FF7 Rebirth Best Materia: Combos, builds and setups explained

Materia returns as a crucial element in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, and players will find they have a more substantial starting selection compared to the previous installment.

Though progress from Final Fantasy 7 Remake does not carry over, players will begin with more Materia and will find many others throughout Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. This allows for enhanced stats and new abilities, as well as access to a variety of spells.

This article covers how Materia functions in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, the differences from Final Fantasy 7 Remake, and outlines the best Materia combinations and builds to optimize gameplay.

How Materia Works in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

In Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Materia appears as colorful orbs formed from crystallized mako. Players will encounter Materia in environments marked by a vertical trail of light, indicating they can be picked up. Additionally, many Materia are unlocked through mini-games or quests, or can be purchased from vendors or vending machines.

Equipping Materia to a party member’s weapon or gear allows them to utilize its spells, abilities, or other enhancements. This is managed through the Materia and Equipment screen in the main menu, where players can select a character and assign Materia by pressing the appropriate button. The number of available slots depends on the equipment, and better gear often provides more slots, including special linked slots. Some equipment may have trade-offs, such as more slots but no linked slots.

With more party members available, managing Materia becomes easier. Players can press the touchpad to view all party members’ Materia slots and swap or remove Materia as needed.

Using Materia remains largely unchanged from Final Fantasy 7 Remake, with the primary distinction being that the Materia setting interface now also accommodates weapon skills, as weapon upgrades have been streamlined in Rebirth. The new Folio mechanic allows party members to learn elemental attack abilities, reducing reliance on Materia or MP for elemental damage. Learning an elemental skill in a character’s Folio also enhances the power of that elemental spell.

Materia Types and Colors

In Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, there are five types of Materia:

• Green: Magic Materia (Elemental spells, including attacks, buffs, and restorative spells)
• Blue: Support Materia (Enhances other Materia when linked in special slots)
• Yellow: Command Materia (Grants new abilities to players)
• Purple: Independent Materia (Boosts HP, MP, and other stats)
• Red: Summon Materia (Used for summoning powerful beings in battle)

Players can equip Materia to any party member as long as they have available slots. Elemental Materia not only imbues weapons with elemental damage but also increases resistance to that element when set to gear.

Pairing and Linking Materia

While players have the freedom to set Materia in any available slots, Blue Materia must be placed in linked slots to function. In the Materia menu, linked slots are indicated by pairs of circles.

Pairing Green Magic Materia with Blue Support Materia yields new benefits in battle. For instance, using Magnify Materia with Fire Materia allows players to attack all enemies with Fire instead of just one. Alternatively, pairing Magnify with Healing Materia enables healing for the entire party.

Other Blue Materia can enable automatic spell casting by a non-controlled party member or boost the level of a linked Materia, allowing access to higher-level spells. As more Blue Materia is discovered, stronger builds become possible.

Mastering Materia

Some Materia can be leveled up by earning AP, unlocking more powerful spells or additional abilities, with the level indicated by stars. For example, Ice Materia starts with Blizzard and progresses to Blizzara and Blizzaga at higher levels. Similarly, Healing Materia can learn Regen, which gradually restores HP over time.

Active party members equipped with Materia will earn AP during battles. Players may also find higher-level Materia in the world or through vendors, reducing the need for grinding.

Blue Materia that enhances AP earned during battles or automatically boosts a Materia’s level can expedite mastery.

Starting Materia in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

As the story continues from Final Fantasy 7 Remake, players will begin with a variety of Materia, although all must be mastered anew. In Chapter 1, players experience a flashback, and any Materia found during this chapter will not carry over. The following Materia are available when players start in Chapter 2:

Cloud

• Healing Materia: Enables healing spells
• Fire Materia: Grants access to fire magic
• Assess Materia: Reveals enemy information and weaknesses
• Chocobo & Moogle Materia: Summons a chocobo and moogle

Barrett

• Lightning Materia: Grants lightning magic
• HP Up Materia: Increases maximum HP (stacks with another HP Up Materia, up to 30%)

Tifa

• Chakra Materia: Restores HP and cures Poison status
• Ice Materia: Grants access to ice magic

Aerith

• Prayer Materia: Restores party’s HP
• Wind Materia: Grants access to wind magic
• Shiva Materia: Summons Shiva

Red XIII

• Poison Materia: Grants access to poison spells
• Precision Defense Focus Materia: Improves timing for perfect blocking
• Ifrit Materia: Summons Ifrit

Bonus Summoning Materia

If players completed Final Fantasy 7 Remake, they can unlock bonus Summoning Materia, Leviathan and Ramuh.

Best Materia Recommendations in the Early Game

Here are some of the best Materia options for the early hours of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth:

Auto-Cast Materia

• Description: Automatically uses spells linked to this Materia by an ally not under player control.
• Location: Developed by speaking to Chadley in the Grasslands region from Chapter 2.

Auto-Unique Ability Materia

• Description: Automatically uses unique abilities linked to this Materia by an ally not under player control.
• Location: Developed by speaking to Chadley in the Grasslands region from Chapter 2.

