Enemy-Skill Only Challenge .-----------------------------. | Copyright 2007 Steven Marr | | By Steven Marr (aka Xenomic)| | xenomic@bigstring.com | | kushara@bigstring.com | | entity_of_chaos@hotmail.com | | AIM: Xenomic | | | '-----------------------------' --------------------------------------------------------- Legal Script --------------------------------------------------------- Final Fantasy 7 Copyright 1997, 1998 Square Co., Ltd. Final Fantasy and Squaresoft are registered trademarks of Square Co., Ltd. All copyrights and trademarks are acknowledged where are not specifically mentioned. If you wish to reproduce this document AS IS, you may do so after asking my permission, and not for profit. If I see fit, I, however, will revoke permission and ask for it to be taken down if necessary. -------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents -------------------------------------------------- To navigate to a separte section, use Cntrl + F and type in the bracket and the corresponding letter at the end of each section. 1. Welcome! [0] 2. Why Make This Guide? [A] 3. The Different Versions of This Challenge [B] 4. Tips & Tricks [C] 5. The Guide [D] Disc 1 A. No.1 Reactor B. Sector 7 C. Sector 5 Slums/Wall Market D. Train Graveyard/Sector 7 Plate E. Wall Market/Shinra HQ F. Midgar to Junon G. Junon to Gold Saucer H. Corel Prison to Gongaga I. Cosmo Canyon to Nibelheim J. Mt. Nibel to Rocket Town K. Wutai L. Temple of the Ancients M. Bone Village to City of the Ancients Disc 2 A. City of the Ancients to Gaia's Cliff B. Whirlwind Maze C. Junon Execution D. Huge Materia E. Raid on Midgar Disc 3 A. Northern Crater B. Other Information 6. Frequently Asked Questions [E] 7. Other Challenges Sections [F] 8. Credits [G] -------------------------------------------------- 1. Welcome! [0] -------------------------------------------------- This is my second FAQ for Final Fantasy VII, and the first of the many Enemy- Skill Only Challenge FAQs that I will be doing. Hopefully for those of you who are willing to do this challenge, you will find this useful on your adventures. If you need to ask me any questions, feel free to contact me via email or AIM. I'll be glad to assist you! -------------------------------------------------- 2. Why Make This Guide? [A] -------------------------------------------------- There are many challenge FAQs out there as there is. So why bother with making one more? Because there are really no Enemy-Skill Only challenge FAQs out there, and I feel that this is one of the interesting challenges available. And do note that this guide is not going to be in-depth about everything. If you need to find out specific things, then please, use another FAQ, as it will not be here. So, without further ado, let us begin! --------------------------------------------------------- 3. The Different Versions of This Challenge [B] ---------------------------------------------------------- I have constructed two of my very own versions of this challenge. There is also another version, but considering how OvenMan has that one covered, I'll be focusing this FAQ on mine. However, I will mention OvenMan's version, for those of you who wish to know. Alpha Version [OvenMan's Version] - The challenge doesn't officially start until you leave Midgar. Once you leave Midgar, you MUST get the Matra Magic Enemy Skill on your single ES materia. During Midgar, you will be doing a NM (No Materia) challenge. - Once you get a new Enemy Skill materia, you must equip it to someone in your party unless you already have three of them. Unless you have four Enemy Skill materia, your Enemy Skill materia MUST be equipped to the people in your party. - You can only use curative items -- that is, items that restore your MP, HP, or a status ailment. This includes all types of Potions, Ethers, Elixirs, Antidotes, etc. up until you obtain a healing Enemy Skill. Once you get a healing Enemy Skill, you can no longer use HP restoring items. Once you get the Magic Hammer enemy skill, you can no longer use MP items. Don't worry about this one; the walkthrough will state when you can no longer use these if you do decide to follow it. - All Phoenix items (Phoenix Down, etc.) are allowed. - There are no equipment restrictions. However, each character must have at least one materia slot in their equipment since they'll all need a slot for the Enemy Skill materia. - The only materia you're allowed to keep in your inventory are Enemy Skill materia and the Manipulate materia that Cait Sith comes equipped with. If you ever get any other type of materia, you must trash it immediately. You cannot obtain a different Manipulate materia; only use the one Cait Sith comes equipped with. - Limits are allowed. - You may use Manipulate ONLY to get new Enemy Skills. Under no other circustmances should the "Manipulate" command be touched. - During Midgar, you may only use the Attack or Item commands. Once you get Matra Magic, you may only use it, limits, and curatives for the character that has the Enemy Skill materia. So, basically, if a character doesn't have an Enemy Skill materia equipped, they are limited to Attack, Item, and Limit commands. Once they DO get an Enemy Skill materia, they are only allowed to use it, Item, Manipulate (to learn new skills), and Limits. Beta Version [Xenomic's Easy Version] -Virtually the same as OvenMan's Version, with the exception that Phoenix Downs are not allowed and you can use whatever you want before you get the first Enemy Skill materia from the Shinra HQ. -You can also use HP Plus, MP Plus, Magic Plus, Speed Plus, Pre-Emptive, Enemy Lure, Enemy Away, Chocobo Lure, and HP <-> MP, but nothing else. Omega Version [Xenomic's True Version] -You may not use Manipulate period. -You cannot use Phoenix Downs. -You can, however, use healing items and Loco Weed, but no other items until you get the Enemy Skill materia and have it equipped with at least one Enemy Skill. -You may not use Limit Breaks or the attack command for those with the Enemy Skill materia equipped. ------------------------------------------------------ 4. Tips & Tricks [C] ------------------------------------------------------- 1. You don't really need super-powerful equipment to win, but you should always keep an ample supply of items on hand early on in the game until you get to the end of Disc 2 and obtain the 3rd Enemy Skill. Selling your equipment will help in getting your items that you'll need. 2. Before you leave Midgar, try and level up a lot to make sure you have an ample supply of MP for the character who will be using the first Enemy-Skill. 3. A good strategy, if you don't have Tents or Ethers for some reason, is if a character's MP is almost depleted, switch the Enemy Skill to another character. 4. Rest occassionally. That way, you can build up levels and not worry about having to run out of MP in a boss fight. 5. Make sure to get Magic Hammer as soon as you can. You can get this before the activation point of Yuffie's sidequest (if you decide to get Yuffie). This is especially useful when you can no longer use items due to having 3 Enemy- Skill materias. [Omega] Make sure to keep some Loco Weeds to help learn valuable Enemy Skills, such as Big Guard and White Wind. 6. Avoid using high-cost Enemy Skills. Sometimes, the best route is to use the low-cost spells. This is especially true early on in the game, where spells like Big Guard, Beta, and Aqualung just cost too much to spend without care. 7. Characters should be equipped with weapons, armour and accessories which increase Magic, since that's the main stat in this challenge. 