[FF7 Rebirth] Bonds of Friendship in

Titan, Brineborn Demon, and Bahamut can be slightly faster, but everything else was great.
Build at the end of the video and in the comments.
I wrote AA / AS / SM in brackets after the command triggering ATB Assist / ATB Stagger / Skill Master.
0:00 Titan
ATB Boost, Prime Mode, Sonic Boom (AA), and Haste (with Zack). Strong attacks for Berserk 2, parries and Aeroga (SM) to break his Earthen Aegis. Aerora (Zack), strong attacks, Aeroga to stagger (AS). Attacks and Aeroga.
0:55 Hueyacoatl
Prime Mode, counterfire Fulmen (if needed), and wait for a physical attack. Parry and do a full strong attacks combo. Before the last hit lands, cast Stop with Zack. Sonic Boom, ATB Boost, Aeroga (AA, SM), strong attacks, Aeroga. Before Stop ends cast another one. Strong attacks and Aeroga.
Sonic Boom or Aeroga without Stop trigger Supercharged.
1:43 Phoenix
Faith and attack with Zack to fill half ATB. Switch to Cloud, fill his ATB, Prime Mode + Thundara to kill the Flan (AA). Counterfire Phoenix fire attacks (this will fill Zack's ATB) and block/parry Rending Talons and Blazing Onrush. It seems that following it around makes it attack faster. Kill the Bomb and the Grandhorn with Thundara (be in Berserk 2), and at the same time cast Blizzaga on Phoenix with Zack. Attack to stagger (AS), Thundaga (SM), ATB Boost, Thundaga.
3:14 Brineborn Demon
Punisher Mode to parry its first combo, Stop, Prime Mode, full combo of strong attacks, Sonic Boom (AA). Another full strong attacks combo will pressure it. Thundaga (SM), Fira with Zack (attack with him if he needs ATB), ATB Boost, Thundaga to stagger (AS). Attack and Thundara/Thundaga to kill.
If you don't kill the Demon quickly it will either jump back and cast spells (if so, counterfire) or go into Counterstance (if so, you can dodge INTO it to trigger a counterattack, then QUICKLY activate Prime Mode and parry).
4:09 Kujata
Haste, Prime Mode, dodge to cancel animation, then parry/dodge its first attack. Attack/parry/dodge until Cloud has full ATB, then use Plasma Discharge + Sonic Boom (AA, SM). Stop with Zack whenever you can. When Kujata is stopped: Thundaga, attacks for 1 ATB, ATB Boost, Thundaga (AA). Cast another Stop if you can.
If during the fight Kujata summons an "elemental", stop it with Thundaga (it usually alternates between attacking and summoning).
5:37 Ironclad
ATB Boost, Prime Mode, Sonic Boom (AA). Look at Zack and when he lands the first attack cast Stop. Strong attacks and Thundaga (SM). Strong attacks and Thundaga again (AA). Thundaga should hit just as Stop ends. Cast another Stop. Attacks and Thundara.
6:27 Alexander
Prime Mode, Haste, strong attacks for Berserk 2, Sonic Boom. Counterfire Earth Tremor and Tracking Beam if needed. Be sure to have full ATB and cast two Thundara (SM) to cripple both arms (if you wait before crippling the second, Alexander may teleport). When Alexander is pressured: attack, Thundara, fill ATB, Thundara, ATB Boost, Thundaga.
DO NOT cast Thundaga first or Alexander will regenerate its arms.
7:15 Mindflayer
Prime Mode, Faith, strong attacks and switch to Zack as soon as Cloud is landing his last hit. Attack and fill 1 ATB, back to Cloud on time to parry, then cast Thundaga and Stop at the same time. One short combo with Cloud, then attack with Zack to cast Haste. Strong attacks with Cloud for Berserk 2 and to fill his ATB, then use SOLDIER's Honor to pressure. Thundaga, strong attacks for Berserk 2, parry, Thundara to stagger (SM, AS). Thundaga, Chain Slash with Zack, attacks for 1 ATB, ATB Boost, Thundaga.
8:34 Bahamut Arisen
Haste, Prime Mode, dodge back to cancel the animation, then parry its kicks. Counterfire its magic attacks a few times to pressure (Nova Bomb, Flame Breath, Thruster Spin, Vulcan Onslaught). Its third attack is ALMOST always Crush Grip: interrupt it with Thundaga or dodge it.
After a parry/counterfire, if Cloud's ATB is full use Sonic Boom + Plasma Discharge (AA). Cast Thundaga (Firaga/Fira with Zack) when Bahamut is pressured. After a while it will start charging.
If Bahamut is not pressured anymore, cripple its wings with Thundara. Otherwise cast Thundaga on the main body. After it transforms you can parry in Prime Mode all its attacks (Galewind Slash, Whirlwind Slash, Soaring Slash). A few parries and Thundara/Thundaga to stagger.
10:00 Odin
Punisher Mode to parry Soaring Spear, then Prime Mode. If he does Charge instead: Prime Mode, dodge back to cancel animation, parry. Fill ATB for Plasma Discharge + Sonic Boom (AA, SM). Attack and parry, but be careful of Helmcleaver and Scintillating Spear.
If not dodged, these attacks put red/pink "handcuffs" and Odin will counter any ATB command with Reprise (for the next 10 seconds or until staggered), even if you perfect parry them. Usually he does them right after Sleipnir's Furor.
Fira with Zack when Odin is pressured.
If the fight drags on and he uses Temporal Imprisonment, use Cloud's limit to be immune.
11:30 Build

