A multi-legged heavy weapons platform developed by Shinra's Advanced Weaponry Division. It is armed with a large number of missiles that it uses to eliminate intruders seeking to gain access to Midgar's central pillar.
Enemy Intel
Gigantipede is a boss in Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, in the "Episode INTERmission" DLC. It is the end boss of "Wutai's Finest" main quest. It is a colossal centipede-like mecha that can climb across the wall, out of reach of melee attacks. It fires homing missiles, aided by the scanning drones it deploys. Gigantipede continues the theme of animal-like robot bosses, following after Scorpion Sentinel and Crab Warden from the base game.
Yuffie and Sonon encounter it in the Main Pillar Maintenance Facility of Sector 7 Slums in "Save Zhijie".
Stats[]
Being a DLC-exclusive enemy, the stats are not listed in the official guide book, and thus are unknown.
Battle[]
Gigantipede greatly resists damage from every element but Lightning. It has two parts: the head and the tail. The head can only be hit with physical attacks, and the tail can be hit with magical attacks; hitting the tail with lightning-based attacks fills the stagger gauge faster. It is a slow-moving but durable enemy, that fires machine guns across its body. It can be deadly when it hits the party with its melee attacks, such as Tail Swat, which hits in a large cone in front of it, or Body Blow, where it slams its body on the ground. All its melee attacks can be guarded against, or avoided with a well timed Brumal Form.
Gigantipede can employ various ranged attacks. Biotoxin Bomb has it shooting slow-moving missiles upwards, which will descend and crash on the floor, leaving venomous pools onto the battle arena, which will explode if the player steps on them. When it uses Containment Laser, the Gigantipede will create a scanning field and pinpoint a laser target on Yuffie; if the player stays within the field, they will be bombarded with rocket barrages.
After the Gigantipede loses around 75% of its health, it will leave the battlefield and cling to the walls, where it will deploy several Containment Drones, which do not attack themselves but scan the arena with lasers to target a party member for Gigantipede's homing missiles. The drones are susceptible to lightning damage. They can be assessed, but will not appear in the Enemy Intel. Once the drones are destroyed, or after a certain amount of time has passed, Gigantipede will return to the arena with a Death Dive, which deals massive damage, but can be guarded if the player cannot avoid it.
When Gigantipede falls to a third of its HP, a cutscene commences as it deploys a drill. In this form, the boss will use all its previous abilities in addition to Drill Surge, where it will rampage the arena with its drill. It will also deploy drones indefinitely; if the player destroys a drone, Gigantipede will deploy another in its place elsewhere in the arena. Gigantipede may cling on the walls again and use Death Dive.
The boss can bestow itself with Barrier and Manaward.
Strategy[]
Equipping Elemental Materia linked with Lightning Materia on Yuffie's weapon is great to boost her damage. Having lightning materia on both Yuffie and Sonon may be a good idea, as when the boss goes out of reach it can be a good way to deal damage. Bringing Ramuh Materia is good, and can be summoned at any phase of the battle, although it is recommended once Gigantipede changes to its drill form. Boomerang is a good weapon for Yuffie as it boosts her magical damage.
Staying a safe distance from the boss is key to avoid its many attacks. The party should focus on the head with physical attacks, and the tail with lightning attacks. Using Yuffie's Throw on the head while using ninjutsu on the tail is a viable strategy. Sonon should use Fighting Spirit on the head to increase his ATB build-up and deal damage to it. When the boss is pressured, often following its Body Blow attack or by dealing enough damage to its tail, the player can use Throw on its head and then press again to quickly reach it, and further attack it with with melee.
A number of ATB-consuming abilities, and Lightning Ninjutsu and Thunder spells, should also be used before using a fully charged Thunderous Banishment, to deal immense damage on the tail. Art of War is effective on the head; synergizing with Sonon grants Synergized Art of War, a more powerful attack consuming both party member's ATB gauges. Though it has nothing to steal, using Yuffie's Mug ability can still be great to get in simple physical damage on the head.
If the duo manages to stagger Gigantipede, they should team up and use Synergized Windstorm to build stagger bonus damage.
When the boss climbs onto the walls and deploys drones, the player should focus on destroying the drones with Throw and ninjutsu attacks. Synergizing with Sonon allows the pair to focus on attacking the same drone with the same damage type (physical or magical ninjutsu; if Yuffie has used Lightning Ninjutsu, Sonon also deals magical lightning damage), downing them fast one by one. In the final phase, the boss's melee attacks are slightly stronger, but the same strategies as before apply; fully-charged Thunderous Banishments can be used to great effect.
Hard Mode[]
On the hard difficulty, Gigantipede will use its abilities more often, most notably Biotoxin Bomb, which will launch additional missiles, laying carpets of noxious traps on the stage. While in this difficulty it does not have new abilities, its Containment Drones are now protected by either Shield or Reflect, making dealing with them much more annoying. The player needs to hit the drones with Shield with spells/ninjutsu, and the ones with Reflect with physical attacks. Synergizing with Sonon and focusing on one drone at a time is still good, as Sonon follows Yuffie's lead in the type of damage she is dealing. The player may also be able to position Yuffie in such a way that the drones cannot scan her because she is out of their reach; in such case, the player can stay in their corner and simply attack Gigantipede from afar.
A single or two HP Up Materia can be equipped on each party member. Chakra Materia and Prayer Materia are good for MP-free healing. Yuffie's Boomerang is a good weapon, as its passives allow her to regenerate MP quite rapidly. Synergy Materia with Lightning Materia on Sonon is a great help, causing him to follow up with a free Thunder whenever Yuffie uses an ATB ability. Chthonian Armlet with Gozu Drive is a good set-up for Yuffie, especially if the player is prepared to keep her health topped up.
Defeating the boss earns manuscripts for Yuffie and Sonon.