♥♥♥♥ the HELLHOUSE

[TE]

damn I'm stuck at hellhouse I can't get past 50% health bar since it continuously goes between invincible mode and unavoidable attack mode. its constant heal →wait ATB bar try to avoid attack ( not possible ) →heal and continue this 30mins until you die

[TE]

worst part of this game is that there is no place enough to level up your characters

[Xelane]

It's a tough fight, for sure.

If it helps, the gimmick is that you need to use the element it's weak against to deal damage and potentially stagger it.

Fire is weak against ice, for example.

[Sin]

Yea, focus on using Level 1 or Level 2 elemental attacks on it, Level 3's will take too long and it will either change elements or attack patterns too quickly for 3's. The color of the windows indicate the element it's utilizing so just use which ever trumps it. Don't use any Elemental Weapon Materia either. Good luck to you.

[Mako]

Originally posted by Xelane:

It's a tough fight, for sure.

Hell House serves the same role Barthandelus did in FF13. Its end of tutorial boss. That's right, OP is failing at tutorial boss.
Every boss before HH checks for one gameplay mechanic, and its usually possible to just bruteforce it. HH checks for all of them simultaneously, just like Barthandelus. Its possible to bruteforce some but not all at once. Have to use at least something. Its only tough if you didnt learn anything at all.

[TE]

somehow managed to clear the game after 2,3 hours. I really hate to do this but I had to search up how to defeat. I think the most difficult part was that I had no Earo magic and the enemy turned constantly into electric mode.

[bunies]

Originally posted by cartel:

somehow managed to clear the game after 2,3 hours. I really hate to do this but I had to search up how to defeat. I think the most difficult part was that I had no Earo magic and the enemy turned constantly into electric mode.

yea i learned that wind magic is one of those things you dont need 90% of the time, but the time you need it if you don't have you are up ♥♥♥♥ creek without a padle

[Blade2k9]

for me the tomberries, the hellhouse spits out, where the problem

[Karmilla]

Originally posted by Blade2k9:

for me the tomberries, the hellhouse spits out, where the problem

If you use Triple Slash with Cloud the moment they drop out, they will die instantly. Works even on Hard.

[Mako]

Originally posted by Karmilla:

If you use Triple Slash with Cloud the moment they drop out, they will die instantly. Works even on Hard.

HH spawns Tonberries only on hard. There is also mechs duo appearing at some point for extra added "juice". Overall its the most buffed boss fight on hard mode compared to its normal counterpart. Its tonberries die in one hit from almost every ability but sometimes you can get carried away and have no ATB when they spawn. This is super dangerous since they dont mess around and use one shot attacks on both party members after just a few seconds.

[Krypto]

Equip both Cloud and Aerith with all four magic elements, then use the opposing element to its status in the fight. Easy Peasy.

[Xengre]

It isn't that bad imo, but it does warrant a proper setup / strategy where many of the other bosses don't require hardly any effort by comparison.

Bio (any tier) will poison and work through its invulnerability with its DoT. It may not be a ton of dmg but it does add up.

As others mentioned aim for opposite elements, preferaably with Cloud having hybrid or magic caster oriented build to help Aerith with the double casting ward.

When possible use Blizarra to cause immense stagger gauge build up and also good dmg, (imo superior to opposite elements except when obviously absorbs ice). In fact, done at the start of the fight can skip the entire first phase as it goes into the cutscene even on hard. As others said tier 3 spells (-aga) tend to be too slow to cast at times and cost a ton of MP (esp on hard) where a proper setup with -ara will already deal near max dmg anyways especially if you Blizzara them into the bonus dmg state. Blizzara deals as much stagger dmg as Blizzaga, too, reinforcing this point. Similar points apply to the other spell elements, too.

I recommend saving your summon for the very late stages of teh fight, especially if you struggle to manage your MP as it will give you that extra lift on dmg output especially if you are also scrambling to heal wasting time doing that so your dmg doesn't further drop off. Stick to non-elemental summons, preferably. Don't spend ATB on their skills, though. They will just randomly attack and do their final finisher.

Use the materia that boosts ability to block, on both as it works on AI too.

