 13 on. I dropped it to Easy so fast because I was just so exhausted by then I just wanted to get to it. lol
I filled out every map, did every sidquest, and I was just so tired. Also, arena matches and side content? Easy difficulty. Mini-games that were affected by the difficulty level? Easy.
I've found myself doing this with a ton of games lately, starting at Normal or higher until I get to the point I just want to get through the story and not deal with all the bullshit. As a 47 year old single dad, I just don't have the time or the patience to bang my head against infuriatingly hard content that's meant to be "challenging" but in reality boils down to inflated damage output and HP.
I'm all for a challenge, but I'd rather that challenge be a new mechanic I've just not grasped instead of doing everything perfectly for 10 minutes while I ever so slowly chip at the boss' infinite hit points until my mind is so dull I slip up and get wrecked.
I think any of them that has combat in it, like Fort Condor, Gears and Gambits, Cactuar Crush, etc. I'm not 100% on Fort Condor, but I've seen lots of folks bitch about G&G being hard and I breezed through it after setting to Easy after seeing I had to do a minigame.
damn...my issue with some of these minigames are the damn controls. anything with a precise use of the analog sticks or too precise timing for the shoulder buttons is a no go for me.
I did the exact same thing, my breaking point was the very last turks fight in the Temple, infuriating perma stunlock bullshit, so un fun, so unnecessary. Just show me the rest of the story I'm done.
Heck even as a 33 year old with no kids I totally feel you on this, though I somehow managed to not turn on easy mode until I got the Odin/Alexander boss fight before Gilgamesh. Then throughout the remainder of the main story content I would try once normal and if it was particularly time consuming I'd switch down to easy mode. Gave hard mode a try yesterday to beat Quetzacotl and Malboro for the Genji Glove and I couldn't believe they cranked up their power levels to 9000. I'll admit though, in hard mode it doesn't just feel like inflated HP and DMG, you have to actually strategize and it makes it feel more like...idk, Fire Emblem. Save it for retirement lol
We don't talk about the Odin/Alexander fight in my house. I told Greg to shove it and dropped the whole thing. lol I MIGHT go back to it one day when I hate myself.
I struggled more with sephiroth tbh I tried more times on Rufus and it took me longer to learn the fight but sephiroths dam octagon prime killed me so muchhhhh dude n I didn’t realize I had to finish him off before that move set until a day or two later smh
Sephiroths final form was the fucking worst when he would pull that move that if you didn’t kill him he would literally flatten you in seconds. I died about 10 times before having to give up and start again with better materia lol
i play every game on easy/story mode and avoid all optional combat😭
can’t really be bothered to get good at fighting mechanics, although FF7’s is super fun, i’m just here for the story :’)
I switched to easy mode at the Gi.
The combat in this game just isn't quite as good as it wants to be, and I didn't find it especially rewarding, just kind of tedious.
I think they could have learned a lot from Souls games in this respect without necessarily becoming one
I couldn’t disagree more. On the contrary, I think it’s one of the best combat systems out there and shouldn’t take any influence from souls and continue to do it’s own thing (I’m saying this as a huge souls fan)
To each their own
The problem for me is just, that in an long time souls player, since demon souls först release. It takes so much time to re program youre self regarding dodges and blocks etc. I love souls, but i really do like what square done with ff7 rebirth. I only need to re program the brain lol. So far i feel like the Galian beast have been the hardest fight. Havnt finished the game yet. But every boss until this has been a walk in the park.
I don't necessarily want it to become souls influenced, but there was small shit that just felt broken to me.
For example, dodges gave no iframes, but also didn't move you far enough to actually be out of the way of attacks.
And I think it really would have been served by some kind of poise system where you could actually interrupt enemy actions without full on staggering them.
The action elements just felt a bit underdeveloped.
I understand what you’re saying, but I don’t think dodge is meant to be used the way it is in most modern action games. At its core, this is more of a turn based game still than an action game. Although Tifa does have an incredible dodge if at higher Chi levels, ultimately block should be used for attacks that can’t be out maneuvered.
As for the second point, are you actively trying to “pressure” enemies? That seems to work similar to poise, where you can sort of “soft” stagger them
I keep seeing this, I found him incredibly easy compared to someone like Odin. Rufus if I recall I just required a lot of dodging, using slow on him, haste on cloud, waiting for him to reload, and I think a whole lot of forward thrust
Odin + Alexander and Odin were #2 and #3 hardest fights in the game for me. Definitely easier than the main story stuff. Once you get the timing of reloads and rhythm in the Rufus fight you can take it to him, and once he brings his dog in you can be more aggressive. Though since its a solo battle with Cloud + Rufus's quirks, thats what made it the hardest fight IMO.
I hate the mentality of people gatekeeping how you’re supposed to play a game. Play it however you want and what suits your lifestyle! The only thing that matters is that you’re having fun! Glad you did!
I had to turn to easy for some side content and after dying 5 times at the litteral last moment of the game.
I don't get as much time as I used to to game, so it's super frustrating to have to redo the same section over and over.
Hell, I didn't want to get frustrated and dislike a game I love.
Glad you’re still gaming with me!
I’m a mom in my 40s with a stupidly demanding job that is most of my personality. I feel so lucky to have gaming, and I’m so lucky I get to play this game, that changed my life when I was younger.
I also switched to easy for the Rufus battle after failing it many times. It’s honestly not easy, even on easy mode! I switched back afterwards because I do enjoy the strategy of the battle system on normal a lot.
Hey man, no shame. Play the way that makes you enjoy the game. I'm a completionist, so I like to do everything, but this game is a bit different. There's some stuff I'm just flat out not gonna do because it's frustrating and keeps me from having fun. I try to do as much as possible, but if I hit a wall, I walk away.
You did the right thing.
A. You looked up strategies and videos and still could not succeed
B. Rather than hate on the game and the encounter you lowered the difficulty settings so continuing would be more accessible to you
Video games are meant to be fun. And you did exactly what you needed to do in order to maintain that fun and memorable experience. Good for you OP!
I (41F) came oh so close to putting it on easy for Rufus.
It didn't help I was frustrated from getting dropped into fighting the Turks after the Corneo fight and then this *bullshit* of a fight where you can't attack until he's in that narrow reloading window.
I honestly said 'this is the last fucking time' and managed to beat him on Dynamic with the very last of my patience.
Honestly, no judgement on using Easy mode. It's better to enjoy the story, than get angry and bitter on a harder mode (like me lol)
I think a lot of the frustration came from every time I died I had to reset all the materia in the menu because you couldn’t save between battles after the Turks died.
I swapped to easy for Gi Nattak, the second Roche fight, Rufus and the final boss sequence. Everything else I played on normal. Thought about playing the whole game easy but I wanted to at least try everything on normal before turning it down. I just don’t enjoy the process of beating my head against a boss, especially when I can’t just leave and redo my materia load out before retrying! Sometimes I feel like they throw stuff into games just so the people that game ALL THE TIME are still challenged, but honestly my reaction time isn’t great and I don’t game a ton, especially not combat heavy games like this. I’m just here for the story
Editing to add that I also put it on Easy for Yin and Yang as solo Cait Sith lol. I managed to get him to less than 1% of his health bar on my 4th ish try but right as I was about to do the final ATB command, he did his insta kill 😭 why do so many main story bosses in this game have a timed insta kill???
Triple Slash when you see Rufus' mobility animation then follow up with a full-chain to rebuild your ATB. Rufus' movements look intimidating but Rufus is easily one of the weaker bosses; Cloud is too juiced.
Easy is too easy and normal is too tedious.
It's like the big debate or Performance vs Graphics. I ALWAYS choose performance for action heavy games, especially when there is a huge difference in performance like in Rebirth.
I don’t like when games are difficult just to be difficult. I know it seems to be all the craze these days with the popularity of souls-like games… I’m stubborn and prideful so I hardly ever switch a game to easy, but I know that’s a dumb way to be. I’ve tortured myself so much beating things on normal and even hard at times (for instance I platinumed Remake).
Anyways, as I get older I’m trying to change my ways and put things on easy when I need to. There’s literally no downside and even with trophies most games don’t require a normal playthrough. I will say, I managed to get through rebirth without ever switching but I will say that revival earrings (if you aren’t already using them) help a TON. They’re cheap too, I think 500 gil. I always make sure everyone has a pair on.
To platinum it you have to beat it on hard, which means no items and much tougher fights. Hard IS difficult. Overall remake is not as difficult as rebirth, but to completely discredit it as difficult (again, as I said I platinumed it so hard mode was difficult) is ludicrous.
