Note i say weak, though i am still only on disc 1 my strongest characters, Cloud (LV 18), Barrette (LV 17), and Red XLL (LV 18) are far too weak for me to continue, i've spent over an hour running randomly looking for battles before i can continue threw this sandy pathway where i fight a huge King cobra that is perfectly capable of killing my characters in 2 hits. I dont have too much patience when it comes to this type of stuff in video games, and i'm not even sure what level i should be at before i dare try attacking that thing again but untill i do i am stuck at Midgar area.

incase your wondering, since it may be important for you to know this to help me better my Materia for each character is

Cloud: Quake, Bio

Barrette: Quake, Bolt, Ice

Red XLL: Cure, Fire.

Anything else i will have to get back at you (except for CLoud's HP which is 666 -_-.......)

So what do you recomend me doing so i can level up FAST? and also what level should i be at to fight the oversized serpent? thank you for helping!

I don't think you're supposed to fight that cobra. The only one I can think of is in that marsh. Go to the Chocobo farm in Kalm and rent a Chocobo to outrun it. I think that's it. It's been a while

Rare Candy - its the only way.

Yeah your not supposed to try to fight that thing until after you get the airship. Come back in a disc or two, until then outrun it with a chocobo

You don't fight the damn thing, yet.

I had a heck of a time trying to recruit Red 90, so I just stuck with Red 13.

"On Disc 1, upon reaching Junon, the player can pull an alarm in the tunnel that leads to the Junon Underwater Reactor, which will allow the player to fight strong enemies from the start of Disc 2, which yields high EXP and AP, as well as high Gil. This method is recognized as a sound way to grind in any solo character challenge."

http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Level_Grinding

@wmaustin55: Wow, i never even thought of that. Thanks for hte info tis greatly appreciated.

Yeah, they say something about how that thing is in the way and how you'll need to figure out a way past it. You might have zoned out during that bit or something, so that explains why you got stuck. If you don't want to waste time getting a chocobo you can run out into the swamp and when the shadow of it gets close to you pause the game and save. When you reload he will be on the other side of the swamp and you should be able to make it before he reaches you. Make sure you start your dash across at a point that is relatively close to the land on the other side in order to get it done faster. Otherwise you might have to save and reload twice.

@Theworldbreaker said:

@wmaustin55: Wow, i never even thought of that. Thanks for hte info tis greatly appreciated.

Yeah you're supposed to go to the Chocobo ranch, get the summon materia, some greens and catch a chocobo because it can outrun the Serpent. You're not supposed to be able to beat it at this point.

In play-throughs, I have been able, but if I can remember correctly, it's not even worth the XP. I remember grinding a lot in the Slums with Aeris, fighting those Hell Houses. I got Cloud up to his 2nd Level 2 limit break there. Then grind a lot around the outskirts of Midgar since you get a few Enemy Skill abilities. Did you steal the better sword for Cloud in the Shinra tower?....god I've played this game wayyyy too many times haha.

I picked up this game again last summer. I decided I wanted to beat the Midgar Zolom and learn the enemy skill Beta the first time I encountered him. I used the strategy in this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_FUCyFclBw

Be sure to read the uploader's comments.

If this was an Endurance Run, people would be ripping Ryan and Patrick apart for fighting the Zolo (Zola? Zala? Whatever) monster.

barrette sounds hot

@subsalicylate said:

I picked up this game again last summer. I decided I wanted to beat the Midgar Zolom and learn the enemy skill Beta the first time I encountered him. I used the strategy in this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_FUCyFclBw

Be sure to read the uploader's comments.

Dude, yes! Now I remember, that is why you fight him, if your level is high enough. Beta is the best damaging attack for a long time if you can get it.

Why is this on the quests forum?

@BoG said:

I had a heck of a time trying to recruit Red 90, so I just stuck with Red 13.

I just got that. Nice job sir.

@yoshimitz707: I couldn't think of any other fourm and this i felt fit it best

You know, I'm actually replaying FF7 right now, and when I got to that part I thought: "You know, I bet if I was playing this for the first time now, I don't think I would have known I was supposed to get a Chocobo." Shows how game design has changed.

@Theworldbreaker said:

@yoshimitz707: I couldn't think of any other fourm and this i felt fit it best

We'll have to get a mod to fix it. The "Quests" forum is for the site quests. This should be in the Final Fantasy VII forum.

@Dtat said:

You know, I'm actually replaying FF7 right now, and when I got to that part I thought: "You know, I bet if I was playing this for the first time now, I don't think I would have known I was supposed to get a Chocobo." Shows how game design has changed.

Well, technically, the Chocobo Ranch can be skipped altogether. So "supposed" is probably the wrong word, since you can advance the story without going there. At this point, I've played through that part so many times, that I don't know how I would react to something in this game in reference to playing it the first time. Hell, when I first got this game, I didn't own a memory card and would play up to this part every Friday after school, turn it off when I reached the Chocobo Ranch and do it all over again Saturday.

@gla55jAw said:

@Dtat said:

You know, I'm actually replaying FF7 right now, and when I got to that part I thought: "You know, I bet if I was playing this for the first time now, I don't think I would have known I was supposed to get a Chocobo." Shows how game design has changed.

Well, technically, the Chocobo Ranch can be skipped altogether. So "supposed" is probably the wrong word, since you can advance the story without going there. At this point, I've played through that part so many times, that I don't know how I would react to something in this game in reference to playing it the first time. Hell, when I first got this game, I didn't own a memory card and would play up to this part every Friday after school, turn it off when I reached the Chocobo Ranch and do it all over again Saturday.

Well I guess you COULD get past the Zolom, but I think they really had getting a chocobo in mind when designing it.

Also that sounds terrible! It reminds me of when I would rent Ocarina of Time from the video store, never with the same save on it. Imagine trying to get through the Water Temple as the very first temple you do!

When I played the game for the first time, I figured out that I could get past the marsh without fighting the Zolom by riding a chocobo, but I still decided to level up enough to beat him and learn Beta before I moved on. I did my grinding right by the ranch. I didn't know about the strategy employed in the youtube video I linked above, so it took me a long time.

By the way, you can get past the marsh without fighting the Zolom or using a chocobo.

Just wait for the shadow of the Zolom to be far away and make a run for it. When the shadow gets really close to you, enter the menu and save your game. Then load that save. You'll start in the same place in the marsh, but the Zolom with be farther away, giving you enough time to finish your dash across.

I think that it is possible to just barely make it across the marsh before the Zolom gets to you without doing this save-load trick, but you have to time it perfectly.

@Brendan said:

If this was an Endurance Run, people would be ripping Ryan and Patrick apart for fighting the Zolo (Zola? Zala? Whatever) monster.

Midgar Zolom

You're not supposed to fight it. You just need to outrun it on a chocobo. You can also outrun it on foot if you time it perfectly. For a greater challenge it is possible to beat him even on your level, but I don't recommend it on a first playthrough.