Uploaded March 2015 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
This is a quick technical demonstration of the Jenova Vector fight, mostly to show how to handle all the mechanics and some strategies that use what you'll probably have in your inventory (basic healing items + unmissable Materia). It was recorded to give people a hand if they get stuck here.
[-Jenova Vector-]
HP: 9250
Weak to Earth & Holy, Resistant to Wind, Immune to Gravity
Can be Slowed
[-Vector Nodes-]
HP: 1300 each
Weak to Gravity & Wind, Immune to Earth
All status ailments except Stop & Paralysis can be inflicted
Like the original boss, her AI is phase-based and she'll have four rounds of attacks after which she has a long 'cooldown' phase.
Phase 1: Red Ray
Physical attack, single-target, that drain damage as HP; Back-row, Barrier, and the Defend command can reduce the damage. Used 1-3 times per round.
Phase 2: Bacteriophage
Physical attack, hits all, can inflict Poison. Used 1-2 times per round.
Phase 3: Nucleic Laser
Attacks MP, single-target, used 1-3 times per round.
Phase 4: Transducer + Vector Storm
Transducer, single-target, inflicts Death Sentence. Vector Storm hits all and can inflict Slow. After this phase, Vector enters a long cooldown phase where she is passive.
After two cycles, Vector will spawn two Nodes that grant a physical and magical immunity to the boss. Killing these will lift the corresponding immunity (one Node is physical-based, the other magical-based).
[Set-up]
I went with a balanced team of a fast caster (Red XIII), a support (Cloud), and a physical hitter (Tifa). Red XIII has Earth equipped and Sense (nothing else). Cloud on the other hand has Barrier + All, Restore + All, and Choco/Mog. Tifa has Heal + Elemental (which gives her weapon the Holy element for 2x damage against Vector), Gravity + All, and Shiva (which will inflict Slow 100% in v1.3).
First thing going into the fight is to gauge where Vector will start in her attack pattern. She will either begin with the red lasers or with Vector Storm. If she starts with Storm then she will enter the cooldown phase afterwards, which gives you time to get yourself healed and set up. In either case, you want to apply Barrier to any front row party members (or use Barrier + All) while healing with either Cure or Potions if anyone has dipped below 300HP.
First attack should be Shiva to inflict Slow on Vector; this gives you a slight edge in turns, especially if you use Haste + All on your party (I didn't have this equipped). After that, the physical hitter attacks normally while the caster lobs Quake at Vector. The support does not attack, and instead micro-manages the party's HP, ATB, and status. The Support can use Defend if nothing needs doing at the time in order to potentially reduce damage further.
As the fight goes on, your party's MP will be getting quite low. Keep track of how many cycles Vector has been through, as she'll spawn the Nodes at the end of the 2nd Cycle and you want to be able to deal with them efficiently. An Ether can be handy.
When the Nodes spawn, I hit them with Demi + All for a good chunk of damage, following up with a Demi on the Node that is resistant to magical damage (this Node will take less damage from the Summon I'm about to use). Then I hit them with Choco/Mog, a strong Wind-based Summon that will either kill them outright or at least leave them heavily damaged and Confused.
When the Nodes die, they'll lift the physical and magical immunity from Vector. After this, the fight continues as before until Vector is killed. One special thing to note is that when she has the protection of the physical Node, the drain effect from the red lasers is negated to 0 so she can't heal while Nodes are active.
As you see in the vid, it's possible to kill Vector before the Nodes spawn but it's common to see them on the first attempt of the fight. There's also a 'secret' relating to this boss fight, but that there is a secret :I
This is a quick technical demonstration of the Jenova Vector fight, mostly to show how to handle all the mechanics and some strategies that use what you'll probably have in your inventory (basic healing items + unmissable Materia). It was recorded to give people a hand if they get stuck here.
[-Jenova Vector-]
HP: 9250
Weak to Earth & Holy, Resistant to Wind, Immune to Gravity
Can be Slowed
[-Vector Nodes-]
HP: 1300 each
Weak to Gravity & Wind, Immune to Earth
All status ailments except Stop & Paralysis can be inflicted
Like the original boss, her AI is phase-based and she'll have four rounds of attacks after which she has a long 'cooldown' phase.
Phase 1: Red Ray
Physical attack, single-target, that drain damage as HP; Back-row, Barrier, and the Defend command can reduce the damage. Used 1-3 times per round.
Phase 2: Bacteriophage
Physical attack, hits all, can inflict Poison. Used 1-2 times per round.
Phase 3: Nucleic Laser
Attacks MP, single-target, used 1-3 times per round.
Phase 4: Transducer + Vector Storm
Transducer, single-target, inflicts Death Sentence. Vector Storm hits all and can inflict Slow. After this phase, Vector enters a long cooldown phase where she is passive.
After two cycles, Vector will spawn two Nodes that grant a physical and magical immunity to the boss. Killing these will lift the corresponding immunity (one Node is physical-based, the other magical-based).
[Set-up]
I went with a balanced team of a fast caster (Red XIII), a support (Cloud), and a physical hitter (Tifa). Red XIII has Earth equipped and Sense (nothing else). Cloud on the other hand has Barrier + All, Restore + All, and Choco/Mog. Tifa has Heal + Elemental (which gives her weapon the Holy element for 2x damage against Vector), Gravity + All, and Shiva (which will inflict Slow 100% in v1.3).
First thing going into the fight is to gauge where Vector will start in her attack pattern. She will either begin with the red lasers or with Vector Storm. If she starts with Storm then she will enter the cooldown phase afterwards, which gives you time to get yourself healed and set up. In either case, you want to apply Barrier to any front row party members (or use Barrier + All) while healing with either Cure or Potions if anyone has dipped below 300HP.
First attack should be Shiva to inflict Slow on Vector; this gives you a slight edge in turns, especially if you use Haste + All on your party (I didn't have this equipped). After that, the physical hitter attacks normally while the caster lobs Quake at Vector. The support does not attack, and instead micro-manages the party's HP, ATB, and status. The Support can use Defend if nothing needs doing at the time in order to potentially reduce damage further.
As the fight goes on, your party's MP will be getting quite low. Keep track of how many cycles Vector has been through, as she'll spawn the Nodes at the end of the 2nd Cycle and you want to be able to deal with them efficiently. An Ether can be handy.
When the Nodes spawn, I hit them with Demi + All for a good chunk of damage, following up with a Demi on the Node that is resistant to magical damage (this Node will take less damage from the Summon I'm about to use). Then I hit them with Choco/Mog, a strong Wind-based Summon that will either kill them outright or at least leave them heavily damaged and Confused.
When the Nodes die, they'll lift the physical and magical immunity from Vector. After this, the fight continues as before until Vector is killed. One special thing to note is that when she has the protection of the physical Node, the drain effect from the red lasers is negated to 0 so she can't heal while Nodes are active.
As you see in the vid, it's possible to kill Vector before the Nodes spawn but it's common to see them on the first attempt of the fight. There's also a 'secret' relating to this boss fight, but that there is a secret :I
