Cloud and the others located the Keystoneduring the previous chapterofFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth, but unfortunately they were betrayed and lost it to Shinra. Fortunately, hope isn’t lost for the group as Vincent is able to discern where the temple is based on intercepted radio transmissions. Before proceeding to the north where the temple is, you may want to take this time to do any side quests or other similar content.
Once you go to the Temple of the Ancients, the story will begin to wrap up.The Temple of the Ancientsis a long and arduous dungeon, but here is what you can expect as you begin Chapter 13: Where Angels Fear to Tread.
This walkthrough contains spoilers, so proceed with caution.
Northern Voyage
Once the cutscene ends, sail north. There are some items you’re able to acquire by destroying boxes in the water. While sailing north, you will occasionally see areas where you can disembark to pursue additional objectives like collecting the pirate relics.
As you go further north, the sky will get gradually darker. Once you get close enough, you will trigger a cutscene. Continue heading north toward the temple after the cutscene is over. Eventually, you will come across a dock that you can disembark at.
Keep in mind that once you land you will receive a point-of-no-return warning. verify you are prepared before proceeding, as you will no longer be ableto fast travel.
To the Temple of the Ancients
At the dock, you will find vending machines and a rest station. Make use of them as needed, save your game, and head down the path that goes deeper into the woods. You won’t be on this path long before the temple comes into view. Keep going toward the temple to trigger a cutscene.
Upon arriving at the Keystone Altar, verify to open the chest on the left before going into the temple. On the other side of the bridge, you will see a massive group of Shinra forces. Several large waves will attack you, including 2nd Class SOLDIERS. After the battle is over, go north toward the steps that lead into the temple.
Once you are in the temple, walk past the tree toward a door that is partially open. Deal with the Shinra Security forces waiting for you here and then open the door to go further into the temple. Once the cutscene is over, go right and down the stairs. Drop down and deal with the monsters in the square below. Go through the gate and go up the stairs.
Here, you will find a floating, green device. Interact with it to revert gravity. This will allow you to walk along the ceilings and continue onward.
Through the Labyrinth
Go past the black-robed figure and down the stairs. Keep following the path while dealing with any enemies that get in your way. Climb up the ivy vines and go to the ledge on the right. Up here is a chest that containsa weapon for Cloud.
Go back down the ivy and then go across to proceed. In the small chamber just ahead, you will find another device that will alter gravity. Use this device, loot the chest outside, and then go forward to where a group of fiends awaits. Look to the north to spot a set of stairs that lead up to another device that will flip the temple.
This is where things get tricky, as you’ll be able to flip the temple in three different directions. Flip the temple so that you get two large walls of ivy vines to climb. At the top, go through the gate and deal with the small squad of Shinra forces.
Next, push the box with the sphere in it toward the ivy vines. If aligned correctly, you will see a blue icon appear at the top of the box. Climb up the vines and then approach the waterfall that the two Shinra troops jump down.
Before going down, make sure to go west and loot the chest that is on the edge. When ready, jump down the waterfall and then climb out of the water once you reach the bottom. This leads to an area where you will have two separate devices that you’re able to use to change gravity. Turn the device in the purple room and then climb up the vines. At the top of this area is a chest that contains a Cetra Bangle.
Go back down to the purple chamber and rotate it again. Go past the black robed figure and down the stairs in the direction of where a bunch of Shinra troops are gathered. Eliminite them and then go through the door that they were guarding. Even the Cetra had vending machines and rest stations, apparently, so make sure to use them if needed. Then, once you are ready to continue, go down the stairs ahead of you.
How to Beat Red Dragon
Of course, it makes sense that there would be some sort of giant monster guarding the labyrinth. Being a fire-breathing dragon, this boss is weak to ice damage. At the start of the fight, you can target the boss’s head. Hit this spot and cripple it to pressure the boss.
Once the boss reaches 50% health, you will be able to target its chest and its wings. Cripple the wings to pressure it and bring it down to the ground. Make sure to cripple the chest as quickly as you can as this will limit the range of its Crimson Breath attack.
Periodically, the chest will become active again. verify to take it down quickly, as having the chest not crippled when Crimson Breath goes off covers the entire arena in lava, and this can prove to be fatal if your party is low on health. Keep pressuring and staggering the boss, and you will soon have one dead dragon lying at your feet. Before proceeding, you can go back to the rest station and use it.
Splitting the Party
When you are ready, go beyond the door that the dragon was guarding. Go down the hall and approach the device to activate the elevator and go down into the Hall of Life. After the cutscene, the party will get divided. Continue onward while dealing with any fiends that try to stop you.
In addition to fiends, you will also encounter another squad of Shinra troops. After defeating them, continue going north and then look to the left to spot a chest that containsa weapon for Tifa. From there, go down the nearby stairs and then climb onto the nearby vines and use them to go across and then down toward another platform.
