Sweeper Prototype

An early prototype of the sweeper. Due to a malfunctioning AI system that engineers could never fix, these units were deemed a failure and discarded in the slums...where they live on.
Enemy Intel

The Sweeper Prototype is a mechanical enemy in Final Fantasy VII Remake. It is an abandoned war machine of Shinra Electric Power Company make that now roams the Sector 6 slums. In Chapter 9, "The Town That Never Sleeps", they are fought in the Collapsed Expressway areas Machinery Graveyard (north segment) and Utility Tunnel. In Chapter 13, "A Broken World" and Chapter 14, "In Search of Hope", they are fought in the Old Bypass. They can also be fought in the Shinra Combat Simulator.

Stats[]

Parts[]

Part	Information	Destructible	Regenerates
Left Arm	Can be targeted when arm is glowing red. When destroyed, stagger gauge increases.
Right Arm

Abilities[]

Abilities in italics lack names in-game and, hence, have unofficial names.

= Physical damage

= Magic damage

Ability	Range	Description
Hard Charger	Melee	Releases steam and charges at a target.
Machine Gun	Ranged	Fires 8 shots.
Double Machine Gun	Ranged	Fires 16 shots.
Missile Launcher	Ranged	Fires 5 missiles.
Double Missile Launcher	Ranged	Fires 10 missiles.
Stomp	Melee	Steps on a target, binding them for 4 seconds, followed by another stomp. If the sweeper takes damage equal to 5% of its max HP, or is hit by an ability, it releases the victim.
Fire Blast	Ranged	Sprays Fire from both arms.

Hard Charger.

Fire Blast.

Battle[]

The Sweeper Prototype, despite its name, is a more aggressive and powerful version of the Sweeper. Much like its counterpart, the Sweeper Prototype's main way of attack is rapid-firing against their target, which can be blocked to mitigate damage. It may also use Fire Blast, spraying fire from both arms, which is often used if the player is attacking from the front. Unique to the Sweeper Prototype is its ability to launch missiles that explode on contact and deal massive damage in an area.

The Sweeper Prototype employs a few melee attacks: Hard Charger, where it charges in one direction and deals heavy physical damage and knocks characters out if they're not blocking; and Stomp to jump in the air and crush party members under its feet.

When pressured, its upper body will lay flat on the ground for a few seconds. Its arms can be targeted, and destroying one of them instantly pressure the Sweeper Prototype, making it more susceptible to staggering. When it recovers, however, it is sent into a rampage. Like all the mechanical enemies, the Sweeper Prototype is weak to Lightning.

Strategy[]

The strategy is the same as fighting the regular Sweeper. The player should continuously attack, ideally from behind the Sweeper Prototype, mixing in a magic spell when one ATB charge is available to deal enough damage to pressure it. While casting Thunder won't instantly pressure it, its stagger gauge will raise significantly. Cloud can quickly build ATB while in Punisher Mode, as well using Triple Slash to destroy its limbs faster, and use Focused Thrust to build stagger when the Sweeper Prototype is pressured. When the Sweeper Prototype binds someone under its foot, the player should switch characters and continue attacking, as dealing enough damage will make the Sweeper release its victim.

When it is first encountered, the player has Cloud and Aerith, both good spellcasters. The player can equip both with Lightning Materia and also use Aerith's Arcane Ward. The player can equip the Lightning materia with Elemental Materia on Cloud's weapon.

Hard mode[]

On the hard difficulty, the Sweeper Prototype will use Hard Charger and its missile launcher attacks more often and will turn around faster when the player attacks from behind, and will be even more aggressive when sent in a rampage. Pairing non-active characters with Lightning with Synergy Materia can quickly pressure the Sweeper Prototype while maintaining the offensive. Steadfast Block Materia helps to mitigate the damage from its machine-gun and missile attacks.