Cloud Strife

Vanguard

Most of Cloud’s attacks can be charged, thus increasing their damage, area of effect, and ability to render opponents defenseless. Sidestep to cancel his charging and throw foes off their game, then take them out with potent attacks.

Original Appearance: FINAL FANTASY VII

Year: 1997

Role: Cloud Strife grew up aspiring to be a SOLDIER elite like the highly regarded war hero, Sephiroth. However, this admiration ended when he experienced Sephiroth’s descent into madness firsthand during the Nibelheim Incident. With an unexpected divergence from his childhood aspirations, Cloud finds himself allying with a group of mercenaries dedicated to protecting the planet from the Shinra Electric Power Company.

Other Noteworthy Appearances: FINAL FANTASY Tactics (1997), Ehrgeiz: God Bless the Ring (1998), Kingdom Hearts (2002), FINAL FANTASY VII: Advent Children (2006), Kingdom Hearts II (2006), CRISIS CORE -FINAL FANTASY VII- (2008), DISSIDIA FINAL FANTASY (2009), DISSIDIA 012 FINAL FANTASY (2011), WORLD OF FINAL FANTASY (2016), Itadaki Street: Dragon Quest and FINAL FANTASY 30th Anniversary (2017)

Arsenal

Bravery Attacks

HP Attacks

EX Skill

Bravery Attack Breakdown

Sonic Break

Cloud quickly swipes at his target with a wide-arced slash. If his great sword meets his mark, he finishes with a leaping slash into an uppercut, sending the opponent into the air.

This three-hit Bravery combo sports a swift initial attack, leading into a heavy amount of damage (relative to its range and speed). Even without charge, a complete Sonic Break combo deals a minimum of 500 Bravery damage.

The final hit is a dash-cancelable launching attack, giving you a chance to take the fight into the air if the opponent chooses to recover (or if you score a wall pin, capitalize with an HP Attack or another Bravery combo).

Sonic Break and Slashing Blow are the attacks of choice for most close-range engagements, especially if your target is nearing a corner.

Climhazzard

Cloud readies his great sword, then rushes directly at his target in a straight line. After impaling the enemy, he carries them into the air with a rising uppercut, then finishes the Bravery combo with an overhead dunk.

Climhazzard boasts an incredible horizontal reach. Enemies fighting at ground level need to be cautious of your ability to leap large distances with this rush attack.

An excellent occasion to use Climhazzard is against fleeing foes recovering their dashing gauges, since this gauge is only recoverable while grounded.

At max charge, Climhazzard’s reach increases radically. However, opportunities to strike an enemy with it are rare since most of your targets will likely want to stay airborne and away from you.

Climhazzard’s primary drawback is that it’s only available while grounded, as Cloud’s airborne +  is an entirely different type of attack. It’s most effective on flat stages with low verticality.

Blade Beam

Cloud slams his great sword into the ground, sending out three shockwaves before him that ravage enemies in a broad arc.

Blade Beam is a wide-angle attack. The first two levels are limited in range, while charging the attack fully unleashes a shockwave along with a follow-up projectile that travels long range along the ground.

The non-charged version of Blade Beam should primarily be used as a defensive attack, since its broad angle of effect provides good coverage against multiple foes within range.

Max-charged Blade Beams can be used from long range to preface mounting an offense. However, the projectile is easily avoided by jumping and staying mobile, so it’s not as strong on high-verticality maps (like Midgar) as it is on flat maps (such as Besaid Island).

Generally, Terminal Vortex is preferable on maps with a lot of verticality.

Slashing Blow

While air-dashing toward the enemy, Cloud executes a swift one-two sword combo—a right hook into a left swing—before delivering a leaping overhead slash that sends his victim flying.

Slashing Blow is essentially an aerial version of Sonic Break with a minor difference: the combo ends with a downward strike rather than a launching attack. Otherwise, the damage and range on both Bravery combos are identical.

As with Sonic Break, Slashing Blow is your ideal attack for targets within its range. It’s difficult to react to defensively because of its reach and speed, and with proper evasion canceling technique, it’s also difficult to whiff-punish.

Braver

Cloud descends from the sky with the full weight of his great sword, delivering devastation to enemies beneath him.

Braver is a dive-bomb-type attack that, from any altitude, completely drops you to ground level and, upon landing, damages enemies hit by its spherical explosion.

Braver is useful for both offense and defense. Charging the attack increases its area of effect, so it can make for a superb area-of-effect attack on multiple foes grouped together. It also sports decent reach, as Cloud leaps forward before diving to the floor. This move is especially useful on high-verticality maps, especially ones that are separated by tiered floor levels (like the Floating Continent).

Braver can be used to quickly evade enemies at high altitudes as well. For instance, if you find yourself caught out in the open and in the sky, and notice an enemy or two on the minimap following you, you can simply perform a Braver to instantly drop to the ground, potentially creating a large space between you and your pursuer.

Terminal Vortex

Cloud spins around the weight of his great sword to hurl a massive tornado at his target, wreaking havoc on everything in its path.

Terminal Vortex is an invaluable asset in Cloud’s move set and a premium attack overall, greatly complementing your vanguard role. The projectile’s tower-like stature, trajectory speed, and vertical tracking property make it difficult to avoid for foes who aren’t already dashing or actively moving. And when it hits, the vortex flings enemies up into the air long enough for teammates to capitalize on their vulnerability.

Charging Terminal Vortex to its full potential, which you generally have time to do at long range, practically doubles its travel distance as well as boosts its damage.

Essentially, Terminal Vortex is the attack of choice in most distanced standoff scenarios. Unless you’re already within melee range, throwing out a Terminal Vortex to put a threat on the battlefield should be a top priority. 

Cyclone Rush

Cloud lunges toward his foe and swiftly delivers two spinning slashes.

This is the only dashing attack available to Cloud, whether he’s grounded or airborne. It’s not remarkable compared to some of his other attacks, but it can be particularly useful for transitioning from a dash cancel or quickly turning on a pursuing enemy.

With a large gap-closing effect built into the attack itself, you can surprise an enemy chasing you simply by hitting  as you’re dashing away; Cloud immediately turns toward the enemy and dashes and swings at your current target, even if they’re directly behind you.

Cyclone Rush is the only Bravery Attack in Cloud’s arsenal that can’t be charged, and its vertical tracking is lacking compared to Slashing Blow. However, it provides a small horizontal range advantage over Sonic Break and Slashing Blow.

HP Attack Breakdown

Cross-Slash

Cloud raises his great sword above his head, mustering a powerful force, then dashes forward with a crushing slash, followed by a swift swing, and finishes the sequence with a wide-arced sweep of the blade.

Cross-Slash is designed to be a versatile melee attack that you can use in most close-combat situations. Its range and speed are comparable to Slashing Blow, so it’s an excellent mix-up option against enemies who are likely to guard your Bravery Attacks.

Cloud performs the entire combo on whiff and on hit. This property is a double-edged sword; it has a larger effective range because of its continuity, but it also leaves you more vulnerable, as you’re committed to swinging away if you miss the first strike.

Ideally, Cross-Slash is used with a wall-pin combo setup, such as:

Slashing Blow > wall pin > dash cancel > Cross-Slash

Charging this move increases its range and Bravery damage, but note that its charge time is significantly longer than those of his Bravery Attacks.

However, this attack comes with a distinct visual and audible telegraph on its start-up that can be used to your advantage. While this would generally be a downside because it essentially tells your opponent what attack you’re charging up, you can trick enemies into mistiming their sidesteps by evasion canceling with this type of sequence:

Cross-Slash charge > evasion cancel left/right > Slashing Blow

Your foe may hear and see your initial Cross-Slash animation and instinctively sidestep, allowing you to punish them with a quick Slashing Blow.

Meteorain

Cloud launches a series of meteors into the sky that sequentially crash down in a linear shockwave pattern, laying waste to enemies before him.

Meteorain is a ranged HP Attack finisher with a relatively long cast time. It doesn’t deal any up-front Bravery damage, so it’s geared strictly to inflicting HP damage or finishing off enemies from a distance.

Its area of effect is relatively large, and it’s an excellent move to use on groups of foes, potentially devastating the entire enemy team if they’re grouped together, or if you can capitalize on a teammate’s crowd-controlling attack.

While it’s not an easy HP Attack to connect, it boasts superb vertical tracking upon cast release, making it a great ranged attack for high-verticality maps.

Meteorain is comparable to Terminal Vortex in terms of usage, but its range is noticeably shorter. And because it’s an HP Attack, it doesn’t provide guaranteed follow-up damage for nearby teammates looking to capitalize on your hits (since HP Attacks put enemies in an invincible state).

Charging up Meteorain results in a longer shockwave, with a charge time similar to Terminal Vortex and other Bravery Attacks.

Cherry BLossom

Cloud shows off his abilities and manifests a visibly intense energy around his target. After he gathers sufficient power, Cloud unleashes a devastating tri-elemental attack consisting of lightning, ice, and fire.

Cherry Blossom cannot be cast without a maximum charge, which takes around four seconds total. It’s an all-or-nothing attack and one of the most difficult HP Attacks to use effectively, due to its long cast time and obvious telegraph. Furthermore, you can’t naturally evasion cancel it during charge (although you can simply stop charging it to regain your mobility).

It’s not without its strengths, though. Cherry Blossom doesn’t have a range limit; regardless of distance, Cherry Blossom fires directly wherever the target is on the battlefield. With this HP Attack equipped, you can potentially destroy any opponent in the game from anywhere on the field, provided you can find the breathing room to spare the four seconds it takes to cast. With Limit Break active, its charge time is cut down to around two seconds, so it may be preferable to save your EX Skill solely to speed up Cherry Blossom.

While it’s a highly telegraphed attack, it’s also unguardable (being an HP Attack), and if the enemy isn’t actively dashing or sidestepping upon cast completion, they’re likely to be hit.

Omnislash

Cloud lunges at his target with a singular slash, then overpowers the enemy with an elaborate flurry of strikes, eventually ending the sequence with a rising blade into a powerful downward cut.

Omnislash is a straightforward HP Attack that deals a high amount of Bravery damage up front. It’s an attack designed with one purpose—to kill anyone in range.

There are two distinct versions of Omnislash: one without Limit Break active and one with. Without Limit Break, Omnislash is a close-range, five-hit combo that deals roughly 150 up-front Bravery damage. With Limit Break active, its range increases dramatically, and it becomes a 10-hit combo dealing almost 500 Bravery damage.

Omnislash may seem identical to Cross-Slash, but there are significant differences that may determine how you use them. Omnislash does not force its combo on whiff, so if you miss the initial slash, you can quickly evasion cancel away; whereas with Cross-Slash, the remaining strikes are forced on a miss. Omnislash without Limit Break has a much shorter range than Cross-Slash as well.

Omnislash isn’t chargeable like Cross-Slash is; its effect is only upgraded by activating Limit Break, so in many cases, it’s not as versatile as Cross-Slash.

Its strength in conjunction with Limit Break can’t be overstated. For 20 seconds while Limit Break is active, you become a critical threat to any foe within mid-range. Not only is your range increased drastically, but you can essentially finish off max-HP targets when your Bravery value is about 3100 since Omnislash does over 400 up front.

EX Skill Breakdown

Limit Break

With an intensified willpower, Cloud reveals an untapped strength that augments all of his combat abilities.

