How to beat King Zu in FF7 Rebirth

Chadley’s fiend intel missions see you fight all manner of powerful monsters in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, among them being the King Zu.

Out of all the high-level monsters you’ll need to hunt to complete Chadley‘s intel, the King Zu is definitely one of the toughest since you won’t encounter it until you’ve reached the Nibel region during the latter half of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. Not to mention it’s recommended you be at least level 50 before you attempt to fight it. Since the King Zu fight can potentially be a major hassle, here’s our advice on how to defeat it.

How to defeat King Zu in FF7 Rebirth

Party step-up

First things first, the King Zu is essentially a large bird that hangs in the air so you’ll ideally want party members who can hit it from a distance. Cloud—a permanent fixture in the party—can thankfully target airborne enemies with blasts of wind by pressing the attack button right after a dodge, but I’d suggest having either Barret, Aerith, or Yuffie accompany him. If you’ve already beaten the main story and are on the New Game Plus mode, you can actually even swap Cloud out of the party if you want and go with the three I mentioned.

Materia

You could feasibly defeat the King Zu with any of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth‘s party members; what’s perhaps more important is the Materia you equip them with. We have a guide on the best Materia for each party member, so look to that for ideas, but at the very least you want Lightning Materia since King Zu’s weak to electricity. If you’re going with my recommended party, be sure to equip the Lighting Materia to Aerith since she typically has the highest Magic Attack stat, especially if you’ve also given her a Magic Up Materia and/or one of her lategame weapons, like the Ceremonial Staff or Plumose Rod.

Aside from that, bring Materia that allow you to inflict detrimental effects, like Despell and Poison, as well as Materia that can buff the party with effects like Haste and Protect. And Healing Materia too, obviously. You should also have at least one Magnify Materia at this point, which you can use to cast your supportive spells on the whole party at once. Avoid equipping Fire or Wind Materia since King Zu resists both those spells.

Battle strategy

King Zu’s main method of attacking is by summoning large tornadoes and sending them towards the party. They can be difficult to avoid but can be blocked so don’t be afraid to stand your ground and guard. Sometimes, the tornadoes are made of fire, but you’ll know they’re coming when you see patches of ground glow red; just be sure to stay away from them. Do beware of its Tyrant Twisters attack, which sends the fire tornadoes spiraling out in multiple directions. It can combine this with its Zephyr Prison ability, which creates a ring of fire that forces you into an enclosed space. It doesn’t last forever, but it can become more difficult to avoid its attacks.

King Zu’s most dangerous attack is Swan Song. It’ll hover in place, peppering you with tornadoes, and once enough time has passed, it unleashes a devastating attack that can potentially wipe the entire party. This can be prevented by targeting its left and right wings, which become potential targets during Swan Song. This is where you’ll want to pepper them with Lightning magic (Yuffie’s Elemental Ninjutsu can help too), but you’ll want to take out the wings as quickly as possible. I’d suggest casting Haste on Aerith and setting up an Arcane Ward early into the fight so she can rapidly attack the wings with Lightning.

Depleting the wings’ health not only cancels Swan Song but also pressures King Zu. Follow up with more Lightning magic and you’ll eventually stagger it, leaving it vulnerable to a full-on assault. Feel free to pop a Synergy Ability or Limit Break if you have one.

So long as you keep yourself healthy with spells and potions, and maybe poison King Zu to keep whittling its health down, you should be able to defeat it just fine. Doing so will reward you with a King Zu Feather, which you can use to craft an Expeditionary Medal, an accessory that increases a party member’s limit level by one at the start of a battle.