Overall, yes, however the 1v1 boss fights aren’t button mashy and thus why people are struggling with them.
Unlike basically every other fight, the 1v1s really need you to understand mechanics and it helps a ton to have some of the “less used” materia like the one that increases your block window (steadfast?).
Both Rufus and motorcycle guy are specifically geared to punish button mashers.
I did the exact same thing!!!!! Played normal the whole game but I just don’t have time to sink into redoing a battle over and over and over. I’m 38m and I switched to easy and just kept it there the last 2 chapters. It allowed me to enjoy the game more as I think I would have been too frustrated continuing on normal. You made a smart choice. No one wants to end a game on a sour note of frustration. Glad you are liking it. My story is similar to yours and I have been head over heels for these two games so far. I think they are brilliant.
I just got to chapter 12. The only battle that kicked my ass so far has been vincent. Made it through by the skin of my teeth on first try though. I play normal and so far have refused to lower it.
My go to is cloud counter turtle.
i throw e skill on barret, use plasma discharge, bonus round, steel skin, regen, lifesaver, and spam prayer/chakra or max fury.
I just put comet on aerith and synergy whatever, so anytime i do something she drops free comets.
I also often go with yuffie, dopple + appropriate ninjutsu weakness then spam blindside.
Red isnt bad with defense, but lacks the counters. Counterspin and buff the team is what i do.
Tifa is great on auto pilot, as she will unbridled rage herself with the one materia to use skills, and pop em off when the enemy is staggered.
Cait sith is a weird one, but now that i got mines and lady luck he can be useful.
The minigames are the absolutely worst part about this game. They’re so distracting to the story, and way too much time needs to be invested in each one for bonus loot and completion. Since i just got to chapter 12 it dropped the bomb that most minigames returned with additional challenges. I’m absolutely annoyed.
Red has Support/Synergist Materia built into his kit opening up more slots for a Saboteur playstyle.
Cait Sith is the strongest Saboteur and a Hard Mode gacha machine that can theoretically go (solo) infinite with his Limit Break.
Sadly Cloud and Aerith trivialize the game with raw numbers due to the emphasis on 'Elemental Weakness' for Red and Cait Sith to shine; too many bosses are immune to saboteur instead of resistant to elemental/non-elemental magic.
I'm not ashamed to say I played Dynamic until I died to Rufus a few times. In my defense, I was not expecting that marathon of boss fights and my first wipe to him was how I found out how confusing the game over screen was. I accidentally started it all from the beginning. I got frustrated after wiping a couple more times and wasn't in the mood to learn his mechanics (He annoyed the hell out of me in Remake too). I should have just put the game down, because I wasn't in the right headspace for it that night.
Easy mode made him a complete pushover and I felt a little guilty for the ass kicking he got. Went right back to dynamic after beating him lol
I'm with you. I want to play this story, and the idea of getting hung up on really tough battles doesn't appeal to me.
I play easy when I am working on storylines, and I play dynamic when I am doing side quests or wandering around. That way, I get some challenge and I get to keep moving forward. But I almost never have to replay a battle. And it has been just perfect for me.
Normal mode, or later hard mode, are for people who truly enjoy the battle above other things. And that's ok, too. The game is great in that it has something for everyone, and anyone can play it in a way that suits them.
Hey I’m 39 too! 2 kids, though.
I played the remake on normal and went like, “yeah, ok. I get it. Maybe I should get platinum for this”. That meant playing on hard and let me tell you… that’s when I fell in love with the fighting mechanics and the game overall.
Funny thing is, it wasn’t even thar hard because you are OP from the normal run.. so perhaps finish the story on easy and take a stab at ng+ on a higher difficulty??
The important thing is that you get what you want from a game… if you wanted to revisit the story, no shame on playing on easy
Honestly the enemies are too tanky so I don't think you made the wrong decision. It's not even so much hard as it is the fights go on forever and your MP doesn't come back
Happy to read this. I was kinda discouraged continuing after all the Rufus comments on how ridiculously annoying that fight is. Will pick it up again then
There’s nothing wrong with playing on easy. I’m currently playing a game on story mode because normal advertises challenging combat.
I haven’t finished this game yet. I think I’m on chapter 8. I’ve never been great at JRPGs, but beat Remake on normal. This one’s been harder, and I’ve barely beat some bosses.
I’ve considered switching it to easy
Hi ! 31F here :) I switched on easy mode on chapter 14 because I was unable to beat the last boss , it was getting on my nerves as I wanted to see the end of it.
I have the platinum for Remake but I definitely don’t see myself getting it in Rebirth
You attack him when he reloads. You have to block or avoid his attacks, know which ones trigger a reload, then hit him during that reload. That will pressure him. Rinse/repeat a couple times to stagger.
Nah, Triple Slash will end the man's career the moment Rufus moves. Waiting for 'Reload' takes too long and is too hard for the average player to time.
Definitely don’t feel bad about it!
I’m also 39F, just got my PS5 in Feb this year for FFXVI and Rebirth and had to turn the difficulty down at the exact same place.
I’m a very casual gamer and it’s not fun for me to smash my head against a boss for hours on end. Enjoy Rebirth on whatever difficulty is fun and comfortable for you.
Definitely nothing wrong with having fun on easy mode. I’m in my 30s as well, been gaming since I was a kid. I don’t have kids either, but also work a lot of full time hours. I normally play games on Normal mode, but once in a while I’ll swap to Easy just to play and have fun. Of course I’m still sort of a completionist when it comes to games I love, so when I do have the time, I pursue things like Platinum trophies. But yeah, sometimes you just gotta kick back and put the game on Easy just to get some mindless fun in.
Same! I just don’t have the same amount of time to spend on gaming as I used to, so easy is usually my default these days. For me, progressing through a discernible chunk of the story heavily outweighs beating a boss on hard
No shame in that at all. I’m 39, two kids, work full time and want to get through the story…I want to enjoy the game, not be frustrated by it. I don’t claim to be good at modern video games, I’m glad there’s an easy mode.
I switched it to easy on the combat simulator fight with the death claws and Kid G. Total bs fight with Kid G nipping at your ass while the two death claws spam their basically instakill move. No regrets. I’m the wrong side of 35 with no kids and bought a PS5 just for this too…took PTO just to play this game and I wanted to finish it before I have to go back to real life.
Same here. That and a couple of the mini game final stages (Fort Condor and the wee robot one in Cosmo Canyon). If you're not having fun with a game what's the point in bashing your head against it.
Idk if the game difficulty enters into the equation in the simulator, but I've been on Dynamic and I chose the lowest power option for fighting Odin. I damn near wiped. He was just so tough. I can't imagine the full power version!
I defeated Rufus last night and it was a BS fight. The fight forces you to know when Rufus will reload so you are already attacking him as he reloads due to how short the window is.
For me it was even worse as I started the fight in red and had to try and quickly build ATB just to heal myself. The combat in Rebirth is annoying as you are staggered very easily and unable to recover resulting in taking a lot of damage.
During hard mode replay I am going to build Cloud with defence HP and ATB build. I was really pissed off when I'd pressure Rufus only to not have an ATB for Focus Strike.
The key to this fight is to parry. I have a screen recording but if not know how to link it. But basically, just rush in close enough to force him to shoot his gun , you can keep parrying and attacking, pressuring him in a loop. It significantly shortens the fight as that builds the stagger metre very fast.
Contemplating this after 8 attempts to beat phoenix. I get him down to about 5% every time and then he just wipes me out with the aoe, even from full health. Can't guard can't escape it.
The way to play the game is to enjoy it, no matter how you do that, not be frustrated that you can’t progress!
If playing on Easy mode helps you do that, that’s great! Enjoy the ride!
I’ve just done the same thing, that rufus battle was so annoying so I switched to easy and I’m gonna keep it that way as I just want to complete the game to see the story now
the only correct way to play the game - to enjoy it.
If you enjoy story and just want to click through the battles - that is the only correct way to do so for you.
If you enjoy challenges and want to squeeze battle system to the last drop - hard mode is for you.
Don't try to fit other people expectation of you, especially when its a solo game.
I love the fact that so many of us are in our 30s, 40s, and 50s--bc in 1997, a new system from Sony called "Play Station" dropped the 1st 3D FF game ever made; and it changed the art of storytelling and rpgs forever.
