Once you complete the story ofFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirthonce, you will unlock Hard Mode, a challenging difficulty that can be hard to beat unless you use the best weapons for every character. In this mode, you cannot use items and enemies are far stronger than they were before. Without the right skills and abilities that come from weapons, it’s nearly impossible to overcome obstacles throughout the story.
Many of thenew weapons introduced inFF7 Rebirthoffer unique abilities for your characters, but only while wielding a specific sword, gun arm, staff, or other tool. you’re able to get around this limitation byleveling up every character’s weaponsas you get them. This will allow you to learn that weapon’s ability even while it isn’t equipped, giving you the opportunity to use a party member’s best weapon instead.
When attempting a Hard Mode run, you shouldtry to learn how to play as every characterin the game, so you are familiar with their unique skills and how they might match with various weapon abilities.
Everything In FF7 Rebirth Hard Mode (& What Changes)
FF7 Rebirth’s Hard Mode is the highest difficulty setting available. Here’s how it works, and what rewards players can expect from completing it.
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Prime Mode-Strengthen Punisher Mode. Hold down the attack button to deliver three consecutive strikes. Increases Berserk potency.
TheUmbral Bladeis perhaps the most balanced weapon for Cloud, featuring equal max stats for both the raw Attack power and Magical potential for the weapon. The ability allows you to raise Cloud’s DPS through Punisher Mode, but you do not have to use Cloud as the most damaging member of your party. This weapon lets Cloud deal a lot of damage and cast powerful spells in equal measure throughout a Hard Mode run.
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Blade Burst- Unleash a wave of non-elemental mako energy at an enemy in front of you with a slash of your sword.
Those looking to use Cloud as their party’s primary source of damage should consider using theIgneous Saber, a blade that specializes in raw DPS against enemies and bosses. Since your foes have much more health in Hard Mode, you need someone constantly attacking every chance they can get. Cloud can fulfill that role with this weapon, especially with the Blade Burst ability that gives him a ranged attack against elusive enemies.
As you can see in the above video by YouTube creatorNorZZa, some of the best builds with Cloud utilize his ability to combo enemies for higher damage, rather than trying to apply stagger or exploit elemental weaknesses.
Thebest weapons for Cloud inFF7 Rebirthoften deal non-elemental damage, making it nearly impossible for enemies to resist the damage you deal as the former SOLDIER. With Blade Burst not being attached to any element as well, you’re able to always be damaging foes without having to worry about their defenses as much. While you may not cast many spells, you can keep some Healing Materia on Cloud with this weapon.
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Starshower- Unleash a flurry of powerful strikes. Increases strength of next command executed.
TheDragon Clawsdeal some of the highest damage Tifa can inflict in the game, making a character already focused on DPS even more specialized. Although Tifa’s health can be quite fragile in Hard Mode, the Starshower ability allows her to make up for this weakness through a unique buff. Tifa can support herself without relying on another party member by making her next attack or spell much stronger.
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True Strike- Deliver a tremendous blow at close range. Increased stagger damage bonus.
Tifa is an extremely offense-oriented character whose greatest strength comes from being able to stagger enemies and bosses extremely quickly. Thebest weapons for Tifa inFF7 Rebirthemphasize this point, makingJárngreiprperhaps her best tool for Hard Mode. The more you stun empowered enemies on this higher difficulty, the more chances you will have to win much harder fights.
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Lifesaver- Temporarily increase your HP and reduce damage intended for other party members.
Most parties feature Barret as a tank who takes hits for others due to his larger health pool and strong defensive abilities gained from different weapons. TheBarrage Blastergives Barret a balanced tool that can be used for damage or spell-casting, but the unique skill is what you’ll want to use the most. Lifesaver canmake Barret and his allies last longer in battle, giving you more chances to revive anyone who goes down.
FF7 Rebirth: 7 Best Weapons For Barret
Barret once again returns as a party member in FF7 Rebirth with his gun arm weapon that has several variations you can find for his best abilities.
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Radiant Ward- Conjure a ward that grants invincibility while casting spells. Strengthens Aerith’s basic attack.
Spells, especially the strongest versions of certain magic, take a long time to cast and can be interrupted by aggressive enemies who become even more aggro on Hard Mode. This makes the ability of Aerith’sEmpress Scepterincredibly powerful by giving both Aerith and any ally a safe space to usemagic Materia inFF7 Rebirth. This weapon also makes Aerith’s basic attacks stronger to deal with the boosted health of various enemies.
Since you can’t use items in Hard Mode, you’ll be casting a lot of magic with nearly every party member throughout enemy encounters. According to the above video by YouTube creatorTheGameFather, you’ll want to utilize Aerith’s abilities the most to maximize the use of each character’s MP before it runs out. Without Aerith’s supportive skills to enhance magic or heal injured allies, Hard Mode can feel overwhelming.
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ATB Ward- Conjure a ward. Fill ATB charges within the ward to increase your allies' ATB gauges.
TheCeremonial Staffhas one of the best abilities out of all the weapons inFF7 Rebirthby giving you a way to increase the ATB of all your allies at the same time. By keeping your group in the conjured ward from this weapon’s skill, you can constantly use everyone’s abilities or cast spells rapidly in a fight. This makes your team faster, hit harder, and have more versatility you can explore during a battle.
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Ray of Judgement- Fire an energy burst that hits multiple times. Increased stagger bonus.
One of thebest weapons for Aerith inFF7 Rebirthis thePlumose Rodsince it has thehighest max magical attack stat out of any weapon in the game. The right skills from other weapons make Aerith a powerhouse in battle capable of dealing damage alongside normal support abilities. With the Ray of Judgment from this weapon, she can even inflict great stagger damage similar to Tifa against dangerous enemies or bosses.
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Reaper Touch- Deliver a deadly strike. Potency is inversely proportional to current HP.
Red XIII can be a tricky party member to fully utilize, as he can be both a strong damage dealer and powerful spell caster at the same time. This balanced approach is supported through weapons likeBrísingamen, which has fairly equal max attack and magic stats. This weapon’s ability may be risky to use, but considering how often you will on low HP in Hard Mode, the skill becomes far more useful in chaotic fights.
Remember to have a character in your party on standby ready to heal Red XIII after he uses Reaper Touch. You should never rely on this ability to eliminate an enemy or boss since you have to be dangerously low on health to use it effectively.
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Banishment- ATB spent on other commands increases the damage dealt. Affinity changes with ninjutsu. You can use this ability while airborne. Shares gauge with Purification. Max Level: III.
TheCrystalline Crossweapon allows Yuffie to exploit elemental weaknesses in enemies, to stagger them faster, and deal greater damage through the Banishment ability. The high attack stat of this weapon can turn Yuffie into a high DPS character similar to Cloud and Tifa in brawls but with the added benefits of her ninjutsu. The effortless switching between elemental-type damages will allow you to adjust to any situation.
According to the above video by YouTube creatorPrimalliquid, one of the reasons Yuffie shines is through long-range attacks from her shurikens that let her attack enemies from afar. With this weapon in Hard Mode, Yuffie can even the playing field with enemies you may struggle against. Constant targeting of weaknesses combined with Banishment can sometimes be crucial for winning boss fights made tougher on this difficulty.
