superaielman was ranting about Hojo for some unknown reason recently at me, and there's a cool
Enemy Mechanics FAQ nowadays with disassembled data & formulas, so a somewhat updated Hojo entry, + a sorta plotty yet faily other end-of-Disc 2 boss. Stealing Meeplelard's format as a base. Warning: this is totally based on the mechanics guide, not off actual in-game testing.
It's FF7, we all know this, but obligatory reminder that your power level is rather variable based on how much cool stuff you're using/abusing. You can quite reasonably have at the end of Disc 2, a Mystile, 2 Ribbons (trivializes Hojo beyond belief, although also perma-missable), 2x Cut Materia, Contain Materia, & various powerful Summon materias. If you're being a bit of a completionist, you can also have some ultimate weapons (at the cost of 0 materia growth) & various broken Enemy Skills (Magic Hammer & Big Guard most notably). Your call on how much of this to bake into party stats.
Myself, I'll be assuming 5000 average PC damage = 15000 party damage = 0.4 boss PCHP. HP+ materia is storebought on Disc 1 and totally awesome so I'd assume average party HP of ~6000 or so. I also personally would assume back row damage for physicals thanks to most of the party being mages + Long Range materia for any short-rangers, although I could see an argument for perhaps 1/3 front row, 2/3 back row.
Proud Clod"We will be broadcasting your miserable deaths live on national television."
(Scarlet & Heidegger are inside)
Fights with Jamar Armor. Jamar Armor doesn't get actions, merely affects what Proud Clod's moveset is by its presence or absence.
HP: 60000 (1.60 PCHP)
MP: 320
Defense: Good ( takes ~20% less from physicals than average)
Magic Defense: Good ( takes ~35% less from magic than average)
Speed: 88, "Above Average"
Jamar Armor: 20000 HP (0.53 PCHP), excellent PDef & MDef - ~30% reduction to physicals, ~40% reduction to magic
Big Hand Clash, Wrist Laser, Knee Fire, Knee Blend: 570 FR / 285 BR physical, can sometimes double act. (Despite its animation, Knee Fire is not fire elemental.)
W Machine Gun: 1000 FR / 500 BR physical, can sometimes double act
** Double-attack proc chance on the above moves increases with damage taken: 20% chance @ 80% health or more, 25% chance from 60%-80%, 33% chance from 40-60%, 50% chance from 20-40%, and 100% chance below 20% health.
Materia-jammer: Cast Reflect on an ENEMY (not self), can only use while Jamar Armor is alive. 16 MP
Beam Cannon: 930 magic, full MT. Requires 2 charge turns AND a cooldown turn, i.e. kneel -> charge -> Beam Cannon -> get back up. Can't use unless under 60% max HP. 32 MP.
Comments: Don't you mean Proud Cloud? Anyway... immense scrub, at least if you're inclined to my views on party durability + back row. Watch out for that 12HKO that upgrades to a 6HKO as it gets injured. Proud Clod is genuinely tanky, at least, which lets him beat up Shady, but not much else.
Light.
Hojo"Haw...now let's see how the Mako juice is reacting..."
Hojo has 3 phases. I'd consider this a legal formshift chain myself: it's one continuous battle without even intervening cutscenes or the like, buffs stay up, etc. Only difference from, say, Yunalesca HP phases is the HP buffering effect. YMMV, of course.
Also, all forms have averageish defense. (FF7 Defense / MDefense isn't very potent, Proud Clod is an outlier.)
Hojo:HP: 13000 (0.35 PHCP)
Speed: Wacky
Abilities
Capsule: Summons up the Bad Rap Sample and Poodler Sample. If any are dead, summon replacement(s).
Bad Rap Sample:HP: 11000 (0.29 PCHP)
Speed: Average
Abilities:
Whip: 360 FR / 180 BR physical, 1/4 chance of double act at full health increasing to 1/3 (50-75% health) and 1/2 (<50% health) by current HP.
Evil Poison: 280 FR / 140 BR poison elemental physical, 100% chance of Darkness (???)
Big Fang: 1000 FR / 500 BR, ~75% hit rate
Poodler Sample:HP: 10000 (0.27 PCHP)
Speed: Average
Abilities:
Physical: 430 FR, 215 BR
Fire2: 500 fire damage, used ONLY as a counter... when below 25% of max HP... at a 33% chance... yeah, you'll never see this ever.
Comments: Mechanically, Hojo has two dead allies in this battle and he's merely reviving them over & over, but the flavor seems to be summoning them, so eh. He seems to go first despite a meh listed speed, but his summons certainly won't act until turn 2. Note that you are VERY unlikely to see Evil Poison or Big Fang as the AI script won't use them until its 3rd and 4th turn, and why wouldn't Hojo be long since defeated by then.
Helletic Hojo:Fights with Right Arm & Left Arm. They don't act, their presence or absence merely adjusts what moveset Hojo has.
HP: 26000 (0.69 PCHP)
MP: 200
Speed: Slow
Right Arm: 5000 HP (0.13 PCHP)
Left Arm: 24000 HP (0.64 PCHP)
Abilities:
Pile Banger: 1450 FR / 725 BR physical, only usable while Right Arm is alive. 1/3 chance of double-acting this (1/2 chance of doubleact if Left Arm is dead but Right Arm is alive).
Confu: 60% chance of confusion, 18 MP, only usable with both Arms alive
Bio Gas: 500 magic damage, 100% chance of Poison, only usable with both Arms alive
Sleepel: 72% chance of sleep, 8 MP, only usable while Right Arm is *dead*
Silence: 60% chance of silence, 24 MP, only usable while Left Arm is *dead* and Right Arm is alive
Revive: Revive the Right Arm to full HP.
Comments: Duelers immune to sleep but not Confusion might want to kill the Right Arm over and over. Any ol' crappy MT will do.
Lifeform-Hojo N:HP: 30000 (0.80 PCHP)
MP: 100
Speed: Above Average
Abilities:
Physical: 400 magic damage, 2 MP, 255% Hit Rate
Combo: 4 consecutive hits; each one triggers counterattacks and the like:
** 190 FR / 95 BR physical
** 460 FR / 230 BR physical, 80% chance of poison
** 270 FR / 135 BR physical, 80% chance of darkness (FF7 dark = 1/2 hit rate)
** 610 FR / 305 BR physical, 80% chance of sleep
** Combo Total: 1530 FR / 765 BR physical
Slow(All): Adds slow status, 67% hit rate when MT, 100% hit rate if cast ST (AI will always cast MT vs. a party), 20 MP
Silence: Adds silence status, 60% hit rate, only used as a free counter against Magic or summons, 24 MP
Comments: Unfortunately,
Low Middle, thanks to usual DL inflation of single target status? Atrocious vs. sleep & confusion immunity due to horrible damage, but if you're vulnerable, you risk beating yourself up in phase 2, and getting Sleep soft-locked in phase 3, something that isn't really a threat in-game due to both other party members + limit triggers in the middle of the combo. The Sleep lock isn't perfect, but even if it fails to proc, the Blind may still make it chancy for opposing duelers to take advantage of the opening. Also gets hilariously owned by Fire Emblem lights off counterattacks even if he's doubling thanks to Slow. Might get pushed down to High Light if you hold 1/3 of a Mystile's worth of evasion against him, though, as that slashes both his damage over time and his ability to maintain the sleep-lock.
