How to Pressure and Beat Cactuars in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

Cactuars were rarely a huge issue in previous Final Fantasy games, but in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, they are downright deadly, even alone. Knowing how to Pressure Cactuars in FF7 Rebirth all but ensures you can beat them no matter how you fight them, as they don’t have much health to back up their enormous damage output.

How to Apply Pressure to Cactuars in FF7 Rebirth

Like most enemies in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, you can learn the Pressure trigger for Cactuars using the Assess materia. When assessed, you’ll learn the only way to pressure a Cactuar is by using an ATB ability on then. The problem? Cactuars are almost always too fast to hit with literally any attack in the game. Even Cloud’s Triple Slash or Red’s spin will whiff a moving Cactuar.

The little green devils’ assessment also says, however, that they are vulnerable when using their abilities. Most often, that ability is either 1,000 or 3,000 Needles — attacks that can quickly melt one of your party members’ health bars. However, if you catch the Cactuar in the second-long windup for any of its moves, you can probably land most ATB abilities that cover ground quickly.

Of course, that’s all well and good, but in my experience, it’s almost better to focus on building their stagger bar with constant attacks and not trying to Pressure them. Cactuars have very low HP and Stagger meters, meaning you won’t need to land too many hits to Stagger them, and even fewer once they’re Staggered, to take them out.

Going for a Pressure on a Cactuar also puts you massively at risk of eating 1,000 or 3,000 Needles, as one of the greatest weapons you have against these enemies is your mobility. Being able to quickly dodge or block incoming damage has saved me far more often than trying to Pressure Cactuars of any size or number. They’re mostly too much of a glass cannon to last against a constant barrage of attacks, so beating them is basically a DPS and button-mash check. I highly recommend winning.

That’s all you need to know about how to Pressure Cactuars in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. It’s not the most straightforward process, but it’s doable if you want to risk it.

For more content on the latest in the Final Fantasy series, check out our FF7 Rebirth guides hub.