Best early materia loadout
FF7 Rebirth's combat falls apart fast if you ignore materia slotting. Here's the loadout to copy on your first run — Arekkz Gaming runs almost the same setup through to the endgame.
The non-negotiables
- Cure — slot it on Aerith, period. She has the highest magic stat and the spell scales hard with her.
- Element materia (Fire / Ice / Lightning / Wind) — split across your party. The combined-element materia (Fire + Ice on one slot) is rare but doubles your coverage; grab any you find.
- Time materia — once it levels up you get Haste. Cast Haste on your active character before any tough fight; it speeds up ATB charging massively.
- Enemy Skill — learn enemy abilities by completing Chadley's combat Intel. The materia also boosts a bunch of stats per level. Slot it once and never unslot.
The two auto-materia everyone misses
- Auto-Weapon — non-controlled party members will use weapon abilities you've put in their shortcuts. Without this, your AI teammates basically just auto-attack.
- Auto-Unique Ability — Tifa builds Unbridled Strength, Barret builds Overcharge, etc., automatically when you're not driving them. Equip on every party member.
Mid-game upgrade
- Magnify unlocks around the middle of the game. Link it to a buff (Haste) or an element to apply it to your whole party / hit multiple enemies at once. Pair with Element on an armor slot to absorb matching magic — endgame defining.
Stat materia (don't skip)
- HP Up / MP Up / Magic Up / Strength Up are weak at level 1, but at higher levels the bonus is large. Slot them early and let them cook.
If stuck: if your AI teammates feel useless, you forgot Auto-Weapon and Auto-Unique Ability. Crack open the materia menu (touchpad) and slot them on every character now.