8. In the Omega version, where you're not using Limit Breaks, keep all characters in Sadness to reduce damage received. 9. In the Omega Version, you may be opted to get the Ghost Hand item from the Ghosts in the Train Graveyard. This rare item drop allows the user to drain MP from its victim and restore the user's MP. Try and get around 99 of them before leaving the Train Graveyard, as this will speed things up immensely, instead of overleveling, making the challenge boring and dull. 10. After you get the Magic Hammer Enemy Skill, you can no longer use any MP restorative items (Ether, Turbo Ether, Elixir, Megalixir, and Ghost Hands) 11. After you get White Wind, you can no longer use any HP restorative items (Potion, Hi-Potion, X-Potion, Elixir, Megalixir, Vampire Fang) 12. You cannot deliberately KO your own party members. This is to avoid making the challenge a No Materia game. 13. Keep in mind that when a character gets an Enemy Skill materia on, they are not allowed to use HP or MP restorative items. This is to prevent making the challenge too easy, but at the same time, keep it challenging and fun. -------------------------------------------------------- 5. The Guide [D] --------------------------------------------------------- NOTE: This FAQ will not tell you everything about this game. If you want to find something specific, then use another FAQ please. DISC ONE A. No. 1 Reactor As soon as the game begins, customize your settings to have the Battle Speed set to Active and the Message speeds to the fastest they can go. Now, head after Barret and defeat the MPs. Don't forget to take the two Potions from them after the fight. Now, once you have Barret on your team, open the two doors, then head straight down to get the Phoenix Down. If you're doing either the Beta or Omega Versions, this won't help you too much, but you can sell it later to help buy Potions and Antidotes. Now, go to Jessie and head down the elevator. Follow her down to where you must jump over a ledge (just before where the Save Point is), and pick up the Potion in front of her. Climb down the ladders and save your game. Pick up and trash the Restore materia (or keep it for show and tell), and prepare to fight the first boss of the game. Boss Battle: Guard Scorpion Difficulty: 1/10 Simply have Cloud and Barret attack the Guard Scorpion. Whenever you get a chance, fire off both character's Limit Breaks (although you might want to save them for later, who knows...). Remember, don't attack while it's tail is up, unless you're trying to build up Limit Breaks (which is useless if you're doing the Omega Version). After you defeat the Guard Scorpion, you can equip Barret's Assault Gun if you want (or sell it later), then leave the Reactor. After you escape the Reactor, head to the next area. It doesn't matter what you do with the Flower Girl at this point, so do what you will and head on to the next area. Be sure to pick up the Potions here, and head on. If you want to build levels, then fight the MPs here. If not, then skip the fights and hop onto the train to head to Sector 7. B. Sector 7 Once you arrive in Sector 7, if you feel like gaining some levels and Limit Breaks (if you're doing the Alpha and Beta Versions), head to the Train graveyard to the right of the train station and fight the enemies there. If you're lucky, you might score a few Ethers, which you should keep for later. If you need to rest up, then use the inn. Whenver you're ready, head to the bar. Once you have Tifa and Barret, head to the Item Shop and sell that Phoenix Down you got earlier, and buy some Potions and Antidotes. Then, if you still feel like leveling up, go back to the Train Graveyard. If not, hop onto the train. When the countdown starts, head to the back of the first train and talk to the man lying down to receive a Phoenix Down. Next, head to the next train and talk to the man closest to the next train and select the second option to get a Hi- Potion. You can continue on if you wish, or you can let the timer run out and jump out at that spot. Whichever you choose, you'll need to head north to get to the next area. If you feel like building up levels, you can head south where you can fight an unlimited amount of Special Combatants, but you'll still need to go north anyways. Drop down the hole and pick up the Ether here. Continue on until you see Jessie, and pick up the Potion in front of her (she likes to have Potions by her, don't she?). Continue on to where Biggs is and grab the Tent in front of the Save Point. You can save if you'd like, but you shouldn't have to. Inside the Reactor, head down and plant the bomb, then continue up like you did in the last reactor until you reach a room with a treasure box. Open the treasure box to get the Ether, then open the door by pressing the buttons at the same time. Save and prepare to fight boss #2. Boss Battle: Air Buster Difficulty: 1/10 Simply back attack him with Limit Breaks and heal when necessary, and this battle will be over quickly. After the next scene, you will end up in the Sector 5 Slum Church. Proceed through this as you see fit, and continue on to Sector 5. C. Sector 5 Slums/Wall Market Make sure to pick up the Ether in Aeris's garden. After you spend the night at Aeris's house, pick up the Phoenix Down and Tent before leaving her house, then Save. Go to the Item Shop and sell off the Phoenix Down and Titan Bangle (if you need Gil). Stock up on Potions, Antidotes, and Tent, then continue on to Sector 6. You can level up here if you want and get more Potions and Antidotes. Press on to Wall Market and complete the events here (make sure to stop by the Medicine Shop and buy some Hypers [Not for the Omega Version]). Head on to Corneo's Mansion, and when you get a chance, before talking to Tifa, pick up the Ether. Continue on with the event (you can pick up the Phoenix Down in the other room with Scotch if you want it), and before you head off to fight Aps, pick up the Hyper behind Corneo's bed. In the sewers, before talking to both girls, pick up the Potion, then talk to them both to fight Aps. Boss Battle: Aps Difficulty: 1/10 This isn't any different than a regular game, except you don't have Fire or Restore. However, you can still win this fight easily. Abuse everyone's Limit Breaks and attack Aps, making sure to heal when your HP is getting too close to 250. After the battle, continue on through the sewers (you don't need to get the Steal materia, since you can't use it in this challenge). Once you reach the Train Graveyard, save. D. Train Graveyard/Sector 7 Plate Make sure to pick up every item here, especially the Hi-Potion and Echo Screen. You can fight the Deenglows here to earn some Ethers, which will come in use later on in the game. When you're ready, head on to the Sector 7 Plate. Go to the Item Shop here and sell whatever you don't need (such as the Phoenix Down) and stock up on Potions and Hypers [Tranquilizers for the Omega Version]. Continue on up the plate until you fight Reno. Boss Battle: Reno Difficulty: 1/10 This is still an easy battle. Make sure to attack the Pyramids that he puts your characters in, and just attack him. He'll go down easily enough. After the next scene, it's time to head back to Sector 5 and speak to Aeris's mom. Then, save your game and proceed to Wall Market. E. Wall Market/Shinra HQ Make sure to buy the Batteries, then proceed up the shiny wire. Place the batteries as needed (if you want the Ether, use the last battery). Once you reach Shinra HQ, save. I'd suggest taking the stairs for the Elixir, but if you want to fight, then by all means, go through the front door. Either way is fine. Once you reach Floor 60 and get the Keycard 62, continue on with the game normally, picking up all the items and equipment that are strewn throughout this area. Once you reach Floor 66, save your game, then proceed up to the next floor to fight the fourth boss of the game. Boss Battle: Sample: HO512, Sample: HO512-opt Difficulty: 1/10 A simple fight once again. If you want Tranquilizers, then go after the little buggers until they stop reviving. Otherwise, target the big guy until he dies. Simple enough, right? Now, MAKE SURE YOU PICK UP THE ENEMY SKILL MATERIA HERE! If you don't, you'll have to start over again. I can't stress this enough. Once you pick it up, you must equip it to someone, though you can still do everything else with that character until you pick up your first Enemy Skill. Continue on through the events until you fight your next boss. Boss Battle: Hundred/Heli Gunner Difficulty: 3/10 This is a bit tougher than normal, since you don't have Bolt and you can't use Grenades. You should dedicate Aeris and Red XIII to healing, while Barret attacks non-stop. When you get a chance, have both Barret and Red XIII fire off their Limit Breaks. Now, on to the next boss... Boss Battle: Rufus & Dark Nation Difficulty: 1/10 Not too difficult. If you built Cloud's Limit Break up before this fight, then use it immediately on Dark Nation to get him out of the fight. Then, focus on Rufus while keeping Cloud's HP up. When you have control of Cloud again, make sure to save before talking to Tifa. Once you have Aeris under your control, go to the Item Shop and buy what you need, then continue on until you fight your next boss. Boss Battle: Motor Ball Difficulty: 2/10 This isn't too much tougher either. If you put the Protect Vest on one of your characters (preferably Barret), then you won't be taking as much damage as you could. Just attack, use Limit Breaks, and heal and you'll be fine. Now it's time to leave Midgar behind. So sad, yes? It won't be for long! F. Midgar To Junon First thing to do is to get Matra Magic from the Custom Sweepers that roam around the dark areas of Midgar. Once you obtain that, the character with the Enemy Skill can no longer perform anything but Enemy Skills (along with Items, Limits, and Manipulate in the Alpha Version). Still, Matra Magic will carry you through through quite a bit of the first disc. Once you get this Enemy Skill, head to Kalm and do Cloud's flashback. Get the Ether and Peacemaker here as well, and make sure to stock up on Items also. When you're ready, start you trek towards the Chocobo Ranch. Around this area, you'll want to get the L4 Suicide spell from an enemy called Mu. Once you get that, head towards the swamp (unless you want to try and get the Chocobo Lure materia, but you can't use it, so why bother?). A trick to pass this part is to wait until the Midgar Zolom is on the other side of the marsh, then travel alongside the right side of the mountain (this being in ground view). You can also save and reload in the swamp to reset the location of the Midgar Zolom and continue on. If you get into a battle with the Midgar Zolom, just run for now. You don't want to waste anything at this point. Once inside the Mythril Mines, make sure to check the right room for items, then head on out towards the exit. Skip the text, and head up to get the items in here. Make sure to get the Flame-Thrower Enemy Skill from the Ark Dragon here as well before continuing on. If you want, you can visit Fort Condor, but it's probably best to leave that for later, unless you want a free place to rest. Head on to Junon and save before entering. Stock up here before heading to the beach, and prepare for you first boss battle with the Enemy-Skills. Boss Battle: Bottomswell Difficulty: 3/10 This can prove to be dangerous, since Bottomswell can very easily encase your Enemy-Skill user in a bubble. To prevent this, kill off the other two party members before the fight. This will prevent the boss from using the Waterpolos on you. Make sure to heal often and recover your MP, and continue to beret Bottomswell with Matra Magic and Flame-Thrower. If you lose this fight, that's ok. You can just fight the Cappairwire enemies in the forest areas near Junon and Fort Condor. A Matra Magic should be enough to kill them. Plus, it might help to get Yuffie before this fight. After the battle, continue on with the story. When you get a chance, equip the Power Wrist to one of your characters [Not for Omega Version]. In Junon, make sure to pick up the second Enemy Skill materia. You'll have to equip this immediately when you get a chance. Continue on until you get to the docks. Try to get a score of 0-50 to get the Silver Glasses. This will get you a lot of Gil when you sell it in a little bit, so keep that in mind. G. Junon to Gold Saucer On the boat to Costa Del Sol, make sure to stock up on the items here, and sell the Force Stealer you received earlier. Then proceed on with the game as normal. When you fight Marines, you can easily hinder them with L4 Suicide, then cripple them with Matra Magic, but I'd suggest you save your MP for the upcoming boss. Boss Battle: Jenova-BIRTH Difficutly: 3/10 This can actually prove to be deadly. Jenova-Birth has 4000 HP, which can take a toll on your MP. You'll need to dedicate one person to healing HP, another to keeping MP up for your Enemy-Skill caster, and you'll need your Enemy-Skill caster to use Flame-Thrower a lot. I'd suggest using Yuffie and Aeris, since they both have healing Limit Breaks, plus Yuffie can attack with Greased Lightning when the chance arrives. If you have the Enemy Skill materia on Aeris, then I'd suggest you have the Power Wrist on either Yuffie or Cloud (or whoever the third party member is). You should have no problem winning this fight though. After the battle, leave the area and continue on to Costa Del Sol. You can sell the White Cape if you want, but you might want it for a little later on. Pick up the Fire Ring and Motor Drive here, and sell the Motor Drive. You'll want the Fire Ring for later on. Buy some Softs and stock up on the usual, then head on out towards Mt. Corel. Once you arrive there, just follow the trail through the mountain, being sure to pick up all items. You most likely will want to sell the W Machine Gun that you pick up, and if you get the 10 Phoenix Downs, you should sell them once you get a chance. Once you reach North Corel, head out of town and save. Next, stock up once again and sell the W Machine Gun. If you want, buy some Carbon Bangles. Then continue on to the Gold Saucer. Here, continue on with