After the failed assassination attempt from Yuffie, you’ll find yourself attempting to escape Upper Junon before Shinra gets hold of you. Unfortunately, Roche will be standing in your way so you’ll need to put your SOLDIER skills to good use and take him down. On this page, we’ll provide you with the necessary tips to best him.

View Full-size

Roche wants a duel!

Roche Boss Strategy¶

Roche will ambush you at the end of chapter 4 and as you may expect, wants a duel with Cloud, but there’s some preparations you should do before challenging him as there will be no other party members to back you up. To begin, equip Fire Materia and Ifrit as this will allow you to hit his elemental weakness, then you’ll want to equip the Healing Materia so you can top up your health throughout the battle should you need to.

This battle is fairly simple, but the trickiest part is dealing with Roche’s speed, as he has access to his trusty motorcycle and an arena which contains walls that he can ride along. For this battle, you’ll want to avoid chasing him around the arena and instead stay put and activate Punisher Mode, then when Roche attempts to attack try blocking to counter and deal damage at the same time. This will eventually pressure Roche, and then you’ll want to start pummeling him with Focused Thrust to stagger him before he gets back on his feet.

If you manage to stagger him in time, then you’ll want to use this opportunity to deal as much damage as you can and the best way to do this is to hit him with high-level fire attacks like Firaga or Firebolt Blade. When Ifrit becomes available, be sure to summon him as he’ll be able to deal bonus fire damage over time. Additionally, make sure you use your limit break if it’s available as this will knock off a large chunk of his HP.

Unfortunately, Roche has some powerful attacks up his sleeve and you learn more about them below:

Loose Voltage¶

When Roche starts doing loops around the edge of the arena, he’ll use an attack called Loose Voltage. This will shoot down multiple sparks of lightning into the ground. If you step in this then you’ll take moderate damage, but more importantly Cloud will be stunned which means you’ll be temporarily exposed to more incoming attacks. However, this can be easily avoided by keeping on the move and staying out of the AoE markers on the ground.

View Full-size

1

2

3

(1 of 3) Loose Voltage

Crash and Burn & High Voltage Ride¶

Crash and Burn and High Voltage Ride are some other attacks that’ll occur when Roche is looping around you. These are basically the same attack, but one involves electricity. The easiest to avoid this is to keep on the move and stand on the opposite side of the arena to Roche, as these attacks don’t have much range.

Blitz¶

When Roche is circling the arena, he’ll shoot out sparks of lightning at you. If it connects then you’ll be unable to move for a few seconds which means he’ll have an opportunity to deal lots of damage to you. This can be avoided by keeping on the move and guarding.

There you have it, every attack that Roche has in his arsenal along with tips on how to counter them. Overall, keeping your distance and relying on Punisher Mode should allow you to make quick work of this battle. Defeating this opponent will reward you with 1,700 EXP, 30 AP and 700+ Gil.