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Most players tend to be in agreement that Final Fantasy 7 Remake’s battle system is one of Square Enix’s best in the modern era. It takes the classic FF7’s turn-based fun and transforms it into an action hybrid without going so far as to feel like something too divorced.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirthdoes precisely what we’d hoped it would. It treats Remake’s combat as a baseline from which to blossom into something more diverse, more complex, and ultimately, more rewarding. But it can be a lot to take in. Here are several ways to stand your ground in Rebirth’s sprawling world.
Build Your Major Synergy Attacks Quickly And Effectively
FF7 Rebirth prioritizes the budding friendships (or more) between Cloud and his team of globetrotters. The developers have cleverly incorporated much of this into the battle system.
The clearest sign of this is through the majorSynergy attacks involving two party members teaming togetherto deliver a massive blow.
These have even been given their ownspot on the Command Bar, thoughmore often than not it will be grayed outand unavailable. There is a relatively swift way to change this to your advantage. Look forcharacter abilities with ‘pips’at the forefront of their descriptions.
The bars you’re seeing are in reference tothe number of bars you’ve filled for a major Synergy attack. The trick is toswitch between party members filling their respective barsuntil you have opened up an opportunity to use one.
Not every character ability sports one of these pip-like bars. In particular,elemental attacksavailable across the party’s foliosdo not raise the Synergy bar. That doesn’t mean don’t use those - they’re plenty helpful - but don’t expect them to boost this aspect of the combat system.
Treat Your Minor Synergy Attacks As Constant Extensions
What do we mean by constant extensions? Well, think about how these’minor Synergy attacks’are utilized.HoldingR1while in combat brings upa separate menu for Synergy attacksthat can beused at any timeso long as you have the right party members with you.
It can be fairly easy to fall into treating these as secondary considerations. Instead,use them routinelyso long as the situation calls for them. There are quite a few, andthey don’t even require ATB charges.
A good example of a helpful Synergy attack to rely upon on the regular isCounterfire, which turns the tables whenblocking againstflying enemies, counterattacking their pesky aerial strikes. There’sno reason not to use this to your heart’s content(and your party’s good health).
Don’t forget to assign these as you’d like to theR1 hotbarfor Synergy attacks. For a while, you’ll only have a few, but a fair number unlock further on.
Remember To Equip Weapon Abilities
Square has changed the heck out of theweapon upgrade systemfrom FF7 Remake. Rather than accessing a series of circular boards and spending SP over time,your weapons will level up in accordance to the total number of SP that you have acquiredover time.
In other words, it’s automated.Somewhat. You’llgain stat boosts, situational perks, and even special abilities, but while certain stat boosts (like Attack +17, for instance) are automatically applied,you must set all other weapon abilities manually.
You also have alimited number of slotsfor equippable weapon abilities, thusallowing you to customize your charactersto your combat preferences. Weapons eventually do gain additional slots, but you’ll never have nearly enough for everything.
Here’s the thing - whenever you equip a new weapon,you must go to the Equipment and Materia Screenand take a moment toequip weapon abilities yourself. It’s an easy thing to forget, and you’re lowering your overall power by doing so!
Magic Combination Materia Grows More Slowly
FF7 Rebirth introduced severalMagic Materia that combine two elemental spell Materias into one, which sounds like a terrific deal. And don’t get us wrong. It is.Fire and Iceis the first one you’ll find, viaChadley’s Materia creation screen, and it gives you both Fire and Blizzard.
You’re expanding your arsenal significantly, and you’ll only get stronger as they level up into the-ra and -agavariants. But there’s a catch.Combo Materia grows at a reduced rate, so you won’t be seeing those second- and third-tier spells for a long time with them.
Consider whether the tradeoff is worth it for you.There’s no right or wrong answerhere, but our advice is touse combo Materiaandthe regular versions, so that you’re able to cast that Firaga much earlier than you would by relying upon your other option.
Don’t Get Discouraged When Summon Fights Overwhelm You
Each region features a legendary Summon monsterto acquire, and as you locate and interact withshrines, you’ll unlockincreasingly weaker bouts against them.
For example,acquiring Titan can be done at once, butfinding all three shrines gives you three decreasingly mighty battles to choose between. This is all well and good, but you’ll need to be exceptionally talentedat Rebirth’s combat tobeat the strongest versions remotely early.
In fact, even the version of Phoenix that’s one stage lower than its maximum might gave us a ton of grief when we first unlocked it.
These higher-tier variants aredesigned for you to tackle later, as you level up and gain key abilities. In other words, it’s not you. It’s them. Feel free to try them out immediately, and if you win, wow - fantastic! But they’retough, so don’t obsess until you’re too frustrated.
Barret’s Your Physical Tank, And Red’s Your Magic Tank
It won’t be obvious at first, butRed XIIImakes for an excellent character when dealing withmagic-centric foes. He gets ahuge boost to Magic Defensearound the midgame via hisfolio. It’s a35-point raise, and when it happens, he instantly becomes your bestmagic tankfor quite some time.
Barret’s physical tanking prowesswas well-documented in the first game, with abilities likeSteelskinmaking their return. But withabilities that double as defense buffs, and such plentiful HP, he’s better suited than ever for this role.
Assess Is Key To Success
There’s a far larger number ofenemy-specific pressure tacticsthis time around.Most foes have certain methods, and many will tear you apart if you don’t learn them. So don’t just useAssessto fill your enemy log for newEnemy Skill unlocks.
Make it a point toalways deploy Assess on new enemies, and react accordingly. Someaerial monstersare pressured when youdodge a special attack, while Flans partly follow the conventionalelemental attack to pressuretactic, but they graduallygain resistanceif you spam the same elements.
Knowing when to mix things up for them is vital to sinking their substantial defense. Plenty of other scenarios exist, so Assess the situation!
Buff And Debuff
Classic Final Fantasy 7 staple Materia likeBarriermakes its triumphant return in Rebirth, and spells from other games, likeEmpowerment (which imbues Attack-boosting Bravery and Magic-boosting Faith)have been ported over to offer even further options.
FF7 Rebirth will be much easier, especially onDynamic and Harddifficulties, if youequip buffing spellsas often as you may. Along similar lines,debuffs that reduce your rival’s power can be a lifesaveragainst the mightiest fiends. Some enemiesareimmune, but a surprising number of them aren’t!