Go right across a very narrow edge. Next, walk across the beam to get to more stable ground. As you head north, you’ll come across areas where strong gusts of wind suddenly pick up. Wait until they clear before proceeding.
After crossing two sections, you will see a gust of wind that never stops. To get past this, turn around and go through the area where the wind blows. Wait until it is clear, though. Push the nearby box toward the third gust directly ahead. Once you’ve pushed it far enough, the box will block off the wind, allowing you to continue.
Go forward, and then take a left when you reach a dead end. There, you will find vines that you can climb up to reach another room. Go through the door and then run across the platform as it gradually gets destroyed by the storm. As you hear nearby voices, go under the rubble and enter a circular room. After defeating the special forces, Rudeand Renowill show up.
The Other Half
At this point, the game will shift back to Aerith, Yuffie, and Red XIII. Go through the door and approach the pool of water where you will get a tutorial on Aerith’s new power. Approach the glyph on the ground, look up at the rift, and then rotate the left stick until the area stabilizes.
In the next area, you will need to destroy crystals and pray around the small glowing green wisps to gather more energy. Once you have enough, you may use it to open new pathways. While you have more lifestream absorbed, Aerith will gain various buffs at the start of combat.
To get enough lifestream to progress, kill the fiend that is lurking in the small circular room. If you’ve gathered every bit of lifestream that is available, you will have enough to open both paths. The one to the east contains a chest while the one to the west creates a path that will let you proceed. Go down the stairs and then turn left at the bottom to find a chest witha weapon for Aerith.
In this area, you will find a glyph with four spots that can be opened by using the Lifestream. Gather up the Lifestream from both containers and then destroy the crystals around the area. Stabilize the vessel on the right first, and go to the new area to gather more motes of the Lifestream. Go back to the glyph and use the Lifestream to stabilize the vessel on the left.
Investigate the newly restored area and defeat the fiends that are lurking there to gather more of the Lifestream. After that, go back to the glyph and use the Lifestream on the vessel out in the distance to trigger a cutscene. Once it is done, you switch back to Cloud and the others as they deal with some fiends. Leave the arena and head down to the rest station. Continue following the trail of Rufusand the Turks.
Eventually, you come across a gap in the platform. Push the nearby box to the edge until it falls into the wind. Walk across your newly formed bridge and then go up the stairs. Just past this point is a small room that has a chest with a weapon for Barret. Just past this point is another gap in the floor. Go up the nearby stairs and go around to find another box that can be pushed. Push it right off the edge to form part of another bridge. Go up the next set of stairs to find a tower with a turnable crank at the bottom.
Approach this crank and hold down L2. This will trigger a cutscene followed by a boss fight.
How to Beat Ironclad
The most important thing to say about this fight is that whatever you do, do NOT get hit by Condemned. This attack is an instant kill,even with Safety Bit equipped. This giant metal monster is weak to lightning damage. With this boss, you need to avoid pretty much anything that is unblockable, as almost every attack does a colossal amount of damage.
This is a very odd fight, as simply defeating it is not enough. In order to actually beat this encounter, you must stagger the boss. The boss becomes mucheasier to staggeronce it uses Sharpen as it pressures itself whenever it uses this attack. Stagger it as quickly as possible, but don’t do too much damage that you outright kill the boss before it is staggered. Failing to stagger it before killing it will mean you have to do the fight all over again until you get it right.
Once this boss has been dealt with, push the box off of the ledge and head back to your improvised bridge. Cross the narrow ledge and then enter the nearby room with two large fiends patrolling it. Continue onward and you will come across another rest station.
How to Beat Rude and Reno
Not long after the rest station, you will come across Rude and Reno fighting fiends. Jump down and help them clear out the fiends, and then it is time for a boss fight against the iconic Turk duo. Reno is weak to fire, and Rude is still weak to wind.
Unlike Elena, Reno is in near perfect sync with Rude. He’s also faster and can easily dodge your attacks. He will also periodically throw out EM Mines that will move around the battlefield. If possible, try to focus on taking Reno out first and then focus on Rude.
Back to Aerith
Despite the gang being all back together, the game switches back to a few hours prior. Don’t forget to take the Lifestream from any enemies you kill, as you will need it later. Approach the nearby rest station while destroying any crystals you come across. Once you’ve gathered enough of the Lifestream, approach the glyph and stand on it.
Unfortunately, the process is interrupted by fiends that appear to be feasting on nodes that are supplying the vessel. Head right and deal with the first group. The flying fiend will periodoically become invincible to all damage except magic while Hecteyes can only be damaged with physical attacks.
Next, go across the floating debris towards the next group which is far off to the west. The second beam that is being interrupted is guarded by two Hecteyes instead of one. Don’t forget to be gathering the Lifestream as you are clearing the obstructions. Head back to the glyph and use the Lifestream to create a path forward. Go down the stairs into the reconstructed area. Be ready for a fight as you go down.
