Final Fantasy VII Remake allows players to change the equipped Materia for each character. This guide will help players select the best Materia for Barret while avoiding the worst. The Final Fantasy VII Remake was one of the most anticipated games to release in 2020. Remaking Square Enix’s legendary RPG is no simple task and the company took their time perfecting the game in every way they can. From start to finish, the title shows off its charm with each character’s personality shining through inside and outside of combat. The game adds some new content to the story to keep things interesting for players who have played the original like the introduction of these phantom-like creatures that have never been in the series before. For the most part, the story is faithfully recreated from start to finish, demonstrating the major locations in the game’s new engine. Seeing these locations in HD and properly defined enhanced the game world much farther than the PS1 original could. As for combat, the remake builds a new combat system, mixing up the strategy of turn-based combat with the finesse of an action RPG. Here, players are able to change their Materia and each Materia comes along with its own benefit for each character. This guide will help players select the best Materia for Barret while avoiding the worst.
Barret is introduced to the player at the very beginning of the Final Fantasy VII Remake, where Cloud has taken a mercenary job from the eco-terrorist group known as Avalanche. This group’s mission statement is to stop Shinra, the evil corporation, and one of the main antagonists for the majority of the game, from sucking up all of the life energy from the planet. Players are introduced to the city of Midgar right as the game begins as Cloud rides on the top of a train and meets up with the rest of Avalanche to blow up a Mako Reactor. Barret presents himself as the hot-headed leader, wanting nothing more than for Shinra to fall. The bickering between Cloud and Barret begins early on, but as their time together grows, their relationship begins to blossom into a firm appreciation for one another. Barret is a character that benefits from fighting at a long-range. This guide will help players select the best Materia for Barret’s play style.
The Best Materia for Barret in The Final Fantasy VII Remake
Barret’s Materia composition will match very closely to Aerith’s, as both characters work best when at a distance from the enemy. Barret will use magic attacks and focus on healing from a distance. Considering Barret is around long before Aerith is even introduced to the player, it is important to have a proper composition for him for early game. Here is the best Materia for Barret.
- Slot 1 and 2: Healing and Magnify: Considering Barret fights at a distance, his primary focus should be healing the rest of the team alongside Aerith. The Healing Materia with the Magnify Materia allows Barret to increase the range of the heal, giving it to more members on the team. This is perfect for healing multiple party members at once.
- Slot 3: Thunder: This is the first of offensive magic the player should equip, although, players can alternate to different offensive Materia like Fire or Thunder depending on the enemy’s weakness. Especially when fighting against bosses, it’s important to keep track of their weaknesses. Also during the early game, the player will be facing off against machines for the most part. Most machines are weak to Thunder.
- Slot 4: Revival: Barret can complete his job as the team healer by using the Revival Materia. What this Materia does is bring back party members who have been knocked out. Certain bosses have moves that can completely destroy the team, so using this ability to bring them back is an effective strategy.
- Slot 5: HP Up: This Materia will raise the grand total of Barret’s HP. The last thing the player will want is for their healer to fall easily. Adding more HP with HP UP makes it difficult for Barret to fall in combat. This is useful against the more challenging enemies in the game.
- Slot 6: Magic Up: Barret would benefit from having more MP in combat the most.
- Summon Materia: Doesn’t really matter, but Leviathan is a great choice in general. To unlock Leviathan, the player will need to complete Battle Intel Report 15 from Chadley. Although, if Aerith already has Leviathan as the summon, players can use Shiva or Fat Chocobo as a replacement.
As for the armor equipment Materia slots, adding more HP UP and Magic UP is the best thing to do. As for the worst Materia, here are some suggestions on ones to avoid when using Barret.
- Steadfast Block: Allows the character to gain ATB faster and take less damage when blocking. Considering Barret should be played at a distance and out of harm’s way, blocking isn’t the most effective way to play this long-range character.
- Assess: This should be given to Aerith, not Barret. It shows the enemy’s weaknesses in combat.
- First Strike: This allows players to have a full ATB gauge at the start of the fight. Since the player begins every fight with Cloud, it’s best to avoid this one.
Barret’s Materia line up is extremely similar to Aerith’s due to their playstyles being similar. Both characters are best played when at a distance and both characters are best utilized for support roles. The Final Fantasy VII Remake allows players to experiment with different playstyles to get different results. The game can be completed in around 30 hours and each hour is filled with love and commitment from start to finish. This remake has set a new bar for what it means to be a remake in the modern era of gaming. The next entry in the series may be a ways off, but this is an excellent way to keep players occupied for what is to come next.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake is available now on PS4.
