Condor's Food Choice - Dreaming of Blue Skies Walkthrough... (2024)

There are plenty of side quests in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and while many of them offer interesting rewards - at the very least Party EXP and character EXP - many also yield greater boons, such as relationship boosts, [Manuscripts], new services, materia, and so on. Few side quests have much in the way of choice, however, and that’s where Dreaming of Blue Skies stands out. Not only does it give you some rare materia and a chance to deepen your bond with Tifa, but you’ll have to pick out lunch for a massive condor! This page will provide a full walkthrough for the quest Dreaming of Blue Skies in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, including strategies for defeating the Mystic Dragon and whether you should pick Cow Meat or Monster Flesh as the Condor’s Food.

How to Start Dreaming of Blue Skies¶

To start this side quest off, you first must have advanced far enough in Chapter 4 to reach Lower Junon and defeat the Terror of the Deep. Once done you’ll need to complete the side quest [When Words Won’t Do] in order to gain access to Crow’s Nest. Once done, ascend to the cliffs overlooking Crow’s Nest to find an old, wheelchair-bound man named Colin - talk to him and this quest will start.

After listening to the condor-watcher bemoan his missing, hungry bird, accept his request, then head to the condor’s hunting grounds. This can be found across the mountains to the west, south and slightly west of Activation Intel 4: Piedmont Tower, and unlike what Colin’s ornithophilic associate said, you do not, in fact, need to have wrangled this region’s Chocobo in order to reach it. That comes a bit later.

How to Catch the Cow¶

When you reach the condor hunting grounds, you’ll find a single cow just chilling out. Approach and you’ll be tasked with sneaking up on the bovine - don’t fret it, you can’t actually succeed, and when the cow runs off, you’ll need to get your Chocobo to sniff out its trail. Now is when you need this region’s Chocobo (check out the linked page if you don’t have it); call the bird, mount it, then hold UP to sniff out the cow’s trail.

Follow the livestock down the road a little to the west until you catch up to the cow, whereupon you’ll have to dismount and dispatch a trio of Ignilisk enemies. After the fight, nature intervenes and your cow will be whisked away by an avian predator - and not the one you wanted! Mount up again and sniff the trail of the poor cow, then follow it northeast into the mountains. Follow the scent trail up, down, then up a cliff, and if the scent trail disappears, be sure to sniff it out again - the encounter at the end won’t trigger unless you follow the scent trail up the third cliff, even if you end up in the right spot. After your party (and your now nervous Chocobo) comments, you should be good to dismount and enter the cavern of the predatory beast.

How to Defeat the Mystic Dragon¶

Enter the cave - ominously named “The Wyrmhole” and you’ll end up fighting the Mystic Dragon that ran away with your steak! This flying menace has two attacks you should watch out for, Tumble Talon, a charging dive, and Flame Breath, a sustained AoE fire attack. Both can deal 500-600 damage and while the latter can be dodged by keeping your distance, the former should be blocked to mitigate or negate damage. Its other attacks generally deal 150-200 damage. Needless to say, having ranged options at your disposal will make this fight easier, and the creature is also weak to wind damage, so spells like Aerora can stack up damage quickly.

Dealing damage is the only way to pressure the Mystic Dragon, so you’re better off building up ATB so you’re ready to pounce when it’s pressured - characters like Cloud and Barret can reliably deal damage to it, and Barret’s Focused Shot is a fine way to seal the deal and stagger your flying foe. If you can charge Tifa’s chi level and unleash Rise and Fall and Omnistrike, there’s a good chance the dragon won’t get back up.

Condor Food Choice: Monster Flesh or Bovine Meat?¶

Vanquish the cow-stealing wyvern and you’ll get a rare choice - do you bring back some Bovine Meat for the Condor, or some Monster Flesh? The rewards are mostly the same in the end, if you bring the Monster Flesh, Colin will note the odd coloration of the meat and the Condor will be somewhat obscured in the photograph taken, resulting in you getting a NIce Photograph. If you take the Bovine Meat, Colin seems happier with the choice, and you get a Well-Composed Photograph at the end. Either way, your relationship with Tifa improves, you get some Warding Materia, 10 Party EXP and 500 EXP.