Fire and Ice Materia

• Description: Allows use of both fire and ice magic, conserving Materia slots, but requires more AP for upgrades.
• Location: Developed by speaking to Chadley in the Grasslands region from Chapter 2.

First Strike Materia

• Description: Fills the ATB bar at the start of battle.
• Location: Complete Chadley’s Grasslands Battle Intel: Horror on the Range in Chapter 2.

Cleansing Materia

• Description: Enables curative spells (e.g., Poisona, Esuna, Resist).
• Location: Reward for completing the quest ‘Where the Winds Blow’ in the Grasslands region from Chapter 2.

AP Up Materia

• Description: Doubles the amount of AP earned in battle for the Materia it is paired with.
• Location: Found in Chapter 3 at the second section of the Mythril Mine, at the end of the Old Republic Tunnels.

Item Economizer Materia

• Description: Allows items to be used without consuming an ATB bar after performing a number of actions.
• Location: Developed by speaking to Chadley in the Junon region from Chapter 4.

Magic Efficiency Materia

• Description: Reduces MP required to cast spells from the paired Materia.
• Location: Developed by speaking to Chadley in the Junon region from Chapter 4.

Lightning and Wind Materia

• Description: Allows use of both lightning and wind magic, saving Materia slots, but upgrading requires more AP.
• Location: Developed by speaking to Chadley in the Junon region from Chapter 4.

Elemental Materia

• Description: Deals elemental damage with weapon attacks when paired with elemental Materia (e.g., fire, ice).
• Location: Complete Chadley’s Junon Battle Intel: Conqueror of the Skies in Chapter 4.

Time Materia

• Description: Enables time-based magic (e.g., Haste, Slow, Stop).
• Location: Obtain from the Pirates’ Rampage mini-game in Costa Del Sol in Chapter 6.

Barrier Materia

• Description: Allows use of defensive spells (e.g., Barrier, Manaward).
• Location: Available for purchase from the Materia Vendor in Costa Del Sol from Chapter 6.

Best Materia Recommendations in the End Game

Here are the recommended Materia for the end game of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth:

ATB Boost Materia

• Description: Doubles ATB when activated in battle, but has a long cooldown.
• Location: Developed by speaking to Chadley in the Corel region from Chapter 7.

HP Absorption Materia

• Description: Recovers HP based on damage dealt by the paired spell.
• Location: Developed by speaking to Chadley in the Corel region from Chapter 7.

AP Up Materia (Second Set)

• Description: Doubles the amount of AP earned in battle for the Materia it is paired with.
• Location: Complete Chadley’s Corel Battle Intel: Badlands Beasts in Chapter 7.

Magnify Materia

• Description: Expands spells to target multiple enemies or allies.
• Location: Cait Sith starts with this Materia upon joining in Chapter 8.

Synergy Support Materia

• Description: Slightly increases synergy when other party members use a synergy ability in battle.
• Location: Developed by speaking to Chadley in the Gongaga region from Chapter 9.

Elemental Materia (Second Set)

• Description: Deals elemental damage with weapon attacks when paired with elemental Materia.
• Location: Complete Chadley’s Gongaga Battle Intel: Distant Tremors in Chapter 9.

Revival Materia

• Description: Enables the use of revival spells.
• Location: Available for purchase from the Materia Vendor in Cosmo Canyon from Chapter 10.

Level Boost Materia

• Description: Increases the level of the paired Materia by one.
• Location: Complete Chadley’s Cosmo Battle Intel: Nature’s Vengeance in Chapter 10.

Synergy Materia

• Description: Allows an ally to follow up with an attack using a spell paired with this Materia.
• Location: Developed by speaking to Chadley in the Cosmo Canyon region from Chapter 10.

Warding Materia

• Description: Grants resistance to the detrimental status effect of the linked Materia.
• Location: Found in Chapter 11 while ascending Mt. Nibel, at the edge of a cliff near the start of the North Summit section.

Best Materia Combos, Builds, and Pairings

While players have plenty of options to experiment with Materia builds for various scenarios in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, here are a few recommended setups:

High Damage Materia Build

Combination: Elemental Materia + Fire/Ice/Lightning/Wind Materia, Chakra Materia, First Strike Materia, ATB Boost Materia

This build maximizes damage output while allowing for additional elemental damage against vulnerable enemies, providing ample ATB to efficiently handle battles.

Best Defense Materia Build

Combination: Magnify Materia + Barrier Materia, Fire/Ice/Lightning/Wind Materia + Elemental Materia, Auto-Cast Materia + Healing Materia, Auto-Unique Ability Materia

This setup enables party members to heal and utilize effective abilities automatically, while allowing for exploiting enemy elemental weaknesses and quickly raising the party’s defenses.

Best Grinding Materia Build

Combination: The Materia you want to level up + AP Up Materia, Fire/Ice/Lightning/Wind Materia + Elemental Materia, First Strike Materia

Equipping multiple AP Up Materia can further enhance leveling speed, but even a high damage build can efficiently grind AP while dealing with enemies.

Good luck mastering Materia in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth!