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The Guard Scorpion is the first boss the player encounters in Final Fantasy VII. Cloud and Barret fight it in the No. 1 Reactor at the reactor's Core during the first quest, "No. 1 Reactor Bombing".

Unlike most other bosses in the game, Guard Scorpion's battle music is "Opening ~ Bombing Mission" and not "Those Who Fight Further". In the 1996 demo version of Final Fantasy VII, Guard Scorpion is replaced by an enlarged Sweeper accompanied by two Grunts.

Stats[]

Lowered

Raised

Formations[]

# Formation
324 Guard Scorpion

Locations[]

No. 1 Reactor
Core 324 (fixed)

Battle[]

Cloud Suggestion

Cloud giving his suggestion to the player.

A misleading battle message[note 1] has Cloud tell the player to attack Guard Scorpion while its tail is raised, but doing so will cause it to always use Tail Laser. This is its only strong attack and deals a large amount of damage to both Cloud and Barret.

Guard Scorpion has two forms. It starts in Form 1 and its second form is when it raises its tail. It will transform to Form 2 after using two damaging attacks, and will revert shortly. Guard Scorpion has a fixed attack pattern: Search Scope, Attack, Search Scope, Attack, Transform to Form 2, Wait, Wait, Transform to Form 1, and it starts from Search Scope again. It always uses Search Scope on the victim of its attacks before attacking, and Search Scope does nothing. Also his two basic attacks Rifle and Scorpion Tail just do damage in a decent amount, but not much else.

Strategy[]

Cloud should cast Bolt while Barret attacks. The player can set Barret in the back row to take less damage, as he has a ranged weapon. Eventually, Guard Scorpion will raise its tail, and counter attack with Tail Laser whenever hit. It is best to do nothing but heal when it raises its tail.

AI script[]

Start of battle

Declare Stage = 0

Declare Count = 0

Declare Warning = 0

Declare SelectedTarget

Turn
If (Count == 0 OR Count == 2) Then

SelectedTarget = random opponent

Use Search Scope on SelectedTarget

Display Message "Locked On Target"

Count = Count + 1

Else If (Count == 1 OR Count == 3) Then
2/3 Chance

If (Self HP < 1/2 * Self Max HP) Then: Use Scorpion Tail on SelectedTarget

Else: Use Rifle on SelectedTarget

1/3 Chance: Use Scorpion Tail on SelectedTarget

Count = Count + 1

Else If (Count == 4) Then

Use Raise Tail

Stage = 1

Self Defense = 255

Self Magic Defense = 384

If (Warning == 0) Then
If (Cloud is alive) Then

If (Barret is dead) Then: Display Message "Cloud "It's gonna fire that laser..."

Else: Display Message "Cloud "Barret, be careful!"

Display Message ""Attack while it's tail's up!"

Display Message "It's gonna counterattack with its laser.""

Else

Display Message "Barret "I dunno what's goin' on, but..."

Display Message "it looks pretty bad."

Display Message "Let's see what it does when it's tail's up..."

Warning = 1

Count = 5

Else If (Count == 5 OR Count == 6) Then

Count = Count + 1

Else

Use Drop Tail

Stage = 0

Self Defense = 40

Self Magic Defense = 256

Count = 0

Counter - if attacked

If (Stage == 1) Then: Use Tail Laser on all opponents

Counter - if killed

If (Stage == 1) Then: Use Drop Tail

Notes[]

  • Guard Scorpion's tail is up while Stage equals 1, and down while Stage equals 0. In addition to a difference in stats and attack pattern, the two stages also have different idle animations and flinch animations.
  • Depending on who's alive when Guard Scorpion raises its tail, the in-battle dialogue changes. It remains unclear to the player how to adequately respond in each scenario.
  1. Cloud's advice on how to fight it is worded awkwardly and the gap between the messages makes it misleading. Cloud yells "Barret, be careful! Attack while its tail's up!" and then "It'll counterattack with its laser!"

Gallery[]

Etymology[]

Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by the pair of grasping pedipalps and the narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back, ending with a venomous stinger.

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