While indeed not the most challenging combat in the genre, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth does a fantastic job of making you feel overwhelmingly powerful. It’s both a blessing and a curse, as you’ll find yourself becoming overconfident and making the occasional mistakes. Here are a handful of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth combat tips and tricks to help you through challenging encounters!
How to Excel at Combat Encounters in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
While a ton of fun, it’s a mistake to mash the attack button and hope for the best in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. You can implement tactics and abilities to help win combat encounters with ease!
- Learn when to dodge and when to block. Some attacks, like a charge, will still deal much damage if you block. As such, I recommend dodging out of the way. Conversely, some magical attacks will lock on to Cloud, and you can’t just roll away. It would be best if you blocked to reduce the incoming damage from spells.
- If you’re lucky enough to spot an enemy from a distance before they spot you, always lead with an attack. The ‘First Strike‘ is a powerful way to kick off a battle, and if you have a party, they’ll instantly appear beside you to keep up the pressure. It’s like an ambush!
- Knowing when to swap characters can mean the difference between a successful battle and a failure. For example, use Cloud to deal with close ground foes and a character like Barret to deal with ranged or flying enemies.
- Your combat abilities typically have an animation associated with each one, and some take too long. If you’re activating an ability and it does have a lengthy animation, switch to another character to keep the momentum.
- Use the Assess Materia to discover an enemy’s weakness, then exploit it to fill their Stagger Meter. Once the enemy hits Stagger, they’ll become more susceptible to damage, allowing you to gain the upper hand. At the same time, Staggering an enemy fills your Limit Break!
- Don’t knock the lock on feature! Sadly, I ignored it for most of Remake Intergrade and for an hour into Rebirth. Once you enter a combat encounter, immediately lock on to an enemy to focus on that foe. That’s one less problem to worry about!
Related: How to Get and Use Materia in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
How to Use Spells in Combat
A single spell, whether it’s Fire or Healing, can help turn the tide against your enemies and allow you to walk away from challenging combat encounters. Now, granted, Cloud’s health pool is significantly higher than most enemies in the game, especially in the beginning, but you’ll find that a small group can whittle away at your HP quickly.
To use a spell in combat in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, access the ‘Commands Menu’ in an encounter by hitting ‘X’ on your controller. Select ‘Spells’ from there and choose which one you would like to use.
Tossing out an offensive spell, like Fire or Ice, can help quickly take down weakened enemies in the middle of combat. But if your health is getting low, do not hesitate to pop Healing. Even if you have plenty of Hi-Potions in your inventory, the Healing Materia is effective and worth spending your MP on!
For more Insider Gaming guides, check out Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth: Where to Go in Nibelheim!
