A bionic species created by Shinra’s R&D Division. These specimens are difficult to control, as their behavior regulation mechanisms have not yet been perfected. They circle in the sky searching for quarry, then swoop down to attack.
Enemy Intel
Swordipede is a boss in Final Fantasy VII Remake, fought in the Drum in the Shinra Building during "A Way Up" in Chapter 17, "Deliverance from Chaos". It is fought in two phases, first faced by Cloud and Barret, and then finished by Tifa and Aerith.
Stats[]
Attacks[]
= Physical damage- = Magical damage
| Attack | Pic | Description | Block | KBKnockback |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cutter
|
Attacks with its bottom-side saw-blades. | |||
| Saw Blade
|
|
Charges to attack with the blade in its mouth. | ||
 Live Wire
|
|
Charges itself up in electricity and attacks the party with  Lightning.
|
||
| Energy Volley
|
|
Flies high and drops energy volleys around the field. | ||
| Saw-Toothed Spin
|
|
Spins around as a giant circular saw. Only used against Tifa and Aerith. |
Battle[]
Swordipede is a flying enemy without elemental weaknesses who uses powerful melee and magic attacks. After Swordipede loses a third of its HP, it moves location and the player jumps to control Tifa's party (holding 
during the cutscene allows access to the menu to change their equipment).
Swordipede moves slowly around the battlefield, its spinning blades dealing damage on contact. During its first phase, against Cloud and Barret, it has three main abilities: Saw Blade, a quick charging attack; Energy Volley, where it'll fly high and drop a volley of slowly falling energy orbs; and Live Wire, where it encases itself with an electric current and charges against the party. All those abilities can be blocked, though they'll pushback the characters.
In the second phase, against Tifa and Aerith, the Swordipede will mainly employ Saw-Tooth Spin, where it'll "bite" its own tail, forming a wheel, and quickly spin around the terminal. This attack deals high damage and knockback if the character doesn't block it. It can be avoided by staying on the inner or outer side, depending on where it is spinning. Avoiding this attack is crucial, since once it finishes spinning, it will fall on the ground, pressured and vulnerable. Once pressure ends, it blocks Tifa's attacks, meaning Aerith should be used. It will later use Energy Volley, which drops electric bombs that can be guarded against. During this phase the Swordipede may also use Energy Volley and Live Wire, which are both potentially more dangerous than in the first phase since the arena is smaller.
Despite appearing mechanical, the Swordipede is actually an artificial life type, and is not weak to Lightning. It is immune to 
Stop, but lacks any other kind of resistance to status effects.
The Swordipede drops the Force Bracelet when defeated.
Strategy[]
During the first phase, the player should use Cloud while the boss is on ground level, and swap to Barret once it soars into the air. Since the Swordipede deals damage on contact, Cloud can exploit this with Punisher Mode's counter and Counterstance to deal massive damage. Magic is equally effective, specially when the Swordipede flies high; any offensive spell will work, although thunder spells are a good choice as they can't miss. Barret should use Lifesaver as soon as possible to help mitigate any damage from the Swordipede, and build-up two ATB bars for Focused Shot to stagger the Swordipede before it uses its more dangerous attacks.
During the second phase, after changing party, the player should at first focus on controlling Tifa and build-up her chi with Unbridled Strength, and then swap to Aerith and use Arcane Ward as soon as possible to double cast 
Thundara. Aerith can be used as the party's main attacker, as she will have an easier time hitting the boss than Tifa. They should stay defensive during Saw-Toothed Spin and retaliate once the boss falls pressured; Tifa's Starshower into Chi Trap is great to quickly stagger it, followed by True Strike and her 
attacks to build-up stagger bonus damage while Aerith unleashes Thundara.
A way to easily stop the Swordipede's most dangerous attacks is by casting Sleep on it. It is also vulnerable to 
Poison, which can be used to slowly sap it; if it is poisoned before swapping to second phase, the poison will be removed.
Hard Mode[]
The Swordipede doesn't have any new abilities on the hard difficulty, so the strategy follows more or less the same. However, it is recommended to conserve MP, as this chapter is loaded with bosses; player will have to face Jenova Dreamweaver, Rufus, and The Arsenal later.
Equipping 
Elemental Materia with 
Lightning Materia on armor mitigates damage from Live Wire. On the first phase the player can quickly dispose of the Swordipede with a combination of 
Skill Master Materia and First Strike Materia on Cloud while Barret is equipped with Synergy Materia paired with lightning.
When switching parties, holding gives access to the menu and the player can give the elemental paired with lightning to Tifa and Aerith. Giving Aerith synergy and lightning is also useful. Aerith can equip MP Absorption Materia paired with lightning materia to help mitigate her MP usage.
Defeating swordipede will grant Aerith the Telluric Scriptures Vol. XII.
Behind the scenes[]
Swordipede was a normal enemy in the original Final Fantasy VII, known as Sword Dance. The developers felt that its design was so unique that they felt out of place among other enemies, and thus, it was made to stand out further by upgrading it to a boss battle.[1]
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ Square Enix (2020, August 12). "Special Interview: Digging Deep into the World of FFVII REMAKE! Part 2". From Final Fantasy Portal Site. Archived from the original on August 14, 2020.