Ultimate Weapon and the Battle Arena: Final Week

Bugenhagen's Journey: Before heading to the North Cave, return to the Highwind and travel to Cosmo Canyon. Ensure Red XIII is in your party. After speaking with the townspeople, visit Bugenhagen's observatory. Cloud and the party will give Red XIII time alone with his grandfather, who will give Red XIII a gift before departing.

Obtain Limited Moon: After the events at the Forgotten City, speak with Bugenhagen to receive Red XIII’s ultimate weapon, the Limited Moon. This weapon's power increases with Red XIII’s MP.

Chasing Ultimate Weapon: Prepare your party for maximum AP gain. Fly to Junon and then head east to a large crater. This is where Ultimate Weapon resides. Before engaging, equip Long Range Materia or a weapon with long-range capabilities on your party members. Pilot the Highwind into the crater to initiate the fight.

Boss Battle: Ultimate Weapon (Initial Encounters): Ultimate Weapon is tougher than in its previous encounter in Mideel but is not as powerful as other Weapons. The battle is segmented; after a few turns, Ultimate Weapon will flee. You can either chase it by ramming it with the Highwind until it stops, or wait for it to appear at one of its designated locations: Junon crater, Mideel, Mt. Nibel, North Corel, Gongaga, Fort Condor, Midgar, or the North Cave. During these encounters, you can steal either a Circlet (if airborne) or a Reflect Ring (if on the ground).

Ultimate Weapon's Tactics: If fighting in the air, Long Range Materia is necessary. If on the ground, you can steal a Reflect Ring. Its attacks include Quake 2, physical attacks, Ultima Beam, and a thunder orb attack, all dealing around 1500-2000 damage. If airborne, it will not use Quake 2 or physical attacks. Using “Magic Hammer” can limit its attacks to physical and the thunder orb, but its offensive capability remains significant.

Final Battle Preparation: Once sufficiently injured, Ultimate Weapon will fly to Cosmo Canyon for its final stand. This is the only encounter that grants XP, AP, and Gil. Arrange your Materia for maximum AP gain, prioritizing high-growth Materia on powerful weapons and armor. Cloud’s Apocalypse and Cid’s Javelin and Scimitar are recommended.

Learning Shadow Flare: Equip one character with all four Enemy Skill Materia and ensure they land the final blow on Ultimate Weapon. This character will learn the “Shadow Flare” attack when Ultimate Weapon uses it as a final attack. To mitigate damage, use “Big Guard” or equip a Reflect Ring on this character. The Enemy Skill is learned even if the attack is reflected.

Combat Strategy: Utilize ultimate weapons for characters other than Cloud. Focus on raw damage over AP growth until the final battle. Cid, Red XIII, Barret, and Yuffie can deal significant damage with their ultimate weapons and Double Cut Materia. Bahamut ZERO and Limit Breaks are also effective. Casting Knights of the Round (boosted with MP Turbo) can quickly force Ultimate Weapon to Cosmo Canyon.

Efficient Victory: For a streamlined approach, use Knights of the Round + MP Turbo in the first battle near Junon to force Ultimate Weapon to Cosmo Canyon. In the final battle, equip the designated character with all Enemy Skill Materia and a Reflect Ring, set your party for maximum AP growth, and defeat Ultimate Weapon. Reflecting “Shadow Flare” will safely teach the attack.