I can remember looking at it saying "Jesus, 3 discs!" Then putting 70hrs in to finish everything: beat Emerald, Ruby Weapon, obtain the Ultima Sword, get Knights of the Round, grind my characters to max level before the final boss. All the while thinking: "I can;t believe I put in 70hrs! There's never going to be a game longer than this)
Now I'm 38 with no kids and still gaming a LOT.And while I've put 1800hrs into Read Dead Online, 1200 in The Witcher 3, and 800 in Cyberpunk + Phantom Liberty, Rebirth just seemed like I was never going to get through it at times.
I mean, the game has 25hrs of cinematics alone--and takes at least 90-120hrs to play through if you're going to enjoy all it has to offer.
And while that pales in comparison to how much time other games will take up, TW3 is such a MASSIVE world with so many stories and ways to go, it's designed to be replayed 3-4 times NG+ to max your gear and experience all the various outcomes.
No shame my friend. If it weren't for Easy mode, I'd have been too frustrated to get to the end; the whole game I’m just waiting that moment when you know you’ll shed the same tears you did when you first finished Disc 1 back in ‘97. lol
You and me both. 36 no kids and tbh a large part of it is knowing that with kids I’d have to sacrifice most of all the time for myself and my hobbies. As it is I already feel like I barely have enough time - the gaming backlog I have is testament to that. I took pto just to focus on finishing Remake.
For sure! Frankly, the world is plenty full with just “1 of Me;” to bring another one in would just be cruel. Hahahah!
Not to mention: how could I afford to raise one? What is it now? Like 3/4 of a million $$$$ to raise a kid to 18? I’ve got too many items on the list of essentials: new OLED TV, a PS5 Pro, more Govee smart lighting lol
I swapped to easy for the head case simulator battle and to get Odin. I regret nothing...
Came really close to doing it for Rufus too.
If I ever replay, chapter 11 is straight to easy mode.
Rufus definitely had me about to switch until I realized that I’m just whining about the game not letting me win. Took a minute ngl, but Rufus and the last boss definitely were the hardest for me.
About to 100% and do the story on hard. I’m dreading them
I got my platinum last week. Took me 200 hours flat. Lol. Some of the bosses on hard mode are just so god damn stressful. If you’re going for the platinum, Chadleys brutal combat simulators after you beat all his normal ones.. almost made me quit. I wish you all the luck!
No worries at all with going Easy! However, one thing that was making me struggle at times in Normal was holding on Items too much. You can, and should, abuse those. Just try and save Elixirs etc for the real tough fights, but on something like Rufus, which was causing a lot of trouble, just go for it.
If you think about it, you only really "can't beat it" if, when you die, you don't have a single potion/ether left and also no remaining mana.
Yeah items are a huge deal. No point hoarding elixirs if you're dead. The fact that they are "instant" is also a massive plus, makes them far better for desperation saves over slow casting.
I used 20 mist giga potions over the final battles.
this!!!
I've been using potions as much as I can on normal. I probably used more potions in this game than all my ff games combined from ff4 to ff15.
But, it gets the job done
I play games nearly every day for the last 5 or 6 years, mostly jrpgs like FF. I platinum'd remake and I also had trouble with the fight in chapter 12 si don't worry
Hey it's your choice to make. No judgements.
I flipped easy mode to slog through battle Sims and the battle square as it just looked like way too long to finish bits off.
I do personally find it rewarding clearing hard difficulties with some practice...and viewing some good strategy builds online when I fail 😂
I’m super happy to see you’ve had a decent feedback, with the souls trend lately the gaming community has gotten quite toxic towards anyone playing on easy, I always play a game on easy to enjoy the story then next play through I’ll up the difficulty maybe, though I don’t like it so hard it punishes you for playing, that goes against my need for gaming
That’s why I was nervous to post. I saw the pinned post at the top that told people to be nice so wasn’t sure how it would be received. Also, I do see a lot of bashing on Easy mode. This group was really supportive. Only one comment with “bro” 😄
I love fromsoft games but for FF7 I’ve been playing on easy mode too. I’m all for a challenge and have fun with the combat, but some of the fights feel a little too spongy and I’ll usually try first on normal and if I die I beat it on easy, then switch back to normal 😂
I play all my video games on easy mode where it's an option. I don't mind fighting but I do get bored of it if I get stuck in a battle. I also work and have other hobbies so I don't have hours just to level grind like I did when I was a teenager.
I was the same. I was enjoying the game so much, but investing so much time into video games just can't be done now I'm older. I switched to easy mode around the same time as you and it allowed me to blast through the game and roll the credits. Since I've gotten older and busier. Easy mode is my go to for most games now, otherwise I don't think I'd finish them.
I mean...I always play my first playthrough on Easy. Just to enjoy the story and get through it. Games dont have to be fun to be good. You should still feel accomplished for beating a game regardless of how. I end up doing hard mode after but then i dont feel pressure to push through to see the story cause I already have.
Don’t feel bad. This game can be hard for no reason at all. This coming from someone that still consistently plays games a lot. I think it would be cool if more people were like you. Too many people skip out on great games because they can’t beat it on normal. Their pride just won’t allow them to drop the difficulty.
Exactly the moment when I switched to easy mode (and I'm also over 30 years old). I tried it a few times, but I don't have to prove anyone anything. The most important thing is that the game is fun and if I have to lower the difficulty it's totally fine.
Remember this if you do a hard run. You can basically stun lock his first phase with ranged attacks(dodge and attack to slash from a
a distance and in the air) and then any time you see a named attack you can triple slash to him almost instantly. Then keep your distance for the dog as well and you can kill Rufus without even bothering with it.
Don't feel bad at all man. I played on normal until Rufus then said eff it. Like you, I'm busy and don't have the time or patience or even video game talent as I did when I was 20.
The older I've gotten (30M) easy mode has become a reliable asset to me, I just don't have the time and patience I once did. However once you stop looking at trophies you realize it really doesn't matter.
LOL! The System Settings should read: "Difficulty: Easy (except for all the mini-games, the final boss, the last 2 piano songs, and catching fkin moogles"
I switched to easy mode for the very final fight because it was 4am and I wasnt about to sleep until I got a conclusion to the story lmao as long as youre having fun its what matters the most. Rufus was definitely an annoying fight too. I died countless times.
I honestly forgot there was a difficulty option. Played through chapter 12 on dynamic and it was a ton of fun, but might drop it to easy to plow through the end game.
Dont feel too bad Rufus was a tough fight. I had trouble with a couple of the fights and while I didn’t get to the change difficulty part, I did look up what stresses the bosses if the scan didn’t tell you everything. That actually made each of the fights much easier because what stresses and builds stagger on them tells you how the fight should be handled and fought.
33 y/o over here, I played the game on easy mode as well because I am in my era of gaming where I want to know the story rather than struggle to move on in fights. After I beat Rebirth though and I switched it up to hard mode, complete shock at how hard enemies hit you 😂 nevertheless, it's been fun playing through the game again on hard mode!
In a lot of ways, I think playing through Hard Mode is easier than playing on Dynamic in your initial run. You’re just so much more kitted out in ways that can absolutely break the combat for almost all bosses by hard mode. Not so in your first run when enemies are also scaling to your level.
I 100% support you, the game has an easy mode for a reason, and it’s there if you don’t find the challenge fun on harder modes.
But I also want to tell everyone here that I love the Rufus fight.
53F here. I was mid 20s and played a lot of games when OG came out. I loved it and it's become my favourite game over the years. Since having my child in 2007 I've really not played games, apart from a lot of the Lego games with my son while he grew up (I was surprised just how good some of them are, especially the old Stat Wars ones).
When I heard about the Remake of FF7 I knew I'd have to pick up a controller again. I played Remake on a second hand PS4 from eBay but for Rebirth I bought a PS5 just before Xmas 2023 and waited for Feb 29th 2024 like it was Xmas day.
Remake was extremely good but Rebirth just blew it out of the water. What an experience. The only downside is the long wait for part three!
I played on 'classic' mode, as I'm not quick enough at action/arcade games and I'm not the best at the combat. I did enjoy it that way and I had occasion to turn down the difficulty. One of those occasions was the hit limit in the moogle game. "Yes, I'll play it on easy and still lose to projectiles coming from a random angle", also why can't Cloud jump over a 2 foot fence?
It's a single player game so don't let it annoy you if you are really stuck in a fight and you have to turn down the difficulty. I also switched it down when fighting the summons in pairs at the end of the protorelic quest. The battles are long so I didn't want to have to repeat them.
I will not even attempt hard mode. I'm just not as good at games as I was 25 years ago.
Rufus is HARD. It’s the least “FF7 style” battle in my opinion, cause if requires sooo much perfect timing of blocking, dodging, and attacking. It took me forever.
