It is much easier said than done to pick the ultimate party in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. 6 playable characters in this game can be used interchangeably, and each character has a unique combat style, a very large Folio tree, and their own Synergy attacks.
If you pick the wrong group for a boss battle, you will likely spend 50% of the battle waiting for the stagger bar to go down. However, if you choose the right group, you will experience a fluid cycle of ATB use, capitalizing on an enemy’s weaknesses based on element, and executing satisfying Synergy attacks.
Table of Contents
The purpose of this guide is to break down the most effective Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Party compositions for various scenarios, provide an explanation of each member of the party and their contributions to the overall party dynamic, and also explain how to utilize synergy skills, materia, and party presets so that the effectiveness of the party is equal to its visual appeal.
Party building in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is designed to allow players to create unique parties that can take on different types of enemies. Players will have the ability to build a variety of party configurations based upon their own personal play style. Players can choose from a total of nine playable characters in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.
The first four playable characters are available at the beginning of the game. These characters include Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockhart, Barret Wallace, and Aerith Gainsborough. In addition to the four playable characters that are available at the start of the game, there are five other playable characters that become accessible later in the game.
These characters include Zack Fair, Yuffie Kisaragi, Vincent Valentine, Cid Highwind, and Red XIII. Each playable character has unique abilities and strengths, which make them more suitable for certain combat situations.
Players can use these unique abilities and strengths to build a stronger party. Players can also customize each character’s appearance and gear. Players can equip each character with weapons, armor, accessories, and materia.
Materia is used to enhance each character’s attributes such as strength, magic, defense, etc. Materia can also be used to learn new skills and abilities. In addition to customizing each character’s appearance and gear, players can also change each character’s combat style.
Players can switch between three different combat styles for each character. Each combat style provides a different set of attacks and special moves. For example, Cloud Strife can use his Buster Sword to attack enemies with a single powerful blow.
Alternatively, Cloud can use his blade to slash at enemies quickly. Finally, Cloud can use his sword to deflect incoming enemy attacks. Players can switch between these combat styles during battle to adapt to the situation. Players can also create custom party formations in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.
Players can select up to three active party members and up to two inactive party members. Players can assign each member of their active party to a specific role in battle. There are four main roles that players can assign to members of their active party: Attacker, Defender, Healer, and Supporter. Attackers focus primarily on dealing damage to enemies. Defenders provide protection for other members of the active party.
Healers restore health to wounded members of the active party. Supporters provide utility for other members of the active party. Players can assign each member of their active party to one of these roles. By assigning roles to members of their active party, players can create a balanced party that excels in all areas of combat. Players can also save their favorite party configurations for quick access during battle.
Except when the game forces you to use certain characters, you have the option to choose up to three characters for each battle. Because Cloud is forced into so many battles during the story, you will likely have the most freedom to select the two additional members of your party.
The game allows you to create several different types of parties and allows you to switch between them as long as you are not currently engaged in combat and the game does not restrict your ability to do so. This is something that you should consider doing as much as possible since there is typically no single best party in the game. Each battle requires a unique combination of characters based upon whether you are fighting an airborne foe, a very strong boss, or a horde of enemies that are all vulnerable to a single type of attack.
The rebirth of the game system will be based on working together as a team rather than being the most powerful player on the field. You should focus less on finding out who is the best character in the game and more on what your team needs to do to win.
Usually, a balanced team will include a front-line melee fighter (or two), a long-distance ranged attacker so that you can hit opponents that are too far away from you, and a support/magic user that can provide healing and capitalize on an opponent’s weakness.
Before you begin to optimize, keep in mind that Materia does not lock into one specific character, and each individual character will learn their own abilities and stats separately. Therefore, you cannot permanently destroy a character through trial and error. This means that trial and error is inexpensive.
After you unlock Synergy Abilities and Synergy Skills, assign these via the Combat Settings menu, and be aware that Synergy Skills automatically assign to R1 plus Face Buttons depending upon who is currently in your party.
The Best All-Round Party: Cloud, Barret, and Aerith
The default team is the best choice if you only want to use a single team throughout the entire game. This well-rounded team includes a melee fighter, a ranged fighter, and a support character. These three characters will be able to defeat most obstacles that the game presents to you. Cloud, Barret, and Aerith are the ideal examples of this type of team.
Cloud is a versatile fighter who can switch between two modes of operation: Punisher Mode, which allows for a high amount of counter-attacks, and Operator Mode, which is focused on generating ATB (Active Time Battle) gauge. This flexibility makes Cloud an ideal choice for dealing with enemies that require both high amounts of pressure and staggering. Barret provides coverage for enemies that are too far away for Cloud to engage directly. His long-range attacks and strong defensive capabilities make him a reliable anchor for the party.
Aerith completes the party as the healer and main spellcaster. While she does not appear to be overly powerful individually, her spells and supportive capabilities provide the party with the sustainability and elemental coverage required to succeed.
This composition can be used by those who do not wish to constantly manage each member of the party. According to one guide, this party (Cloud, Barret, Aerith) is considered the best full autopilot team. All three members have high levels of synergy skills that allow them to function together effectively without the player needing to direct each action.
Therefore, this party would be suitable for a normal difficulty story run or for any situation where a player would rather spend their time focusing on positioning and timing rather than managing commands.
One major disadvantage is that elemental damage may seem weak or restricted if Aerith is your sole primary spellcaster. It is recommended to strategically position your materia, providing both Cloud and Barret with a single type of elemental attack, allowing them to exploit enemies’ vulnerabilities even while Aerith’s ATB is occupied by healing actions.
For effective use of staggering your opponent: use Cloud, Tifa, and Red XIII.
