FF7 Rebirth: All Cosmo Canyon Protorelic locations and best Gears and Gambits loadouts

In a homage to FF12, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth reintroduces Gambits in a minigame where you must master programming to get the Cosmo Canyon Protorelic.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth brings back some minigames from the original, like Fort Condor, and introduces a ton of new ones that are sure to keep you hooked to the screen for hours. Some of them, like Queen’s Blood, are actually so good Square Enix is considering developing DLC content centered around it. The challenge of mastering these games adds to their allure, making victory incredibly satisfying. In this guide, I’ll help you grasp Gears and Gambits and grab the Cosmo Canyon Protorelic in FF7 Rebirth.

How to win at Gears and Gambits in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

Gears and Gambits is a game about programming Robochad with actions it executes in the battle to defeat a King Flan and its spawns.

Programming a Gambit

For the first match, you can’t configure Gambits in FF7 Rebirth. You can only select whether you want a defensive, offensive, or hybrid loadout. During the second match, you unlock the Gambit configuration.

You can think of Gambits as a set of actions. The blue portion of the row is the object and circumstances receiving an action, while the red portion is the action our Robot should perform. In the picture above, I’m telling T1 Robot to perform a Blizzard Shot when a Foe is weak to that element (Ice).

If “Foe: Weak to an Element, then cast Blizzard Shot” was my only action in T1 Robot’s Gambit, then T1 Robot would only attack when an enemy weak to Ice is around. To get my T1 Robot to deal damage to all kinds of enemies, I must add a second Gambit action, asking it to attack other Foes with Lariat, a regular attack.

Later on, you unlock Gambit actions for healing and buffing, which Robots can either cast on themselves or allies. Each Robot unit has its own Gambit, so you must program all three before heading into battle.

Order matters when it comes to programming Gambits in FF7 Rebirth. If “Ally HP<50%: Cure” is my last action in T1 Robot’s Gambit, then T1 Robot will only use Cure if it can’t execute any of the actions above it (ie. when there aren’t any enemies nearby).

Choosing a Portal Skill Loadout

The arena in Gears and Gambits has three portal lanes you can shift through with L2 and R2. You must deploy Robots in all three lanes to fend off incoming enemy attacks and deal damage to the King Flan.

By pressing X, you can see the Robots available for deployment. The orange battery gauge at the bottom left corner indicates whether you have enough power to deploy units or not. Before deploying a Robot unit, assess the enemy’s weakness with Square.

King Flan can easily be defeated in FF7 Rebirth if you don’t trigger heavy attacks and Barrier. Never place more than three Robots in the same lane or have more than four Robots total targeting it at the same time.

Keep in mind that you’re on the clock. If King Flan is alive when the timer runs out, you lose. While you assess an enemy or deploy a robot, enemies stop advancing, but the clock still ticks.

FF7R: Cosmo Canyon Protorelic Phenomenon Intel 1 guide

The best loadout for the first Gears and Gambits game in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is Hybrid. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to beat this match:

1. Deploy a T2 Fire Robot in the front lane to counter the Thunder Marshmallow.
2. Deploy a T1 Ice Robot in the front lane to counter the Fire Marshmallow.
3. Deploy a T3 Thunder Robot in the front lane to counter the Ice Marshmallow.
4. Deploy a T1 Ice Robot in the right lane to counter the Fire Marshmallow.
5. Deploy a T3 Thunder Robot in the right lane to counter the Ice Marshmallow.
6. Use offensive techniques when possible to lower the King Flan’s HP, and don’t worry about losing units in the process.
7. Deploy a T2 Fire Robot in the left lane to counter the Thunder Marshmallow.
8. Deploy a T3 Thunder Robot in the left lane to counter the Ice Marshmallow.
9. Deploy a T2 Fire Unit in the right lane to counter the Thunder Marshmallow.
10. Deploy a T3 Thunder unit in the front lane to counter the Ice Marshmallow.
11. At this point, you shouldn’t have to deploy any more units, or else you’ll trigger the more powerful attacks from King Marshmallow.

FF7R: Cosmo Canyon Protorelic Phenomenon Intel 2 guide

How to reach Phenomenon Intel 2: Empyrean Ruins

In case you couldn’t tell by the From Whence Life Flows side quest, traversing Cosmo Canyon can be tricky. Here’s how you can reach the second Protorelic in Cosmo Canyon:

1. Start from the Activation Intel 5: Spiritwastes Remnawave Tower, which you can reach on Chocobo or foot from the first Cosmo Canyon Protorelic location in FF7 Rebirth.
2. Head straight west from this tower and look for a narrow path to your left. Climb it, and with your Chocobo, use Gliding Range No. 24.
3. The propeller devices take you to the other side of the mountain, where you can find Phenomenon Intel 2: Empyrean Ruins.