On hard you should have a revive materia on both characters and you could focus on only having Aerith cast except when using Blizzara on a arcane ward with both characters. This gives Cloud a lot more MP to simply revive Aerith if she dies due to bad luck / AI fails (normally rare in most fights/bosses but can occur in this drawn out fight).

Elemental on armor + fire (do same for Aerith if on Hard mode) helps deal with the flame attack spin (missiles are not fire sadly) which is especially problematic for the AI and if high level elemental will heal you too. Thunder element Hell House attacks are too easy to dodge so non-issue making it an easy choice.

If Aerith gets her limit break tier 1 do not use it. Stick to pray / chakra (or if not on hard cura/curaga). Her limit will act as a desperate emergency heal granting her i-frames and a guaranteed heavy heal that isn't requiring immediate ATB stocks available.

You can cast barrier / magic barrier / wall on Cloud if you really insist (honestly I just recommend barrier, don't waste MP on the others since only its physical attacks can be an issue as some of them bypass blocking and any other attack is really not a big problem). Enemy mainly targets controlled character, too, so no need to cast on Aerith as you wont be on her much. Haste on Aerith helps further keep you off her if you have it while letting her ATB regenerate readily.

Since Cloud will get focused a lot Chakra is great for this fight.

Originally posted by Blade2k9:

for me the tomberries, the hellhouse spits out, where the problem

Triple Slash / Blade Beam if they spawn on hard depending on build.

For the mechs mentioned by Mako in hard I highly recommend Lightning + Magnify even though you only really benefit from it at the end but it helps seal one of the more annoying points of the fight so they don't perma stagger you which is possible if unlucky.

[cjuk7887]

I fought Hell House for quite some time on hard mode, it is a big jump in difficulty from the previous chapter.

I suspect that if I want all of the scrolls I will have to fight it again and still have enough mp at the end to fight the other side quest bosses. The devs really are evil to make me do this twice :)

My Strategy, much the same as many others here

Give Aerith and Cloud weapons with a self healing boosts and if possible mp regeneration boosts too.
Both also need Revival materia, preferably maxed out
Give Aerith all 4 element materia and magic up materia

Take out Tonberries as soon as they spawn with blade beam

As for the House: At the beginning physical attacks, keep switching between characters and try to flank it, use 'prayer' at every available opportunity
When the house barriers go up elemental magic (Fire <=> Ice , Wind <=> Lightning) is the only way to do significant damage, but only use the level 1 spells because they are fast, the house cant dodge them, use 'prayer' at every available opportunity, be ready for a long drawn out battle

[Mako]

IMO elements gimmick vs HH is only relevant on normal. On hard you should have enough options to not rely on it at all. In this fight I use just lightning on both characters. Yes, you will need to do this fight more than once on hard for 100%. Lightining is chosen for 3 reasons: spawning mechs, hospitality and arms breaking. When HH uses hospitality in phases 2 and 3 it always becomes weak to lightning, a quick zap releases its target. Alternatively you can use Cloud's disorder. Lightning never misses so its a great way to break HH arms when its protected by a barrier, in this state elements dont matter (use Aerith's double cast aura btw).
The key is to stagger fast, not just slowly do damage. For this you have to bombard it with attacks and abilities. For sustainabily cast regen instantly, it helps a lot, you wont have to waste ATB on something that isnt putting pressure on enemy.
Steadfast block on Cloud is a must, each time HH rushes you it will just give you a ton of ATB charge. Dont evade its ground attacks, let it do its thing while you block in punisher mode, any chip damage you get will be offset with regen. Refocus limit break (gives 3 ATB bars) for Cloud is a must, accessory that charges limit while spending ATB on Cloud is a must. Materia that gives ATB for using 3 different abilities on Cloud is a must - rotate between disorder and 2 other attacks. Many players sleep on disorder. Its the best opener by far, instantly closes the gap if used from operator state, has a high chance of putting enemy in pressured state (any mid sized enemy is basically guaranteed to be pressured in 1 strike) and partially refunds ATB making it spamable. Aerith needs to have synergy materia paired with magic for free magic cast each time Cloud uses ATB. With all this you should be able to pressure HH very fast, when that happens spam focused thrust, it builds stagger. When HH starts using shield focus on hands (double casting 2nd tier magic worked best for me), breaking them both makes it super easy to stagger and that basically it.