How to Beat Elena and Tseng
At this point, you’ll more or less know what to expect from Elena since this is the third time you’ve had to fight her. Focusing on Tseng, move away from him when he casts Asuran Shockwave. He is weak to ice damage, so keep that in mind. Most of his attacks are unblockable, so just focus on getting away from him whenever he uses one of his abilities. If you’re able to block or evade his attacks, you can build pressure on him.
HaveYuffieswitch to either Lightning or Ice Ninjutsu so that it is easier to pressure whichever of the two bosses you want to focus on first. Then switch to the Ninjutsu that matches the weakness of the other boss after the first one is defeated. The best way to take this duo down is to focus on one boss at a time.
A Series of Trials
After the battle is over, go down the hallway and use the device to go down further into the Temple of the Ancients. Approach Tseng to trigger a cutscene. After that, interact with the altar. to progress, every party member (except Cloud) must complete a special trial alone.
Enter the chamber in front of you. Approach the statue and hold down the Triangle button. Starting as Red XIII, climb up the walls and run as illusions of Shinra troops shoot at you. Despite being illusions, their bullets actually hurt, so keep moving.
When you are in the lab and are prompted, hold down L2, R2, or both. After a while, you will switch to Tifa’s trial. Go up the hill and toward the water tower. Climb up the ladder and then go forward to trigger a cutscene. Go down the ladder and chase after young Cloud. Go up the stairs and open the metal door. At the other end of the hallway will be another door.
Once you go through this door, you switch to Yuffie’s trial. Go down the stairs to trigger a cutscene and then start climbing up the wall. Go through the glowing shuriken and then continue climbing up and to the right. Keep collecting these shurikens while following the specter. Once you reach the top, drop down and enter the doorway. In the next area, use the grappling hook to go over all the miasma on the ground. Interact with the elevator, and you will switch to Barret’s trial.
As Barret, go down the narrow path toward the stairs that lead up. Walk through the village and approach Myrna. After a brief cutscene, move down towards the hole in the rubble. Go through it and then take a left toward the gate that blocks your path. Press the Triangle button and then L2 each time it is prompted to knock the gate down.
For Aerith’s trial, look at the butterfly on the ground and interact with it. Repeat this process with the next three butterflies. Shortly after this, you will play as a younger Aerith as she looks for a doctor. Approach people in this area and press L2 to interact with them. Keep going forward and asking for help until you trigger a cutscene. Go back to Ifalna and the game will switch to Cloud. Go through the door that opens and go through the long hall to trigger a trial for Cloud.
Go across the hall toward Biggs and then go up the flight of stairs. Once the cutscene is over, you will be back in the Temple of the Ancients. Go through the door at the end of this hallway and then down the spiral staircase until you hit a dead end. Enter the room to your right and take out the fiends. Go through the door on the other side of this room and then go down the stairs. To your left, you will see a platform with a chest that containsa weapon for Yuffie. From here, there are two paths.
On the right, there is a set of stairs that lead to a large room with one Floating Death guarding a chest that contains a Cetra bracer. Directly ahead is a set of stairs that lead down to a room with a large fiend guarding it. While you can fight it, it is possible to walk along the edges of the room and sneak past it. This path leads to a lower part of the spiral staircase from earlier. Before going down, though, head up instead to grab a chest that contains an elixir.
Continue going down the spiral staircase until you reach the bottom. Enter the next area to trigger a cutscene and then go down the hallway. Deal with the two fiends who appear and block the way forward. Keep going and deal with the next pair of fiends, and then verify to use the rest station you come across. You will need it.
How to Beat Demon Gate
As a series,Final Fantasyhas always had some recurring bosses and the Demon Gate is one of them. This fight is tricky as the arena slowly gets smaller. If you do enough damage, you can interrupt this process and pressure it. To complicate matters further, a second Demon Gate will spawn behind you when the first Demon Gate nears 60% health.
Focus on the first Demon Gate, but keep an eye out for the attacks of the second one as well. Periodically, squares will appear on the ground. Stay out of these to avoid getting hit. Try to save your Limit Breaks for when a Demon Gate is staggered, as they will do significantly more damage while they are defenseless.
When the first Demon Gate reaches zero health, it will cast Final Throes and will start moving toward you even faster. Move away from this attack and then strike it again to kill it. Once the first Demon Gate is dead, move on to the second one. The fight becomes much more manageable with only one alive. Rinse and repeat on the other Demon Gate and your path to the Black Materia will be clear.
Run
Following the cutscene, you will play as Aerith. Follow Cloud as he stumbles toward the Black Materia. After the cutscene ends, run. Just keep following the path and run like your life depends on it. Fortunately, Vincent found a shortcut which means you don’t have to go through the entire temple again to escape.
After you escape, slowly amble your waytoward Sephiroth. There will be a cutscene, and then you will have to chase after Aerith. Once you catch up, this chapter ends and the final chapter begins.