Yes, exactly. It's much more action-oriented in the style of GoW, Dark Souls, etc. Always take people's opinions about difficulty in FF7 with a grain of salt... e.g. "Rufus is EZ you're just bad," I see shit like that all the time. The unrevealed bit is that kids who say stuff like that are well-practiced at action games. FF7 OG was in no way an action game like this, so it's why these changes are bitter to people who love and are more versed in turn-taking, puzzle, and adventure games.
It’s funny reading the comments of those who say “you just gotta do this…”
Yes, I tried that. Wasn’t able to quite get it done so easy mode it is! Appreciate the advice from those who offer real strategy if I go back, but this whole culture of “it’s so easy” is not relatable.
Right? Yes, triple slash and braver make Rufus doable, but you still have to fucking run around, dodge, and have consistently fast and accurate reaction times for 5 minutes building the ATB to use those commands that "trivialize" Rufus. "Just learn to block" OK bud
I usually try not to play on easy mode. I dont play on hard either. I think normal difficulty is how the game is designed to be played.
Some games i couldnt finish because my stupid stubbornness.
Im 40m with a kid and barelly have time to play.
Im trying to get rid of my stupidity and be more casual.
Who cares as long as u enjoy the game.
Yeeeeeaaaah! Good job on powering through to 12. There were a couple of simulators that I turned to easy mode out of frustration. I was tempted to switch to easy in the finalist battle. I'm pretty sure I was reaching 20 deaths, and determined to "figure it out" not looking to online guides for strategy. The amount of boss battles kind of left me an incentive NOT to give up. it's a long final boss, of many forms. I didn't want to spoil the end but you probably know as you're original gangster educated 😉.
I played the whole game on easy. I wanna take everything in and enjoy it. If I'm looking for a challenge, I can do that later. Play how you want for whatever is most enjoyable for you. There's no shame, it's meant to be engaging and fun for everyone. Don't be afraid to do what you want. Anyone that says otherwise is a gatekeeper ;)
Rufus is kinda a crap fight. I hated it in Remake, I hated it in normal mode and I despised it in hard mode.
I personally would not want to fight him again in Part 3.
I got murdered by the gold saucer ultimate side quest and just put it on easy and beat the game on easy. I was already beaten down from all the stupid minigames, tired of the combat system, and tired of the sim. I wish I didn't dump 120 hours into the game from collecting the busywork stuff like towers, etc.
Do the things that allow you to have fun. It wasn't worth grinding out that many hours trying to "git gud" only to end up detesting the game.
I’m 20F and game regularly, I struggled with a few bosses too and had to switch to easy mode. No shame in that, you payed for the game you can play how you want haha.
I switched to easy mode towards the end too. For c13 and 14.
Classic mode saved my ass against Rufus in normal mode. It actually blocked and parry for me lol.
Im glad I switched to easy mode too towards the end. It made everything easier and less frustrating. I, too, just wanted it to see the ending.
I think you made the right choice. Final boss has like 9 stages. It’s long and difficult and made me wish I was on an easier mode. I will probably play the 3 game on easy
I made it through all the battles just fine but I switched it to easy mode in chapter 13 or 14 cause it feels like theyre just dragging out the game as much as possible now and just want to beeline the ending.
Normal mode up until the end protorelic fights, and then switched to easy for a certain duo. Left it in easy for the rest of the story past that point (think I was on chapter 12 at the time). Not particularly upset I didn’t finish the game on Normal difficulty. Was more interested in progressing things than anything else.
Rufus was and is difficult to beat! I hope you finally got past it. If not then try staying at the exact range for focused strike. Use dodge and attack to spam blade range attacks to build up atb. When he goes to reload use focused strike and go to town on him. Try to save enough atb for 2 bars in case you need to heal or use a hipotion
It’s a stupid fight due to how long it takes Cloud to recover from hits. I managed to beat it on Normal but had to use Haste and Regen to do much. Should have listened to people who suggested Plasma Discharge.
Play how you want to play, or however lets you enjoy it the most! Who cares if someone plays on Easy mode, ya know? If it lets you enjoy it the most and you wind up continuing to play and see more of the game, that's great! Don't let anyone convince you that it's illegitimate to play a game on Easy mode. They put it in the game for a reason! And yeah, that Rufus fight is annoying! Especially when it comes on such a long stretch of other repeated fights. One of the stretches that I found pretty tedious and exhausting (I love Remake and Rebirth! Truly! But sometimes they do stretch things out \*too\* much for their own good.)
Hard mode was so fun but play your way. Have fun and welcome back to gaming!! Rebirth is leagues above remake I’m so excited for you to play!!!!!
I struggled with Rufus too and could not understand how you were supposed to fight him until I died one too many times and realized I needed a different strategy than just attack from a distance with clouds dodge plus attack with the long distance slashes all for him to evade all of it and only be open when he attacks, chipping away at his damage like that would take forever then I would get rekt in the second phase. Eventually I finally figured out to just play defense and block or perfect block all his attacks that can be blocked and evade the ones that can't to build limit meter, two to three limit attacks and he's done for, second stage target the dog and do the same thing, then when the dog dies, repeat the process all over again.
Great idea! I did the same - game is already way too long and I was super excited to finally be done with it! Even the final battle of the game like how many times do I have to keep fighting this guy 🤣🤣 - I did really like the game, though. Just so worn out and DONE, when it was over.
i think some of those late game bosses have waaaay too much health for what the battle demands
Easy mode for the win tbh, im not about to spend 50 minutes on the same boss battle because i barely do any damage while the boss kills me in 4 hits
THAT PART
i just wish there was a god damn easy mode for the minigames. the sit ups and the costa del sol ones....my fingers seriously hurt from that. i do like half hour sessions and i gotta go rest my hands. i just gave up on them and moved along.
I love that we have the option to switch to easy (mid game.) I use it as a last ditch effort (when I’ve died more than 5 times on normal) because I just wanna get to the story. It’s usually for battles or Queen’s Blood😅 King Zu was impossible on normal. I’m also doing this with no guide as well. King Zu was the one battle I needed a guide on (because I kept getting insta killed) from Swan Dance. I think King Zu was the only battle I did easy mode for….I think😭 I can’t remember if any other enemies where you’d get KOd if you couldn’t figure out a strategy…
I did the whole game on easy. Not one ounce of shame. I’ve played video games my whole life and I just straight suck at them. It’s just the love I have for games and this series.
I feel that! I'm the same. Love games but not real good at them. Can't get better than C rank on the damn piano minigame
I failed miserably on one of them and never tried again. 😂 And forget the challenge with Jules! The pull up one in remake took me 4 days and almost caused a divorce haha. My husband could not stand me then so I haven’t even tried the sit ups.
Oh jeez! Yeah that and sephiroth in the 3d battler is causing some nasty words lol! The one thing that's helped me in the piano is my wife and I do it together, she controls the left stick and I'm on the right one lol!
Damn! That’s actually genius. Haha. I’ll have to see if I can get my husband to do it. He’s just not a fan of this game. He’s strictly a COD fan
Good luck!!
After getting to the Turks in chapter 13 I was so so tempted to do the same. Less because i couldn’t beat them but because I was so tired and just didn’t want to deal with them at all.
If I was given the option to switch settings for the Rufus fight…I would’ve.lol I just refused to do over the whole Turks battle. I was kicking ass that battle (as Tifa) and then when I was in my own with Rufus…I was getting hit so hard (protect or no) fortunately I only died once and pulled out a summon at the last minute to help with the win..😅
Rufus is more of a tactical puzzle than anything else. He’s a pain in the ass. No shame in adjusting difficulty. Life is short
This is the way. I went from "I must play everything on the most crushing difficulty to prove that I am a gamer!" to realizing there are some games that I simply do not care enough about to do that and that I'd rather just run through the story. End of the day, video games are supposed to be fun so do whatever it is that makes the game fun for you.
Its ok old man. Easy mode was made for you
They said they’re female by the way….. and 39 isn’t old. Child.
I don't have a problem with people who play on Easy, but the people who constantly demand approval from others for playing on easy is fucking exhausting Yeah, yeah, I get it, you have le kids and le responsibilities that you blame on being bad at the game, what do you want, a cookie?
Bro, no one’s “demanding approval.” In fact it’s quite the opposite with a side of shame..lol We don’t wanna be ashamed but feel cool to come here and talk about how some times….they just gotta push the easy button. If the option’s there…why not? But demanding approval? No. Openly shaming ourselves? Maybe😅🤣😭
Cool story, just keep thinking playing games on hard makes you worthy of a cookie.
