Game:Sephiroth

Sephiroth is an optional boss in  and Kingdom Hearts II. He was originally the main antagonist from Final Fantasy VII.

In Kingdom Hearts, he appears in Olympus Coliseum's Platinum Match. In Kingdom Hearts II, he is the antagonist of Cloud's side story, and is fought in the Dark Depths.

Kingdom Hearts
Sephiroth's attacks are quite powerful, but many of them can be negated using the invincibility frames of Leaf Bracer or Sora's Special Attacks. Sonic Blade and Strike Raid are most reliable for this, and Strike Raid is particularly good at hitting Sephiroth from a distance; in Final Mix, however, Sonic Blade only has invincibility frames through the first thrust. In order to provide for maximum defense and restoration, Second Chance, Dodge Roll, Superglide, at least one MP Rage, and in Final Mix, Leaf Bracer should be equipped. While Guard can be used against several of Sephiroth's techniques, it is not as reliable for defense as using a Special Attack due to Sephiroth's Rapid Mow Down and Stepping Mow Down, which telegraph similarly but require different timing to successfully block. Curaga and Aeroga should be set as shortcuts, as well as several Elixirs or Hi-Potions in order to recover from Heartless Angel. Sora should equip a Keyblade that boosts his MP and magic, such as Ultima Weapon or Diamond Dust, as well as armor that boosts his HP, defense, and resistance to the Dark element, such as Crystal Crown, Gaia Bangle, or Omega Arts. Sephiroth's blockable techniques all have maximum recoil, so dodging or negating them is preferable to blocking unless Sora is equipped with the Ultima Weapon or Divine Rose. Sora should focus on keeping his MP up so that he can quickly heal whenever his HP gets low, and performing a Special Attack to deal damage if he has excess MP. In Final Mix and HD 1.5 ReMIX, Hurricane Blast, Slapshot, and Combo Master are useful for dealing large amounts of damage to Sephiroth, although they do not provide the invincibility frames of a Special Attack.

In the first phase, Sephiroth will walk around the arena, occasionally performing Rapid Mow Down, Stepping Mow Down, or Figa Wall. It is possible to hit him with Keyblade combos by jumping towards him to dodge his Rapid Mow Down, but it is more reliable to focus on Strike Raid or Sonic Blade. If Scan is equipped, Sephiroth's HP Gauge will not appear to deplete at first even though he is taking damage.

Once Sephiroth's first, red HP bar is depleted, he will enter the second phase, telegraphed by him holding out his hand and saying "Come." In the second phase, Sephiroth will run instead of walk, and more frequently use Rapid Mow Down. His first action will be to cast Heartless Angel, and he will occasionally recast throughout the rest of the phase. He will also begin using Wild Dance.

Once Sephiroth's second, yellow HP bar is depleted, he will enter the third phase, shrouding himself in a dark aura. His first action will be to cast Supernova. He will also begin using Shadow Flare. <!--merge in:

Sephiroth is easily one of the hardest bosses in the original Kingdom Hearts, and a great deal of preparation is needed. First, Strike Raid, Second Chance, Dodge Roll and MP Rage are absolutely essential. If possible, equip two MP Rage, meaning, unless you chose the staff, you'll have to be at Level 66 to earn the second MP Rage. Otherwise, being above Level 55 is best. Do not equip any other special abilities like Ragnarok or Ars Arcanum. Don't equip more than one "Combo Plus" and "Air Combo Plus" abilities. Equip any other abilities to boost Sora's power like Berserk and Critical Plus. Scan is useful, as it lets you see Sephiroth's HP and know when he's about to enter the next phase of the battle, but there are other signs to let you know this. If possible, equip the Ultima Weapon keychain, but otherwise equip weapons to boost Sora's MP and magic abilities. Oathkeeper, Lionheart or Lady Luck work for this by increasing Sora's max MP while still giving a strong attack. Also equip as many Elixirs as possible, or Megalixirs if you are out of Elixirs, and be sure to get Curaga from Aerith in Hollow Bastion. Be sure to have Curaga as one of the Spells equipped for Shortcut options when you need it. If you're not too confident with evading Sephiroth's attacks, you can equip whatever variation of Aero you have available as a Shortcut to reduce damage from Sephiroth's attacks. Finally, equip accessories to boost Sora's defense and HP. Gaia Bangles or Omega Arts work for this. Also note that all of Sephiroth's attacks except for Stigma count as the dark element, so equipping armor to resist that element will help greatly.