Limit Break is a Cloud-exclusive buff that persists for 20 seconds (with a 60-second recast time). While it’s active, Cloud’s attacks are enhanced in various ways. Cross-Slash, Meteorain, and all chargeable Bravery Attacks have their charge times reduced by half. Additionally, certain HP Attacks gain specific benefits, such as dramatically increased range, reduced charge time, and higher damage. For details on enhancements, see the preceding “HP Attack Breakdown” section.

Generally, how Limit Break should be used depends on your equipped HP Attack. Limit Break with Omnislash transforms you into a close-range killing machine, while Limit Break with Cherry Blossom makes you a massive mortar cannon. Keep this in mind when choosing your HP Attack.

Battle Plan

Your primary strategy as a vanguard is to set up your teammates for success while protecting them from assassins and other vanguards. Cloud’s move set is geared slightly more toward offense than defense, so use the threat of your strong mid-range attacks accordingly. Cloud’s footspeed and dash speed aren’t stellar, so going gung ho and looking for one-on-ones should take a back seat to a strength-in-numbers approach in most cases.

Fortunately, Cloud has access to an incredibly effective projectile that fosters this type of team play. His airborne +  (Terminal Vortex) provides a threat from a distance you can use without committing to an unsafe melee attack. It’s a crucial element in your arsenal, as it gives you and your teammates cover fire for follow-up attacks, and if you can score a hit with it on an enemy or two, your teammates can dash in to capitalize on its hit stun with their own attacks. In three-on-three standoff situations, you can usually get away with fully charging up Terminal Vortex to increase its effective range.

In terms of skirmishes, Cloud is a powerful duelist whose strengths shine in small areas with low verticality. His thrust attacks cover a large horizontal range, with most of his sword attacks having a built-in gap-closing effect. Grounded/airborne  (Sonic Break/Slashing Blow), grounded +  (Climhazzard), and dashing  (Cyclone Rush) all have a pre-attack lunge for quickly catching up to and punishing fleeing foes. Unlike Sephiroth’s neutral , none of Cloud’s Bravery combos have “force combo” properties, so it can be dangerous to whiff your attacks. Use them deliberately and carefully. If you miss, remember to evasion cancel them to keep your movement fluid.

Although you won’t get away with running up to enemies and nailing them with max-charge Bravery Attacks, your ability to charge and evasion cancel your charge-up animation plays a large role in combat. The threat of your charged-up moves changes the way your opponents react, so take advantage of this by threatening the range of these moves and then evasion canceling them to provoke a defensive reaction that you may be able to exploit.

Cloud’s various HP Attacks give him some flexibility. You can take a lethal approach with Omnislash, banking on your Limit Break to amplify Omnislash’s damage and range to give you an assassin-like lethality. Or you can take a more reserved approach with Meteorain, a chargeable ranged attack with the potential to devastate several clumped-up enemies at once. Cross-Slash is a great close-range unguardable attack for punishing guard-prone opponents. It’s chargeable, so you can dramatically increase its range, or evasion cancel in order to bait out reactionary missteps from enemies.

To maximize your efficiency with Limit Break, plan out its use with your HP Attack in mind so you can put out the most damage during its 20-second duration. For instance, Cherry Blossom becomes a viable “infinite range” attack while Limit Break is active, with its charge time reduced by half (from four seconds to two). A sample strategy implementing Cherry Blossom is to build enough Bravery before activating your Limit Break, then wreak havoc on the battlefield by launching Cherry Blossoms on unsuspecting enemies from across the map.

On the surface, Cloud can seem like a basic, no-nonsense vanguard character with simple sword-based attacks. While he’s fundamentally easy to play, his charging mechanic, along with his move-altering Limit Break buff, makes him a difficult character to fully master. Overall, he has a versatile toolkit that revolves around strong mid-range attacks (like Slashing Blow and Climhazzard) that are complemented with long-range projectiles (like Terminal Vortex and Meteorain).

Gallery

Appearance

Weapons