When your primary objective is to develop the stagger bar at an accelerated rate prior to dispensing damage, you should utilize a more offensive melee-oriented group. For example, Cloud, Tifa, and Red XIII are the traditional stagger-focused three.
The best character to choose in the game would be Tifa. She has an extremely fast-paced combo system that will quickly create pressure on your opponent. Also, she is able to combine her special moves in a way that creates a huge window of opportunity for staggering. Red XIII also fits into the same type of playstyle as Tifa; he has many different moves that can help create stagger opportunities, including his Vengeance Mode, where if you dodge or counter at just the right moment, you will receive extra damage. Cloud will also fit well into this group of characters because he can pin down an enemy and allow you to deal massive amounts of damage through Synergy Abilities.
This is an excellent option for boss fights in which the boss has high defense and a vulnerable stagger state. It’s also a great way to farm those harder optional fights quickly. However, this is not the best strategy when fighting bosses who are in the air for a significant portion of the fight, or those who use large area-of-effect attacks to harm melee characters. In the event that you run out of healing options during a battle, then replace either Red XIII or Tifa with Aerith, and maintain Cloud as your stagger anchor.
The Best Party For Flying Enemies: Cloud, Barret, and Yuffie
Ranged damage is essential for a character who primarily uses close-range attacks (melee) because flying enemies spend the majority of their time floating above the player’s head. Therefore, the player must use ranged attacks to hit them. Flying enemies have been a persistent problem in Rebirth.
The trio of Cloud, Barret, and Yuffie have solved this problem perfectly. With Barret using guns and Yuffie using throwing weapons, you can continually attack those flying enemies until they fall from the sky. Cloud has some ranged attacks that can help close the distance if there are any gaps, and when those flying enemies finally do fall, he will be able to use his sword.
Yuffie (who joined the group during chapter 7) has also brought along elemental ninjutsu, which allows you to take advantage of the weaknesses of enemies at a distance. This makes the group particularly effective when fighting enemies with known elemental weaknesses.
Keep in mind, there are no healer characters in your lineup. Be sure to equip at least one character with a Restore or Healing Materia to allow for recovery throughout each phase of a boss battle.
The Best Party For Exploiting Elemental Weaknesses: Cait Sith, Aerith, and Yuffie
The battle isn’t always won with the highest number of hits. Most bosses and mini-bosses have an element that they are weak against. If your group can take advantage of these weaknesses, the battle will be over much quicker. A great group of elemental/spellcaster characters is Cait Sith, Aerith, and Yuffie.
With Aerith’s magical abilities, Yuffie’s ninjutsu that allows her to use various elemental attacks, and Cait Sith’s supportive role, you have many ways to hit targets’ vulnerabilities. This party is not just based around raw power, but rather versatility. You can switch your elemental attack types as needed to take advantage of the target’s weaknesses. Additionally, you can rely upon Synergy Skills to create additional opportunities for dealing damage.
The drawback is durability. This team will have difficulty dealing with enemies that possess a lot of defense and/or enemies that hit quickly and hard. Therefore, the team will perform best after you have used the scan ability to find out about each enemy’s weaknesses and then used your ATB effectively to take advantage of those weaknesses.
Aerith, Tifa, and Yuffie are a fan favorite and a good balance for any team.
I think that a lot of players are going to want a very damage-focused setup, but they also want some healing. A reviewer’s personal favorite setup was Aerith, Tifa, and Yuffie. This setup offered a lot of damage from each member of the party and also provided healing as well. However, you cannot use this setup until Yuffie joins your party. Once Yuffie joins, this trio will provide a great deal of versatility.
This team will work great for players who prefer to engage in a fast-paced and active gaming experience. Tifa can handle the stagger mechanics as well as close-range damage. Yuffie has ranged attacks and elemental abilities to provide support. Aerith is able to keep the group alive while providing magic-based damage. This team demonstrates how being creative with your team selection can pay off. Many times, the most successful team isn’t necessarily the one that has clear-cut role assignments, but rather the one where the Synergy Abilities and Folio Upgrades of each character complement one another.
How To Make Any Party Stronger
The next part of selecting a great trio of guests for your party is to establish some good habits that can help create an enjoyable experience for all of your guests.
Level up the nodes in each character’s Folio that correspond to their role. Each character’s Folio will determine the abilities, passive bonuses, and Synergy Skills that are available to them. Once you have chosen your favorite party members, use your Skill Points to purchase nodes that enhance their role, such as Stagger Bonus for Tifa, Ranged Attack Boost for Barret, and Healing Upgrade for Aerith.
Distribute Materia strategically. Since you can switch out Materia among all your team members, don’t load up on one person. By giving every single team member a combination of a magic spell (elemental), a supportive ability (support option), and a defensive or healing option (healing/defensive effect), you can ensure that you will always have access to your ATB gauge no matter what happens. If you depend solely upon Aerith for healing, then when she is either staggered or knocked out, you are going to be in serious trouble.
Match weapons to the way you want to use your characters. Each character will have a variety of weapons with unique “Weapon Abilities.” These abilities determine whether or not the weapon will work well within your team. Take the time to master each of the weapons. If you find a weapon that allows you to build ATB quickly, that weapon could make a very strong lineup.
Use Synergy Abilities strategically. Some of Cloud’s synergy abilities are the most powerful in the game. It is best to use them during a stagger window or a phase in which the enemy is vulnerable. If you use them at an inappropriate time, you will waste your synergy gauge and may not have enough to use it when needed.
You can create as many different presets as you want. At minimum, create three different saved teams: one is your balanced all-rounder team, another is your stagger/damage team, and finally, your ranged/elemental team, which would be useful against bosses who fly or have a weakness. If you are having trouble with a boss, make sure to see what its weaknesses are first and then switch to the preset team that has the best chance of defeating it.