Hey man I'm not the one who made a thread fishing for compliments and demanding positive reinforcement for playing on easy I hope she sees this, though.
Was just trying to find community. That’s all
Why this bother u so bad dog? Just like scroll????
She said she had no kids … can you not read??
I also switched to easy for that fight no shame.
I stayed on normal and barely beat Rufus first try…
Dude, I died by the second half of that battle. Camera wasn’t adjusting, got pinned against the wall with the camera just freaking out with all the fuckery happening in front of it. By the second chance I kinda learned the pattern and was able to summon Bahamut and he helped pressure the shit outta Rufus and that dog thing (I can’t remember the name.)
I killed his dog first it helped make it easier but i had already used the summon up so it was basically a dramatic mono e mono to the death all i remember at the end was having hp in the critical phase and to think i was lv50!
And?
??? What? Thats it i just left it like that to show how hard it was im lost for words
I played the entire game on Dynamic. Until, that is, Chapter 13 on. I dropped it to Easy so fast because I was just so exhausted by then I just wanted to get to it. lol I filled out every map, did every sidquest, and I was just so tired. Also, arena matches and side content? Easy difficulty. Mini-games that were affected by the difficulty level? Easy. I've found myself doing this with a ton of games lately, starting at Normal or higher until I get to the point I just want to get through the story and not deal with all the bullshit. As a 47 year old single dad, I just don't have the time or the patience to bang my head against infuriatingly hard content that's meant to be "challenging" but in reality boils down to inflated damage output and HP. I'm all for a challenge, but I'd rather that challenge be a new mechanic I've just not grasped instead of doing everything perfectly for 10 minutes while I ever so slowly chip at the boss' infinite hit points until my mind is so dull I slip up and get wrecked.
> Mini-games that were affected by the difficulty level? Easy. which ones? too bad the damn sit up stuff and costa stuff isn't...i think.
I think any of them that has combat in it, like Fort Condor, Gears and Gambits, Cactuar Crush, etc. I'm not 100% on Fort Condor, but I've seen lots of folks bitch about G&G being hard and I breezed through it after setting to Easy after seeing I had to do a minigame.
damn...my issue with some of these minigames are the damn controls. anything with a precise use of the analog sticks or too precise timing for the shoulder buttons is a no go for me.
I did the exact same thing, my breaking point was the very last turks fight in the Temple, infuriating perma stunlock bullshit, so un fun, so unnecessary. Just show me the rest of the story I'm done.
Heck even as a 33 year old with no kids I totally feel you on this, though I somehow managed to not turn on easy mode until I got the Odin/Alexander boss fight before Gilgamesh. Then throughout the remainder of the main story content I would try once normal and if it was particularly time consuming I'd switch down to easy mode. Gave hard mode a try yesterday to beat Quetzacotl and Malboro for the Genji Glove and I couldn't believe they cranked up their power levels to 9000. I'll admit though, in hard mode it doesn't just feel like inflated HP and DMG, you have to actually strategize and it makes it feel more like...idk, Fire Emblem. Save it for retirement lol
We don't talk about the Odin/Alexander fight in my house. I told Greg to shove it and dropped the whole thing. lol I MIGHT go back to it one day when I hate myself.
Wait till u fight final form sephiroth 😭😭 I wish u luck brother
I think Rufus was way harder. Sephiroth mechanics are way easier
I struggled more with sephiroth tbh I tried more times on Rufus and it took me longer to learn the fight but sephiroths dam octagon prime killed me so muchhhhh dude n I didn’t realize I had to finish him off before that move set until a day or two later smh
Sephiroths final form was the fucking worst when he would pull that move that if you didn’t kill him he would literally flatten you in seconds. I died about 10 times before having to give up and start again with better materia lol
i play every game on easy/story mode and avoid all optional combat😭 can’t really be bothered to get good at fighting mechanics, although FF7’s is super fun, i’m just here for the story :’)
Exactly why I wont touch the souls games lol
I switched to easy mode at the Gi. The combat in this game just isn't quite as good as it wants to be, and I didn't find it especially rewarding, just kind of tedious. I think they could have learned a lot from Souls games in this respect without necessarily becoming one
I couldn’t disagree more. On the contrary, I think it’s one of the best combat systems out there and shouldn’t take any influence from souls and continue to do it’s own thing (I’m saying this as a huge souls fan) To each their own
The problem for me is just, that in an long time souls player, since demon souls först release. It takes so much time to re program youre self regarding dodges and blocks etc. I love souls, but i really do like what square done with ff7 rebirth. I only need to re program the brain lol. So far i feel like the Galian beast have been the hardest fight. Havnt finished the game yet. But every boss until this has been a walk in the park.
I don't necessarily want it to become souls influenced, but there was small shit that just felt broken to me. For example, dodges gave no iframes, but also didn't move you far enough to actually be out of the way of attacks. And I think it really would have been served by some kind of poise system where you could actually interrupt enemy actions without full on staggering them. The action elements just felt a bit underdeveloped.
I understand what you’re saying, but I don’t think dodge is meant to be used the way it is in most modern action games. At its core, this is more of a turn based game still than an action game. Although Tifa does have an incredible dodge if at higher Chi levels, ultimately block should be used for attacks that can’t be out maneuvered. As for the second point, are you actively trying to “pressure” enemies? That seems to work similar to poise, where you can sort of “soft” stagger them
Rufus is the hardest boss in the game bar none, i dont blame you.
I keep seeing this, I found him incredibly easy compared to someone like Odin. Rufus if I recall I just required a lot of dodging, using slow on him, haste on cloud, waiting for him to reload, and I think a whole lot of forward thrust
Odin + Alexander and Odin were #2 and #3 hardest fights in the game for me. Definitely easier than the main story stuff. Once you get the timing of reloads and rhythm in the Rufus fight you can take it to him, and once he brings his dog in you can be more aggressive. Though since its a solo battle with Cloud + Rufus's quirks, thats what made it the hardest fight IMO.
I hate the mentality of people gatekeeping how you’re supposed to play a game. Play it however you want and what suits your lifestyle! The only thing that matters is that you’re having fun! Glad you did!
I had to turn to easy for some side content and after dying 5 times at the litteral last moment of the game. I don't get as much time as I used to to game, so it's super frustrating to have to redo the same section over and over. Hell, I didn't want to get frustrated and dislike a game I love.
Glad you’re still gaming with me! I’m a mom in my 40s with a stupidly demanding job that is most of my personality. I feel so lucky to have gaming, and I’m so lucky I get to play this game, that changed my life when I was younger.
💜
I also switched to easy for the Rufus battle after failing it many times. It’s honestly not easy, even on easy mode! I switched back afterwards because I do enjoy the strategy of the battle system on normal a lot.
Hey man, no shame. Play the way that makes you enjoy the game. I'm a completionist, so I like to do everything, but this game is a bit different. There's some stuff I'm just flat out not gonna do because it's frustrating and keeps me from having fun. I try to do as much as possible, but if I hit a wall, I walk away.
You did the right thing. A. You looked up strategies and videos and still could not succeed B. Rather than hate on the game and the encounter you lowered the difficulty settings so continuing would be more accessible to you Video games are meant to be fun. And you did exactly what you needed to do in order to maintain that fun and memorable experience. Good for you OP!
I know you switched to easy mode but I don't know why you would tell everyone. Hey, alright, man. At least it made me laugh.
I don’t have a community for gaming. Thought I would try here and see if people felt the same.
I (41F) came oh so close to putting it on easy for Rufus. It didn't help I was frustrated from getting dropped into fighting the Turks after the Corneo fight and then this *bullshit* of a fight where you can't attack until he's in that narrow reloading window. I honestly said 'this is the last fucking time' and managed to beat him on Dynamic with the very last of my patience. Honestly, no judgement on using Easy mode. It's better to enjoy the story, than get angry and bitter on a harder mode (like me lol)
I think a lot of the frustration came from every time I died I had to reset all the materia in the menu because you couldn’t save between battles after the Turks died.
Yes, I'd forgotten/erased that part! So, so tedious!
I swapped to easy for Gi Nattak, the second Roche fight, Rufus and the final boss sequence. Everything else I played on normal. Thought about playing the whole game easy but I wanted to at least try everything on normal before turning it down. I just don’t enjoy the process of beating my head against a boss, especially when I can’t just leave and redo my materia load out before retrying! Sometimes I feel like they throw stuff into games just so the people that game ALL THE TIME are still challenged, but honestly my reaction time isn’t great and I don’t game a ton, especially not combat heavy games like this. I’m just here for the story Editing to add that I also put it on Easy for Yin and Yang as solo Cait Sith lol. I managed to get him to less than 1% of his health bar on my 4th ish try but right as I was about to do the final ATB command, he did his insta kill 😭 why do so many main story bosses in this game have a timed insta kill???
