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Originally introduced in Final Fantasy 13, the stagger system was designed as a way of allowing the party to deal massive damage to enemies after fulfilling certain criteria. Although that game was incredibly controversial, its gameplay systems proved to be influential within the walls of Square Enix, and staggering was brought back in Final Fantasy 7 Remake, then again inFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth.
Learning how to stagger enemies in Rebirth is essential. It’s easy to use brute force in the early hours to kill enemies, but as the narrative rolls on, you’ll encounter foes with mammoth health bars. The only way you’ll do any meaningful damage to them is staggering them for massive attack boosts.
How To Pressure Enemies
Underneath every enemy health bar is aseparate orange gauge. This isthe stagger bar. As you deal damage, it will naturally fill up at a slow pace. However,you can fill the stagger meter at a much faster clip by pressuring opponents.
Pressuring involvesexploiting a particular enemy’s weakness. This can manifest in a number of ways, such asincreased damage taken from the magicof a specific element, beingvulnerable to a particular ability, having apart of their body destroyed, and more. Each enemy type will have its own pressure conditions, so it’s important to pay attention when you encounter new ones for the first time.
The best way to learn how to pressure an enemy isthe use of Assess Materia. One ATB charge later, and you have a full-screen readout of their stats, as well as what conditions have to be met in order to quickly fill up their stagger gauge. You’ll know your efforts have been successful when the enemy’s orange bar expands significantly and “Pressured” appears under it.
Staggering, Explained
Once the stagger bar has finally filled up,the enemy will officially become “staggered”. In this state,they are completely defenseless, allowing you to let loose on them without worry of retribution.
If that wasn’t sweet enough,they also take 160 percent more damage until the meter drains, incentivizing you to save your most devastating abilities for after you fill the stagger gauge. Limit breaks can make short work of even the beefiest bosses when staggered!
You can further increase the damage bonus you receive on a staggered foe with Tifa. Using her Unbridled Strength ability, she can harness her Chi, thenrelease it with increasingly flashy attacks using the Triangle button.
Unleashing these techniques on staggered enemies willincrease the damage multiplier, even exceeding 300 percent (for which you will pop the Staggering Success trophy)! It’s recommended tochannel Tifa’s Chi right before you stagger any enemiesto unleash as much destruction as possible.
As you progress through the game and become more powerful,you may run into quests where you need to pressure or stagger enemies without killing them, and it may be difficult because of how overleveled you are.
However, you can effectivelynerf your power by removing Materia and weapon skillsthat boost your stats, as well asequipping weaker gear. If you need to weaken your magic damage,use the basic abilities that require no MPto cast with your worst magic users.
