Cawpine Caverns Hard S+ Clear Guide | Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis (2024)

Enemy Info

• Varghidpolis, Varghidpolis [Power: 90200]
• Thunder Bomb, Thunder Bomb, Varghidpolis [Power: 90200] [Water]
• Moth Slasher, Varghidpolis, Varghidpolis [Power: 90200] [Lightning, Water]
• Armored Scorpion, Thunder Bomb, Thunder Bomb [Power: 90200] [Water] [▲]
• Gallonbaloir [Power: 90200] [Fire] [▲]
• Reno [Power: 90200] [Ice] [▲✖]
• Zetant Ratel [Power: 90200] [Earth, Water] [▲✖]

	Name	Notes	Weakness	Resistance	Sigils
	Varghidpolis	Immunities: None Inflictsstun withScreech.Physical attacks are effective against this enemy.	None	None	None
	Thunder Bomb	Immunities:Stun When HP falls below a certain amount, uses thepowerful lightning-element magic attackBurst and reduces own HP to 0.	Water	Lightning	None
	Moth Slasher	Immunities:Poison /Darkness /Silence /Fatigue /Fog /DEF Down /MDEF Down Uses manylightning-element magic attacks. After a certain amount of time or when HP falls below a certain amount, itsCharge Level increases and it grants itselfLightning Potency Up.	Water, Lightning	None	None
	Armored Scorpion	Immunities:Poison /Darkness /Silence /Fatigue /Fog /PATK Down /MATK Down UsesTail Laser A, thepowerful multi-target magic attack that gradually grows in strength. Grants selfWater Resistance Up,PDEF Up, andMDEF Up withWater Wall.	Water	Lightning
	Gallonbaloir	Immunities:StunATK changes based on Force Gauge:Charge. The gauge can be depleted with damage.Restores own HP during stream phasem*nd. Abilities that deal great damage and buffs likeDEF Up are effective against this enemy.	Fire	Lightning, Water
	Reno	Immunities:Darkness /Silence Uses manylightning-element physical attacks. Also usesPyramid to incapacitate a single target.	Ice	Lightning	,
	Zetant Ratel	Immunities:Poison /Darkness /Silence /Stun /Fatigue /Fog /PATK Down /PDEF Down /MATK Down DuringBattery Assist, grants selfMATK Up, and subsequently uses the lightning-element magic attackPrismatic Ray.Magic attacks are effective against this enemy.	Earth, Water	Lightning, Wind

Team Building Guide:

This dungeon has many enemies weak to water, so I brought Cloud with his maritime sword and gear to serve as my main DPS. Reno is one of the bosses, and he is weak to ice, so I brought Lucia with Bald Eagle and Blizzara Blow materia. You could also consider taking Sephiroth with Edged Wings, but sadly, I don't have his weapon (yet).

For coverage, I also equipped the damage dealers with Fira Blow and Watera Blow for Lucia. Don't forget to bring Ruin/Ruin Blow to get rid of the sigils.

To deal with Reno and Zetant Ratel, you can bring Tifa to debuff their physical and magical attacks. I also equipped Aerith with the Guard Stick so she can buff magic defense. Zetant Ratel has a single-target magic damage nuke, and the MDEF buff will help the targeted unit survive the attack.

These are just examples of teams to bring to the dungeon. Feel free to experiment with different builds, but it might cost you some dungeon keys.

Rare Chests:

Blue Crystal x 100

Bookmark x 3

Notable Rewards:

None

Map:

Walkthrough:

Moth Slasher

The first encounter is the Moth Slasher, accompanied by two Varghidpolises. Focus on the adds first, since they can stun your units. Watch out for the Moth Slasher's High Voltage attack; it deals lightning AoE damage. Save some ATB on Aerith so she can AoE heal the damage. Hit the Moth Slasher with water and lightning attacks.

Upon defeat, you get to choose among three trance abilities: physical and magical attack +10%, fire potency +20%, and lightning resist +15%. I recommend the third option, since most of the enemies here have lightning-based attacks. If you're confident that you can survive their attacks, you can pick the enhanced PATK/MATK. The fire potency buff is only relevant against Gallonbaloir.

Pick your trance ability and pick up the key.

Now you have to choose among the three bosses: Gallonbaloir, Armored Scorpion, and Reno. I suggest going for Gallonbaloir next to get a water potency bonus trance ability.

Gallonbaloir

To fight Gallonbaloir, head north and use the key to unlock the gate. You'll encounter a trash mob battle with two Thunder Bombs and a Varghidpolis. Defeat the bombs first, then the Varghidpolis. There are two chests in this area. The left one contains one tent and two Stimulants. The right one contains 100 Blue Crystals.