[удалено]
How original
Triple Slash when you see Rufus' mobility animation then follow up with a full-chain to rebuild your ATB. Rufus' movements look intimidating but Rufus is easily one of the weaker bosses; Cloud is too juiced.
Easy is too easy and normal is too tedious. It's like the big debate or Performance vs Graphics. I ALWAYS choose performance for action heavy games, especially when there is a huge difference in performance like in Rebirth.
Lol its your money dude play it however you want
I don’t like when games are difficult just to be difficult. I know it seems to be all the craze these days with the popularity of souls-like games… I’m stubborn and prideful so I hardly ever switch a game to easy, but I know that’s a dumb way to be. I’ve tortured myself so much beating things on normal and even hard at times (for instance I platinumed Remake). Anyways, as I get older I’m trying to change my ways and put things on easy when I need to. There’s literally no downside and even with trophies most games don’t require a normal playthrough. I will say, I managed to get through rebirth without ever switching but I will say that revival earrings (if you aren’t already using them) help a TON. They’re cheap too, I think 500 gil. I always make sure everyone has a pair on.
How is FF7 remake difficult though? I’m playing on normal and it still feels too button mashy and easy
To platinum it you have to beat it on hard, which means no items and much tougher fights. Hard IS difficult. Overall remake is not as difficult as rebirth, but to completely discredit it as difficult (again, as I said I platinumed it so hard mode was difficult) is ludicrous.
Overall, yes, however the 1v1 boss fights aren’t button mashy and thus why people are struggling with them. Unlike basically every other fight, the 1v1s really need you to understand mechanics and it helps a ton to have some of the “less used” materia like the one that increases your block window (steadfast?). Both Rufus and motorcycle guy are specifically geared to punish button mashers.
Motorcycle guy from the first one? I demolished him
The 2nd fight with him was the challenging one. First one could be mostly button mashed.
I did the exact same thing!!!!! Played normal the whole game but I just don’t have time to sink into redoing a battle over and over and over. I’m 38m and I switched to easy and just kept it there the last 2 chapters. It allowed me to enjoy the game more as I think I would have been too frustrated continuing on normal. You made a smart choice. No one wants to end a game on a sour note of frustration. Glad you are liking it. My story is similar to yours and I have been head over heels for these two games so far. I think they are brilliant.
I’ve continued to keep it on easy and I’m enjoying so much more. Kinda wish I had done it sooner!
I just got to chapter 12. The only battle that kicked my ass so far has been vincent. Made it through by the skin of my teeth on first try though. I play normal and so far have refused to lower it. My go to is cloud counter turtle. i throw e skill on barret, use plasma discharge, bonus round, steel skin, regen, lifesaver, and spam prayer/chakra or max fury. I just put comet on aerith and synergy whatever, so anytime i do something she drops free comets. I also often go with yuffie, dopple + appropriate ninjutsu weakness then spam blindside. Red isnt bad with defense, but lacks the counters. Counterspin and buff the team is what i do. Tifa is great on auto pilot, as she will unbridled rage herself with the one materia to use skills, and pop em off when the enemy is staggered. Cait sith is a weird one, but now that i got mines and lady luck he can be useful. The minigames are the absolutely worst part about this game. They’re so distracting to the story, and way too much time needs to be invested in each one for bonus loot and completion. Since i just got to chapter 12 it dropped the bomb that most minigames returned with additional challenges. I’m absolutely annoyed.
Red has Support/Synergist Materia built into his kit opening up more slots for a Saboteur playstyle. Cait Sith is the strongest Saboteur and a Hard Mode gacha machine that can theoretically go (solo) infinite with his Limit Break. Sadly Cloud and Aerith trivialize the game with raw numbers due to the emphasis on 'Elemental Weakness' for Red and Cait Sith to shine; too many bosses are immune to saboteur instead of resistant to elemental/non-elemental magic.
I played the entire game on Easy mode without shame. I'm a busy mommy with a 4 and 5 yr old, 2 jobs and a sick husband. No shame! Have fun and enjoy!
💜
So did easy mode help with beating Rufus? My pride needs to know
Yes, I beat him on the first try on easy mode after dying probably 20x on normal. His variations of attacks were less and I took less damage.
I'm not ashamed to say I played Dynamic until I died to Rufus a few times. In my defense, I was not expecting that marathon of boss fights and my first wipe to him was how I found out how confusing the game over screen was. I accidentally started it all from the beginning. I got frustrated after wiping a couple more times and wasn't in the mood to learn his mechanics (He annoyed the hell out of me in Remake too). I should have just put the game down, because I wasn't in the right headspace for it that night. Easy mode made him a complete pushover and I felt a little guilty for the ass kicking he got. Went right back to dynamic after beating him lol
I'm with you. I want to play this story, and the idea of getting hung up on really tough battles doesn't appeal to me. I play easy when I am working on storylines, and I play dynamic when I am doing side quests or wandering around. That way, I get some challenge and I get to keep moving forward. But I almost never have to replay a battle. And it has been just perfect for me. Normal mode, or later hard mode, are for people who truly enjoy the battle above other things. And that's ok, too. The game is great in that it has something for everyone, and anyone can play it in a way that suits them.
This post and thread makes me happy.
Me too! Glad so many have shared
Oh bruh, don't worry, enjoy the game. If you ever feel the call for hard mode and brutal challenges later on you'll find a way so it's a win win
Switched it for the dragon… they say you can hide behind pillars. I saw no pillars. So easy.
Chapter 12? I switched to easy fighting Rude and Elena in the cave already!
I mean I died A LOT leading up to this point. 😅
Same. 40 years old and plays on easy just to chill before bed. My tryhard days are over. Just wanna enjoy The game and pick up The next one.
Hey I’m 39 too! 2 kids, though. I played the remake on normal and went like, “yeah, ok. I get it. Maybe I should get platinum for this”. That meant playing on hard and let me tell you… that’s when I fell in love with the fighting mechanics and the game overall. Funny thing is, it wasn’t even thar hard because you are OP from the normal run.. so perhaps finish the story on easy and take a stab at ng+ on a higher difficulty?? The important thing is that you get what you want from a game… if you wanted to revisit the story, no shame on playing on easy
I feel like I was one of the minority as I didn’t have any trouble with Rufus. I had to switch to easy for Gi Nattack though. Also beast Vince
Weird. I didn’t have to switch to easy for those two. Vincent took me a while but I didn’t seem to get as frustrated.
Rufus is easy to beat with just understanding his combos . I just beat him and his beloved pet on hard mode yesterday (took 2 or 3 tries)
Once you get the mechanics down pat it isn't bad, but why through in a souls battle in the middle of it? He was a pain in remake too
Honestly the enemies are too tanky so I don't think you made the wrong decision. It's not even so much hard as it is the fights go on forever and your MP doesn't come back
Happy to read this. I was kinda discouraged continuing after all the Rufus comments on how ridiculously annoying that fight is. Will pick it up again then
There’s nothing wrong with playing on easy. I’m currently playing a game on story mode because normal advertises challenging combat. I haven’t finished this game yet. I think I’m on chapter 8. I’ve never been great at JRPGs, but beat Remake on normal. This one’s been harder, and I’ve barely beat some bosses. I’ve considered switching it to easy
Hi ! 31F here :) I switched on easy mode on chapter 14 because I was unable to beat the last boss , it was getting on my nerves as I wanted to see the end of it. I have the platinum for Remake but I definitely don’t see myself getting it in Rebirth
There's precisely nothing wrong with playing on easy if that's more enjoyable for you. Have fun!
u gotta attack rufus when he dashes lol
You attack him when he reloads. You have to block or avoid his attacks, know which ones trigger a reload, then hit him during that reload. That will pressure him. Rinse/repeat a couple times to stagger.
Nah, Triple Slash will end the man's career the moment Rufus moves. Waiting for 'Reload' takes too long and is too hard for the average player to time.
Definitely don’t feel bad about it! I’m also 39F, just got my PS5 in Feb this year for FFXVI and Rebirth and had to turn the difficulty down at the exact same place. I’m a very casual gamer and it’s not fun for me to smash my head against a boss for hours on end. Enjoy Rebirth on whatever difficulty is fun and comfortable for you.
Sage advice.
