This is it. You’ve unlocked every summon in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (presumably) and you have one more. It’s time to fight Odin, the lord of war. If you thought Bahamut Arisen had an interesting battle mechanic, Odin outdoes the dragon with a fight that all depends on how many attacks you can land without getting hit. It’s brutal, but with this guide we have a few tricks that can change the tide of war. And the Odin summon will be yours. Here’s how to get the Odin Summon in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.
On Your Way to the Odin Summon
But first, you’ll want to weaken Odin by finding his Sanctuaries. If you haven’t done this for the other summons, I highly recommend it here. Personally, I found Odin twice as tough as Bahamut. Finding the Sanctuaries weakens Odin and strengthens his Materia once you unlock him.
First, you’ll have to snag a Chocobo from nearby the airfield in the Nibel region. The first Sanctuary will be on an island to the south, but luckily with that new Chocobo’s ability you should have no trouble. The other two Sanctuaries are fairly near each other, on the eastern bank of the river that leads into the bay. The mini games are a bit more involved, but nowhere as tough as fighting Odin himself.
Wage War With Odin
Haul yourself back to Chadley and prepare for battle. Odin doesn’t have a traditional weakness, but gets damaged by any ATB attacks or status effects, like poison. Dodging also helps throw him off his game. As such, you’ll want party members who have solid ATB attacks and can easily dodge. Tifa is fantastic for this battle, as she has a wealth of ATB attacks and is light on her feet. I had Aerith and Barret back her up. Aerith is great for keeping the party healed while Barret has his own ATB moves that strike from a distance.
Essentially, Odin wants an exciting battle. You want to constantly use ATB attacks and cast status effects while dodging as much as you can. If you slack off, Odin will sound Gjallahorn’s Warning. And that’s not a good sign. This means that he’ll soon use Zantetsuken, an absolutely deadly move that took my party out every time. But there is a way to avoid it—or rather avoid it happening—and even a way to recover.
For making sure Odin doesn’t use Zantetsuken, make sure to constantly attack with ATB moves. Once Odin gets staggered, use Tifa’s Unbridled Strength twice to bring about Rise and Fall, which will increase stagger damage when used. Pair this with a Synergy Ability that extends stagger, and Odin will take some real hits. If you can pull this off, you should be able to leave Odin with little health. Hit him with everything you’ve got, and you can down him without ever seeing Zantetsuken.
Party Down, Phoenix Up
But, let’s say you mess up, forgetting to dodge or needing to use ATB charges for healing, and you see Gjallahorn’s Warning occurring. Honestly, restarting may not be a bad idea. However! If you have Phoenix as a summon, and you should, use two ATB bars to cast Reraise on whoever has the spell Raise. Odin will still use Zantetsuken, and it will still wipe out your party. But it’s not over yet.
Even if Phoenix is gone, Reraise will bring back a party member (or more if you can cast it multiple times). Back in the saddle, you’ll have survived Zantetsuken and can fight another day. Now, Odin may still use Zantetsuken again. But if you go back on the offensive, you can take Odin down before that even happens. At this point, you should have some Limit Breaks and Synergy Abilities at your disposal, so go to town. If he uses Sleipnir’s Furor, all the better, as this will typically signal he’s pressured. If you can swing it, use any ATB moves that increase stagger to finish him off.
With this, you should knock Odin off his high horse. Congratulations, you have defeated the hardest summon—and one of the hardest bosses—in the game. Your reward? You get the Odin summon, and now you have a Zantetsuken of your own to use. Strike fear in the hearts of your enemies, and look pretty cool doing it.
If you’d like to know more about Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, what we called “one of the best games of the past decade,” you can read our review here.