the storyline. Once you get Cait Sith, make sure to trash his Transform materia and keep the Manipulate materia [Not for Omega Version]. Then, continue on with the game as normal. H. Corel Prison To Gongaga Immediately head towards the save point here and save. Then, continue on with the game. Once you have your party, have the non-Enemy Skill character with Manipulate and head towards Dyne. Before going to fight Dyne, you'll want to fight around for a little while. You can get Matra Magic for your second Enemy Skill materia, and learn Laser for both of your Enemy-Skill users. However, once your second Enemy-Skill user gets a spell, they are bound to the rules of the other character. Remember that! Now, once you get the spells you need, go and fight Dyne. Boss Battle: Dyne Difficulty: 2/10 This shouldn't be that tough of a fight. Just have Barret heal the whole fight and fire off Limit Breaks, or just use spells such as Matra Magic and Flame- Thrower (if you managed to reequip him before the fight. You really should have...) to whittle him down. After the battle, complete the Chocobo Race. Once you get your Buggy, you'll be needing to backtrack to gain some important Enemy Skills. Your first stop should be back at Junon. Use Manipulate to learn White Wind on your two Enemy Skills (not for Omega Version), then head back to the Mythril Mines and get Flame-Thrower for your second Enemy Skill. Now, head to the swamp and fight the Midgar Zolom. Whittle its HP down with Laser and other attacks (you might want to equip both Enemy Skill materias on one person with the Fire Ring). Have your non-Enemy Skill users attack until the Zolom uses Beta. Then, quickly finish the Zolom off. Now, head back to Costa Del Sol and run along the beach until you encounter Beach Plug. Manipulate them and use Big Guard on your party (not for Omega Version). Then, headback to the Gold Saucer desert and fight an enemy named Harpy to learn Aqualung. Now that you have all of these spells, it's time to head to Gongaga. Before entering the town, make sure to get Frog Song from the Touch Me. You don't have to go to Gongaga if you don't want to. This is optional, but the fight here will get you some EXP and a weapon that you can sell. Boss Battle: Reno/Rude Difficulty: 2/10 Nothing too difficult, especially if you took the time to get all of the Enemy Skills mentioned earlier. Aqualung and Beta are your best friend here. Abuse them like no tomorrow, but be sure to buckle down and use Matra Magic if your MP starts to get too low. We don't want to run out of MP, now do we? After the battle, you can pick up the Items in the town. Then, head to Cosmo Canyon. I. Cosmo Canyon To Nibelheim As soon as you enter the town, sell of whatever unneccessary items that you don't need (keep the Phoenix Downs if you're not doing the Omega Version). Go through the storyline, then when you head to the Gi Cave, make sure that you bring Yuffie. If you're doing the Alpha Version, I'd suggest giving Cloud and Red the Enemy Skills, and leave Yuffie with the healing. On your way through the cave, you may get hit by the Death Sentence spell. Don't worry about ever using it; it's about as useless as L4 Suicide. Once you reach the battles with the Stingers, use Frog Song on them to minimize the damage they can do, and proceed to attack with Laser from one of your ES users, and with Flame-Thrower or Matra Magic with the other ES user. Up ahead, you'll be pitted against your next boss. Boss Battle: Gi Nattak & Soul Fire Difficulty: 3/10 This fight might be a little difficult, but not too much. Using White Wind on Gi Nattak many times will end this fight, and having a character with a Fire Ring will help as well. Just try and avoid Gi Nattak's Aspill attack, as it drains MP from your fighters. Heal when necessary, and have Yuffie attack the Soul Fire or Gi Nattak when the chance arises. After the battle, proceed on with the storyline, then proceed on to Nibelheim. If you want to, you can skip right through this part. However, if you want Vincent and another Enemy Skill, you'll want to try and complete this part. So save your game here and head into town. Pick up all the Items around town by talking to the cloaked people, then head into the Shinra Mansion. Pick up everything here as well, and head to the safe. Use this combination to unlock the safe: R 36, L 10, R 59, R 97. If you do this correctly, you'll be pitted against yet another boss. Boss Battle: Lost Number Difficulty: 4/10 This fight can be a pain, especially if you go into it on your first visit. Aeris will be a big help to you here, as will Yuffie. Keep everyone in the back row, and dedicate your two ES users to using Aqualung and Beta, while your third member heals constantly. Use Limit Breaks whenver the chance arises as well (not for Omega Version). This battle is far easier if you wait until you get Magic Hammer later on in the game. (Addition from Arthez) You can also abuse Aeris' Seal Evil and Cloud's Cross Slash limits, as they have a chance to paralyze Lost Number. After the battle, head to the basement and talk to Vincent. Make sure that you follow these directions exactly to get him: Talk about Sephiroth Ask him his name You should have Vincent in your party now. Once you get him, leave Nibelheim and head north to Mt. Nibel. K. Mt. Nibel To Nibelheim Make sure that you pick up all the treasure here to sell for Gil later on. If you did not get Flame-Thrower back at the Mythril Mines for your second Enemy Skill materia, then you can learn it here from the Dragon. Head to the Save Point and save, then be prepared to fight your next boss. Boss Battle: Materia Keeper Difficulty: 3/10 Not to difficult, but not too easy either. It's best that you have all of your characters in the back row by this point of the game, and that you keep them in Sadness as well. Have your two ES users buckle down and use Aqualung (don't bother with Beta. That'll just heal him), and if you feel like risking it, use ???? when your HP gets low enough. However, make sure to not kill this boss until he uses Trine on your characters. This spell will be one of your best for a while until you acquire Magic Breath in Disc2. Once you get this spell, finish off the boss, then head on to Rocket Town. Once you arrive at this humble town, ransack everything that you can before going to Cid's house. Continue with the story until you fight Palmer. Boss Battle: Palmer Difficulty: 2/10 This isn't that tough of a fight. Just focus on using Aqualung and Beta, or use ???? and Trine for the low-budget costs. Having the Fire Ring on a character can also help relieve some of the Mako Gun attack. After the battle, you should head to Wutai immediately. L. Wutai This is completely optional, as if you do this, you won't have your Enemy Skill materia. You should only really attempt this after the raid on Midgar in Disc 2. But, you should at the very least get Death Force from the Adamantaimai on the beach and Magic Hammer from the Razor Weeds before the activation point on the hill. Once you get Magic Hammer, you can no longer use MP restore items for the rest of the game. If you come back here on Disc 2, make sure that Yuffie has the third Enemy Skill without Trine on it for the last battle in the Pagoda. Before that