Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII/Chapter 5 - Manor of Despair

The Sewers
The Chapter opens up with Vincent in the sewers of the Shinra Mansion, where he soon discovers that he isn't alone. The mission 'Eliminate the Sahagin!' comes up. These enemies are great if you like gil farming - kill off as many as you can (they're very easy to kill, they run right at you, and their weak spot is where the auto-aim tends to aim), then get yourself killed before the next save point. Choose gil over experience and presto - you have a lot of gil. Of course, this will bring your final rank at the end of the chapter down.

Kill the Sahagin in the area you started off in, then go down the hall, collecting items and shooting Sahagin as you go. Also note that some of the side chimney-like bits from the hall contain Sahagin that jump down on you when you try and get the item - it gives you a fright the first time, but they're pretty easy to defeat - they just have the element of surprise.

Beside the laser gate after the hall is a ladder, climb up it to get a mako point and jump back down. Now you are faced with a mage-like Sahagin who throws something at you. Rather than finding out what it is, shoot him - only to find that some more Sahagin minions have come to jump you. Kill them off, an easier way to do this is to back off and let them charge you, and pick them off one at a time. Kill them all to get the Card Key.

Todo: Complete

Boss: Black Widow
There are several ways of bringing this boss down, and all of them are pretty equal in terms of best strategy. One way is by using a limit breaker and give far worse than you get - at least you'll save on bullets. Another way you can do this, which is slightly superior in terms of tactics, is to shoot it from afar. Keep a lock on it and strafe around it, all the while shooting it - it's recommended that you use the machine gun or Cerberus with the normal barrel, as while the rifle does superior damage, its reload time is very slow, which is not good when fighting the Black Widow.

Most of this boss' attacks aren't that bad, except for the laser. You can tell that the laser is about to go off by the glow at the tip of the Widows' weapon, so dodge and duck to keep away from it - it can deal some serious damage.

Sometimes the Widow climbs up walls and onto the ceiling, all the while shooting at you - keep shooting it for dear life, as if you knock it down, it'll be on its back and its belly is its major weak spot. It's recommended that specifically for this you change to a rifle with your most powerful barrel - you might not get that many shots in, but every shot you give to it while it's bearing its weak spot is a critical hit. In other words, loads of damage for the Widow.

Eliminate the Sahagin!

 * There are 45 Sahagin in this chapter.
 * In the Japanese version there are 33.

Sneak Past the DeepGround Soldiers!

 * To complete this mission successfully, you have to get past every single DeepGround soldier without allowing any of them to see you.
 * If you're feeling particularly destructive, sometimes upon climbing up ladders, there are explosive barrels at the top which you can roll down onto the DG soldiers.

Collect the Omega Report Files!

 * There are 4 Omega Reports in this level.
 * 1) The first one you get immediately after the scene.
 * 2) In the west area on your map there is two rooms that are interconnected, the Omega Report is in the corner.
 * 3) After the cave and you've reached the Shinra Mansion, search the circular room to the west on your map.
 * 4) On the bottom floor, head to the narrow corridor on your left, keep going on until you get to a room - the Omega Report should be in the corner.

Deactivate the Mines!

 * There are 4 mines in total.