Best Materia for Each Character in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth (FF7 Rebirth)

Every character in Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth has different strengths and weaknesses, and you need to consider each when equipping Materia to your party. Knowing the best Materia for each character will give you a better idea of what they’re good at and how to optimize their builds.

Best Materia to Equip to Each Character in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

When considering the best material each character can use in FF7 Rebirth, you must consider a few things. The first is the character’s baseline stats. Some of your party are just better at magic than others, specifically Aerith and Cloud. Others are more physical attackers like Barret and Tifa, who also have very good ATB gauge generation, making them good at buffing and rebuffing — magic that doesn’t rely on a specific stat to be effective.

There are also a few universally useful Materia types: HP Plus, Auto-Cast, Auto-Weapon or Unique Ability purple Materia, and others that make moment-to-moment combat more comfortable overall. HP Plus, for instance, provides pure survivability in the form of additional health, which is always useful. Auto-Cast, Auto-Weapon Ability, and Auto-Unique Ability Materia ensure your AI teammates contribute. For more on the best Materia combinations, see our guide on the matter.

Now, here are my recommendations for Materia to equip to each character in Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth.

Spoiler Alert: There are character and later-game Materia names below. Read at your own risk.

Best Materia for Cloud in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

Cloud’s stats are similar to those from the 1997 original: well-rounded and solid. His Speed is a bit low, but everything else is more than usable. As such, he can equip any materia in the game and do well, but there are a few that benefit him even more:

• Precision Defense Focus for help with parries and his Punisher Mode.
• Healing and Time to keep his and his teammate’s health and action economy up.
• Assess for gathering intel on monsters in the world.
• Item Master for fights where you need to use magic and items to succeed.

Best Materia for Barret in Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth

Barret has a few weapons that help his magic stats, but they never reach more than just above average. Thanks to his unique ability Overcharge and how his basic attack works, he has one of the fastest ATB charge rates in the game. That means he should have a healing spell for emergencies, but he’s best suited as a dedicated buffer and debuffer when he isn’t using his gun arm to deal damage. His best materia choices, then, are:

• Barrier and/or Fortification to increase the party’s survivability and damage output.
• Time to improve ATB charge rate.
• Revival, specifically with linked Level Up blue Materia for easy access to Arise.
• Empowerment and Preservation for additional, relatively easy-to-apply bonuses to party stats.
• Item Economizer for more frequent access to items in battle.
• MP Up to help with his otherwise abysmal MP stores.

Best Materia for Tifa in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

Tifa’s magic stats are a bit better than Barret’s, especially with magic-focused gear, but she’s still primarily a frontline fighter who’s better served being in the middle of a fight than supporting from afar. As such, her builds should mostly be like Barret’s, with a few notable exceptions:

• Buff/debuff Materia like Barrier, Empowerment, or Time.
• HP Up to help her lower-than-average health values.
• Steadfast Block for when you aren’t controlling her, and she defends more often.
• Chakra for on-the-spot healing.
• Auto-Unique Ability to ensure she uses Unbridled Strength when not being controlled.

Best Materia for Aerith in Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth

Aerith is and has always been the part mage. Her magic stats are far and away the best in the game, and her physical ones are easily the worst of the seven playable characters. Her best spells, therefore, should come with damage values, as those are tied to her magic stats and don’t apply flat bonuses. Here are some of the best choices:

• Any and all damage Materia. That includes fire, lightning, wind, ice, etc.
• Your highest level Healing Materia. Aerith is uniquely situated to be an amazing healer no matter where you are in the game.
• The Magic Efficiency blue Materia to cut the cost of her spellcasting.
• Both HP and MP Up to keep her alive and casting.
• Prayer for relatively low-cost, part-wide heals.

Best Materia for Red XIII in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

Red XIII is a lot like Cloud when it comes to the Materia he can use, but because of his main gameplay gimmick, both his physical and magical defenses are through the roof. His heavy normal attack is also great at building ATB gauge, and his Siphon Fang special is fantastic for both damage and survivability. That means he can focus on buffs, item usage, and using other supportive magic while still doing good damage with offensive spells. In particular, Red XIII should equip:

• Healing and damage Materia the other party members don’t have. He’s good at filling gaps.
• Item Economizer for additional access to items in the heat of battle.
• Prayer and Assess for free heals and enemy intel for a low ATB cost.
• Steadfast Block to improve how efficient his Vengeance Mode gauge fills, while also reducing the damage he takes even further.

Best Materia for Yuffie in Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth

Yuffie is an interesting character because while her overall stats aren’t stellar, she also fills a unique niche: she’s a great fighter in both close and long range, depending on how you want to fight. She can also apply elemental damage to her weapon while using Ninjutsu, freeing her from needing to equip specific damage types. Her ATB charge isn’t as good as Barret’s or Tifa’s, but her strength is in her versatility, not in playing a particular role. Here are my Materia recommendations:

• Depending on the weapon she has equipped, either damage or buff Materia. Yuffie’s magic-focused weapons make her a solid secondary caster without cutting into her damage too much, so whether you use her as a healer or a buffer is based on what she has equipped.
• HP Up. Yuffie’s health is one of her main weaknesses, and one or two HP Up Materia go a long way to addressing that shortcoming.
• Item Mastery and Economizer. Yuffie can disengage from most fights relatively easily, and with her relatively quick ATB buildup, she’s a strong candidate as your dedicated item user.
• No Fire Materia. Yuffie can apply Fire to her weapon via a Unique Ability, so she has no need for it in her Materia slots.

Best Materia for Cait Sith in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

I’ll admit, I’m not the biggest fan of Cait Sith’s playstyle or gimmicks, but I will never say he’s a bad character — he’s just not my cup of tea. He’s also not particularly strong magically, but he does have a single stat that no other party member can touch: Luck. Alongside that unique trait, his Materia choices are:

• Buffs and debuffs. What Cait Sith lacks in raw magical output, he makes up for in capacity. His MP value is on the higher end, meaning he can keep your team safer for longer before needing to restock.
• Luck Up. Cait Sith’s Luck Stat is naturally the highest in the game, meaning whenever he uses the Steal ability or defeats an enemy, there’s a better chance of getting the rare drop to…drop.
• Steal and Morph. Thanks to his high Luck stat, Cait Sith is uniquely positioned to be your main rare item thief.

Those are my recommendations for the best Materia to equip your characters in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. You are, of course, free to give anyone anything but remember that not every character is great at particular magical pursuits, depending on their baseline stats.

For more content on Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, check out our guides hub.