fight, just blaze through with Magic Breath and the like. In the fight against Godo, let him use Trine, then beret him with Magic Breath, Trine, Beta, and Aqualung. M. Temple of the Ancients Go through the storyline after Rocket Town until you get a chance to go to the Temple of the Ancients. MAKE SURE THAT YOU GET MAGIC HAMMER BEFOREHAND! This is extremely important for this area. I would also suggest having Yuffie along for the ride, just to have another healer in your party. Once you enter, head towards the room with the boulders (picking up the items here as well) and dodge the boulders. Continue on into the room with the clock and ransack each room (you'll want the Ribbon here for sure). You can knock yourself down and get the Nail Bat if you want, but it's not necessary. If you don't have it, you can learn Frog Song here as well. In the room with the purple guy, jump down to the second floor and go into the 3rd door. If that's not the right door, and if the guy goes into the door you went into, just go back into the door you come out of. Save your game, and proceed into the next room (don't forget the Work Glove on the bottom floor!). Inside, you'll have to fight your next boss. Boss Battle: Red Dragon Difficulty: 3/10 Avoid using Beta and Flame-Thrower, as those will heal the boss. Using Trine and Aqualung should guarantee you victory, as long as you have your non-ES user healing with Items. Big Guard will also help in this fight. Having more speed doesn't hurt, now does it? Make sure to refill your MP before you end the fight, unless you're gonna restore your HP and MP by the purple guy. After the battle, continue on with the story and head towards the exit. Make sure you save beforehand, and put all 3 of your characters in the back row! Boss Battle: Demon's Gate Difficulty: 4/10 This fight can be difficult due to Demon's Gate's 10,000 HP and great Magic Defense (as it is 450) . However, if you saved your Limit Breaks from the last fight, then you shouldn't have too much of a problem (not for Omega Version). Start the battle with any attack Limit Breaks that you may have, then proceed topummel the boss with Aqualung and Beta. Make sure to use Big Guard early on as well, and beware of Demon Rush. Keep your third party member on standby at all times in case you need to heal. After the battle, continue on with the storyline. Then, head to the northern continent. N. Bone Village to the City of the Ancients Now, before you go to Bone Village, if you not have done so, go get some Enemy Skills now! You will want to have at least the following ES: Magic Hammer, White Wind, Big Guard, Beta, Aqualung, ????, and Frog Song. These will help you tremendously in the upcoming battles. Dig up the Lunar Harp, and buy/sell whatever you want. Head through the Sleeping Forest (be sure to pick up the Water Ring here) and proceed to the City of the Ancients. At the City of the Ancients, pick up everything that you can, then head to a house (it's on the right path, upper house) and don't go to sleep until you pick up the third Enemy Skill materia hidden behind the top bed. Now, you can go to sleep here, or go and get Enemy Skills for that materia. Note that you will now not be able to use any Items at all (for Omega Version only). You must rest here in order to proceed with the game. Continue on with the story, and save in the underground city. Equip the Water Ring and the third Enemy Skill materia on your third party member, and prepare to fight the last boss of Disc One. Boss Battle: Jenova-LIFE Difficulty: 1/10 Extremely simplistic to win. Your two party members without Water Ring will die quickly, but your third member will never die. You can sit there and let Jenova run out of MP, then revive your other two party members and attack with ???? by lowering your party's HP. All in all, this is a extremely simple battle. And more than likely, if you don't have it by now, you can learn Aqualung in this battle. So, you may want to keep your third Enemy Skill materia on your character with Water Ring (as long as it has ????) and go from there. [Skip storyline] DISC TWO A. City of the Ancients to Gaea's Cliff [Skip storyline] Proceed through the back of the city and head through the Corral Cave. Head up and through the cave (picking up items along the way), and exit the cave. Proceed towards Icicle Inn. At Icicle Inn, sell off any unwanted items and equipment. Proceed with storyline. At Great Glacier, you can fight as long as you like until you pass out, or you can just proceed on to Mr. Holz's house. Make sure that you rest up either way and save, then proceed on to Gaea's Cliff. This should be very straightforward. In the areas where you climb up, make sure to keep the bar above 29. In the areas where you fight, make sure that one of your characters has the Fire Ring, another has a Bolt Armlet, and the last has a Fire Armlet. Try and get into a fight with a monster named Stilva and learn Magic Breath (your most powerful Enemy Skill) and Trine for the Enemy Skills that don't have it. Outside where you can fight, make sure that at least one of your characters has a Ribbon, and try and fight a Malboro. Learn Bad Breath from it (not too useful, but it's better to get it now...), then proceed on to fight the Icicles later on. Be careful when fighting the Evil Heads, as their Ultrasound can Silence your party. Use Beta to end these battles quickly. Don't forget the Ribbon hidden in one of the walls! Once you reach the HP/MP spring and the save point, save and equip the Fire Ring on one character, the Bolt Armlet on another, and the Aurora Armlet or Fire Armlet on the last. Save and heal, then prepare to fight your next boss. Boss Battle: Schizo Difficulty: 4/10 Don't bother with Magic Breath, as you'll just end up healing both heads. Instead, fire off Aqualung and Trine to deal damage, or you can use the ???? trick to fight this boss. Make sure to use Magic Hammer to drain MP whenever you run low. Beware of Schizo's final attack (it can use it even if it runs out of MP). The character with the Bolt Armlet will survive, but more than likely, if you're using the ???? trick with the other characters, they will die. Just revive them and continue to attack the other head (not for Omega Version). If you don't want your characters to die from the final attack, just use White Wind and use Matra Magic or the like to finish it off. If you feel the need to, go back and save and heal. If you feel bold enough, try and beat the Blue Dragons that lurk around this area to win some Dragon Armlets. In any case, continue on with the story. B. Whirlwind Maze Sadly for you, you'll be forced to take Tifa with you. Make sure to give her an Enemy Skill materia, and give the Fire Ring to one character and Fire Armlet to another. Proceed through the Maze until you come across Sephiroth and the next boss. Boss Battle: Jenova-DEATH Difficulty: 1/10 This is yet another simplistic fight, as with the previous Jenova battle. Seeing as how Jenova cannot hurt you in any way if you equipped the Fire Armlet and Fire Ring, just lower your characters HP to as low as you can get them, then use the ???? trick to save MP. Don't worry about your third party member (most likely Tifa). You won't need that person for now. After the battle, proceed