Best Aerith weapon — Hojo's lab staff
Aerith's strongest magic-attack weapon — and the one that brings back Ray of Judgment from Remake — is locked in Hojo's Secret Laboratory in Mt Nibel. Easy to miss; almost no one finds it on a first run.
Step-by-step
- Reach the Mt Nibel region.
- Pick up the side quest Lord of the Damned. It triggers from a marker once you're exploring.
- Investigate Mt Nibel Manor. Several fights, a boss, and Hojo lore.
- Complete the quest to unlock Hojo's Exams — a set of VR Missions in the Combat Simulator.
- Complete EVERY one of Hojo's Exam VR Missions. Doing all of them unlocks the door to Hojo's Secret Laboratory at the end of the manor.
- Open the door, enter the lab. Multiple chests inside.
- The purple chest holds Aerith's staff with the highest magic attack stat in the game (and Ray of Judgment as the unique ability).
Why bother
- Highest magic attack for Aerith → all her spells crit harder.
- Ray of Judgment unique ability raises stagger bonus during stagger windows. Combo with Magnify + Element for absurd damage.
- Carries Aerith through all hard-mode VR missions without an upgrade.
Heads up
- Hojo's Exams aren't trivial — they're VR Missions. Bring a leveled materia loadout.
- The lab door does not unlock if you skip even one Exam.
If stuck: if the lab door is sealed, you have an Exam left. Open the Combat Simulator → Hojo's Exams → check for any unticked missions.