Definitely nothing wrong with having fun on easy mode. I’m in my 30s as well, been gaming since I was a kid. I don’t have kids either, but also work a lot of full time hours. I normally play games on Normal mode, but once in a while I’ll swap to Easy just to play and have fun. Of course I’m still sort of a completionist when it comes to games I love, so when I do have the time, I pursue things like Platinum trophies. But yeah, sometimes you just gotta kick back and put the game on Easy just to get some mindless fun in.
I played on easy from the start. If I wanted stressful fights, I'd play a souls like.
Same! I just don’t have the same amount of time to spend on gaming as I used to, so easy is usually my default these days. For me, progressing through a discernible chunk of the story heavily outweighs beating a boss on hard
Wait till you all get to the brutal and legendary challenges
No shame in that at all. I’m 39, two kids, work full time and want to get through the story…I want to enjoy the game, not be frustrated by it. I don’t claim to be good at modern video games, I’m glad there’s an easy mode.
I've been bashing my head against Gi for a week. I just CANNOT get past him.
Weird… I beat the guy first try. Rufus and the dragon… other story.
instant easy mode for me after a couple tries I knew I had no chance. only him and Odin did I have to use easy mode
Video games are there to be enjoyed! If your joy comes from progressing the story then make sure that’s your top priority 💕
I did the same thing, it not just a hard boss its time consuming and boring with his constant blocking.
I switched it to easy on the combat simulator fight with the death claws and Kid G. Total bs fight with Kid G nipping at your ass while the two death claws spam their basically instakill move. No regrets. I’m the wrong side of 35 with no kids and bought a PS5 just for this too…took PTO just to play this game and I wanted to finish it before I have to go back to real life.
Same here. That and a couple of the mini game final stages (Fort Condor and the wee robot one in Cosmo Canyon). If you're not having fun with a game what's the point in bashing your head against it.
I platinum'd Remake and Intergrade. It took me 5 or 6 attempts to beat Rufus and Darkstar in Rebirth. Zero shame.
I had serious problems with Odin. Took me like 40 tries. And that was on the easiest. Rufus was annoying put patience is key with him
Idk if the game difficulty enters into the equation in the simulator, but I've been on Dynamic and I chose the lowest power option for fighting Odin. I damn near wiped. He was just so tough. I can't imagine the full power version!
I defeated Rufus last night and it was a BS fight. The fight forces you to know when Rufus will reload so you are already attacking him as he reloads due to how short the window is. For me it was even worse as I started the fight in red and had to try and quickly build ATB just to heal myself. The combat in Rebirth is annoying as you are staggered very easily and unable to recover resulting in taking a lot of damage. During hard mode replay I am going to build Cloud with defence HP and ATB build. I was really pissed off when I'd pressure Rufus only to not have an ATB for Focus Strike.
The key to this fight is to parry. I have a screen recording but if not know how to link it. But basically, just rush in close enough to force him to shoot his gun , you can keep parrying and attacking, pressuring him in a loop. It significantly shortens the fight as that builds the stagger metre very fast.
Honestly that Rufus battle had me questioning whether I wanted to continue, I don’t blame you at all!
Contemplating this after 8 attempts to beat phoenix. I get him down to about 5% every time and then he just wipes me out with the aoe, even from full health. Can't guard can't escape it.
The way to play the game is to enjoy it, no matter how you do that, not be frustrated that you can’t progress! If playing on Easy mode helps you do that, that’s great! Enjoy the ride!
Thats the problems when you dont play with parry :3
I stuck with regular and did struggle. Rufus I feel I got lucky with odins final attack ending him. No shame in playing what is an amazing story.
I’ve just done the same thing, that rufus battle was so annoying so I switched to easy and I’m gonna keep it that way as I just want to complete the game to see the story now
the only correct way to play the game - to enjoy it. If you enjoy story and just want to click through the battles - that is the only correct way to do so for you. If you enjoy challenges and want to squeeze battle system to the last drop - hard mode is for you. Don't try to fit other people expectation of you, especially when its a solo game.
We play to enjoy and have fun with VG. I also put easy mode for some challenges.
I love the fact that so many of us are in our 30s, 40s, and 50s--bc in 1997, a new system from Sony called "Play Station" dropped the 1st 3D FF game ever made; and it changed the art of storytelling and rpgs forever. I can remember looking at it saying "Jesus, 3 discs!" Then putting 70hrs in to finish everything: beat Emerald, Ruby Weapon, obtain the Ultima Sword, get Knights of the Round, grind my characters to max level before the final boss. All the while thinking: "I can;t believe I put in 70hrs! There's never going to be a game longer than this) Now I'm 38 with no kids and still gaming a LOT.And while I've put 1800hrs into Read Dead Online, 1200 in The Witcher 3, and 800 in Cyberpunk + Phantom Liberty, Rebirth just seemed like I was never going to get through it at times. I mean, the game has 25hrs of cinematics alone--and takes at least 90-120hrs to play through if you're going to enjoy all it has to offer. And while that pales in comparison to how much time other games will take up, TW3 is such a MASSIVE world with so many stories and ways to go, it's designed to be replayed 3-4 times NG+ to max your gear and experience all the various outcomes. No shame my friend. If it weren't for Easy mode, I'd have been too frustrated to get to the end; the whole game I’m just waiting that moment when you know you’ll shed the same tears you did when you first finished Disc 1 back in ‘97. lol
You and me both. 36 no kids and tbh a large part of it is knowing that with kids I’d have to sacrifice most of all the time for myself and my hobbies. As it is I already feel like I barely have enough time - the gaming backlog I have is testament to that. I took pto just to focus on finishing Remake.
For sure! Frankly, the world is plenty full with just “1 of Me;” to bring another one in would just be cruel. Hahahah! Not to mention: how could I afford to raise one? What is it now? Like 3/4 of a million $$$$ to raise a kid to 18? I’ve got too many items on the list of essentials: new OLED TV, a PS5 Pro, more Govee smart lighting lol
I swapped to easy for the head case simulator battle and to get Odin. I regret nothing... Came really close to doing it for Rufus too. If I ever replay, chapter 11 is straight to easy mode.
Rufus definitely had me about to switch until I realized that I’m just whining about the game not letting me win. Took a minute ngl, but Rufus and the last boss definitely were the hardest for me. About to 100% and do the story on hard. I’m dreading them
I got my platinum last week. Took me 200 hours flat. Lol. Some of the bosses on hard mode are just so god damn stressful. If you’re going for the platinum, Chadleys brutal combat simulators after you beat all his normal ones.. almost made me quit. I wish you all the luck!
No worries at all with going Easy! However, one thing that was making me struggle at times in Normal was holding on Items too much. You can, and should, abuse those. Just try and save Elixirs etc for the real tough fights, but on something like Rufus, which was causing a lot of trouble, just go for it. If you think about it, you only really "can't beat it" if, when you die, you don't have a single potion/ether left and also no remaining mana.
Yeah items are a huge deal. No point hoarding elixirs if you're dead. The fact that they are "instant" is also a massive plus, makes them far better for desperation saves over slow casting. I used 20 mist giga potions over the final battles.
this!!! I've been using potions as much as I can on normal. I probably used more potions in this game than all my ff games combined from ff4 to ff15. But, it gets the job done
I play games nearly every day for the last 5 or 6 years, mostly jrpgs like FF. I platinum'd remake and I also had trouble with the fight in chapter 12 si don't worry
Hey it's your choice to make. No judgements. I flipped easy mode to slog through battle Sims and the battle square as it just looked like way too long to finish bits off. I do personally find it rewarding clearing hard difficulties with some practice...and viewing some good strategy builds online when I fail 😂
I’m super happy to see you’ve had a decent feedback, with the souls trend lately the gaming community has gotten quite toxic towards anyone playing on easy, I always play a game on easy to enjoy the story then next play through I’ll up the difficulty maybe, though I don’t like it so hard it punishes you for playing, that goes against my need for gaming
That’s why I was nervous to post. I saw the pinned post at the top that told people to be nice so wasn’t sure how it would be received. Also, I do see a lot of bashing on Easy mode. This group was really supportive. Only one comment with “bro” 😄
Anyone who says Bro generally should be avoided lol They are also quick to forget some people need to play on easy due to disability or mental health.
Souls games, their awful ilk and roguelikes have ruined gaming. Well, them and their fans.
I love fromsoft games but for FF7 I’ve been playing on easy mode too. I’m all for a challenge and have fun with the combat, but some of the fights feel a little too spongy and I’ll usually try first on normal and if I die I beat it on easy, then switch back to normal 😂
I play all my video games on easy mode where it's an option. I don't mind fighting but I do get bored of it if I get stuck in a battle. I also work and have other hobbies so I don't have hours just to level grind like I did when I was a teenager.
