Players will face the Crab Warden at the end of Chapter 5 of Final Fantasy 7 Remake. The encounter happens during the Secret Passageway in the Corkscrew Tunnel. It’s essentially a tough mecha that is somewhat similar to Scorpion Sentinel, though a bit less advanced. It lacks the mobility and the tail laser of the Scorpion Sentinel, but the Warden has a rugged metal shell to compensate.

The battle serves the purpose of illustrating that Shinra has manufactured many sentry weapons. It also shows how dangerous the company is since their outdated weapon is so destructive. This guide will provide all the information you’ll need to defeat the Crab Warden.

Preparation

Although a solid strategy can cause this challenging fight to be much easier, players must have the right tools for the job.

The Crab Warden’s Immunities and Weaknesses

Because it is a mecha, the Crab Warden is immune to Poison, Silence, Sleep, Slow, and Berserk. So using normal attacks and lightning attacks are the way to go.

The Crab Warden is weak to Lightning and it takes damage normally from physical attacks. Besides causing extra damage, Lightning attacks will fill up the pressure bar much faster.

Materia To Bring

  • Thunder - If possible, each character should have one during the boss fight. Cure - Ideally, players should have two of these with different characters. Restore - This one should be carried by Barret since he can take a lot of damage.

Since bosses in this game can deal a lot of damage, Cure will always be mandatory. Restore is also an essential materia for bringing back fallen teammates without spending any items.

Make sure all your party members have the Thunder materia equipped. That is the best way to guarantee that all characters can contribute to staggering the mecha while dealing significant damage to it.

Use A Summon Materia As Soon As Possible

At this point of the game, players should have access to at least one summon materia. If that is the case, just make sure to use it in every boss battle.

  • Chocobo Chick - this will be the best summon materia to use. She has lightning-based attacks that will be quite helpful in taking this boss down. Ifrit - Although all the damage that he causes is not super effective, it still is a high amount of damage in a great area of effect.

A summon is pretty much a fourth member of the party who keeps attacking the enemies, so any summon will be useful during a fight. When a creature is summoned, switch to Barret in order to quickly build ATB from afar and use the most damaging summon abilities.

The Crab Warden’s Attacks

The Crab Warden has many strong attacks, but most can be easily avoided by staying on its sides and retreating from time to time.

  • Stomp - It is an attack that Crab Warden performs by hitting the ground with its legs. This attack can be blocked. During phase 3, the mecha also attacks with its back legs. Charge - The Crab Warden will run forward and hit everybody in the way. Although this attack can be blocked, staying on the Warden’s side is a better solution. Wildfire - It will spin around and burn nearby characters, dealing damage over time on targets hit. Oddly, this attack can be blocked. Revolving Volley - It fires a gun in an arc. During phase 3, this attack becomes much faster. Missile Assault - The Crab Warden fires many missiles at the party. The number of missiles is increased during phase 3. Missile Barrage - Another attack that consists of it firing missiles. The number of missiles is increased during phase 3. Reverse Cannon - It fires missiles from its back, then charges forward. Flamethrower - A fire attack in a line that cannot be blocked. EM Field - The boss discharges an electric wave. It doesn’t use this attack during phase 3. Target Lock - It isn’t an attack, but it does cause the boss to lock on a character. The boss does not use it during Phase 3. Air Support - This is the ability the Crab Warden uses to summon Slug-Rays. It only uses it during phase 2. Surge - Only used during phase 3, this attack electrifies the tracks for 8 seconds.

The most important attacks that players must avoid are the Flamethrower, the EM Field, and the electrical Surge.

Staying on the Crab’s face for too long will make it attack the character in front of it. Its attacks can deal massive amounts of damage and put the player in a bad spot.

Phase 1

Unlike the Scorpion Sentinel, players can aim for the Crab Warden’s legs since the beginning of the battle. Aiming for them will cause the Crab to enter a vulnerable state. This will make the battle much easier.

Crippling its parts will fill a lot of the pressure gauge. This, combined with lightning attacks and staggering attacks, might just cause the boss to enter a staggered state.

Use Barret to shoot the Crab Warden’s face and get its attention. Then use Steelskin and make sure to turn Barret into a target. Once the boss is distracted, make sure to focus the same leg with Tifa and Cloud.

Having Barret with Cure and Restore materia is a good way to make sure that the last one to fall is always able to bring the others back up. Barret can withstand a lot of damage with his abilities and base stats, making him perfect to carry materia that can bring allies back from 0 HP.

Make Sure To Have ATB Left For When The Boss Is Staggered

Bosses in Final Fantasy 7 Remake do not stay staggered for very long, so players need to take the opportunity to do as much damage as they can. Failing to do so will cause the battle to be much longer than it needs to be.

Players will want to have some ATB saved for when the boss is about to be staggered. As soon as the stagger gauge is fixed, use the slow-motion that is triggered when you are choosing an ability to make the best possible choice.

Ideally, hit the Crab with a highly damaging ability as soon as it is staggered. If the character with an ATB bar has none, make sure to hit the boss with a Lightning spell.

Focusing on the legs when it is in this state is a good way to make sure it will quickly stagger again when its other legs are crippled.

Phase 2

During its second phase, the Crab Warden will spawn some Slug-Rays. Make sure to destroy them first. Take them all out as soon as possible.

Pay attention to Barret’s position when taking down the Slug-Rays. They can stay behind the Crab Warden, causing Barret’s bullets to hit the boss instead. That will prolong their existence in the fight, making it harder to deal with the boss.

Once that is finished, players can just return to the same previous strategy — focusing on the limbs with lightning damage and avoiding the Crab’s most dangerous attacks.

Phase 3

As it loses hit points, The Crab Warden will start becoming even more dangerous. Its electrical surges will electrify the tracks and set up an explosion. Characters that step on the electrified area will take a lot of damage.

The Crab’s legs will no longer be vulnerable during this phase, but players will be able to target its weapons.

This will be a good moment to switch to Barret. He can keep attacking the boss and build ATB while at a distance. When doing so, keep hitting the crab with lightning on the most damaged leg.

Stay Safe And Destroy The Pilot When It Is Exposed

At the end of Phase 3, the Crab Warden becomes very aggressive. Barret’s ranged attacks will become even more useful at this point.

Not only Barret can deal with the electrified tracks by using his ranged attack, but he can also stay at a safe distance from the the crab’s most dangerous attacks. Use Barret to build ATB during this last phase.

When the pilot is finally targetable, use the characters’ most damaging moves and limit breaks if you have any ready. Build that ATB as quickly as possible and hit it with lightning attacks from each character.

If the pilot is crippled, the Crab Warden’s weak point will be exposed. Finish it off.

NEXT: Final Fantasy VII Remake: Every Side Quest In Chapter 8 & How To Complete Them