I finally pried Gotterdammerung out of Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade's Rank 7 Top Secrets gauntlet, and the reward is exactly as ridiculous as advertised: every battle opens with a full Limit Break gauge. Unlocking it, however, felt like disarming a bomb with dental floss — one wrong materia slot and the whole run detonates in a Mega Flare. This is my spoiler-light, first-person route through the five-round simulator on Hard Mode, plus the Episode INTERmission second copy and the Jan. 22, 2026 Streamlined Progression shortcut that lets you skip the traditional mechanical misery.

Prerequisites: Clear the Chores Before the Gauntlet 🧹

First, finish the main story on any difficulty. That unlocks Chapter Select and Hard Mode, both required for the Chapter 17 simulator route. Then clear every Corneo Colosseum solo and team match in Chapters 9 and 14. Do not miss Aerith's Chapter 9 solo challenge; if you did, replay that chapter through Chapter Select before moving on. I missed it once and spent an evening feeling like a cat that had locked itself in a pantry.

Next, complete Chadley's 20 Battle Intel Reports, all standard Chapter 16 simulator challenges, and every required Hard Mode Chapter 17 challenge. Finally, beat the Rank 6 challenge, Three-Person Team vs. Monsters of Legend. That victory reveals Rank 7: Three-Person Team vs. Top Secrets. No secret handshake, just five consecutive fights and one accessory at the end.

Rank 7: Five Rounds, Zero Shop Breaks

Select Chapter 17 on Hard Mode, speak with Chadley at the simulator's start, and enter the 7-star challenge. It is five consecutive rounds with no traditional shop break, so set your materia before you queue. Here is my efficient-answer cheat sheet:

At minimum, give one caster Magnify + Thundaga for broad Lightning pressure. Put Elemental + Fire on armor for Shiva and Ifrit, and Elemental + Lightning on Cloud or Tifa's weapon for Leviathan and Pride and Joy. Materia slots and spell levels still determine how quickly each stagger arrives, so do not expect a miracle from a level-one spell and a prayer.

Round 4 is the real wall. Bahamut and Ifrit are the two gym bros who show up at your apartment uninvited and insist on spotting your soul. Ifrit appears at a Bahamut health trigger, and Fire-resistant armor makes him manageable, but Mega Flare demands fast Bahamut pressure and disciplined ATB spending. I hoarded ATB like a dragon on a tax refund, and it nearly cost me the run.

Pride and Joy Prototype: Stay Behind, Hit Legs

Use Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith. Keep Cloud or Tifa behind the machine, target its legs, and convert steady hits into Pressure and then Stagger while Aerith supplies healing or Magnify-powered Thunder. Its forward Beam Cannon is far less threatening when your active character stays at the rear instead of face-tanking the chassis.

If Catch grabs a character, switch immediately. Heal with the free character or attack the grabbing arm to force a release. When the boss glows orange for Brute Force, block or dodge laterally rather than retreating in a straight line. Pride and Joy Prototype is basically a vending machine that refuses to accept the correct change — you have to approach it from the right angle, with the right coin, and absolutely no heroics.

Episode INTERmission: Yuffie's Second Gotterdammerung

Clear the Episode INTERmission story once to unlock its Hard Mode, then enter Chapter 2 and select Yuffie & Sonon vs. Top Secrets. The reward is a second Gotterdammerung, with Pride and Joy Mk. 0.5 serving as the final test. Set Yuffie's Elemental Ninjutsu to Lightning and use Sonon's Synergy attacks to pressure from range. The same behind-the-legs discipline applies, but Yuffie's mobility and Sonon's linked attacks make this DLC clear more forgiving than the base-game Rank 7 run. It is less a boss fight and more a choreographed dance where the choreography occasionally throws a robot leg at your face.

The 2026 Shortcut and My Honest Take

If Top Secrets feels overtuned, the Jan. 22, 2026 update adds Streamlined Progression toggles for full HP/MP and 9999 damage. Enable them in the settings to bypass the traditional mechanical struggle and unlock Gotterdammerung; disable them later if you want the normal Hard Mode clear. As of 2026, this is live, so you no longer need to pretend that wiping to Bahamut for four hours is a personality. Streamlined Progression is the game's built-in grandpa mode — less a shortcut than a forklift for your dignity. I used it on a second run, and my pride only whimpered a little.

My final materia shopping list looked like this: Magnify + Thundaga on one caster, Elemental + Fire on armor, Elemental + Lightning on Cloud or Tifa's weapon, plus healing and ATB support. Keep your active character behind Pride and Joy, switch instantly on Catch, and treat Round 4 as the actual final exam. Gotterdammerung is worth it: opening every fight with a full Limit Break gauge is like starting every workday with dessert already on the table. Just do not expect the journey to be elegant. Mine involved three failed runs, one missed Aerith challenge, and a lot of yelling at a robot's knees.

If you have yet to tackle Midgar on PC or want to test your mettle against Pride and Joy at uncapped framerates, you can check out the complete edition over on its official Steam Store Page. Setting up your ideal build is half the fun, whether you are optimizing materia combinations from scratch or jumping straight into Yuffie's standalone chapter.

For those preparing to add the title to their PC library, platforms like LootBar offer a reliable way to pick up game keys and digital gift cards to fund your wallet before diving into the Shinra Combat Simulator. Once you have the game dialed in and your party ready, all that is left is bracing yourself for Round 4 and claiming that coveted accessory.

If you want to stretch your budget further before diving into the simulator, tracking current sales and vendor discounts is well worth the effort. You can browse through FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE INTERGRADE lowest price & CDKey deals to find competitive rates on game keys and digital credit via trusted platforms like LootBar. Getting your copy at the best price leaves you free to focus on what really matters: perfecting that materia build and finally putting Pride and Joy in its place.