[@coccobello9697]

11:30 Build - Rune Blade, Cetran Bracer, Genji Gloves - Lightning and Wind + Swiftcast, Lightning + Magic Focus, Lightning + MP Absorption, First Strike, ATB Boost, Magic Up, Enemy Skill, ATB Stagger, ATB Assist, Skill Master, Strength Up, Phoenix - ATB Charge Rate Up, Improved Punisher, Magic Attack Power +20, Full-Power Magic For first-timers: replace Strength Up and ATB Assist with Lightning + HP Absorption, and (maybe) Skill Master with HP Up. Manawall on Cloud with Zack for safety if you want. Overall strategy is the same, it will just take more time. Full strategy in the description. - Cloud: ATB Boost, Prime Mode, Sonic Boom, Plasma Discharge, -ara and -aga spells. - Zack: Faith, Haste, Stop, Chain Slash, -ara and -aga spells. - Sonic Boom buffs last a lot less than Faith/Bravery, so you'll use it only for short rounds. - Make best use of ATB Stagger (for example, if you have full ATB and cast Thundara to stagger you'll get most ATB bar back). - Make best use of ATB Assist to fill Zack's ATB. Most times you'll trigger it by using Prime Mode / Plasma Discharge / Sonic Boom back-to-back (you can also trigger it with spells). - You'll be In Prime Mode most of the time because you need Berserk 2 and auto-parries. - Strong attacks are "tanky" (Cloud won't be interrupted unless the enemy is big, like Kujata or Ironclad), fill a lot of ATB, but don't pressure much. Light attacks don't fill much ATB but pressure more. - Get used to how much ATB each attack fills and how strong attacks work. For example, if you press and hold attack right after a parry or a command (like a spell), Cloud will immediately start with a strong attack without the usual "light slash". This is useful because a full strong attacks combo + two strong attacks exactly fill Cloud's ATB (see the Hueyacoatl fight). - You can counterfire most magic, AoE, and ranged attacks: stomps (Titan, Alexander), beams (Alexander), spells (Brineborn Demon), breaths (Hueyacoatl), most of Bahamut magic attacks.