Go to the right and fight Gallonbaloir. It is weak to fire, so hit it with fire attacks. It will hit the party with a physical AoE attack that decreases physical defense at the start of the battle. Heal up and attack it to deplete its charge gauge. Once its gauge is depleted, it will get stunned. It will attack with another AoE attack, but this time with a lightning element. Prepare to heal right after it hits your party. It will become irate and charge up again. Destroy the triangle sigils to stagger it. Once interrupted, hit it with summons, limits, and fire attacks. It should go down.

Upon defeat, you get to choose among three trance abilities: healing potency +20%, ice potency +20% & healing potency -20%, and water potency +20% & -15% lightning resist. I would pick the third one because there are two more enemies weak to water. There is only one enemy weak to ice. If you picked lightning resist up as your initial trance ability, it'll just make the lightning resist neutral.

Head back the way you came and go southeast. You will encounter another trash mob consisting of two Varghidpolises. Dispatch them quickly, and they will drop another key. I suggest fighting the Armored Scorpion first to get a Stun Resist trance ability to make the Reno fight easier. Keep moving down and walk to the left to fight the Armored Scorpion. You can use a tent if you had trouble with the Gallonbaloir fight. If you need more healing, you can open the chest in the area. It will have 2 cottages and 3 Guard and Wisdom Jellies. Use one of the cottages.

Armored Scorpion

The Armored Scorpion will have two Thunder Bombs accompanying it. Kill them first, then focus on the Scorpion. It will cast Water Wall at the start of the battle, buffing all its defenses and water resist. We have no choice but to play defensively. It will continuously hit the party with AoE physical thunder attacks. Make sure to heal the party when their HP is low. After some time, it will start casting Charging Wall. Destroy the triangle sigils and hit it with water attacks when it is interrupted. Next, it will start charging up an AoE magical attack. Ensure the party has full HP and heal up after the Tail Laser A. The Armored Scorpion will decrease power, stunning itself and lowering its defense. Take this opportunity to use your limit breaks and summons. Keep hitting it with water attacks, and it should go down fast.

Upon defeat, you get to choose among three trance abilities: healing potency +10% & stun resist +100%, ice potency +20%, and lightning resist +15%. You can either get the stun resist or the lightning potency. I would suggest the stun resist so you won't have to worry about Reno disabling one of your characters. You could also get the lightning resist to help with the Reno and Zetant Ratel fights.

Open the chest in this area to get 6 x Potions and 2 x Stimulants. Head to the right and open the gate. Open up the chest here. The first one has 1 x Tent and 6 x Ethers. The rightmost one has 3 x Bookmarks. Get ready to fight Reno by using a Tent or a Cottage.

Reno

Reno might cast Pyramid at the start of the battle if you don't have Stun Resist. Use Triangle and X Ruin materia to break the sigils. Once interrupted, summon Shiva and hit him with ice attacks. He will start charging his Electro Burst attack. Electro Burst is an area-of-effect (AOE) lightning physical attack. Save your ATB on your healer so you can heal after it hits. Reno will buff his lightning potency and charge up for a single-target lightning physical attack. Cast a barrier on his target, and you should be safe. Continue hitting him with ice attacks, and he should go down soon.

Upon defeat, you can choose between Healing Potency +20%, Fire Potency +20% & Healing Potency -20%, Water Potency +20%, and Lightning Resist -15%. I recommend getting the last one, or if you want to be on the safe side, choose Healing Potency +20%. We don't have any use for the fire potency increase since the last boss is not weak to fire.

Use a tent or cottage before the fight if you lost a lot of max HP. You have the option of using the Guard and Wisdoms Jellies but that will go against your final score. Go back out and head back to the main hallway. Open the gate on the right side and fight Zetant Ratel.

Zetant Ratel

The boss will continuously hit the party with area-of-effect (AOE) physical attacks. After some time, it will buff its own physical attack, and this buff is indispellable. Keep your party's HP full. It will go into cooldown, dropping its magic defense. Hit it with earth and water magic while it's in this state.

When it comes out of cooldown, it will charge Battery Assist. Destroy the triangle and cross sigils, and you should stagger it. While it's charging up, it will buff its physical and magical attack. Hit it with your summons and limit breaks. When it comes out of stagger, it will target one of your units with Prismatic Ray. Buff the targeted unit with Manaward to increase their survivability. Be ready to heal after the attack. Just continue hitting it with water and earth magic when it's on cooldown, and it should go down.

This is the end of the guide. Hopefully, you found it useful, and you achieved an S+ rank in the Crisis Dungeon!