with the storyline. C. Junon Execution As soon as you get a chance, equip Barret with the Enemy Skill materia. You'll be forced to fight two Attack Squads. Finish them off quickly with Beta or Trine, then proceed on with the story (make sure to give Cait Sith an Enemy Skill materia as well after the fight). You can fight and level up if you want, but I'd suggest running away from the encounters for now. Continue on with the story until you get the Highwind. Once you have control of Highwind, it's time to go get Enemy Skills for your materia. If you haven't done so already, go get Big Guard, White Wind, Magic Hammer, Beta, Aqualung, Frog Song, and ???? for your third ES materia. Then, head to the northeast islands and fight in the forests until you fight Goblins to learn Goblin Punch. This is a invaluable ES, as it cost 0 MP to use and can be very useful later on. Whenever you're ready, head to Mideel and go through the storyline. D. Huge Materia You may want to have a party of Cid, Yuffie, and either Barret or Vincent for now, and equip them with all three ES materias. Proceed to Fort Condor and go through the battles. You can either wait and defeat the general, or do it the old fashioned way. Your call there. Once you're done there, get the Huge Materia and set out for North Corel. Head towards the reactor and proceed with the storyline. During battles on the train, use Aqualung, Magic Breath, Trine, and Beta to pull your way through. Get the Huge Materia here and head back to Mideel. Save before entering the town, and proceed through the story. Now, prepare to fight your next boss. Boss Battle: Ultimate Weapon Difficulty: 3/10 Your main objective here is to just simply survive. Make sure to cast Big Guard and White Wind constantly, and if you can spare the turn, throw in some Magic Breaths and Betas at the boss to help with later. After the battle, skip through the storyline until you have control of Cloud once again. Form a party of Cloud, Yuffie, and Barret or Vincent, then head to Junon. Head down to the Underwater Reactor until you get to the Save Point. Blow through the Underwater MPs and Submarine Crews (making sure that you have enough MP for the upcoming fight). Boss Battle: Carry Armor Difficulty: 5/10 This fight might be a little tricky, but nothing to really worry about. At the start, if you feel like taking a risk, use two Magic Hammers on the main body. This will eliminate the Lapis Laser attack altogether. From there, you can cast Magic Breath to your heart's desire. However, if Carry Armor uses Arm Grab on your people, and you end up killing them, then you can't revive them in the Omega Version, so beware. In that case, use Magic Breath until both arms are dead, then Magic Hammer the main body and use Trine to finish the battle, or use the ???? trick. [Skip storyline] Make sure to pick up the Huge Materia if you get it, then proceed on to either Rocket Town or the Sunken Gelinka (which is optional). If you decide to go to the Sunken Gelinka, the only thing really worth doing is fighting Reno and Rude, but they're not that important unless you need the EXP and Gil. Regardless, once you arrive at Rocket Town, you'll be forced to use Cid. Equip him with an Enemy Skill materia, then proceed up the ladder to fight Rude. Boss Battle: Rude & Attack Squad x2 Difficulty: 3/10 This isn't too tough, other than Rude's Grand Spark, which can be blunted with Big Guard. Abuse Trine and Magic Breath, but make sure to use Magic Hammer when your MP gets around 150 or so. You don't want to run out on a regular enemy up ahead, now do you? [Skip storyline] Head back to Cosmo Canyon and proceed through storyline, then head underwater and get the Key to the Ancients. Next, head to the City of the Ancients and proceed with the storyline. Return to the Highwind and prepare to meet Diamond Weapon at Midgar. Boss Battle: Diamond Weapon Difficulty: 4/10 Nothing too difficult about this fight. Just focus on Magic Breath and using Magic Hammer when the need arises. Make sure to use Big Guard right away to give everyone Haste, and use Aqualung, Beta, and Trine if you want to conserve MP. All in all, you should finish this before you even see the first Diamond Flash. After the battle, if you haven't done so already (which you really should have done long ago...), go get your Enemy Skills now! Once you've done so, prepare to go to Midgar! E. Raid on Midgar Note that most enemies here will be weak against Trine and Magic Breath, so use that to your advantage. You can also learn ???? from the Behemoths here if you haven't gotten it yet, so keep that in mind. This is pretty much straightforward, so rush through the underground area until you reach the save point. In the next area, you can fight the Turks if you need EXP, but it's not necessary. However, if you choose to fight them, don't use Magic Breath, as each of the Turks absorb a different element. Instead, use attacks like ???? (if you're bold enough), Goblin Punch, and Bad Breath to help you win. Skip the Shinra HQ, as there is really nothing of importance to you there. Instead, proceed to Sector 8 and prepare to fight your next boss. Boss Battle: Proud Clod Difficulty: 2/10 This fight is, simply put, a joke. Magic Breath, Magic Hammer, and the ???? trick is all you really need to win here. There's not much strategy needed to beat this boss. Proceed up the Mako Cannon (don't forget the Mystile!), and be prepared to fight Hojo. Boss Battle: Hojo Difficulty: 1/10 This is a simple fight. Since all Hojo does is Capsule, there isn't really much of a threat from him. Just focus on using Magic Breath (or the ???? trick) to finish this fight quickly. Boss Battle: Helletic-Hojo Difficulty: 3/10 A bit tougher, but not by much. Those with Ribbon will not be affected by Confu or Sleepel, and the thrid party member with the Mystile should be well protected too. Focus on the main body (ignore the two arms, as they're just a distraction) with spells like Goblin Punch, Trine, and Magic Breath. Use Magic Hammer as well to keep your MP up, as you still have one more fight to go after this one. Boss Battle: Lifefore-Hojo Difficulty: 3/10 Even easier yet. Finish this battle with a bang by using Magic Breath, Trine, Beta, Aqualung, and the like. [Skip storyline] DISC THREE A. Northern Crater This is where you will get some of the better Enemy Skills in the game. Make sure to get Magic Breath (if you don't have it) from the Parasite, Pandora's Box and Shadow Flare from the Dragon Zombie, and Angel Whisper from Pollensalta. Pick up every item that you can get as well. At the part where your party splits up, send Tifa to the right and you other party members down with you. At the next separation point, send everyone except Cloud, Yuffie, and Barret/Vincent to the bottom path. Proceed on until you get to the Point of No Return. Set up your Save Point here and save. Pick up the Mystile from Tifa (it'll say Mythril), then head on down the path to fight your final three bosses of the game. Boss Battle: Jenova-SYNTHESIS Difficulty: 5/10 This is a bit tricky. To fight Sephiroth with one party, you'll need to let Jenova have at least 13 turns before attacking. Use Defend and heal when neccessary. After the 13th turn, start attacking with Magic Breath and Pandora's