[@Rationalityislost101]

Dumb question as it is probably just due to the enemies with lightning weakness being tankier and later in the fights, but is there an additional benefit of lightning over wind as far as the primary spell to kit out with MP absorb and Magic Focus? Would it be easier for those seeking a first time clear to forgoe /str up/ and /enemy skill/ with /lightning/ + /HP absorb/

[@coccobello9697]

​@@Rationalityislost101 Not a dumb question, I also took some time to see what build was better (lightning vs wind). The thing is that Thundaga hits muuuuch faster than Aeroga. Not only this saves time (and my goal was to be as fast as possible), but also some enemies will "dodge" Aeroga. For example, I use Thundaga to stop Kujata from getting an elemental. This usually doesn't work with Aeroga, because by the time the spell actually hits Kujata has already run away and Aeroga misses. You can also miss Odin and Brineborn Demon if they jump away. Thundaga instead never misses. In terms of weaknesses, Aeroga + Magic Focus would allow for faster Hueyacoatl (2 Aeroga instead of 3) and Titan (no need to Sonic Boom, cast Faith with Zack instead and 1 Aeroga will be enough to destroy the shield). But then you cannot "oneshot" Alexander (it may be doable if Zack casts some spell as well, haven't tried) and some enemies will probably take more hits (Ironclad for sure, and I think Kujata, Bahamut and Odin as well). I think the build is pretty much optimized for the current game version. I tried alternative builds with Enervation instead of Strength Up, or an extra Magic Focus + Lightning, but they are bugged (Deshell does nothing, and the extra Magic Focus doesn't increase damage. Also other people have reported these "bugs" on reddit and GameFAQs). But it's definitely not for first timers. The best setup is to replace Strength Up and ATB Assist with Lightning + HP Absorption. And maybe Skill Master with HP Up. This is how I started, then I removed them as I got better. Also, for first timers it would be good to cast Manawall on Cloud in fights were missing a parry is easy and dangerous (I always used it for Bahamut and Odin at first). The strategy is still the same though (like, people should always cast Stop on Hueyacoatl before hitting it with wind).

[@kismetatron]

Thank you for this build. I have been struggling and struggling with this using a similar build but using Wind magic instead and it just felt like it wasn’t cutting it. Going to try this tomorrow and see if I can finally put this fight past me.

[@someguy233]

I chuckle a little when I remember people saying in the first few days after release that magic sucked in rebirth. Great work

[@OverlordShanbo]

Magic is so crazily powerful compared to Remake even that it makes me terrified to think of what we're going to face in the next game when we have stronger magic haha.

[@andruism7]

@@OverlordShanbo Stronger magic, but fewer mages... *sob*

[@OverlordShanbo]

@@andruism7 What do you mean? Aerith is perfectly fine. Yep. Nothing wrong here at all.

[@Urlastnerve]

@@andruism7half the cast have great magic…. Aerith, Cloud, Cait Sith.

[@are0us913]

​@OverlordShanbo they will probably balance it by either killing thr damage on harder difficulties, because 'perfectly balance' or tie the magic level more to atb and require the Ara spells to be two and the aga and up to be three.

[@AoVis]

That's amazing! I can't believe with what people come up with in this game. Nice job👍

[@zach9672]

That was brutal. Took me dozens of tries but your setup got me through… had to do Lightning + HP Absorb though. Never doing that challenge again

[@yozora-]

Damn I just discovered ur channel and you play as aggressive as me 😦 I thought I was the only one approaching Bonds or To Be a Hero that aggressively. Good stuff

[@PompeyKilla]

Outrageous R1 action

[@Ja7791]

I watched this for therapy after finally beating bonds of friendship lol

[@carloservadei]

I'm back and I'm just 10 minutes (time game) but it's a great result because thanks to you I beat my record of 14 min. I have just to keep on practicing

[@juancarlosreyes5678]

This build saved me. Thank you

[@aali4726]

Wow amazing skills u made it look easy GG man wish I got half of that realy impressive

[@jomo999]

This was the best run I've ever seen. You made Odin look like a fool, he didn't even get to use Temporal Imprisonment. Very nice.

[@wythel]

Incredible, i got them with Wind and a safer Fire/elemental to absorb build but looking at your Ironclad & Alexander... speed. Very inspiring.