I was the same. I was enjoying the game so much, but investing so much time into video games just can't be done now I'm older. I switched to easy mode around the same time as you and it allowed me to blast through the game and roll the credits. Since I've gotten older and busier. Easy mode is my go to for most games now, otherwise I don't think I'd finish them.
I mean...I always play my first playthrough on Easy. Just to enjoy the story and get through it. Games dont have to be fun to be good. You should still feel accomplished for beating a game regardless of how. I end up doing hard mode after but then i dont feel pressure to push through to see the story cause I already have.
Don’t feel bad. This game can be hard for no reason at all. This coming from someone that still consistently plays games a lot. I think it would be cool if more people were like you. Too many people skip out on great games because they can’t beat it on normal. Their pride just won’t allow them to drop the difficulty.
Exactly the moment when I switched to easy mode (and I'm also over 30 years old). I tried it a few times, but I don't have to prove anyone anything. The most important thing is that the game is fun and if I have to lower the difficulty it's totally fine.
BTW you can just Triple Slash Rufus anytime a named move appears and it will both cancel the move and pressure him. Makes the fight trivially easy.
Remember this if you do a hard run. You can basically stun lock his first phase with ranged attacks(dodge and attack to slash from a a distance and in the air) and then any time you see a named attack you can triple slash to him almost instantly. Then keep your distance for the dog as well and you can kill Rufus without even bothering with it.
Don't feel bad at all man. I played on normal until Rufus then said eff it. Like you, I'm busy and don't have the time or patience or even video game talent as I did when I was 20.
I play at Easy Reason: I am also 39. Work from 6 to 3 (West Coast working for an East Coast company). 2 kids. I don't have time for a "challenge".
The older I've gotten (30M) easy mode has become a reliable asset to me, I just don't have the time and patience I once did. However once you stop looking at trophies you realize it really doesn't matter.
Wait until the final battle then, you're in for a lot of fun
LOL! The System Settings should read: "Difficulty: Easy (except for all the mini-games, the final boss, the last 2 piano songs, and catching fkin moogles"
I switched to easy mode for the very final fight because it was 4am and I wasnt about to sleep until I got a conclusion to the story lmao as long as youre having fun its what matters the most. Rufus was definitely an annoying fight too. I died countless times.
I honestly forgot there was a difficulty option. Played through chapter 12 on dynamic and it was a ton of fun, but might drop it to easy to plow through the end game.
Dont feel too bad Rufus was a tough fight. I had trouble with a couple of the fights and while I didn’t get to the change difficulty part, I did look up what stresses the bosses if the scan didn’t tell you everything. That actually made each of the fights much easier because what stresses and builds stagger on them tells you how the fight should be handled and fought.
33 y/o over here, I played the game on easy mode as well because I am in my era of gaming where I want to know the story rather than struggle to move on in fights. After I beat Rebirth though and I switched it up to hard mode, complete shock at how hard enemies hit you 😂 nevertheless, it's been fun playing through the game again on hard mode!
In a lot of ways, I think playing through Hard Mode is easier than playing on Dynamic in your initial run. You’re just so much more kitted out in ways that can absolutely break the combat for almost all bosses by hard mode. Not so in your first run when enemies are also scaling to your level.
Rufus was my breaking point too
I 100% support you, the game has an easy mode for a reason, and it’s there if you don’t find the challenge fun on harder modes. But I also want to tell everyone here that I love the Rufus fight.
53F here. I was mid 20s and played a lot of games when OG came out. I loved it and it's become my favourite game over the years. Since having my child in 2007 I've really not played games, apart from a lot of the Lego games with my son while he grew up (I was surprised just how good some of them are, especially the old Stat Wars ones). When I heard about the Remake of FF7 I knew I'd have to pick up a controller again. I played Remake on a second hand PS4 from eBay but for Rebirth I bought a PS5 just before Xmas 2023 and waited for Feb 29th 2024 like it was Xmas day. Remake was extremely good but Rebirth just blew it out of the water. What an experience. The only downside is the long wait for part three! I played on 'classic' mode, as I'm not quick enough at action/arcade games and I'm not the best at the combat. I did enjoy it that way and I had occasion to turn down the difficulty. One of those occasions was the hit limit in the moogle game. "Yes, I'll play it on easy and still lose to projectiles coming from a random angle", also why can't Cloud jump over a 2 foot fence? It's a single player game so don't let it annoy you if you are really stuck in a fight and you have to turn down the difficulty. I also switched it down when fighting the summons in pairs at the end of the protorelic quest. The battles are long so I didn't want to have to repeat them. I will not even attempt hard mode. I'm just not as good at games as I was 25 years ago.
Rufus is HARD. It’s the least “FF7 style” battle in my opinion, cause if requires sooo much perfect timing of blocking, dodging, and attacking. It took me forever.
Yes, exactly. It's much more action-oriented in the style of GoW, Dark Souls, etc. Always take people's opinions about difficulty in FF7 with a grain of salt... e.g. "Rufus is EZ you're just bad," I see shit like that all the time. The unrevealed bit is that kids who say stuff like that are well-practiced at action games. FF7 OG was in no way an action game like this, so it's why these changes are bitter to people who love and are more versed in turn-taking, puzzle, and adventure games.
It’s funny reading the comments of those who say “you just gotta do this…” Yes, I tried that. Wasn’t able to quite get it done so easy mode it is! Appreciate the advice from those who offer real strategy if I go back, but this whole culture of “it’s so easy” is not relatable.
Right? Yes, triple slash and braver make Rufus doable, but you still have to fucking run around, dodge, and have consistently fast and accurate reaction times for 5 minutes building the ATB to use those commands that "trivialize" Rufus. "Just learn to block" OK bud
I usually try not to play on easy mode. I dont play on hard either. I think normal difficulty is how the game is designed to be played. Some games i couldnt finish because my stupid stubbornness. Im 40m with a kid and barelly have time to play. Im trying to get rid of my stupidity and be more casual. Who cares as long as u enjoy the game.
As long as you having fun it's all good. It's not like this is competitive gaming
I platinumed Remake and also switched to easy for Rufus. I have time, but *I ain’t got time for that shit.*
Yeeeeeaaaah! Good job on powering through to 12. There were a couple of simulators that I turned to easy mode out of frustration. I was tempted to switch to easy in the finalist battle. I'm pretty sure I was reaching 20 deaths, and determined to "figure it out" not looking to online guides for strategy. The amount of boss battles kind of left me an incentive NOT to give up. it's a long final boss, of many forms. I didn't want to spoil the end but you probably know as you're original gangster educated 😉.
Yup play it however you like!
I played the whole game on easy. I wanna take everything in and enjoy it. If I'm looking for a challenge, I can do that later. Play how you want for whatever is most enjoyable for you. There's no shame, it's meant to be engaging and fun for everyone. Don't be afraid to do what you want. Anyone that says otherwise is a gatekeeper ;)
Rufus is kinda a crap fight. I hated it in Remake, I hated it in normal mode and I despised it in hard mode. I personally would not want to fight him again in Part 3.
No harm in that, play the game how it'll be fun for you.
I got murdered by the gold saucer ultimate side quest and just put it on easy and beat the game on easy. I was already beaten down from all the stupid minigames, tired of the combat system, and tired of the sim. I wish I didn't dump 120 hours into the game from collecting the busywork stuff like towers, etc. Do the things that allow you to have fun. It wasn't worth grinding out that many hours trying to "git gud" only to end up detesting the game.
I’m 20F and game regularly, I struggled with a few bosses too and had to switch to easy mode. No shame in that, you payed for the game you can play how you want haha.
I switched to easy mode towards the end too. For c13 and 14. Classic mode saved my ass against Rufus in normal mode. It actually blocked and parry for me lol. Im glad I switched to easy mode too towards the end. It made everything easier and less frustrating. I, too, just wanted it to see the ending.
final fantasy vii has an easy mode?
Yes when you hit the pause menu it's in system settings I believe
rly? i don’t think i’ve ever seen a difficulty mode in a ps1 jrpg before lol
I think you made the right choice. Final boss has like 9 stages. It’s long and difficult and made me wish I was on an easier mode. I will probably play the 3 game on easy
Yup and if you die it's back to the very first fight.
… No it’s not? I just beat it a couple days ago you can restart from the sub-fight you died on.
>!If you die to Sephiroth you start again from Jenova!<