For the first part of the battle, Sephiroth walks around the arena performing his Horizontal Slash and Stigma attacks, usually using the former when you come close. It is possible, by leaping towards him to avoid his Horizontal Slash, to hit Sephiroth with a combo. After suffering three to four hits from a combo, Sephiroth will teleport and attempt a Teleport Slash on you. You can either jump away or use Dodge Roll to evade the attack. Also note that in the short period after he teleports and before he reappears, you can actually lock on to him and see where he is going to appear. At this time, simply chip away at Sephiroth's HP with normal attacks, and heal when needed as MP Rage will restore your MP when you are attacked. It is important to note that while Sephiroth has six health bars; only five will show up, so your first attacks will only appear to do no damage. Once Sephiroth's red health bar is depleted and the yellow bar is showing he holds out his hand and says "Come", signaling he is entering his second phase of attack.

Sephiroth will next begin dashing around the arena very quickly, frequently using Teleport Slash. His first move upon entering this phase is to teleport and cast Heartless Angel. It is vital to hit him with Strike Raid at this time. The casting animation for Heartless Angel involves a halo appearing around Sephiroth. If you can attack him before the halo completes, you can stop the casting. Even if he successfully starts to casts it, continue to attack him. If you are hit while casting Heartless Angel, Sephiroth will run up to you in an attempt to finish you off with an attack. If you can't hit Sephiroth in time to stop him, your only chance is to quickly heal yourself with an Elixir right before you are struck by Heartless Angel. If timed right, the Elixir will refill your HP and MP right after Heartless Angel damages you. Sephiroth uses this attack periodically during this phase, so listen carefully for him to call the attack and stop him. Alternatively, to stop Heartless Angel, use Superglide, get close to him and hit him before he can finish announcing the attack.

Sephiroth's other tactics are to simply run around the arena using Teleport Slash frequently. His other new move, Omnislash, hits very quickly and can be difficult to survive. You can cast Curaga during the attack, but he'll likely attack you and stop you before you can cast it. A better option is to hit him with Strike Raid when he calls out the attack, as you are invincible during Strike Raid and thus can become immune to his many slashes. Otherwise, repeatedly use Dodge Roll or well-timed Guards. His final attack in Omnislash is to pierce the ground, sending a shockwave in every direction, but it can be avoided by Dodge Rolling directly away from his frontal area. After using Omnislash, Sephiroth immediately teleports and uses Heartless Angel.

In general for Phase Two, always have at least two MP so you can use Strike Raid, and keep your HP high. With MP Rage, Sephiroth will be causing you so much damage, he'll be restoring your MP quickly so keeping your MP up should not be a problem. When Sephiroth is down to his yellow health bar, he will summon a green and black aura, signaling the final phase of the battle.

Sephiroth's final phase begins with him casting Supernova. The meteors can be dodged with moderate difficulty. When Sephiroth begins the attack's end, target him and use Strike Raid - this will not damage him as Sephiroth is invincible while using Supernova, but will make you immune to the attack's final hit. The final hit can also be dodged with proper timing by Dodge Rolling behind Sephiroth as he uses it. If you are hit, though, it won't do too much damage; nothing Curaga can't fix. Sephiroth will also begin using Shadow Flare quite often and start erratically teleporting while spinning and slashing, leaving Shadow Flares in his wake. Although this seems daunting to avoid, during this time, Sephiroth is vulnerable. Instead, you can use Strike Raid, both avoiding damage and hitting him at the same time. This is perhaps the opportune moment to hit Sephiroth.

Sephiroth also retains all the attacks from his previous two phases. He still casts Heartless Angel, but no longer calls out the name of the move, making it vital to keep him targeted to know when he's casting it. Sephiroth also still uses Omnislash, and may even use it twice in a row. He still uses Stigma when interrupted while casting Heartless Angel.