Box (along with Shadow Flare and the ???? trick, or use the low- budget Aqualung, Trine, and Beta). Make sure to Magic Hammer if your MP drops down to around 250. Try to finish Jenova off before she uses Ultima (this will be after the Countdown). Now, make sure that you have enough HP and MP to survive the next two fights. Otherwise, you may be in for a rough ride.... Boss Battle: Bizarro-Sephiroth Difficulty: 6/10 Start off by using Big Guard to defend yourself. Make sure that everyone is healty as well. We don't want to bother with the ???? trick in this battle, as Sephiroth won't hesistate to kill off any weakenedparty members. Your best bet is to use Magic Breath, Trine, Beta, and Aqualung throughout the fight (if you want to risk MP, then throw out Pandora's Box and Shadow Flare). Remember, don't fight Sephiroth with anyone at Level 99. This just makes him stronger for each member who is Level 99. Remember to drain MP using Magic Hammer before the fight ends! Boss Battle: Safer Sephiroth Difficulty: 7/10 This can be real tough, or it can be real easy, depending on your levels. As soon as you enter the fight, cast Big Guard. Even if Sephiroth uses DeSpell, this forces him to waste his turns, which in turn, gives you the opportunity to punish him. Make sure to keep everyone as high HP and MP as possible. Whenever you see Supernova, use White Wind and Angel Whisper to save yourself. Also, keep somebody on standby the entire fight. You never know when you're going to need to use that person. After you get his HP low enough (around 20,000), after Supernova, Sephiroth will use Heartless Angel, so don't bother to heal then untilafter Heartless Angel. Instead, punish him with Magic Breath, Pandora's Box, and Shadow Flare. His MP restores every turn, so you can always recover your MP via Magic Hammer. Keep at him, and he'll go down in no time! Congratulations on completing this challenge! Hopefully, you have learned the value of the Enemy Skill materia, and the value of hard work! B. Other Information The following information tells where and who uses the following Enemy Skills: Name: ???? Enemy Who Uses Skill: Jersey (Shinra Mansion) Behemoth (Midgar-Underground) MP Cost: 3 Effect: Deals damage equal to difference in Max HP and current HP. Name: Angel Whisper Enemy Who Uses Skill: Pollensalta (Northern Cave) MP Cost: 50 Effect: Recovers all HP/Status and brings back KO'ed ally Name: Aqualung Enemy Who Uses Skill: Harpy (Gold Saucer tracks, Gold Saucer Desert) Serpent (Sunken Gelinka) Jenova-LIFE (City of Ancients) MP Cost: 34 Effect: Water damage to all enemies Name: Bad Breath Enemy Who Uses Skill: Malboro (Gaea's Cliff, Northern Crater) MP Cost: 58 Effect: Inflicts multiple statuses on all enemies Name: Beta Enemy Who Uses Skill: Midgar Zolom (Mythril Swamp) MP Cost: 35 Effect: Fire damage to all enemies Name: Big Guard Enemy Who Uses Skill: Beach Plug (Costa Del Sol beach) MP Cost: 64 Effect: Casts Wall and Haste on all allies Name: Chocobuckle Enemy Who Uses Skill: Chocobo-Lv mult. of 4 (Chocobo tracks) MP Cost: 3 Effect: Deals damage = number of times run away. Not available Name: Death Force Enemy Who Uses Skill: Adamantaimai (Wutai beach) MP Cost: 3 Effect: Prevents Instant Death Name: Death Sentence Enemy Who Uses Skill: Gi Spector (Gi Cave) Sneaky Step (Gi Cave) Boundfat (Path to City of Ancients) MP Cost: 10 Effect: Casts Slow Death on one target Name: Dragon Force Enemy Who Uses Skill: Dark Dragon (Northern Crater) MP Cost: 19 Effect: Raises Defense and Magic Defense of one ally Name: Flame-Thrower Enemy Who Use Skill: Ark Dragon (Mythril Mines) Dragon (Mt. Nibel) MP Cost: 10 Effect: Fire damage to one enemy Name: Frog Song Enemy Who Uses Skill: Touch Me (Gongaga woods) Toxic Frog (Temple of Ancients) Christopher (Northern Crater) MP Cost: 5 Effect: Casts Frog and Sleep on one enemy Name: Goblin Punch Enemy Who Uses Skill: Goblin (Goblin Island) MP Cost: 0 Effect: Deals physical damage to one enemy. Damage is x8 normal if used on enemy whose Level = caster's Level Name: L4 Suicide Enemy Who Uses Skill: Mu (Chocobo Ranch area) Trickplay (Correl Valley) MP Cost: 10 Effect: Causes Near Death and Mini to targets with Lv mult. of 4 Name: L5 Death Enemy Who Uses Skill: Parasite (Northern Crater) MP Cost: 22 Effect: Causes Death to targets with Lv mult. of 5 Name: Laser Enemy Who Uses Skill: Death Claw (Corel Desert Prison) Dark Dragon (Northern Crater) MP Cost: 16 Effect: Halves target's HP (Gravity) Name: Magic Breath Enemy Who Uses Skill: Stilva (Gaea's Cliff) Parasite (Northern Crater) MP Cost: 75 Effect: Deals Fire/Ice/Lightning damage to all enemies Name: Magic Hammer Enemy Who Uses Skill: Razor Weed (Wutai) MP Cost: 3 Effect: Drains 100 MP from target Name: Matra Magic Enemy Who Uses Skill: Custom Sweeper (Midgar area) Bullmotor (Corel Desert Prison) Death Machine (Junon) MP Cost: 8 Effect: Deals non-elemental damage to all enemies Name: Pandora's Box Enemy Who Uses Skill: Dragon Zombie (Northern Crater) MP Cost: 110 Effect: Deals non-elemental damage to all enemies. Ignores Defense. Used only once. Name: Roulette Enemy Who Uses Skill: Death Dealer (Northern Crater) MP Cost: 6 Effect: Randomly KO's one target Name: Shadow Flare Enemy Who Uses Skill: Dragon Zombie (Northern Crater) Ultimate Weapon (Cosmo Canyon) Ruby Weapon (GS Desert) Safer Sephiroth (????) MP Cost: 100 Effect: Non-elemental damage to one enemy (Magical) Name: Trine Enemy Who Uses Skill: Materia Keeper (Mt. Nibel) Godo (Wutai) Stilva (Gaea's Cliff) MP Cost: 20 Effect: Lightning damage to all enemies. Used 3 times only... Name: White Wind Enemy Who Uses Skill: Zemzelett (Junon area) Wind Wing (Whirlwind Maze) MP Cost: 34 Effect: Restores HP to party = caster's current HP -------------------------------------------------- 6. Frequently Asked Questions [E] -------------------------------------------------- Q: Is this challenge possible? A: Very. In fact, it's probably one of the easier challenges to complete and finish. Q: Should I get all of the Enemy Skills? A: No. Some of them are completely useless (those being L5 Death, L4 Suicide, Roulette, Chocobuckle [which you cannot get anyways], Death Force, Death Sentence, Dragon Force) Q: I can't get Trine anymore! Why is that? A: You can only get Trine from Materia Keeper, Stilva, and Godo, and only at the specified area. Once you've beaten them (or passed through the area), you can no longer get them. Q: Why doesn't the Dragon Zombie use Pandora's Box anymore? A: There is a variable that sets Pandora's Box to 1, so that once it's used, it's never used again. However, there is a glitch that may occur when it is used again. If that happens, then consider yourself lucky. Q: Do I have to use Manipulate or Items? A: That is purely up to you. You can make this as hard or as easy as you want. This guide assumes that you Manipulate and Items. -------------------------------------------------- 7. Other Challenges Sections [F] -------------------------------------------------- This section is dedicated to the explanation of the other Enemy-Skill Only challenges, and what's different from this challenge from those. Here's a quick run-down of the challenges that will be explained here: A) SCESO (Solo Character + Enemy-Skill Only) B) IEESO (Initial Equipment + Enemy-Skill Only) C) SCIEESO (Solo Character + Initial Equipment + Enemy-Skill Only) D) SCNMESO (Solo Character + No Manipulate + Enemy-Skill Only) E) IENMESO (Initial Equipment + No Manipulate + Enemy-Skill Only) F) NNMIESO (No Non-Mandatory Inns + Enemy-Skill Only) G) SCNNMIESO (Solo Character + No Non-Mandatory Inns + Enemy- Skill Only) H) SCIENNMIESO (Solo Character + Initial Equipment + No Non-Mandatory Inns + Enemy Skill Only) I) NIESO (No Items + Enemy Skill Only) J) SCNIESO (Solo Character + No Items + Enemy Skill Only) K) IENIESO (Initial Equipment + No Items + Enemy Skill Only) L) SCIENIESO (Solo Character + Initial Equipment + No Items + Enemy Skill Only) M) SCIENINNMESO (Solo Character + Initial Equipment + No Items + No Non-Mandatory Inns + Enemy Skill Only) N) NLBNPAESO (No Limit Breaks + No Physical Attacks + Enemy Skill Only) *Can be combined with other challenges O) LLESO (Low Level + Enemy-Skill Only) P) LLSCESO (Low Level + Solo Character + Enemy Skill Only) Q) IENAESO (Initial Equipment + No Accessories + Enemy Skill Only) R) SCNAESO (Solo Character + No Accessories + Enemy Skill Only) S) SCIENAESO (Solo Character + Initial Equipment + No Accessories + Enemy Skill Only) T) ESONE (Enemy Skill Only + No Escape) *Can be combined with other challenges Whether these are beatable or not are debatable. Try them out yourselves and see for yourselves. For the following sections, I will point out the difference (mainly in Boss fights and tactics) between these challenges and the main challenge. A. SCESO (Solo Character + Enemy Skill Only) Tips & Tricks Section -Note that you only have one character to use throughout this challenge, so be careful! It's impossible to get White Wind and Angel Whisper in this challenge as well, meaning you won't have any means of healing other than Elemental spells when you get Elemental armors. -I would advise you to not try the 'true' challenge of this challenge unless you like it tough. Safer is indeed impossible to defeat in the 'true' version. Howerver, he may be possible to beat in the other versions (excluding Omega Version). In this case, get Cloud's Meteorain (you ARE going to use Cloud, aren't you?) or Barret's Ungarmax (or Yuffie's Doom of the Living, if you're going to try it with her) early on (you'll most likely have to before Reno anyways). -Avoid using the ???? trick unless you want to die! -Luckily, you can get Magic Hammer, unless you do the 'true' version. In this case, you'll have to resort to a lot of running away, or leveling up near towns. -Keep your character in the back row and in Sadness at all times (except when trying to get Meteorain). Rules (Not that many really...) -Until after Midgar, treat this challenge as a Solo Character No Materia game. Strategies for Challenge -Midgar- Treat Midgar like a SCNM game. -Rest of Disc 1- -Get Matra Magic quickly, then go to Kalm. Fight around this area to level up a little before proceeding to the Mythril Mines. -When fighting Bottomswell, make sure that your character is in the back row and has Sadness to reduce damage. -When fighting Jenova-BIRTH, be careful of W-Laser + Stop combo. You may need to be around Level 25 to survive this fight. -When heading to Corel, make sure to level up to Level 30 at the very least. -When fighting Gi Nattak, make sure to ignore the Soul Fires and go straight for Nattak. It might be a good idea to level up as well to have more MP for this fight due to Aspil. -Do not attempt to fight Lost Number. It will only end in disaster.....and on that topic, ignore the Shinra Mansion alltogether... -Ignore Wutai! You don't want to go without your Enemy Skill materia. -In the Temple of the Ancients, it is better to run away than to fight, unless you are near one of the purple guys who can heal you. -Disc 2- -Against Schizo, let him run out of MP before attacking him. This may take about 10 minutes if you have it on Active. -Ignore the battles in the Whirlwind Maze. You'll want to conserve your MP for Jenova-DEATH. -Against Carry Armor, avoid using Magic Breath more than twice. In fact, it might be better to use Trine instead. Using Magic Breath after you do at least 6500 HP to both arms is ideal. -In Midgar, if you have a Vaccine, use it at the start of the battle with Hojo. -Disc 3- -Whether it is possible to beat Safer Sephiroth is unknown..... B. IEESO (Initial Equipment + Enemy-Skill Only) Tips & Tricks Section -Note that you cannot use anything except for what a character comes equipped with. That being said, you may be forced to use the Fire Ring quite a bit in this challenge. -Don't bother too much with Limit Breaks unless you get Meteorain, Ungarmax, and the heavy-hitting limit breaks. Rules -You cannot equip any weapon or armor except for what a character comes equipped with. -The rest is the same as the regular challenge. Strategies for Challenge -Disc 1- -Midgar- -Treat Midgar like a Initial Equipment No Materia Enemy Skill Only game. -Use the Fire Ring, Ice Ring, and Bolt Ring to avoid too much damage. -Even though Tetra Elemental comes so late in the game, use it to help with the fight with the last 3 bosses of the game. -Whether Sephiroth is beatable is unknown... C. SCIEESO (Solo Character + Initial Equipment + Enemy-Skill Only) Tips & Tricks Section - Rules -You cannot equip any weapon or armor except for what a character comes equipped with. -You can only use one character throughout this challenge. -Treat Midgar as a Solo Character Initial Equipment No Materia game. -The rest is the same as the regular challenge. Strategies for Challenge -Abuse the Fire Ring, Ice Ring, and Bolt Ring. -Whether this challenge is possible or not is unknown....more likely no... D. SCNMESO (Solo Character + No Manipulate + Enemy-Skill Only) Tips & Tricks Section -Avoid taking too much damage while trying to learn Enemy Skills. -If you can, fight close to towns so that you can rest in case you take too much damage in a fight. -Bring lots and lots of Tranquilizers and Tents! Rules -You can only use one character throughout this challenge. -You cannot use Manipulate or equip it. -Treat Midgar as a Solo Character No Materia game. -The rest is the same as the regular challenge. Strategies for Challenge - The rest of the challenges may not be beatable. However, this is based on my judgment. Try them yourself, and see how far you can go. If you can come up with strategies for any of these challenges, you can contact me via my contact information at the top of this faq. -------------------------------------------------- 8. Credits [G] -------------------------------------------------- Thanks to OvenMan, for reviewing my FAQ. Thanks to everyone at the ESO Discussion topic, for doing this challenge in the first place. Thanks to Endless_Dusk and Tyrant_Wave, for teaching me how to write FAQs Thanks to GarlandG, lolo26, Thundaka, and everyone else at the General Discussion Topic, for getting me back into these challenges once again Thanks to GameFAQs, for hosting this FAQ and for having a great site Thanks to Defcon999, for helping me with my faq's formatting Thanks to Endless_Dusk for pointing out several things, such as the use of magic-enhancing equipment. Thanks to whoever else I may have missed Thanks to Arthez, for the info on Lost Number and for info on rules.