[@carloservadei]

When time will come, I'll be back here to prepare myself for this challenge. CRAZY WAY 🤩

[@browntoken1]

This is so insane

[@filipedavid780]

Seeing you deal chunks of damage with Thundaga to Odin is so satisfying, true catharsis.

[@StefawnVan]

wow

[@Urlastnerve]

That Odin fight tho……😳

[@midoriyaizuku6914]

How do you do the parry at 10:13?

[@coccobello9697]

These are automatic parries in Prime Mode. Hold block and Cloud will automatic counter any physical attack but will also receive damage. If you time it you won't get damaged. Works only for physical attacks, no magic or ranged (for those, you need to deactivate Prime Mode).

[@midoriyaizuku6914]

@@coccobello9697 I appreciate it.. I use your videos as a guide to these bouts. They've been a huge help so far. Thank you.

[@mohamadou4695]

How important would you say party level 10 is

[@coccobello9697]

Not sure. I don't remember what it unlocks. I'd say go for it, it not that hard compared to Bonds.

[@mohamadou4695]

@@coccobello9697 it unlocks an ability called ATB limit where it allows cloud to fill limits gauge when using ATB commands

[@coccobello9697]

@@mohamadou4695 not important

[@EKk0522]

Sonethibg is wrong with ur build I did ecact same but my mage bonus is on 469 and urs is 499??

[@coccobello9697]

What's your weapon level? Mine is 10 in the video, so if yours is 9 you'll have slightly lower stats (that would be the case if you haven't completed the challenge yet and got the manuscript).

[@EKk0522]

@@coccobello9697 that means my Charakters getting stronger after I I beat the hard story mode? I did everything sephiroth also but I can’t handle Zack + cloud

[@coccobello9697]

​ @EKk0522 Check your weapon level from the "upgrade weapon" menu. Either you are at level 9 or your Enemy Skill materia is not maxxed (it increases magic by 5% at max level).

[@EKk0522]

@@coccobello9697 im at Level 8 and i did everthing accept for hard Mode and some brutal challanges

[@coccobello9697]

@@EKk0522 that explains it. I recommend doing everything else before Bonds. It is considered the hardest challenge. Try to get at least enough manuscript to get level 9.

[@LordYggdrasill]

I want the damn plat, but these final challenges are not fun. Once I clear them, I'm never revisiting them again.

[@DOC_951]

I mean, there’s no reason to once you get the plat lol

[@channelclosed6119]

hello hope your doing well,i would like to know if you do help people via share play? thank you

[@coccobello9697]

Hey, sorry but I don't do that.

[@channelclosed6119]

@@coccobello9697 no problem thanks for the answer

[@javichi1983]

would you help me get it?

[@coccobello9697]

Sorry I don't do share play

[@xRoycex]

Dude, tell me why I perfectly blocked & parried with Cloud at the beginning of the fight with Odin and somehow I have the red handcuffs already.... I just used sonic boom and plasma discharge as well smh...

[@xRoycex]

Luckily I was able to complete the challenge after I typed this comment with a record speed of 11:35 seconds :D

[@xRoycex]

But yea Odin handcuffed Cloud TWICE. Cloud parried every hit, Zack even got hit by the allfather attack and no handcuffs :I

[@coccobello9697]

@@xRoycex Congrats! AFAIK, only Helmcleaver and Scintillating Spear give handcuffs. To prevent that you either have to dodge or perfect parry. Auto-parry in Prime Mode does not prevent status, since you still get hit. If you perfect parry you see "Immune" popping up.

[@codeine_ninja]

@@coccobello9697 you still get Reprisal from perfect blocking Helmcleaver, the only way to avoid being handcuffed by Helmcleaver is dodging

[@coccobello9697]

@@codeine_ninja really? I remember that once I perfect parried him and didn't get it. But since it was too risky I ended up dodging it (much easier), so my memory may me wrong. Now I am curious and will try again 🤔

[@yung8425]

fasho

[@xRoycex]

I'm about to study the heck out of this video. I'm so tired of these challenges and just wished the developers explained things better. As an example if I've slaughtered Kujata the first three times they made me fight him why would I have to worry about him all of a sudden defeating me, especially if a bulk of the challenges are the same "level?" I just think the delivery of this stuff was really poor and miss when "hard challenges" on video games were actually meant to be challenging. Not an excuse for poorly designed & rushed game quality.