Gears and Gambits’ second match

You can now configure Gambits, but you won’t need to yet. The best loadout for the first Gears and Gambits game in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is Offensive. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to beat this match:

1. Deploy a T2 Fire Robot in the front lane to counter the Thunder Marshmallow.
2. Deploy a T1 Ice Robot in the front lane to counter the Fire Marshmallow.
3. Deploy a second T2 Fire Robot in the front lane to counter the upcoming Thunder Marshmallow.
4. Use Cautious Courage to increase the attack power and defense of this unit.
5. Deploy three T1 Ice Robots in the right lane to counter the Fire Marshmallow.
6. Deploy any robot in the front and left lanes to counter the White Marshmallows.
7. Deploy two T1 Ice Robots in the left and front lanes to counter the Fire Marshmallows.
8. Use Regen to cure whichever lane needs the most help before you take down the King Flan.
9. Deploy two T3 Thunder Robots in the front lane to counter the big Ice Marshmallow.
10. Deploy any robot in the left lane to counter the big White Marshmallow.
11. King Flan will likely resort to one-Two Splat at some point in the encounter, so deploy more units to back those up.

FF7R: Cosmo Canyon Protorelic Phenomenon Intel 3 guide

How to reach Phenomenon Intel 3: Capital Ruins

1. Start from the Activation Intel 4: Gliding Range Remnawave Tower, which you can reach on foot or on Chocobo from the second Cosmo Canyon Protorelic location in FF7 Rebirth.
2. Use the Chocobo Gliding propeller south of the Remnawave Tower to reach the propeller northeast.
3. Take Gliding Range No. 6 to reach the mountain ahead.
4. Hug the mountain’s right wall and use Gliding Range No. 7. The propellers will take you to the mountain ahead.
5. Climb the stairs up the mountain and take the wooden path. Here, use Gliding Range No. 13 and Gliding Range No. 14 to reach the area ahead.
6. Head under the cave and keep climbing to the top of the mountain. Once you’re there, use Gliding Range No. 16.
7. The propellers will take you to Activation Intel 6: Ancient Capital Remnawave Tower, which you should activate unless you want to redo all that Chocobo gliding.
8. Behind this lower lies Phenomenon Intel 3: Capital Ruins

Gears and Gambits’ third match

The best loadout for the first Gears and Gambits game in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is Offensive. Configure a few healing and buffing actions in the Robot’s Gambit before charging into battle.

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to beat this match:

1. Deploy two T2 Fire Robots in the front lane to counter the Thunder Marshmallow.
2. Deploy a T1 Ice Robot in the right lane to counter the Fire Marshmallow.
3. Deploy two of your strongest Robots in the left lane to counter the big White Marshmallow.
4. Cast Comet to deal damage on the King Flan and the Marshmallow on the right lane.
5. Deploy three T2 Fire Robots on the right lane to counter the big Thunder Marshmallow.
6. Deploy a T3 Thunder Robot on the left lane to counter the Ice Marshmallow.
7. Deploy any Robot in the front lane to counter the White Marshmallow.
8. When necessary cast Aeroga to deal damage to hordes of enemies.

FF7R: Cosmo Canyon Protorelic Phenomenon Intel 4 guide

How to reach Cosmo Canyon Protorelic Phenomenon Intel 4

1. Start from the Activation Intel 4: Gliding Range Remnawave Tower.
2. Use the propeller ahead to reach the platform with the tower to the south.
3. Use the elevator inside the tower to reach the top of the mountain.
4. Follow the path ahead to reach Phenomenon Intel 4: Temple Ruins.

Gears and Gambits’ fourth match

The best loadout for the first Gears and Gambits game in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is Offensive. Keep the same loadout as in the previous match, but add Hyper Lariat and Cure Multishot to strengthen your Robots.

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to beat this match:

1. Deploy two T2 Fire Robots in the front lane to counter the Thunder Marshmallows.
2. Deploy two T3 Thunder Robots in the right lane to counter the big Ice Marshmallow.
3. Deploy a T1 Ice Robot in the left lane.
4. Use Comet to deal damage to the incoming Fire Marshmallow on the right and the King Flan.
5. Deploy a second T1 Ice Robot in the left lane to counter the incoming Fire Marshmallow.
6. Deploy your strongest Robot in the left lane to counter the White Marshmallow.
7. Deploy two T3 Thunder Robots in the right lane to counter the Ice Marshmallows.
8. Deploy two T2 Red Robots in the front lane to counter the Thunder Marshmallows.
9. Use Aeroga in the center of the arena to damage King Flan and as many Marshmallow spawns as possible.
10. Deploy three T3 Thunder Robots in the left lane to counter the big Ice Marshmallow.
11. Deploy a T1 Ice Robot in the right lane to counter the Fire Marshmallow.