Although this is easily Sephiroth's most dangerous form, the damage all of his moves can be minimized with deft dodging and usage of Strike Raid to exploit its temporary invincibility. Since he may still be landing hits on you quite often, your MP should be high throughout the phase, and healing yourself and attacking should be no trouble. As long as you can react to Sephiroth's moves quickly with the appropriate counter, you can defeat him. Focus on getting in hits whenever possible, while surviving his attacks using Curaga and Strike Raid and he will eventually be defeated.

In the Final Mix version, there are more options, due to the new Leaf Veil/Leaf Bracer ability, you can time Curaga right to avoid most of Sepiroth's blows and powerful finishers. Thus, you can also avoid and heal at the same time, so if you see a powerful attack coming, don't hesitate to heal if you have the chance. In this version you should keep track of the number of hits you deal, since on the 7th hit Sephiroth will immediately react with one of his attacks no matter what. You may want to use Strike Raid right after dealing the 7th hit so he doesn't catch you off guard. Only attacks that stagger him do count.-->

Kingdom Hearts II
Sora should have his Defense as high as possible, through the use of equipment such as Ribbon and Cosmic Arts, or by applying Defense Boosts. Ultima Weapon and Circle of Life are useful Keyblades for their MP regeneration abilities, while Decisive Pumpkin is useful for its Combo Boost. For maximum mobility, equip Sora with High Jump, Aerial Dodge, Glide, and Slide Dash; for defense equip Guard, Counterguard, Aerial Recovery, Leaf Bracer, Second Chance, and Once More, and for offense equip MP Haste, MP Rage, and Trinity Limit. Defender, Combo Boost, Air Combo Boost, Finishing Plus, Retaliating Slash, and several Elixirs are also useful, but not as essential. Reflect and Cure should be set to shortcuts, preferably at their Reflega and Curaga levels, as well as any stocked Elixirs and, in Final Mix, Limit Form's Auto Limit.

Sephiroth always opens with Flash, so be prepared to use the "Block" Reaction Command, then use the opportunity to attack with Trinity Limit and Keyblade combos. If Sephiroth warps to use Cut Combo, be prepared to guard or use Reflect, then attack again. Sephiroth will not use the more difficult-to-block Aerial Cut Combo if Sora does not hit him with a combo finisher, so it is useful to forgo using finishers during the first phase unless proficient in using Reflect. Curaga is the best way to heal during the first phase, and can be followed with Berserk Charge to deal lots of damage without Sephiroth breaking free. However, if Sora uses Berserk Charge in the air, Sephiroth will teleport away and perform Flash after several strings of combos, and if Sora uses it on the ground, Sephiroth will still teleport away, and may counterattack if Sora fails to connect with any of his hits. If Sephiroth does Aerial Cut Combo, be sure to use Retaliating Slash to catch Sephiroth and deal an aerial combo.

After losing four and a half bars of his health bar, the battle will shift to its second phase as Sephiroth calls out, "Know your place."

In the second phase, Sephiroth will begin using Firaga Wall and Shadow Flare, often in conjunction with Flash, and his Cut Combo will have greater reach and speed. Reflect will deflect each of these attacks while damaging Sephiroth, and there is a small window of opportunity to attack Sephiroth directly as he finishes Firaga Wall.

Sephiroth will also start using his signature technique, Heartless Angel. As soon as he begins to say, "Descend... Heartless Angel!", ignore any other obstacles like Shadow Flare and use High Jump and Aerial Dodge or Trinity Limit to immediately close in on Sephiroth and hit him. If Sora fails to interrupt the technique, or is too far away to even try, immediately consume an Elixir to recover health, and prepare to deflect Sephiroth's followup attack.

After losing nine and a half bars of health, the battle will shift to its final phase as Sephiroth gains an aura of darkness and calls out, "All shall be one with me."

In the final phase, Sephiroth is much faster, and will fly around low to the ground instead of walking. The best time to heal is after Sephiroth performs one of his basic techniques. Sephiroth will also start using Moving Cut and Meteor, which can be dodged or countered.

If using Limit Form, be sure to use Limits frequently (especially Sonic Rave) to attack and heal, but unless proficient in using Guard, avoid using their final blows to prevent Sephiroth from retaliating. Due to Sephiroth's speed, Strike Raid's invincibility frames may not always occur when needed, so be careful to time the attacks well.