[@xRoycex]

Something positive I will say both for the video and in general is I do appreciate being able to "learn" from these videos about the importance behind certain timing, skills like counterfire, etc. The game just did such a bad job from explaining synergy skills vs abilities to so many other things. L Developers. W Content Creators.

[@coccobello9697]

Agreed. Bonds of Friendship and To Be a Hero are too similar. Overall, brutal and legendary challenges could have been designed better.

[@coccobello9697]

@@xRoycex I have never used counterfire during my playthrough :D Accidentally found out how good it is while doing these challenges.

[@xRoycex]

@@coccobello9697 That's incredible. Prior to the content I've been viewing, I had no idea how underrated swift cast would be. No idea that I could stop staggered enemies and use a combination of true strike, rise and fall x omnistrike, back to a doubleboosted rise and fall x strike aGAIN were possible.

[@chrislee5268]

Gamers be like "games these days handhold you too much, also L for not explaining everything ever."@@xRoycex

[@Gerardhutt]

Why not just stop on titan right at the start. You could have done it even faster

[@coccobello9697]

Letting Titan attack you is better because 1) you fill ATB with parries, 2) Haste is better because Cloud needs 1 attack less to fill his ATB, 3) you need 1 Sonic Boom + 1 Aeroga + 1 counterfire (or some counterattacks) to break his shield, so countering also helps with that. In the video I was unlucky that he did Thwack, but otherwise his attacks are very fast to parry. If his 1st attack is Mountain Crusher or a 3-hit combo you can defeat him in 3 seconds less. That's the best time you can get, but it's just luck. Stop is good only with enemies that run around and chasing them would be a waste of time (for example Hueyacoatl turns "supercharged" if you attack with wind and it's not stopped, or Brineborn Demon jumps back to cast spells and you have to chase it).

[@xRoycex]

I agree. By stopping titan before he activates the earthen aegis, you're essentially just needing to strike him with 2 aerogas from Cloud. I find the optimal approach to be using the charged attack combo string via prime mode and then casting aeroga before the first stop wears off. As long as you're not too slow or playing awfully, you can usually hit him with a second aeroga from cloud before he tries to reactivate earthen aegis. He's almost guaranteed to fall before the end of a stagger but you could always go for a second stop from Zack if the anxiety demons are attacking you lol.

[@coccobello9697]

@@xRoycex Wait, you can Stop him BEFORE he casts the shield??? Lol didn't know that!

[@xRoycex]

@@coccobello9697 Yeah my dude. Sometimes when the game wants to be a pain you might not get the Zack atb charge and you do have to be very quick but it is possible to take him out before he casts Earthen Aegis. The rest of the guide I'm following to a Tee.

[@coccobello9697]

Just tried and you are right, it's indeed 5-7 seconds faster. Damn! The round should play like this: Stop with Zack (he must start with 1 full ATB), Prime Mode, attacks for Berserk 2 and full ATB, Aeroga to pressure, more strong attacks for 1 ATB, ATB Boost, Aeroga, light attacks or parries to stagger and trigger ATB Stagger, then either Aerora with both Cloud and Zack, or attack for Aeroga with Cloud.

[@Urlastnerve]

I’ve lost to Odin twice now.. it kills my motivation so much when you get that far just to die at the end….🫤

[@coccobello9697]

I know :( To play it safe, cast Manawall and Regen on Cloud, stay in Prime Mode and just wait to parry. You can parry all his attacks. If he hits you with Helmcleaver don't attack or he'll use Reprise (switch to Zack). The fight will take longer and at some point he'll use Temporal Imprisonment, but Cloud should have his limit bar full and can use it to be immune.